A Music Production Guide to Mixing Studios
Mixing is essentially the Procedure for combining multiple sound sources to achieve a desirable balance of these sources. A Mix is the final result of that procedure. The word is in fact an abbreviation of the term mix down, so you might be mixing twenty-four paths down to two monitors. Within This procedure, there are several important elements which will affect and hopefully improve. The most apparent of these is the relative quantity of each sound source; how loud each sound is in connection with the others. Other factors which will be important in achieving a fantastic mix will consist of Panning within the Stereo Picture, Equalization, Dynamics, Space & Depth and Effects.
The End result of this work is going to be a bounce of the last mix. For stereo mixing, this is going to be a two-track sound file which will now be able to be performed on a traditional hi-fi or delivered to a professional post production studio for Mastering. Ok, so we now understand what a combination is but what are we aiming for when we start pushing up faders? To create our track sound like possible would be an outstanding start. However, our notion of what is or is not good is a really subjective idea and it follows that blending is a very subjective art. A lot depends upon the song and the genre of Music Studios In Los Angeles but then one person may prefer a mix that somebody else cannot stand. It does not take a lot more thinking to realize that two individuals will typically mix the identical track with quite different results.
If the goals of blending are subjective then the procedure or modus operandi is just as abstract. With experience, a sound engineer can create his own personality, his own sound and his own preferred workflow. To add some perspective here, we requested Ian Sherwin, a powerful sound engineer and mixers for his ideas on what blending means to him. What we can do universally is evaluate a combination using based criterion. You will frequently hear mixes called being punchy, warm, exciting, bright, deep or detailed. These are simply some of the adjectives that we can use to describe how a mix sounds and using words such as these we could be more precise about what it is that we enjoy about a specific mix and importantly, also create goals for ourselves when we are doing the mixing.