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Mixing & Mastering

Basic Audio Mixing

Mixing, is the term for processing a blend of Sounds, Frequencies, Effects Dynamics and Panoramic Knobs/Left & Right. No matter how many channels going through an Analog/Digital Mixing Desks or DAW Software Mixers. All channels have to be mixed down to a stereo 2-track channel mix. In addition, these days you can mixdown in Surround Sound, with devices and software that can accommodate these facilities. Audio mixing is an art form on its own.

A professional mixing engineer, can take up to 12 hours to 2 days on one mix. Depending on how much material you need to process and how much time you have. So when you start to learn yourself, you will need all the time and patience. Too over came the first hurdles of audio mixing.

Mixing audio on a Desktop/Laptop Computers are getting more common, in professional & home studios. More music artists are useing their computers for digital recording and mixing. It is much easier to see it on the computer monitor and hearing it at the same time.

Mixers

Mixing desk, or software mixers are the centre of the mixing process. They have many inputs and outputs. A mixer has many rotating controls Potentiometers and sliding controls Faders that control the sound and levels.

These are the main functions of a mixer.

• Routing allows source signals to inputs/output & buses, monitoring plus outboard effects units.

• Mixing signals together, which is normally done by a Amplifier or in the case of digital by a simple Algorithm.

• Processing on-board processors with digital and analog outboard processor units, like Equalizers and Compressors.

On most mixers, all the controls that apply to a single channel of audio are arranged in a vertical downward column called a Channel Strip. So by thoery, once you have learnt one channel on an analog/digital mixer. The rest should come to you easier. The next main channels are Send/Subgroup Busses on some analog/digital mixers. And the last main channels are L/R Stereo Master or more outs for surround sound.

Hence the term for mixer specifications 24/4/2 = 24-Inputs 4-Sends Busses 2-Stereo.

These are the basic input channel strip names, from top to bottom of a small analog/digital/USB/FireWire mixer

• Input Jacks/ Microphone Preamps Phantom Power/XLR/48v DC. Or normal ¼ jack connectors.

• Basic input controls Pots for Gain/Trim of the volume in dB Decibels.

• Channel EQ High, Mid and low Pots used to control the frequency content of signals. Measured in Hertz/Hz 20Hz to 20kHz.

• Routing section Aux-sends, for effects, foldback and monitoring.

• Panning control Pots for Panning a signal to the left or right and in surround also back and front.

• Channel Faders Levels for boosting the level of signals.

Many budget digital mixers today, have Automation capabilities so the movement of their controls can be recorded, and then played back automatically. You can also use a Control Surface Unit to control virtual mixers, Synths ETC... connected to a computer.

Sit back and watch some more tutorials on mixing in Cubase SX. Although it is about Cubase SX, it is still the basics on analog/digital mixers and other DAW products.

Basic Mixer

Basic EQ Processing

Basic External Outboard Effects Processing

Basic Audio Mastering

Mastering, is the term for processing a finished audio recording from a Analog or a Digital format source. Containing a Final MixDown to a Analog Tape or Digital Storage Device. Which all copies will be produced for Pressing to Vinyl, CD Duplication, Mp3 and M4P iTunes formats for Downloads. These days Vinyl is still around, but mostly used for Dance Dj’s. Some Analog Stereo Tape Mastering, is still being used by the Manufacturing Industry like Major Recording Companies and a top notch Analog Engineers who are excellent in their craft.

Mastering history goes back along way, these are the formats that were used & still useing.

• Mechanical Process direct live recording into a Large Acoustic Horn,to a Mastering Lathe. Soft metal alloy or from Wax, referring to the Cutting of a Record.

• Electro-Mechanical Process direct live recording into a Microphone and Electronic Amplification. Into a electrically Mastering Lathe, Direct-to-disc.

• Magnetic Tape Process recorded on to Analog MultiTrack Tape Machine, to Analog Stereo Tape then to Mastering Lathe, still being used.

• Digital Process recorded on to MultiTrack Machines, DAW’s and Hard Disk Recorders. Mixed on the inturnal device, straight to DAT, MiniDisk or CD. So it can be mastersed to Red Book Standard.

In the 1990s, Analog Mastering Processes were mostly taken over by Digital Technology. DAWs became common in professional and home studio mastering devices, allowing of the recorded audio via a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Although many digital processing tools are common during mastering, it is also very common to use Analog Media and processing equipment for the mastering stage.

These are the most common Digital Mastering Software to date.

• Ableton Live

• Ardour

• Audacity

• Adobe Audition

• BIAS Peak

• Cakewalk Sonar

• Cubase

• Digital Performer

• Digidesign

• iZotope Ozone

• Logic Pro

• Nuendo