MMA0051/0051L

Digital Sound Production

 Sound Mixing and Mastering
of a MultiTrack Song

MMA0051/MMA0051L – Digital Sound Production

In this session you will learn

7.1 Difference between Mixing and Mastering Audio

7.2 Why is good Mixing and Mastering Important?
7.3 Audio Mixing and Mastering Techniques
7.3.1 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering
7.3.2 Before Starting Your Mix
7.3.3 Mixing Within the Song Structure
7.3.4 Tips on Mixing
M7 Technical - Sound Mixing and Mastering of a Multitrack song
The Lab Exercise is Mixing and Mastering of your chosen song (See Canvas Lab Class complete Instructions)

Given a song is composed of multitrack audio recordings in WAV file format. Your task is to perform mixing and mastering techniques learned using
Adobe Audition.

Apply the techniques of balancing levels, applying EQ, applying FX, and again balancing levels for the final mix.

Decide which tracks need EQ and/or FX (not all are needed).

The Lecture Slides and Zoom Recording Sessions will help you in this task.

Here are the Audition project settings:

Session Name: multitrackmix_songtitle_delacruzjuan.sesx
Template: None
Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
Bit Depth: (check these settings with your chosen song)
Master; Stereo

YOUR OUTPUT FOR THIS LESSON:

1. UPLOAD in CANVAS: Audition multisession project file multitrackmix_songtitle_delacruzjuan.sesx
2. GOOGLE DRIVE LINK containing the Following: All multitracks audio music and vocal files used in the project (bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, other instruments used, lead vocal, all
other background vocals or BVs)
3. Digital Audio MultiTrack Sheet (excel file indicating all track labels and effects settings used in the project). songtitle_audiosheet_delacruzjuan.
4. Mixdown audio file in MP3 format multitracktrackmix_songtitle_mixdown_delacruzjuan.mp3
 What is Mixing ?

● the craft of taking multiple audio tracks and combining them together
onto a final master track— be it a 2-channel stereo master, or 6+
channels in the case of surround mixing.
● The way we combine tracks is equal parts art and science, and involves
utilizing a variety of tools to bring out the most emotional impact from the
song.
● Other times, mixing may require repairing tracks that sound sub-par.
Each mix presents its own problems and challenges—it’s your job as the
mixer to not only solve these problems, but to present the song the way
it sounds in the client’s imagination.
 What is Mixing ?

● Simply layering all the tracks and playing the song, the sound is quite
undynamic and flat.
● You can change the level of an audio track at a certain point to make it
come out more clearly at a specific moment.
● Also, unwanted noise and clicks are removed in the mixing stage.
 What is Mastering ?

● refers to the process of optimizing the final track using all sorts of
different mastering elements such as compression, equalization, stereo
enhancement and more.
● By mastering, one can really bring a track to life and spice up the sound.
You can make the drum track more dynamic, the guitar more or less
sharp sounding, the keyboards more soft.
 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

1. LEVEL - when we want to hear something louder, we turn up a

fader. And the louder components of the mix grab the
listener’s attention more than the quieter components.

2. EQ - a more detailed level control that lets us boost and cut

levels at specific frequencies. EQ is the easiest way to
shape the tracks in your mix so they fit together—and
provides a powerful way to add personality and
character to the individual tracks.
 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING – If you were to think of level and EQ as the

vertical (up/down) elements, panning would be the
horizontal (left/right) element. Panning can be very
helpful on instruments that sit in the same frequency
range. By panning one to the left and the other to the
right, you can separate the two instruments and
reduce the chance of one instrument masking
the other.
 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING – PANNING SHOULDNT BE ALWAYS HARD RIGHT

or LEFT, try lesser percentage pan, you still hear both channels
but one channel seems dominant and creates a HARD PAN
impression. Using different panning effects on one or two tracks in
a song can also achieve a good and unique mix.
Listen to these songs and spot PANNING differences:
3.1 In this Dicta License revival song Tuloy ang Ikot ng Mundo, originally
from the Apo Hiking Society, the music starts with a Guitar Delay effect then the
guitar is continuously panned HARD LEFT and HARD RIGHT in
accordance with the song title. It’s done repeatedly at the 1:00 mark.
DICTA LICENSE - Tuloy ang Ikot ng Mundo
 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING –
3.2 In this song by the alternative rock group Live, the guitar seems to be
HARD PANNED RIGHT but in actual it is only panned about 75% to the
RIGHT. In Audition you can listen to either the left or right channel by
clicking on either L or R to mute the selected channel. The muted channel
is grayed out.

LIVE - Selling the Drama

 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING –
3.3 Same 75% PAN RIGHT effect on the guitar for this Blind Melon hit
song No Rain. Again mute each channel to distinguish the percentage pan.

