Category: Mix Essentials

Welcome to the last week in this Mix Essentials Series I’ve titled as “The Quick Mix” but have started referring to it as guerrilla mixing. I think that second title fits a bit better but oh well. These last two weeks we’ve gone through the very basic steps to take just to get up and running in a hurry (or at least the steps I go through). Most of the time if I’m under a time crunch I rarely even get as far as we got last week (getting everything patched, basic EQ work, basic compression work, reverbs setup, and workflow setup). But occasionally you are able to get through things quickly and are left with extra time. For me it became difficult to prioritize what’s next because before I was working out of desperation, now I’m working with different motivation….professional mixing. So what’s next…well let’s talk about that.

I think the first thing I do in this instance is to go back and check on the fundamentals of mixing. How are your EQs? Have you walked the house and checked on how things are sounding? Has one of your snare mics moved again? That kind of stuff. Because these simple things make such a big impact, it’s important to make sure that before you build upon these foundations that you check and make sure they are “sound” (pun intended). Check on any compressors you have enabled and make sure they aren’t cutting too deep or cutting for too long (this second one is something I find a lot of on console presets, check those release times folks). Then give a look at your reverbs and any other FX that you would like to get going. Do they sound natural? Do they disappear when needed? Do you have everything you need setup? If the answer is yes, check again. As Michael Jordan has said, “get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”

If you still have time, this is about the time when I’ll setup a few scenes in the console to help make some critical changes that will really help to improve the overall audio experience to the listener. This means more advanced FX work and getting the starting point of the songs setup so I can keep focused on the mix and spend less time getting the console arranged for each song. I know some people will tune out for this part but keep in mind the benefits during the show. Of course, if you aren’t confident in doing this, don’t, automation can cause issues if you don’t get it setup correctly but the benefits that automation can bring are substantial. Even just making a few scenes to help transitions between speech and music or between songs that are significantly different in terms of bussing and FX. If you have any outboard processing take some time and get it setup. I don’t like overusing plugins but I do recognize that if you have access to a stable outboard system that it’s presets can be extremely helpful and save you lots of time. This is about where I’d start turning stuff on but this is really up to each users personal preferences. Remember, this isn’t a list of do’s and don’ts or a rigid order, all of this is subject to change to meet the needs of the event/concert that is happening. This is simply what I do.

One of the biggest thing you can do is just to mix with the band as they rehearse. Don’t bury your head in the console for too long or you will lose sight of the big picture and the mix as a whole. Getting as many run-throughs as are beneficial for BOTH of you and the band but they don’t matter if your head is buried in the console. You have to remember that muscle memory and cognitive recall are a huge part of mixing. As a technician, the height of mixing is reacting to the music organically and to know and remember what is coming before it happens. That doesn’t come easily. It’s even harder if you aren’t becoming a part of the music with the band. If this is the first time you have mixed for the band you are standing in front of it’s a daunting task. I’m hoping you’ve done your homework and tried to listen to some of their content beforehand but if you hadn’t or there isn’t anything to prep with, the best thing you can do is just mix. Go nuts. Have fun. Just mix. Listen and adjust, over and over. By this time your console is setup, you’ve been through all the inputs, just mix. Walk the room and take notes if you like. If you have access to virtual soundcheck equipment be sure to start recording (I’d argue that if you can record everything as soon as soundcheck starts) so you can utilize a little playback time if needed to get a few scenes setup from earlier or just to be able to keep practicing. The key is to look up, listen, adjust, repeat.

One last tip for situations like these in general. If you can, utilize as many templates as you can. Recently, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve had to develop full and refined mixes in a time period much shorter than I’d prefer. Having a showfile ready to go with settings and layouts already setup can save you so much time it’s ridiculous. Take the time now that the lull after the holidays is coming up to make a few templates, save some channel settings, go back and recover what you can and setup some things to save you time. If you don’t utilize a template on your console, start this week. After your next show, take the showfile from your daily driver, strip out the names, the unique EQ settings, save FX setups to presets to be recalled and then clear them out, and generate a showfile. If you’ve ever seen a building with one too many addons you’ll understand why I’m asking you to make a template. Starting each week with a clean slate will save you as much time troubleshooting as the time you spent making that template and bring some consistency to your mixes, even across different engineers mixing. Give it a try and tell me how it goes!

