Track 1 - I mixed the first track in the college's recording studio because the studio's monitors deliver accurate sound and frequency and the studio's monitors are more reliable than headphones. I the first track into individual stems without processing and I bounced them this way because I can work on each stem individually and they will be easier to work with without them being processed already. Bouncing the stems with processing will make it tricky for me to work with because the stem (s) will have already have been processed and I can't do anymore processing to them. I put the track's stems into a folder labelled 'E.P Project (Stems)' so that I know where to bounce the stems. I then created a new folder in the folder I made and labelled it 'Track 1 (144bpm)' so that I know I have to bounce all the stems to track 1's folder and I know what the tempo of the stems are.
From there I took the folder with track 1's stems using my memory stick and I opened a new logic file, set the tempo to 144bpm and imported all the stems into the logic file. I then saved the project with 'copy all audio files to project' ticked because of this option was not ticked the next time I open the project all the stems that were there will have gone. I saved the logic file into my folder in the audio drive and labelled it 'E.P Track 1 (Mixing Phase)' and this helped me with knowing where to go if I wanted to work on this project again. I pulled all the stems' faders down so that there is roughly 6dB of headroom in the output master and it will help me with the instruments that are too loud or too quiet and it will help with improving their sound.
Drums - I grouped all the drums to one bus and I parallel compressed them using sends. I used parallel compression for the drums because parallel compression is really useful for making drums sound loud, fat and in your face and this is what I wanted the drums to sound like in the first track. I didn't want the drums to sound buried in the mix and parallel compression allows the drums to punch through the mix and give the drums more life. I used the 'FET' circuit to compress the drums because the FET circuit allows the drums to duck in the mix and is really useful for adding extra punch to the kick mostly. I used a long attack because I wanted the transients of the drums punch through and I wanted the drums to stand out in the mix. Without the transients in the drums the dynamics of the drums will have disappeared and the drums would sound very over-compressed. I used a short release because I wanted the drums to duck fast. I didn't want a long release on the drums because a long release can lead to the drums sounding over-compressed and it won't help the drums to punch through strongly.
I then used a small ratio and low threshold. I used a big threshold because I wanted to compress the drums really hard and I wanted to make the drums sound more pokey. Another reason why I used a big threshold is I can push the drums and them louder using the fader. I used a small ratio because a big ratio will cause too much compression to the drums and this will give no breathing space for the drums to punch through the mix, plus, it will make the drums sound buried and faint in the mix.
As I was using parallel compression I used the sends on the kick, snare and hats to adjust how compression these instruments should have. I used more of the sends on the kick and snare because these instruments and the two main instruments that give the song rhythm and character. I didn't want to use too much on the hats because adding too much send on the hats will overpower some of the instruments in the song and hats and hi end drum instruments in general are laid back in the mix. They are not the most loud/dominant instrument.
After using compression I used EQ to make the drums stand out even more. I used a lo shelf band to make the kick sound more bassy and stronger. I then compared how the kick sounded without the EQ and the lo shelf improved the kick drum a lot because the kick sounded much more subby and punchy. I used a parametric band for the snare and I used a parametric band because the hit of the snare didn't punch through enough and sounded very faint. The parametric band helped the snare hit harder and the way I know is by turning off the parametric band and listening to what the snare sounded like before and turning the band back on and listening to the improvement made. The last band I used is the hi shelf band and I used this band for the hats only because the hats sounded very harsh and tinny and I didn't like this sound to be in the mix. The hi shelf band reduced those tinny frequencies and it made the hats sound the same but more subtler and not so harsh.
I looked at the parallel compression's level to check for clipping and the channel maintained a steady level and did not clip. If this channel was clipping I would've had to use a limiter to stop that channel from clipping but in this case the parallel compressed drums didn't need a limiter.
Before grouping the parallel compressed drums and grouped drums I adjusted the faders on both channels because I wanted to listen to how the drums sounded like in the mix. I didn't want to put too much gain on the aux because this will make the drums sound too over-powering and I will only hear the parallel compressed drums more than the grouped drums. I used my ears my ears for this job and I listened very carefully to what sounded right. I used my ears to balance out how much of the grouped drums I should have and how much of the parallel compressed drums I should have. I relied on my ears more than my eyes because using my eyes will make me lose focus and my ears will be confused with what sounds good or bad.
Finally I grouped the parallel compressed drums and the grouped drums to one bus and this bus will the drums master bus and this bus will allow to control all the processed drums in one fader and this will help with adjusting the right amount of gain for the mixdown.
Pads, Piano & Sweep FX - For the pads I used EQ to roll of some of the unwanted lo end. I rolled the lo end because this lo end wasn't needed and without rolling off the lo end in the pads the kick wouldn't have cut through the mix. I then used a hi shelf to make the pads sound brighter and cleaner. The pads didn't have enough brightness and I wanted my pads to sound clean, bright and not faint or dull. I then raised the faders on the two pad because they sounded too quiet and the pads are the main sounds in the 1st track so it was important for me to make sure that they are at the right hearable level.