BLIND MELON - No Rain

 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING –
3.4 The same guitar 75% pan right effect on the popular Filipino RapRock
group Dicta License song DOTFB but this time a phone voice effect is
placed in the beginning of the main vocal and then returned to the normal
voice later. (To simulate the effect, Click Favorites>Telephone Voice Effect in Audition)

DICTA LICENSE - DOTFB

 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

3. PANNING –
3.5 In this song “All My Loving” by The Beatles, the lead vox (vocals)
seems to be panned 100% Right as you hear Paul McCartney’s vocals on
the right channel (but actually it’s only panned 90% Right)

THE BEATLES - All My Loving

 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

4. TIME-BASED EFFECTS
Time-based effects form the element of depth (front to back).
Time-based effects such as reverb and delay can make an
instrument seem further away, or sometimes bigger than a dry
instrument.

Dry – no effects
Wet – with effects
 The Four Elements of Mixing and Mastering

So utilizing the four elements we have control over and changing

them throughout a song’s structure can result in a vibrant and
dynamic mix.
Mixing involves a fair amount of slight of hand—you’re deciding
what instruments the listener is focusing on and you can change
their focus within the mix at any point.
A good example of this is going from a vocal melody to another
instrument soloing. You’ve now seamlessly taken the attention of
the listener from the vocal to the solo.
 Before Starting Your Mix

1. DISCUSSING GOALS WITH THE CLIENT

2. LISTENING TO THE ROUGH MIX

3. WHERE TO BEGIN
 Before Starting Your Mix

1. DISCUSSING GOALS WITH THE CLIENT

- have an initial discussion with them about their expectations
for the end result. Try to get a list of reference mixes to have as a
baseline from which to work (i.e. drum sounds, reverb on vocals,
overall level of instruments in relation to each other, etc.).
The next step would be listening to a rough mix. While you may
eventually go in a different direction, it’s important to have an idea
of what the artist and producer intended while they were working
on the project.
 Before Starting Your Mix

1. DISCUSSING GOALS WITH THE CLIENT

- If you have any questions on your mix, keep an open line of
communication with your client. The more information you have
before you begin, the closer you will be to reaching your artists
goal.
An important distinction needs to be made between the sound the
artist is looking for and the vibe the artist is looking for.
Remember, we make things fit sonically to achieve an end result
that conveys the emotion of the song.
 Before Starting Your Mix

2. LISTENING TO THE ROUGH MIX

The first thing you should do when you open your mix is listen to
it as a whole (first pass).

During your second pass, you should start examining the tracks
in the mix. Remember, when you are baking a cake, you need to
know what ingredients are in front of you first before you begin
the baking process.
 Before Starting Your Mix

3. WHERE TO BEGIN
There are a few different ways to approach your mix when you
begin. Some mixers begin with the lead vocal, and some begin
with drums.
The reason for beginning with a lead vocal is that the lead vocal
is the ‘star’ of the track. In most western music, all of the
elements of a song exist to serve the lead vocal.
 Before Starting Your Mix

3. WHERE TO BEGIN
The reason for starting with drums is that the drums are the
foundation of the song, and the other elements of a
mix are built on the drum track. When listening to music, most
people either want to sing along or dance— therefore, the two
most important elements of a mix should be the lead vocal and
the backbeat (drums).
 Before Starting Your Mix

3. WHERE TO BEGIN
For example, when working on a pop song it’s good to start with
the lead vocal since pop music is primarily based around a
melody.

But when working on a rock song, which is usually based around

a band performance, you may want to start with the drums
because of the way the songs are structured.
 Mixing Within the Song Structure

When listening to a song, you’ll notice changes in energy from

section to section. For example, have you ever noticed how the
energy changes when a song transitions from a verse to a chorus?
A good mix is how the mix compliments that transition. The most
important thing is to create a forward motion that best compliments
and presents the song.
One of the most important elements in music is that, unlike a
painting or a sculpture, a song develops over time. It isn’t static, it
is dynamic, and your mix should reflect this.
 Mixing Within the Song Structure

Make the song “breathe” by adding width, depth and harmonic

excitement as the song itself gets more exciting, and having those
elements contract as the song becomes sparser and
changes lyrically and dynamically.

Another way to think of it is that the song is telling a story.

Every story has its ups, its downs and its transitional periods, and
the audio designer uses tools to frame that story.
 Tips on Mixing

1. Don't assume that your ears always tell you the truth. Rest them
before mixing and constantly refer to commercial recordings
played over your monitor system, so that you have some form of
reference to aim for.

2. Don't overdo the effects, especially reverb, as this can clutter

your recording and take away the contrast that is needed to give
your mix punch. As a rule, the drier the sound, the more up front
(realistic) it will sound, while heavily reverbed sounds tend to
move into the background (example - background vocals).
 Tips on Mixing

3. Don't pan low frequency tracks such as drums or bass

instruments to the sides of the stereo soundstage, as these high
energy sounds need to be shared equally between the two stereo
speakers for best results.

