The Art of Sound Mixing

Jerone A. Rumbaoa
  What is Sound Mixing?
 If we need to define sound mixing with a single
word, that word would be balance. Mixing involves
combining all the sounds received from the
multitrack recording and balancing them in levels,
making some louder than others. At the same time, a
Introduction: mixing engineer will balance them in terms of
panning, placing them in the stereo field: left, center,
right, or anywhere in between. They will also balance
frequencies, brightening some sounds, darkening
others, taking some frequencies away, and using
depth as another balance tool, to give the listener a
sense of closeness or distance of a sound in a space.
 1. Balance
2. Panorama
3. Equalization (EQ)
4. Compression
5. Reverb and Delay

Components of 6. Effects and Processing

a mix 7. Automation
8. Balance and Blend
9. Monitoring
10. Mastering
11. Quality Control
12. Creativity and Artistry
 Balancing the loudness of
individual audio tracks to
ensure they lend together
1. Balance harmoniously. Adjusting the
volume of each track is
fundamental to achieving a
clear mix
 Controlling the stereo placement of
audio sources within the
soundstage. Panning can be used to
2. Panorama position sounds from left to right,
creating spatial depth in the mix.
 Shaping the tonal quality of each
track by boosting or cutting specific
3. Equalization frequencies. EQ is used to enhance
(EQ)
clarity.
 Applying dynamic range
compression to control variations in
loudness. This evens out the
4. Compression dynamics of a track, making softer
parts more audible and preventing
clipping.
 Adding spatial effects like reverb
(simulating room acoustics) and
5. Reverb and delay (echo and reflection effects) to
Delay create depth and ambiance in the
mix.
 Using various audio effects such as
chorus, flanger, distortion, and
6. Effects and modulation to modify the sound of
Processing individual tracks or add creative
textures.
 Implementing automation for
changes in volume, panning, and
effect parameters over time.
Automation allows for dynamic
7. Automation
mixing, such as fading in/out,
creating build-ups, or emphasizing
specific moments.
 Continuously adjusting the levels,
panning, and tonal characteristics of
tracks to ensure they work together
8. Balance and cohesively. Paying attention to the
Blend
interplay between different elements
is essential.
 Regularly listening to the mix
through high-quality studio monitors
or headphones to make informed
9. Monitoring decisions. A/B testing with reference
tracks can help maintain quality.
 In professional music production,
the final mix may be sent to a
mastering engineer who applies
finishing touches to optimize the
10. Mastering
overall sound, loudness, and
consistency for various playback
systems.
 Checking the mix on different
playback devices and environments
11. Quality to ensure it translates well across
Control different systems, from headphones
to car stereos.
 Applying creative judgment and
artistic sensibility to shape the mix
12. Creativity in a way that best serves the music's
and Artistry
emotional impact and artistic intent.
  When mixing music for public consumption, degrees of success can
vary wildly depending on the environment in which it takes place.
This is the reason why professional mix and mastering engineers
prefer to work in acoustically treated rooms with as flat a frequency
response as possible, in order to produce the end result that sounds
fantastic no matter where it’s played.

Headphones  For those of us without the luxury of a dedicated mix room though,
things are a little bit trickier. Dodgy-sounding bedrooms with little or
vs Studio no acoustic treatment, thin apartment walls, sensitive neighbors or a
Monitors distraction-filled environment can all be frustrating obstacles when
attempting to produce a decent-sounding mix in a space that isn’t
designed for it. 
 One obvious alternative solution is to mix your music on a set
of studio headphones rather than using a conventional pair of studio
monitors. Just because you can mix on headphones though, doesn’t
necessarily mean that you should, so when it comes to headphones vs
studio monitors, which is actually better for mixing your tunes?
  The difference between experiencing a track on monitor
speakers and on headphones has a lot to do with how the
human auditory system perceives sound. With the kind of real-
world sounds that we hear day-to-day, the brain processes the
two audio streams from your left and right ears and
automatically analyses the frequency and timing differences
between them to distinguish the direction of a sound.

A different  When listening on headphones though, both your ears are fed
their own channels at precisely the same time, resulting in a
experience sound that seems to be coming from inside the middle of your
head, rather than in front of you. This results in a perception of
the stereo image that’s a lot different than with monitors -
panned instruments may seem more widely spaced and
effects like reverb and delay may appear deeper and wider.
Plus, with headphones, you don’t get the influence of the room
acoustics on the overall sound that you do with monitors.
 There’s no doubt that a good pair of studio monitor speakers
provides the most authentic and natural-sounding representation of
your tracks. After all, speakers are how we’re most used to hearing
music, which makes monitors the most natural choice to mix on for
the majority of people.
 Rather than injecting sound directly into your ears the way that
headphones do, monitor speakers have cones that physically push
sound waves around the room. These waves are reflected and
absorbed by objects in the room, and the ensuing shifts in timing and
phase provide our brain with volume and directional information that
feels natural and organic. 
 The most obvious downside to using monitors is a practical one, the
clue to which is in the name - loudspeakers. You need to drive them
somewhere around 80dB SPL for the most balanced representation
of all frequencies, so if your walls are thin and your neighbors
unsympathetic, you may have issues with running a set of monitor
speakers for extended sessions.
  Imagine a 'normal' studio environment with left
and right speakers and you, the listener,
positioned in front of them: Your right ear will
hear more of the signal from the right speaker
than from the left. Meanwhile, the signal from
Pros and the left speaker will also be heard by the right
cans ear, but at a slightly lower volume and with a tiny
delay. This acoustic effect of each ear hearing a
bit of the opposite speaker’s information is
referred to as ‘crosstalk’, and is a natural
phenomenon when we listen to music on stereo
speakers.
The crosstalk
conundrum
 In contrast, when you listen to a track on
headphones, the left and right channels are
pumped directly into the corresponding ears
without any left channel information going to the
right ear, or vice-versa.
 This makes things harder when making panning
choices - moderate panning seems to barely shift
sounds from the centre of your head, while hard
panning can give the impression that a sound is
right at the opening of your ear canal. For this
reason, many headphone-produced mixes run
the risk of a stereo image that appears too
narrow when played back on speakers.
 Church
Sound Issue
  Echo, or excessive reverberation, can be the result of poor
architectural design or timing variations between speakers. Timing
problems occur in large rooms in which speakers face each other
from different sides of a room. If a church has a long, narrow
sanctuary and puts a speaker on the back wall, that speaker should
have a slight sound delay. Otherwise, the sound waves from the