For the piano I used EQ to roll of some of the unwanted lo end like I did for the pads because the lo end was getting in the way of the kick punching through. I then used a hi shelf like I did for the pads to make the piano sound brighter because the piano sounded very dull and faint. I didn't want the piano to sound like this in the song. I wanted the piano to sound clean, bright and crisp and the hi shelf helped the piano gain that sound. I then used the fader like I did for the pads to make the piano sounder louder but not too loud because if the piano was too loud the piano will be the most overpowering thing in the mix. So I adjusted the fader on the piano until it sat in well with the pads and drums.
For the sweep fx I didn't use EQ, compression or limiting because as I soloed it and listened to how it sounded it sounded perfect already. So there was no need to do any processing to it. The only thing I did was use the fader to ensure the fx is a tiny bit louder than the piano because if there was too much gain on the fx it will cause the instruments to drown out and I didn't want the sound effect to do this in the final mixdown and song itself.
Vocals - For mixing Imani's vocals I grouped the lead vocals to one bus, ad libs to another and repeated the same method for the backing vocals and harmonies. I grouped the vocals because it's easier to mix each set of vocals in one aux rather than having loads of plugins on the dotted on the other channels. Another good thing about mixing vocals in one aux is I have complete control over the vocals and this means I can decided how loud or how quiet each set of vocals should be.
The first set of vocals I mixed were the lead vocals. I used EQ to roll of some of the lo end because the lo end wasn't helping the kick to punch through the mix and the lo end in the lead vocals wasn't needed because the lo end was background sound from the recordings. I then used parametric bands to locate the nasally parts of the vocals and take them out. I did this because I wanted to clean up the vocals and make them sit well in the mix. The nasally parts in the lead vocals didn't make vocals sound clean and didn't work well in the mix. So it was important for me to get rid of those sounds. I then dragged the same EQ I used for the lead vocals and pasted them onto the other sets of vocals because the other sets of vocals will have the same sound like the lead vocals and the EQ I used for cleaning up the lead vocals will be used to clean up the other sets of vocals and it doesn't waste time.
After EQ'ing the lead vocals I used compression to reduce some of the loud parts. I did this by using a small ratio, low threshold, steady attack, steady release and the vintage opto circuit. I used the compressor this way because I wanted to compress the lead vocals very hard and to help maintain the dynamics of the lead vocals. Another reason why I compressed the lead vocals really hard is because I wanted the compressor to hold the lead vocals at roughly one level. By using a steady attack and steady release it helped the transients of lead vocals punch through the mix and using a steady release helped the vocals not sound over-compressed but compressed very hard.
I used the vintage opto circuit because the vintage opto circuit distorts things and the vintage opto allows me to compress things such as vocals very hard without making the vocals sound over-compressed. A circuit like the platinum would make the vocals sound over-compressed and this circuit doesn't deliver the same sound like the vintage opto does. The vintage opto circuit is the best circuit to compress vocals really hard in my opinion because I can compress the vocals very hard and they still won't sound over-compressed.
Using a low threshold also helped with compressing the vocals very hard because if a instrument, sound or vocal goes over the threshold the compressor will kick in and using a very low threshold on the lead vocals caused really hard compression. Using a small ratio was handy as well because the ratio controls how much of the threshold to compress and using a small ratio helped with how hard the lead vocals should be compressed. If the lead vocals were being compressed too hard I can adjust instantly adjust ratio until the vocals compressed less hard.
I then copied the same compressor onto the other sets of vocals but the only parameters changed were the threshold and release. I did this because I didn't want the other sets of vocals to have the same amount of compression the lead vocals have. I wanted to let some of the dynamics in the other sets of vocals have breathing space. If the other set of vocals were compressed like the lead vocals all the vocals with the other instruments and sounds will sound too over-compressed and the dynamics in the other sets of vocals will have vanished.
I used another EQ after the compressor and this EQ was going to be used for the tone. I used a hi shelf band and two parametric bands. I used a hi shelf band because the hi shelf band gave the lead vocals clarity and sizzle and this is the sound I wanted to hear in the lead vocals. I then bypassed the EQ to hear what the lead vocals sounded like before and after and the hi shelf band improved not only the clarity but the tone as well. I used two parametric band to give the lead vocals body. The lead vocals sounded like there was no body in them whatsoever and by using two parametric bands I managed to boost some of the mid and lo mid frequencies and this is what gave the lead vocals body and character. From there I dragged the same EQ from the lead vocals and pasted them onto the other sets of vocals so that the other sets of vocals sound reasonably the same like the lead vocals.
I then used a De-Esser in the lead vocals to reduce the amount of the sibilance. There was too sibilance in the lead vocals and it sounded very harsh to listen to. I detected the sibilance by using a multimeter and soloing lead vocals and I noticed the sibilance was around 15kHz - 16kHz. So I used the suppressor on the De-Esser cut off some of the sibilance. I used the frequency to position where the sibilance is coming from and I used the strength to reduce the sibilance. I then used smoothing to control how fast the De-Esser should react and I did this because I didn't want the words of the lead vocals to sound like they have disappeared because this wouldn't be a clear sound for the mix. After De-Essing the lead vocals I bypassed the De-Esser to listen to what the vocals sound like before and what they sounded like after and the De-Esser helped reduce the amount of sibilance and helped maintain the clarity of the vocals.