Well that’s it for this series and this first year of blogging here at Studio Stage Live. I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read. This last series has been extremely helpful to me just to write as I think through how I prioritize my work when needed so I hope that you’ve gleaned some similar learnings. Let me know what you thought in the comments below, on facebook, or by sending me an email at daniel@studiostagelive.com. If you’ve liked what you read you can sign up at this link to receive email updates when new content is published. See you all next week and a Happy New Year to you as well!

Well after starting to write this series I actually got quite excited to put it on paper so I’m back with more! Last week, in this post, we went through what I termed, “stage 1,” which was getting everything patched and functional first, getting gains dialed in, and finished with dropping in some EQ and mild compression. This week we are continuing our short series about putting a decent mix together quickly. In “stage 2” we will spend some time organizing and getting setup to mix efficiently and comfortably, coming back to proper EQs, getting some FX rolling, and some good routing techniques that have always been helpful to me.

Before we get on to stage 2, I did want to include an addendum to last weeks post. I forgot to mention that I’m a big fan of dropping in preset EQs just to get started. They are rarely perfect but they fix the big stuff until you get the time to come back and really fine tune it. Doing that allows me to be more comfortable getting some compression in there a bit faster. We all do things differently but I’ve found that using those presets can be really helpful. Especially if you’ve put in the leg work to know which presets you like so you’re not digging and testing for too long. If it takes you too long to pick a preset you are better off just quickly EQing the channel. Just my two cents. I’m not a huge fan of compression on a time crunch but a little compression on the big stuff can really go a long way in gorilla mixing.

At about this point when I’m starting to hear the mix, before I get too far into making EQ choices I like to do some organizational stuff as I listen to the content and adjust my ears. I’m a firm believer in letting the band show you their style rather than coming in and deciding tonality before you understand what sound the artist is going for. That’s why I do this now. Also, having a console laid out and labelled can go a long way during the show or as the day goes in really refining a mix quickly as you don’t spend time trying to remember what stuff is or where it’s at. If the console has a digital scribble strip take the time and fill in what things are. Taking time to organize your board will help you mix faster so any time you spend labeling/organizing will pay dividends later. Not only does this usually make patching FX easier but you can start to build muscle memory as your brain is connecting what something is with where it is. On that same vein, most digital consoles allow you have a user layer with things laid out however you like. If your patch list was not even close to being how you like it, take the time to put stuff where you’d have it, fader-wise, on your daily driver. Once again, this helps with muscle memory allowing you to react quicker and more efficiently. If you need to re-patch the console to get things laid out better, after everything else is organized ask the band if they want to take a few minutes break so you can do this. Time it appropriately but as I said last week, if you build up some trust and ask nicely, this shouldn’t be an issue.

After you’ve taken the time to get stuff setup the way you are used to, you finally have a setup that you can work with. On top of that, you’ve heard some of the content, your ears are informed, and you already have a baseline to work from that probably isn’t awful (it could be better but you get the gist). Once again we are at a crossroads however with what to do next. Some technicians will want to get the FX going and such but I prefer a different choice. I go back and get the EQs done in order of priority. My theory is that with better sources, you can spend less time tweaking FX because the source material for those FX will be better from the start. I don’t recommend crazy FX anyways in time crunches because there is usually better things to do than tinker with that crazy delay/verb that you love on your daily driver. But we will get to that in a bit. For now, the idea is that now that you’ve been listening to the band while you got situated, you’ve probably identified some issues with mic positioning or EQ that, if they haven’t already driven you crazy, you should take care of now. Definitely any channel you loaded a preset EQ into go back, listen, adjust. I would never recommend setting a preset and not at least listening to it again. If you have trouble dialing something in go up to the stage and check the mic position. Sometimes in our haste or by mistake we don’t get that mic right where it needs to be or the source sounds a bit different than expected. Get it adjusted. This is a great time to check direct boxes as well. If I’m getting lots of hum (sometimes it’s impossible because of the circuit layout to fix it completely) I’ll lift some grounds and see if that helps. While on stage I like to take a minute when they aren’t playing and check in with the band so they can ask me something without me yelling from the back if they need or if I need to make a change to their monitors. This just helps to build that rapport with the band that I think is important to a successful event.

