Mixing and Mastering: Difference between revisions

To mix correctly, speakers or '''headphones''' that provide an even listening experience are required. Many will sound wildly different from one another, but studio focused and critical listening models will be calibrated more neutrally. For a sound device to be appropriate for mixing, it must have a flat frequency response. This means that the device will produce an equally loud sound regardless of how high are low pitched the signal it receives is. Listening to music with speakers that provide extra bass sacrifices clarity elsewhere, and gives you an experience that is skewed toward those frequencies. It is long debated whether headphones or speakers are better for mixing; that will not be addressed here.

Panning (moving sounds left and right) can be used to separate elements of a song, and direct the listener's focus. Key parts like the bass line, kick and snare drums, and the melody should all be kept to the center of the mix most of the time.  Any instrument that can warrant the listener's full attention should be kept in the center.  Parts that are supplemental to these can be panned to either side, such as harmonies that compliment the melody, block chords, less crucial percussion elements like the tambourine, toms, and ride cymbal. Keep in mind that panning instruments too far to one side, without panning some to the opposite side can cause the music to be too heavy on one ear.

Volume is the largest contributor to bad mixes, but one of the easiest things to get right. At their default volume, many of the sequencer's instruments will play at wildly different volumes from each other, so the default volume must almost always be changed. Percussion and melody should always be loud enough to be followed by the listener.  It's alright to make harmony instruments and chords a bit quieter as they are supplemental to the melody.  Volumes may have to be changed throughout a song, as the intensity and vibe shift.  If an instrument is so loud as to cover up other instruments, it needs to be quieter. If the music is so loud that clipping can be heard (an effect where the sound cuts out as the level is too high), the bass is often the culprit