1. Echo, or front speaker will arrive at the back of the sanctuary after the rear
speaker releases its waves. It’s easier to place all of the speakers at
excessive the front of a room and adjust their volume and position to reach
reverberation the back row.
 Some buildings have flat, reflective surfaces that make sound
waves act like bumper cars. For example, if a church holds a
potluck dinner in a gymnasium or multipurpose facility with hard
surfaces, table conversation will become a muddy hum that
gradually increases in volume. A speaker’s voice will bounce
around the room. This problem can be remedied by hanging fabric
panels, banners or baffles on the walls or from the ceiling. 
  Feedback occurs when amplified sound from a speaker
or monitor circulates through a microphone and is
amplified again, giving off an obnoxious squeal. This
kind of sound loop is due to monitor placement as well
as microphone technique. If a singer points a
microphone directly into a monitor or if there isn’t
2. Feedback sufficient distance between the microphone and the
monitor, feedback is inevitable. Feedback also happens
when a speaker moves around on a platform, pointing
the microphone in various directions. For churches with
such speakers, several manufacturers offer a feedback
controller that eliminates feedback by constantly
shifting audio frequency.
  Sound equipment, no matter how costly, won’t perform
well if technicians don’t know how to use it. After
determining that a person has a solid interest in serving
as a sound technician, work with the person until that
person is qualified to serve. Invest in training materials
such as books, videos and trade publications.

3. Inadequate  The best sound system can be compromised by a

training performer. A singer who holds a microphone far from
his mouth, for example, forces a technician to turn up
the volume on a channel, which could result in
feedback. Singers should adjust their microphones
according to the volume of their voices. On a high,
strong note, the microphone should be moved away
from the mouth; on a low, soft note, in closer.
  Technicians must explain what they’re doing to
performers. For example, a performer might
want more reverb in her monitor, but the sound
technician knows that singers maintain better
pitch quality without hearing reverb in the
4. Poor monitors. The sound technician could mix some
communication reverb into the system and eliminate it in the
monitor, but if the singer doesn’t understand
what the technician is doing, she will perform
with less confidence. The moral for technicians is
to be diplomatic. The moral for performers is to
trust the technician.
  Inexperienced technicians are often plagued by
muddy sound, which is quite often the result of
monitor wash. For example, if the worship leader
has a monitor on the platform, it is usually pointed
at the back wall and away from the congregation. If
the monitor is turned up too loud or includes too
5. Muddy varied a mix, the sound will bounce off the back
sound wall and collide with other sounds on the way to
the congregation. The solution could be as simple
as adjusting the volume of the monitor. If a
worship team is large enough, it might need
multiple monitors. Monitor mixing is an art that
requires much practice, however.
  Hot spots are places in a room where sound
energy is densely concentrated, and dead
spots are where there is no sound. Both are
usually caused by misplaced speakers. The
laws of physics are the same in the house of
6. Hot or dead the Lord as they are in Carnegie Hall. It
spots doesn’t matter how expensive speakers are;
if they’re situated incorrectly, they won’t
work properly. Speakers should almost
always be placed by a professional or
someone who understands room acoustics.
  One of the secrets to maintaining high
sound quality is isolating sound. Air
ducts sometimes transport unwanted
mechanical noise throughout a building.
Exterior noise of cars, trains or sirens can
7. Noise be intrusive if a church isn’t well
insulated. Noise problems can be averted
most effectively when a church is being
built, but there are ways to filter it out in
existing buildings.
 Churches should consult with
professional sound technicians on the
purchase, installation and operation
8. Poor of sound equipment. A good sound
installation
company should have a list of
recently completed projects and be
willing to show them to you.
  It is critical for a church to define its need for a microphone
before purchasing it. Microphones are like lenses on a
camera. You choose them based on the effect you want.
Frequency response, sensitivity and impedance are key
factors. High-impedance microphones produce noise
(crackling, thuds) when moved or bumped. Mikes with
lower-impedance—somewhere between 300 and 600 ohms
9. Misconceptions —are better for churches.
 Soprano vocalists often have high-frequency response in
their voices and do not want a microphone with built-in
boosts in the upper register. Male vocalists can get by with
most microphones, but they’ll do better with a boost in high-
frequency response. For a good all-purpose microphone,
consider a dynamic cardioid. Microphones designed to
amplify a grand piano or an orchestra will cost more.
  A budget is not an accurate measure of what sound
system a church should buy. Churches have been going
to vendors for years, saying, “We have a P200,000
sound budget,” and vendors have been giving them
P200,000 sound systems. What church leaders don’t
understand is that a sound system can be purchased in
10. Budget increments over several years. Also, function is more
miscues important than price. Sound systems should be designed
around usage factors, such as what kind of music a
church performs, how loud the music is played and how
large the church is. 
 Therefore Church sound system installation should not
be based on budget but on purpose.