This is my favorite part. I love FX so much. I think a few good verbs can do more for a mix than compression in some instances and there are so very few instances when it’s not even a little helpful. If possible I’ll run 3 verbs: drums, instruments, and vocals. If I’m in a pinch I’ll just do two and put the drums and instruments together. I also setup a tap delay if I can just to give the option for that extra little touch on a mix. You know someone is prepared when you hear a well done tap delay. These are relatively easy to setup. Just find a built-in verb or pull up a preset you like if you have waves going than spend a few minutes making it disappear a bit. Sounds a bit weird but I believe that reverbs are best utilized when you aren’t sure they are there but you can hear them in the space between notes. I dont use them as an effect but rather as an enhancement of the tonality and sustain of each input. I do however use tap delays, slap delays, and chorus FX to add something so those I’m not too concerned with dialing them in perfect right away. If all you have time for is the verbs than leave it at that. At this point we are still just getting everything in place as fast as possible. If you can get the tap setup during the show than put it off if you can.

The last thing I like to do at this point is get some board routing in place so that I can more easily adjust things at macro level. This means getting groups setup for inputs to feed through before they hit the main (to allow for bus compression if needed) and setting up VCAs. I don’t use VCAs a ton but if they are available I dial them up for things I like to adjust together. I love VCAs because unlike groups there is no summing, it’s as if I am moving all the faders in line with each other. If the drums sound great but are just a bit too hot, easy to move the VCA fader rather than try to move each fader down perfectly together. The groups however, I use to setup some bus compression. I don’t often need to adjust the faders but from time to time I’ll compress the summary of a group of faders (most often drums) just to lock stuff in with each other. Be gentle though, it’s easy to kill the dynamics of a mix as fast as you built it with too much bus compression. The biggest thing with groups is mostly an organizational level. These aren’t required but in certain circumstances can make life a lot eaiser.

That does it for this week folks. Once again, just like last week, in some cases this is all you’ll get to do before the event. That’s OK, this is a lot and you can keep improving during the event. If you have any questions about this process or about something you believe I’ve missed, comment below or on facebook or shoot me a quick email at daniel@studiostagelive.com. Next week we will go over what you do if you somehow still have time left; basically the icing on the cake. Things like advanced compression, work with outboard gear, automation, and having enough time to check everything before it all gets going. If you want to be sure to be notified when that post goes live, sign up at this link and you’ll get an email when it’s up. See you all on the flipside!

So many times as an audio engineer I have had little to no time to get a mix locked in. Personally, when rushing to build a mix sometimes I get my priorities mixed up and this last go around, as I prepared to mix our big Christmas show in a time crunch (I had some personal stuff that prevented me from attending the previous rehearsals) I decided to sit down and think about the most logical process to get to where I usually would be before our dress rehearsals. This series is what I learned about that process and the order that I followed. I wanted to talk through what I believe to be a good order of priorities if your time is limited. If you think I missed something or you have a different idea, please be sure to leave a comment below and let me know!

To preface this process, I’m assuming that I have nothing done on the console. Not even a template to work from. A good note to remember is that from an architecture standpoint, having a template to start from will greatly speed up the steps outlined in this first week. If you’re doing a gig and don’t have access to the console, download the offline editor for the console, if one exists, and make your own template that you can load that will get things laid out where you like them and get the basics in there. Sometimes I load in some preset EQs to use a starting place so that when I push those faders up the first time there is at least a little processing to build from. If you just build your show from last week’s show you’ll need to add in an extra step somewhere to clear out any week specific changes you made like weird EQs for guitars or singers. At least give the board a glance to check for these little things that will just build up from week to week and clutter the console.