I then copied the De-Esser I used for the lead vocals to the other sets of vocals apart from the backing vocals because the backing vocals have no sibilance and I can adjust the De-Esser on the other sets of vocals much faster to drag and paste the same De-Esser plugin used for the lead vocals and adjust them from there. Also, the other sets of vocals are likely to not have the same amount sibilance as the lead vocals and if I kept the De-Esser's parameters the same like the lead vocals the words being pronounced in the other sets of vocals won't punch through the mix.
I then panned the panned the ad libs, harmonies and backing vocals left and right because I wanted widen them. I didn't want to keep them central like the lead vocals or they would clash with each other and it will cause all the vocals to sound muddy. By panning these vocals the stereo image sounded louder, wider and more equal. I didn't pan all the vocals hard left and hard right because I wanted the right amount of panning for each set of vocals so that they all have their own space. I panned the vocals using the mono channels that were grouped to a stereo bus. I panned the backing vocals hard left and right, I then panned the harmonies to -32 and +32 and I panned the ad libs -16 and +16. After panning the vocals they all have their own space in the stereo field and they sounded much louder, wider and not muddy sounding. The lead vocals were going to a stereo bus and the plugins used for the lead vocals were stereo. So I used a direction mixer to make the lead vocals mono.
From there I used sends for the lead vocals only and these sends were going to be used for reverb and delay. I used the tape delay plugin because the parameters that are in this plugin are really useful and not hard to use. An example of this is the tempo sync function. The tempo sync allows the delay react with the tempo of the song and this comes in very handy. I used this parameter because I wanted the delay of the lead vocals to be synced with the tempo of the song. I didn't want the delay to come in slowly because it would've messed the flow of the song and will have caused some clashing.
Another useful parameter of the tape delay is the lo cut and hi cut. This parameter is like an EQ but only has filter bands. This parameter is really useful for cutting off frequencies in the delay in the delay and it helps the delay not clash with other sounds and instruments. I used this parameter to cut off some of the lo end in the lead vocals because this is the same unwanted lo end I cut off using the parametric EQ on the aux that had all the lead vocals grouped together. I knew this lo end would get in the way of the kick drum punching through and this is why I cut off the unwanted lo end.
The last thing I used on the tape delay is the feedback function and this controls the amount of delay. I used very little delay because using too much delay will drown out the words in the vocals and too much delay could over-power the song. To do this I used my ears and listened to the vocals very accurately because I rely on my ears more than my eyes and my ears are more accurate at listening to what sounds balanced and what the tone sounds like as well. I used the send while the song was playing to listen for the delay playing in the song and as soon as I heard the delay on the song I stopped pushing the send.
Before using the space designer I copied the two EQs from the lead vocals onto the reverb bus and I put the space designer after the EQ that takes out the nasally parts of the vocals so that the lead vocals with reverb sound exactly the same as the processed vocals on the buses. From there I used the space designer reverb because the space designer has a lot of very useful presets and the space designer has big sounding hall and large room presets. I soloed the lead vocals, pushed the sends to zero and went through some hall and large room presets until I found a preset that sat in well with the vocals. I then listened to the lead vocals un-soloed and I noticed there was too much reverb. So I turned the reverb send down until the reverb sat in well with the instruments and sounds and this helped everything become balanced.
The next thing I did to the vocals is parallel compress them. I used parallel compression because parallel compression is a very useful method of making the vocals louder and cut through the mix and I wanted the vocals to be loud in the mix. I selected all the vocals and used put a send on them and I went onto the aux channel and I opened a compressor and I didn't make the parameters of the compressor the same like the compressors on the other auxiliaries. Before adding and setting up the compressor I added copied the EQs I used for the lead vocals onto the parallel compression auxiliary so that when I use the sends the vocals will sound exactly the same like the other auxiliaries. I put the compressor after the EQ that takes out the nasally parts of the vocals and this helped the vocals sound the same like the other auxiliaries.
Before setting the compressor's parameters up I experimented with every circuit apart from the platinum and vintage opto circuits because the platinum circuit will make the vocals sound over-compressed and I knew this circuit wouldn't be a useful circuit to use for parallel compression and the vintage opto circuit is already being used in the other auxiliary channels. I wanted to compress the vocals hard but not as hard like on the auxiliary channels. I really liked the vintage vca circuit because this circuit allows the compressor the respond fast, it gives the transients character and like the vintage opto circuit it can compress the vocals very hard without making the vocals sound over-compressed or squashing the transients of the vocals.
I kept the ratio the same like the compressor used in the lead vocals so that the vocals have the same amount of compression just like the other processed auxiliaries and 3.0:1 is useful ratio and is mostly in vocals. I also kept the release the same because a long release will compress the vocals for too long and this could lead to the vocals sounding over-compressed and this doesn't help with the vocals cutting through the mix. I used a longer attack because I wanted the transients of the vocals to punch through and it's important the transients whether it's a sound, drum, vocal, etc the transients must cut through the mix. I also changed the threshold and I changed the threshold so that the vocals are not being compressed too hard like the vocals on the auxiliaries and allowing the most of their dynamics to cut through the mix. The last thing I did is put 6dB of make up gain and I used 6dB so that the quietest parts of the vocals are louder and not sat well back in the mix.