3. Leave any final EQ and effect adjustments until the full mix is
playing. If you work on any single instrument in solo, it's likely to
sound different when everything else is added. If you can avoid
using any heavy EQ, the result is more likely to sound more
natural.
 Tips on Mixing

5. Remember, the solo button is your enemy! When listening to a

track soloed, you have no point of reference for how it sits in the
mix. It’s fine to solo an instrument to find out if there’s a trouble spot
in the performance or how you’ve processed it, but you should then
immediately take it out of solo and listen to it in the context of the
full mix.
6. Have a list of songs to reference that you are familiar with. Create a
playlist of numerous songs that you know intimately. Listen to how the
vocals sit in the mix, how the reverbs and delays sound in
context to the instruments, where the drums sit in relation to the bass
and guitars, how tight or how loose the low end is, and so on.
 Tips on Mixing

7. If possible, fix problems by using EQ cut rather than boost. The

human hearing system is less sensitive to EQ cut than it is to
boost.

8. From time to time, check your mix balance by listening from

outside the studio/bedroom door. This tends to show up level
imbalances more clearly than when listening from directly in front of
the monitors. Nobody is quite sure why, but it works.
 Tips on Mixing

9. Don't monitor too loudly. It may make the music seem more
exciting (initially), but the end user is unlikely to listen at the
same high level.

High monitoring levels also tend temporarily to shift your hearing

perspective and can lead to permanent hearing damage. It's fine to
check the mix loudly for short periods, but most of the time, it's
useful to try and mix at the level you think the music will eventually
be played. (Unless you're mixing music for party or concert
performance)
 Tips on Mixing

10. Check your mixes on headphones as well as speakers.

Headphones show up small distortions and clicks that you may
never hear over loudspeakers. However, don't rely solely on
headphones for mixing, for they represent the stereo image
differently to loudspeakers and are notoriously unpredictable at
low (bass) frequencies.
11. Don't vary the level of the drums and bass unnecessarily during
a mix, as the rhythm section is traditionally the constant backdrop
against which other sounds move. Natural dynamics within rhythm
instrument parts is OK, but don't keep moving the
level on these sounds.
Some Advanced Multitrack
Editing essentials
(for LAB CLASS)
In this advanced techniques you will learn

1 Grouping Clips on Multitrack Editor

2 Creating Bus Groups
 Lets Recall: Destructive versus Non-Destructive Editing

Non-destructive – alters audio file in multitrack audio session (.sesx)

Destructive – alters original file (.wav, .mp3, flac, etc)

Non-destructive – audio track editing in multitrack editor

Destructive - audio track in waveform editor

 Lets Recall: Cross Talk or Bleed

CrossTalk (or bleed) – is the leakage of sound from one track into another
Home Recording Studio 101: How to Record Drums
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/home-recording-studio-
101-how-to-record-drums#6-steps-for-recording-drums
 Creating Bus Groups

Grouping together similar tracks in a SINGLE TRACK

• Vocals (Lead and background)
• Guitars (Lead and Rhythm)
• Drums (Snare, Kick, Tomtom, HiHat, Crash, Ride, etc)
• Keyboards (Piano, Synths, Electric Piano)
• Bass (Electric Bass, Synth Bass, Upright Bass, etc.

Any level balance, EQ, FX applied to the Bus Group Track is applied to all tracks assigned to
this Bus Group

You can still do level balance, add FX and EQ to individual tracks even if they are part of the
Bus Group
 Creating Bus Groups

By creating a bus, you can also create other buses such

as a Drums Bus, Guitar Bus, Vocals Bus, etc., and then
applying effects to these busses.

This now makes it easier to do mixes and mastering of

multitrack sessions that contain 24 or more audio tracks. ☺
 Let’s practice: (Creating Bus Groups)

9-track song: Breakdown - The Psychos

(Download from Shared Exercise Files in Google Drive)

 8-track song: Breakdown -

The Psychos / Iyeoka & The Rock by Funk Tribe

 8-track song: Breakdown -

The Psychos / Iyeoka & The Rock by Funk Tribe

 8-track song: Breakdown -

The Psychos / Iyeoka & The Rock by Funk Tribe

 Creating Bus Groups

1. In Multitrack Mode:
Expand the tracks view to reveal Master on the track output
 Creating Bus Groups

2. Click on the arrow on Master and select: Bus>AddBus>Stereo

 Creating Bus Groups

3. This creates a Bus Track between Oohs L and Oohs R

 Creating Bus Groups

4. Rename this Bus Track to Oohs Bus

 Creating Bus Groups

5. Change the Master on the Oohs R Track to Oohs Bus

 Creating Bus Groups

6. You can now control both Oohs L and Oohs R Track levels via Oohs Bus Level

6. You can also apply FX to the Oohs Bus as if you applied

same individual effects to both Oohs L and Oohs R Tracks
End of Session