If I walk up to a console late the very first thing I’m going to do when the band starts playing is just push the faders up and see what’s weird and get a good overview of what’s going on. This is just a starting point but you have to start somewhere right? Obviously if something is just way out in left field it’s adjusted to fit. Most of the time there are a few things that are way too hot and a few things that aren’t quite strong enough. It’s time to check and adjust gain structure! This especially applies to percussive inputs like drums. If monitor sends are driven from the same console than this process can take a big longer as you make a gain change and adjust the send inversely. To save time, if possible, I’ll stop the band and get those few things fixed really quick with the promise that this is all I’d stop them for. Ideally this step could be done with multi-track playback but this isn’t always possible. Just doing this step is huge and is often overlooked. People like to get started mixing and forget to set a good foundation for mixing that begins with proper gain structure.

Inevitably going through the input gains I find a few patching issues (that is if the band hasn’t already pointed them out by now). If I had delayed solving any patching issues during soundcheck I’d likely just address them now. Sometimes things just get plugged in wrong or not plugged in at all, if you’ve documented well with a patch list this shouldn’t be a hard process. If I’m in the studio I’ll take the time here to solo each input as the band warms up to make sure everything is coming in clean and without any artifacts that can be fixed from ground lifts or different wiring/gear. This is also a great time to address any wireless issues that have been noticed. Sometimes it’s interference, sometimes it’s a mechanical problem, other times it’s just random. Either way, the key for this step is just get everything working and plugged in. Of course, when that’s done, check gains again on those items and make sure what you set before is still right.

Once everything is gained appropriately I do a quick “sweep” of the EQ situation on an as needed basis. Things like the kick, snare, and bass guitar often need the most work with little needed on guitars and vocals. I’ll usually drop in a de-esser on the vocals as well so if there are any troubles in that range I wont try to fix them with something else. It’s important not to get too bogged down in this step. Remember, this is about priorities. Just deal with the glaring issues. If there is time you’ll be able to go back and refine things a little more. After each change, instead of just going to the next channel, step back, listen to the whole mix for the next largest problem and solve it first. 

Before moving on I’ll do another quick assessment of the mix. Checking again for gain staging issues as adjusting EQ does affect volume so if I need to gain up to compensate I will or vice versa. My last step of stage one is optional. If I have plenty of time left to mix than I’ll skip it but if things are getting tight I always try to get some compression setup. Because they are often the cornerstone of the mix I’ll start with vocals. These are easy and quick to setup and will make a huge difference on the ability of the vocal to pop. Next I address the drums (i.e. – kick, snare, toms) and any other percussive input. After doing that you’ll start to notice that things are finally starting to pull together. I finish this step with the guitars, including bass. Just getting some basic compression setup will go a long way to getting things to sit better with each other as they each start to occupy different spaces. 

At this point we’ve got a pretty basic but decent mix going. We’ve gotten everything patched and gain staged, EQ on some but not all has been set to take care of big issues, and we have some minor compression happening that is helping to glue the mix together. This is where I’m going to stop this week. After nearly 18 years of mixing I have been a part of so many events where this is all I get done before the event starts. Often times I’m dialing in that basic compression during the beginning of the event. It’s tempting to be frustrated at this point because you likely didn’t get enough soundcheck but remember, if you can maintain a good relationship with the band, they will be more inclined to help you out. Just do what you can and keep going. If you have more than a few hours, like I did, there is much more than to this process. I had 3 days to pull together a mix with over 50 inputs, some of which I wouldn’t hear until the first rehearsal, so I was utilizing virtual soundcheck. The biggest hurdle I had to face was not overusing my ears. This required me to set aside time to give my ears a break and not tackling too much in one day which was incredibly important. What I just explained was basically what I did the first day but in a pinch could probably get done in an hour or so. Stage 2 is all about refining the setup and getting some FX going. Stage 3 covers plugin and enhanced FX as well as automation setup with stage 4 discussing what I do to proverbially put the cherry on top of a mix. If you have any questions or thoughts please don’t hesitate to comment below or email me at daniel@studiostagelive.com. If you want to receive an email when new content is posted here like the coming weeks of blog posts, stop by this link, fill out the form and you’ll be notified when a new post is up. See you all next week!