I selected the lead vocals first because the lead vocals must be the loudest thing in the mix. I used the sends on the lead and I used my ears while I was pushing the sends to listen the lead vocals cutting through the mix and as soon as I heard the lead vocals punching through the mix I stopped pushing the sends. I then repeated the same strategy for the other sets of vocals but as I was doing this I had to make sure the lead vocals were the loudest thing in the mix. For example I didn't want the backing vocals to be louder than the lead vocals. I wanted the lead vocals to be loud but sat in well with the instruments and sounds. The lead vocals being too loud can cause very little space for the instruments and sounds to cut through.
The last thing I did is group the processed vocals and parallel compressed vocals to one aux and this aux will be the vocal master aux. I grouped all the processed vocals and parallel compressed vocals to one bus because I can control all the vocals that have been processed using one fader and this allows me to control how loud all the vocals should be and it's easier to control the vocals using one fader rather than using lots of faders.
Track 2 - I mixed the second track in the college's studio because I knew the college's recording is a reliable environment to mix in and I know the studio's monitors will deliver accurate frequency ranges of instruments, sounds and vocals. I repeated the same steps before mixing track 2 and that was to bounce the stems onto a clearly named folder with the track's bpm and take them into college using a memory stick. Then import them into logic and save the logic file with the stems copied onto the project so I din't lose the audio files and name the logic file appropriately so that I know the file belongs to me and save the file into the audio drive as this area saves projects along with their audio files.
Drums - I used the same method for mixing the drums on track 1 to mix the drums on track 2. I used the same method because parallel compression is a unique method for making the drums sound pokey, loud, punchy and helping the drums cut through the mix. I used the same amount of buses like I used for track 1 and I labelled all three of them appropriately so I what should go where. The first bus will have no processing, the second bus will have a compressor and EQ and the third bus will be the drums master bus. I made the parameters of the compressor the same as the compressor in track 1 because when I listened to the parallel compressed drums on track 1 they cut sounded loud, fat, pokey and punchy and I wanted the same sound for the drums on track 2. The drums are the most important thing in the song and it was important for me to make them loud as possible. I then used an EQ on the pcomp bus so that I can boost mostly the lo end and hi end of the drums and the EQ is what makes them fatter and crispier. I did use one parametric band and that band was used for making the hit of the snare drum stronger because the hit of the snare drum wasn't cutting through the mix enough and it was crucial to make the snare cut through the mix throughout the song.
After setting up the pcomp bus I selected all the drums and I used the sends to send the drums into the pcomp and I listened very carefully to what I can hear so that if an instrument isn't meant to be louder than another instrument I can turn the send down on that instrument. As I was pushing the sends on the drums I noticed the hats were too loud and the finger snaps were too loud. So what I did is I selected the finger snaps and the hats and turned the sends down until they sat in well with the rest of the sounds and drums. However, I turned the send down on the finger snaps too much and the finger snaps are one of the main instruments in the song. So I selected all the finger snaps and pushed the sends up until the were roughly 1 - 2 dB behind the drums because if the finger snaps were level with the kick drum the finger snaps will be too loud and overpowering. There wasn't any clipping in the pcomp bus so there was no need to use a limiter.
I then used reverb on two of the finger snaps because the finger snaps sounded dry and I wanted them to sound wetter and make them fit in with the ambient pad. I used the space designer because this reverb has a lot of useful presets this will help me find the right reverb for the finger snaps. I used sends on the finger snaps so that I control the amount of reverb the finger snaps should have. I pushed the sends until I could hear the reverb in them and once I could hear the reverb I stopped pushing the sends and this is how I made the finger snaps wetter.
After grouping the un-processed drums and pcomped drums to a master bus I used the master bus to control how loud the drums should be. I didn't want them too loud because making the drums too loud will over-power throughout the song and I wanted some space for the main chord progression, melodies, bass & sub bass and sound effects. So I listened very carefully to drums to know whether they should be louder or a bit quieter. I noticed they were a tiny bit too loud so I turned the fader down by 1dB and they were still a bit too loud. So the I pulled the fader down by half a dB and this made the drums sit in with the sounds used in the song.
Pad, Piano, Bells, Bass, Sub Bass and Sound Effect - I didn't group these sound because it was there wasn't many channels and it was easier for me to make them louder using their own faders and it was easier to solo each channel, listen to them and make decisions on how I can make them sound better in tone and clarity. I soloed the pad first and I opened a EQ so that I can look at it's frequency range and make decisions on what needs to be cut off and what needs to be pushed. I noticed there was some unwanted lo end in the pad and this would not allow the kick drum to punch through. So I used a cut off band to get rid of that lo end and this meant I can push the pad without it clashing with the drums. I then used a hi self band to make the pad have more clarity because the pad didn't have enough clarity at first and the hi shelf band made also changed the tone of the pad. The last thing I did to the pad is use the fader and pushed it up because the pad was sounded distant and not loud enough.
