Probably one of the biggest problems royalty free music creators run into when laying down a track is finding room in the mix for all the instruments that they want to include. So what I’m going to do in this article is share a few simple tips that will make finding that room a little easier. I hope you will find these helpful.
Let me start off by saying this. I don’t care how hard you try or what you do. Not everything in your mix is going to stand out. It’s not physically possible. Something has to be in the background. If you try to get everything up front, it’s going to sound like a mess. The key is to learn how to get a mix where the instruments in the background are noticeable enough that if they were missing you’d know. Otherwise, you’re fighting a losing battle, especially if you have a lot going on in your song.
Okay, so the first thing you want to do is make use of your stereo field. Not everything has to be, or should be, dead center in the mix. By panning instruments you can turn a muddy track into one where everything is present to some degree.
For example, let’s take a track where you have a double guitar lead going on, say one Strat and one Les Paul dueling for the big prize. If you’ve got them both dead center in the mix there is a big chance, depending on what notes are being played, that they’re going to bump into each other and produce a muddy mess. By taking the two guitars and panning one left and the other one right, even just slightly, you’ve given them their own space in the mix. The more you pan them, the more space you’ve given them. This will also allow you to lower the volume of each guitar, thus giving the other instruments in the mix a chance to shine through. So panning is one way of making room in the mix.
Another way is by making sure that the instruments you’re using aren’t bumping into each other in the low, mid and high ends. The way to do this is by using EQ.
For example, your kick drum and bass guitar don’t need any highs in the mix so they can be cut out. Conversely, your high hat doesn’t need any lows so they can all be cut out. By focusing on each instruments range and cutting out the other frequencies, you will end up with a cleaner mix just from this one act. Yes, EQ can cure a lot of ills if used properly.
Another great trick that you can do with EQ if you want something to appear like it is in back of the mix, aside from lowering the volume, which I will discuss below, is to roll off the top end of the sound. You can also get rid of the low end below 150 hz. This will give the illusion of distance.
Volume is also key. A big mistake that a lot of people make is starting off with the foundation of the track too loud. If you’re already way up here, there is no place left to go with the instruments that you layer on after. Your headroom is nil. You have essentially boxed yourself into a corner. Start your levels low and raise them as needed. By doing this and using panning for your instruments, you can actually start lowering your levels in some cases.
Reverb is another killer of mixes. The more reverb you use, the muddier your mixes are going to be. So if you want more room in your mix, you either want to use light reverb or early reflections or mix dry. Music of the 70s and 80s was notorious for its use of reverb. Today, less is more. Of course if your music calls for that feel, then by all means, reverb away. But just understand that this is going to lead to a mix with less room in it.
Similarly, echo is another great way of creating the feel of distance in your mix. As with the reverb, you will want to keep it light and maybe roll of the high and low ends.
If you have a pad that needs to sit in the back of the mix, one way to do this is through the use of chorus, which tends to make the sound less focused. By mixing chorus with reverb or lack of it, such as with a lead guitar, you can control how far back or up front the sound is in the mix.
Contrast is critical in any mix. What I mean by contrast is this. Let’s say you have six different instruments in your mix, drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, piano and pad. If all six instruments are brought up front, the mix will sound too busy. If all six instruments are sent to the back through the use of reverb, chorus or whatever else you use, the mix will sound empty and muddy. You need to have contrast. So maybe send the piano and pad to the back of the mix. Have the drums and bass taking up one space in the mix and the rhythm guitar slightly in back of the lead which should be above everything else. And we can do this by using the methods I’ve gone over above.
Finally, and this may be the most important thing of all, there is the arrangement itself. You don’t want your instruments fighting each other. Some have to be up front while others have to be in the background. If you want your pad in the background, using a dull pad sound will be easier to get it there than if you use a harsh pad sound with lots of highs. These are more difficult to push to the back of the mix. If you try, you’re fighting a very tough battle not matter how much processing you do on the sound.
So, you have to train your ears to recognize when something just isn’t going to work no matter how hard you try. If you want your drums up front, synth drums are fine. But if you want them to lay in the background, you’re better off using acoustic drums.
These are just the basics, obviously. But by using just these few little tips and tricks, you will find your mixes sounding a whole lot better.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim