Melody makers

Posted on 4 Dec 2007 at 17:14

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

 1 of 5

Gallery

There is a virtually limitless number of human conditions to express, and we can't give a comprehensive overview of the production techniques used to convey them all. If you're stuck for ideas, listen to other people's records for inspiration. Find a track that has a similar mood to yours and see how it compares to other tracks on the same album. These differences will provide clues to creating a sympathetic mix.

Fixing a Hole

Finding and realising your artistic vision is the most important part of music production. A technically flawed but inspired mix is more interesting than a competent, uninspired one. However, mixing does involve some corrective or problem-solving jobs, too.

Electric guitars and basses are capable of a huge range of tones, and listeners are used to heavily processed drum sounds, but most people have a strong preconception as to what a voice, acoustic guitar or other acoustic instrument should sound like. You may need to apply some EQ just to make them sound normal. Recorded sounds sometimes suffer from unwanted resonant frequencies, perhaps because reflections in the room have accentuated a certain frequency or because the instrument has an unpleasant ring to it. This problem can be removed with a notch EQ setting - a heavy cut with a narrow width setting. To find the problem frequency, start with a heavy boost and sweep through the frequencies until you find the culprit. You can then turn the boost into a cut to remove it.

Vocals often benefit from a presence lift (a gentle EQ boost at around 5kHz) to help with intelligibility. Compressing the vocal can help it sit on top of the other sounds without completely overpowering them. Compression is often routinely used on guitars, basses and drums to help them sound full and solid, and to smooth out any awkward volume changes. However, full and solid isn't ideal for every instrument in every track, so make sure you're improving the track as a whole rather than just the instrument in question when applying EQ and compression.

It's a common misconception that simply making each instrument sound as good as possible in isolation will result in a pleasing mix. This can be true for simple arrangements that comprise two or possibly three instruments, but for larger ensembles the overall balance is more important than each individual instrument.

Mixing everything big and loud usually results in a congested sound where every instrument is competing for the listener's attention and getting in each other's way. Sometimes a jumbled up muddle of instruments is exactly what the track needs, but usually you'll want to give each instrument the space to be heard clearly. Even though you've established which instruments are more and less important, it doesn't mean the less important ones should disappear from earshot altogether.

There are two ways to achieve space and clarity for each instrument, and it's often best to use both techniques together. One is to use EQ to find a space in the frequency spectrum for each instrument. The key frequencies for vocal intelligibility are 1-2kHz, where the vowel formants are. In a lively rock track, it might be worth reducing these frequencies in the guitars to help the vocal cut through without having to turn it up excessively. Similarly, if there is more than one guitar and perhaps some keyboards competing for the middle frequencies, try using extreme EQ settings to carve a frequency niche for each instrument. It might not flatter each sound in isolation, but when heard together they should lock into a balanced whole, with improved separation and clarity.