I then repeated the same steps for the piano and bells only because the bass and sub bass shouldn't have their lo end cut off because the bass and sub bass provide body and warmth to the song and cutting the lo end off these two sounds will make the bass sound thin and weak. I only made changes to the bass because the bass didn't have enough lo end and this made the bass sound weak. So I used a lo shelf and boosted the lo end of the bass and this helped the bass sound stronger, subbier and fatter. I then used the the faders on those two sounds and pushed them up so that they don't sound distant but sat well in the mix. The only thing I did to the sound effect is use the fader because the sound effect sounded perfect in tone and didn't need any processing. The only problem with the sound effect is it was very quiet in the track and had to be pushed up.
The piano melody was in mono and this didn't make the piano sound loud or wide. So I duplicated the piano's channel and copied the stem onto the duplicated channel and I panned both the channels hard left and hard right to make the piano sound stereo. When I listened to the piano in stereo the piano sounded so much wider and it gave the piano more presence.
Vocals - I mixed the vocals the same way I mixed the vocals for track 1 but I only used one bus because the other sets of vocals haven't been recorded. I processed the lead vocals and instead of using 2 EQs I used 1 instead. I used 1 EQ because I used the NTK to record the vocals and the NTK didn't make the vocals sound muffled or muddy and the NTK gave the vocals clarity. So I only used one EQ roll off some of the lo end and cut off the nasally parts of the lead vocals.
I then compressed the lead vocals really hard by using a low threshold, low ratio, fast release, slow attack and vintage opto circuit. I set up the compressor this way because I can compress the vocals really hard without the vocals sounding over-compressed. The release is the key parameter that decides how long the vocals should be compressed for and using a short release allowed the vocals to be compressed hard without taking away their dynamics. The attack is another important parameter because the attack is how quick you want the compressor to react and using a slow attack allows the transients of the lead vocals to punch through and transients are the most important things to listen to. I used soft distortion on the lead vocals and the soft distortion made the vocals a bit more louder and gave the lead vocals some sizzle and crispiness.
I then used a De-Esser to get rid of the sibilance on the lead vocals. I did this by opening a multimeter before opening the De-Esser so I can look at the frequency range of the lead vocals and detect where the sibilance is coming from. The sibilance was around 14 - 16 kHz. I went back to the De-Esser and I pushed the frequency on the detector to roughly around 16kHz because 16kHz is a harsher frequency and is where most of the sibilance lives. I then kept the sensitivity at 50% because the sensitivity is how sensitive it is to sibilance and by pushing the sensitivity up more sibilance is going to be suppressed. So keeping at 50% was the best way of reducing not too much and not too little.
From there I used the frequency on the suppressor and I pushed it to between 15 - 16 kHz and I used the strength to reduce the sibilance and make the lead vocals sound subtler and softer. The last thing I used is the smoothing and this parameter is how long it takes for the De-Esser to reduce the sibilance. I used 20ms because I wanted the vocals to be De-Essed and at the same time, hear the words of the vocals being pronounced clearly. I then played the song with the vocals and I bypassed the De-Esser so that I can listen to what the vocals sounded like before and what they sounded like after and by listening to the vocals with the De-Esser the vocals sounded less harsh and more subtle.
The next thing I did is parallel compress the vocals because parallel compression will make the vocals louder and they will cut through the mix. I copied the EQ from the lead vocals onto the PCOMP bus and copied the De-Esser after the compressor so that the vocals sound the same like the vocals that have been processed. I then set the compressor up the same way I set the compressor on track 1 because I wanted the transients to not be compressed and I wanted to not compress them as hard so I the dynamics of the vocals have more breathing space. I then selected the lead vocals and pushed the sends until I could hear them cutting through the mix and playing at a reasonable level.
After this I used sends for reverb and delay. I used these effects on the lead vocals only and I used them on the lead vocal because they sounded dry and it didn't fit the sound of the song. I copied the EQ from the lead vocals to the delay and reverb buses so that I can take out the horrible sounding bits of the vocals in the reverb and delay. I used the tape delay and space designer reverb because the tape delay adds a stereo effect to the lead vocals and makes them sound wider and the space designer has a lot of useful presets and I can choose which one I like the best, plus, the reverb will make the vocals wetter. After setting up the delay and reverb I selected the lead vocals pushed the sends on them until I could hear the delay and reverb playing. Once I could hear the reverb and delay I stopped pushing the sends.
I kept the lead vocals central so that when I record the other sets of vocals I can pan them left and right and by keeping the lead vocals central there is more space in the stereo field for the other vocals to play in. I then made sure the lead vocals were balanced with the other instruments and sounds. I had to make sure the lead vocals were loud but not over-powering and dominating the other instruments and sounds. If the lead vocals were too loud then this will have given no space for the other instruments and sounds to punch through.
Track 3 - I mixed track 3 in the recording studio because I know the recording studio is the most reliable environment to do mix downs and masters. The genelec monitors are the most reliable monitors for me to use in the mixing phase of a song. I bounced the songs stems and I put them into logic with the correct tempo set and I named and saved the logic file into the audio drive with the stems copied onto the file so that I don't lose my work in progress.
Drums - I used parallel compression like I did on track 1 & 2 because I know parallel compression is the best way to make my drums louder and allow them to cut through the mix. I used 2 buses to group the drums and control all the drums like I did on track 1 & 2 and 1 send so that I can send the drums into the PCOMP bus. I set up the compressor the same way I set up the compressor on track 1 because I know this setting helped my drums sound louder and pokey and it's the sound I wanted for my drums. After setting up the compressor I selected all the drums and I pushed the sends into the compressor until I could hear the begin to get louder. I then stopped pushing the sends on the drums and I turned the sends down on the finger snaps, hats and one of the snare drums and I did this because I noticed they were too loud and this would make the mix sound very unbalanced. I wanted the kick and finger snaps to be the loudest in the drums and the other instruments to be sat in and not laid back too much.
I then used EQ to push the kick more and make the kick sound more thumpy. I used a lo shelf band and parametric band so that I can increase the lo end of the kick more and make the transient of the kick knock more. After EQ'ing the kick I bypassed the kick to listen to what it sounded like with and without EQ and the EQ made big improvements to what the kick sounded like before. The last thing I did is I used a hi shelf to reduce the hi end in the hats because the hats had too much hi end and this made the hats sound very piercing and harsh. I wanted the hats to sound subtle and I wanted the hats to sound balanced in frequency with the rest of the instruments and sounds being used.
I used sends on one finger snap and clap and I did this because I wanted to make these instruments sound wetter and I wanted the clap to have impact when it hits with the snares in the chorus. I used the space designer reverb because this reverb is versatile and not difficult to use, plus, this reverb has loads of presets and different textures of rooms, halls, outdoors, etc. I pushed the sends until I could hear the reverb cutting through. From there I would stop pushing the sends and I would make changes to them if necessary.
The final thing I did is group the unprocessed drums and pcomped drums to one bus and control how much of the drums I want. I did this by pulling the faders down on the mixing desk and listened the drums with the song so that I know whether they are too loud or too quiet and I can use the drums master fader as the track is playing to push the drums until they are playing at a reasonable level.
Pad, Bass, Bells, Guitar & Sweep Effects - The first sound I focused on is the pad. I used EQ to take a look at it's frequency range and I noticed there unwanted lo end in the pad and I knew this would get in the way of the kick drums punching through. So I used a cut off band to get rid of the lo end and this will help the kick have it's own breathing space to punch through. I then used a hi shelf to boost the hi frequencies in the pad because I wanted to make the pad sound clearer, shinier and polished. I didn't boost too much of the hi end because boosting too much can cause the pad to sound piercing and too much hi end can drown out the other instruments. I used 2dB of the hi shelf band and this was enough to make the pad sound improved and polished. I didn't use compression or limiting because I wanted the pad's dynamics to have lots of breathing space in the mix and the channel wasn't clipping. After processing the pad I repeated the same steps for the bells and guitar.
For the bass I only used EQ because there wasn't enough lo end in the bass and it sounded weak. I wanted my bass to sound subby, warm and strong. I used a lo shelf band to boost the lo frequencies in the bass and get that strong subby sound. The EQ wasn't enough to make the bass as strong as I wanted it to be so I used the overdrive distortion and this distortion allows me to choose which frequency to distort and it helps improve harmonics in any instrument. An example would be using an overdrive distortion on a 808 to make the sine waves sound like square waves and square waves have plenty of harmonics.
I distorted the bass below 100Hz because 100Hz and below is where all the sub lives and this frequency area is the best area to make the bass sound fatter. I pushed the gain on the overdrive to 2dB and I used 2dB because putting too much distortion will make the bass sound very distorted and unpleasant to listen to. Using a little bit of distortion is a good way of making instruments sound fatter, crispier and stronger distortion is not a bad thing to use unless you are overdoing it.
I didn't process the sweep effects because I when I listened to them soloed I didn't notice anything wrong with them and the only thing I needed to do to them is balance them so they are not loud in the song. I pulled the faders down on the mixing desk and I listened to what was loud and what was quiet. I noticed the guitar, bass and bells were a bit too loud. I didn't want the guitar loud so I pulled the fader down until the guitar was sat in with the pad and bass and this helped the guitar not be the most dominating instrument. I wanted the bass and pad to be fairly loud because these instruments are the two main instruments in the song. However, the bass was a bit louder than the pad so I pulled the bass down by 1.5dB so that the bass is just behind the pad and that they are not fighting each other. I then made the bells 1dB louder than the guitar because I wanted the bells to be heard a bit more than the guitar but at the same time I wanted them to be sat well in the mix. Finally, I made the sweep effects sit in with the pad and drums because having these sound effects would make them the most overpowering sounds in the song, plus, the sound effects play all frequencies and this can cause the other instruments and sounds to drown out. So it was important to make the sweep effects sit in.
Track 4 - I mixed the 4th track in the recording studio because I know the recording studio never let's me down with what I am listening to. The studio's genelec monitors always help me keep track with what I am listening to and I'll exactly what to do if an instrument or sound is too loud, too quiet or needs improving. I bounced the track into individual stems and put them in a folder and labelled the folder appropriately with track's bpm like I did for the other tracks. Like I did for the other 3 tracks I imported the stems into logic and saved the logic into the audio drive with the audio files copied and this way I won't lose any of my work. I then pulled the faders down in logic so that I have 6dB of headroom in the output master channel and I can listen to the most dominant instruments or sounds in the song and then make some changes to them.
Drums - I parallel compressed the drums the same way I parallel compressed the drums on the other tracks because I know parallel compression is the easiest way of making drums or vocals louder and cut through the mix. I used the same amount of buses so I can use them for the same purposes like the other tracks and I set the compressor up the same way I set the compressor on track one because the way I set up the compressor made my drums have more punch and on this compressor I turned the output distortion to soft and this made my drums even louder and the soft distortion gave the snares and hats more crunch and sizzle and it made kick sound more thumpy as well. As I was using the sends on the drums I made sure the kick and snares were the loudest thing in song and the hats laid back because the kick and snares don't have harsh piercing frequencies whereas the hats have a lot of hi end and pushing hi end instruments too much can make the mix sound very piercing. So I made sure that the kick and snares are the loudest and most heard drum instruments in the song and the rest the drums not as loud.
I then put a send on the clap and this send is going into the space designer reverb. I put reverb on the clap because I wanted the clap to have impact when it hits with the snares and I wanted the clap to fit in with the sound of the pad. I pushed the send until I could hear the reverb playing and when I heard the reverb playing with the clap I stopped pushing the send. One of the snares I used in this song were sampled reverb and that means there was no need to add more.
Pads, Sub Bass, Lead, FX & Sweep - The first instrument I mixed is the pad. I used EQ first and I cut off some of the lo end because the lo end wasn't needed in the pad and if this lo end wasn't cut off it would have gotten in the way of the kick and sub bass cutting through. By cutting off the lo end in the pad it helped the kick and sub bass have their own space to punch through, plus, the sub bass will providing the body and warmth of the track. I then used a hi shelf to boost some of the hi frequencies to give the pad a brighter and polished sound. I didn't want my pad to sound dull and faint and the hi shelf helped not only the clarity but the tone as well. I didn't use compression or limiting on the pad because I wanted the dynamics of the pad to have plenty of breathing space and the channel wasn't clipping and this means there was no need to put a limiter on it. I then repeated the same steps to mix the other pad and lead.
I listened to the sub bass soloed and it sounded strong and subby and this meant it didn't need any EQ'ing, distorting, compressing or limiting. The sub bass sounded just right without processing it. I then listened to the sub bass with the other instruments and sounds and the only thing I had to do was push the sub bass up because it was too laid back in the track and the sub bass is the key instrument that provides the body of the track. So I used my ears as I was pushing the fader up so I can listen for the sub bass cutting through and as soon as I could hear the sub bass cutting through I stopped pushing the fader and left it as that.
I didn't process the fx and sweep because I wanted to keep the sound and tone of these 2 instruments the same. I wanted to keep them the same because as I listened to them un-soloed their tones added texture and colour and it's a sound I wanted to keep for this song and not make any changes to them. I did notice the sweep was a bit too loud and the sweep didn't need to be so loud because the sweep is playing every frequency, so I pulled the fader on the sweep until I could hear the sweep playing sat in with the drums mostly.
Track 5 - I mixed the 5th track in the recording studio as I know the recording studio is a reliable place to mix in. I bounced the song into individual stems and put the stems on logic with the tempo set correctly and like the other tracks, I named and saved the 5th track with audio files copied into the audio drive. After doing that I pulled the faders down on logic so that there is 6dB of headroom in the output master channel.
Drums - I parallel compressed the drums the same way I parallel compressed the drums on track 1 and I used the same amount of buses for the drums because they were going to be used for the same purposes like the other track and I know parallel compression will help my drums become louder and cut through the mix sharply. I set up the compressor the same way I set up the compressor on track 1 because I wanted the same sound for my drums and setting up the compressor this way will help with shaping the drums and making them knock more.
I only sent a bit of the toms, kick and crash because I can push the other drum instruments using their faders. I sent a bit of the kick, toms and crash because these three instruments were not cutting through the mix enough and they sounded too quiet and laid back. The best way I knew these instruments were cutting through is by pulling the faders down on the mixing desk and listening to what I can hear the most. I then pushed the three sends until I could hear them cutting through sharply and at this moment I stopped pushing the sends. I used EQ after compression because I wanted to push the drums even more. The kick didn't have enough lo end so I used a lo shelf band to boost the lo end in the kick and used a parametric band to make the transient of the kick knock more.
After EQ'ing the drums I made sure the open and closed hats were sat in with the kick and snare making sure they are not the loudest/dominant instruments in the mix. I only wanted the kick and snare to be the loudest instruments because these instruments are the main instruments of the song and it was important for to make sure they are not clashing with other instruments.
Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Pad, Bass, Lead & Bells - The first instrument I focused on is the grand piano. I used EQ first because I wanted to look at the piano's frequency range and make decisions on what can be improved. There was a bit of unwanted lo end in the piano and this would've clashed with the kick. So I cut off this lo end and I know this will help the kick have it's own space to punch through. As I was EQ'ing the piano I listened very carefully to the piano because if I didn't want to cut off too much of the piano. This would've made the piano sound thin and this isn't the sound I want for the piano. I then used a hi shelf band to brighten the piano because the piano didn't have enough shine and I wanted the piano to sound shiny and polished, plus, have a better tone. After EQ'ing the grand piano I didn't use compression or limiting and this is because I wanted the dynamics of the grand piano remain the same and have plenty of breathing space and the channel wasn't clipping. I EQ'd the electric piano, pad, lead and bells the same way I EQ'd the grand piano but without using a cut off band on the electric piano, lead and bells only. I didn't use a cut off band on these instruments because there was no lo end in these instruments to cut off and this didn't cause clashing with the drums.
The bass didn't have enough lo end and it sounded very weak. This isn't the sound I wanted for my bass. I wanted my bass to sound strong and subby. So the first thing I did is open a EQ and boost some of the lo end using a lo shelf band. I then used overdrive distortion and selected the frequency I wanted to distort and this helped make the bass sound fatter. Finally the last thing I did is I used the amp designer and I used the 'blues blaster preset' and this helped the bas sound even more fatter, stronger, subbier and warm.
I used a reverb send on the electric piano and I automated it at the very end of the song. I did this because I wanted the electric piano to have a tail and I didn't want the electric piano to reach zero fast. By adding reverb to the electric piano I was able to make the electric piano fade out slower and give a proper ending to the song. The reverb I used is the space designer.
After processing these instruments I made sure they were balanced. Before balancing them I made decisions about what should be loud and should be laid back. I wanted the grand piano, electric piano and bass to be heard mostly because the grand and electric piano and the main chord progressions in the song and the bass is going to be providing the body and warmth of the song. I wanted the pad to be sat in with the electric piano because I wanted the electric piano to still be heard mostly and the pad will play as a backing instrument for the electric piano. Finally I wanted the lead and bells to be laid back well. What I mean by this is I don't want the lead and bells to sound distant and far away. I wanted these two instruments to be heard but I didn't want them to sound very loud. However, I wanted the bells to be a dB louder than the lead because the bells have a subtle sound and this allows me to push them higher in the final mix.
Track 6 - I mixed the final track in the recording studio like I did for the other tracks because I know the recording studio is a unique environment to do mostly mixing and mastering and the studio's monitors are always accurate. I didn't need to bounce stems because I produced the final track using logic and I put the logic project onto my memory stick so that when I'm in the recording studio I can save the project onto the audio drive.
Drums - I used parallel compression for the drums because I know parallel compression is the best way to make my drums cut through the mix and it helps the drums pump harder. I used the same amount of buses because they were going to be used for the same purposes like the drums on the other tracks. After setting up the buses I set up the compressor the same way I set up the compressor on track 1 because I know setting up the compressor this way will help the shaping and dynamics of the drums, plus, the transients of the drums will cut through and not be compressed because it's important the transients always cut through or the dynamics will have been taken out.
I then pushed the sends on the drums listening to what I want to hear the most and that will be the kick and snare. I stopped pushing the sends after I could hear the kick and snare cutting through, however, I noticed the hats were too loud. So I used the sends on the hats and turned them down until they were sat in with the kick and snare. Making the hats too loud will make the track's frequencies unbalanced and it's important for the track's frequencies to be balanced and it's important that each instrument is playing at a satisfaction level. I then used EQ on the snare and hats only because I wanted to push the transient of the snare even more so that the snare knocks more and I wanted the hats to have more sizzle and crispiness. So I used a parametric band to make the transient of the snare knock and I used a hi shelf band to raise the frequencies of the hats and make them have more sizzle. I didn't EQ the kick because the kick sounded punchy and thumpy and this meant there was no need to push it harder.
Electric Piano, Strings, Bells & Bass - I listened to the electric piano soloed to decide what I can do to improve the tone. As I kept listening to the electric piano I didn't notice anything wrong with how it sounded but I did improved the clarity and I used a hi shelf to do this. The electric piano with the hi shelf boosted sounded much more warmer, colourful and shiny. I didn't use compression or limiting because I wanted the dynamics to flow and have plenty of breathing space and the channel wasn't clipping. I listened to the electric piano with the rest of the instruments and the electric piano sounded distant but I plan on balancing every instrument after processing them because after processing each instrument and bringing the best out of them I can balance more accurately.
I then repeated the same steps to improve the sound and tone of the strings and bells because I know this method of processing helped improve the clarity and tone of the electric piano and it will do the exact same thing to the strings and bells. I didn't process the bass because the bass I used in this track has a strong lo end and this bass provides a lot of body and warmth. So there was need to add more processing.
The last thing to do was to balance all the instruments and sounds. I did this by pulling the faders down on the mixing desk. I did this because I won't expose my ears so much and balancing everything this way is more accurate and precise. I made the kick, snare and electric piano the loudest instruments because the kick and snare provide most of the rhythm and the electric piano is the main chord progression of the song. I then made the open and closed hats sit in with the kick and snare ensuring that they are not the loudest instruments in the mix. I made the snare fill 1dB louder than the hats because I wanted the snare fill to punch through more and the snare fill plays a key part in the song and that is introducing the next section of the song. I then made the bells roughly the same level as the hats because the bells were a bit loud and I didn't want the bells to be over-powering. I wanted the bells to sit at a reasonable level a where they can still be heard but not very dominant. Finally I made the strings 1dB less than the electric piano because the strings are the harmony of the song and with the strings sounding distant the song's harmony will sound like it's not there. So I made sure the strings were loud but not louder than the electric piano.
