Mixing and Mastering

Question 1

When looking over the main spectral print of the song, what shape do you generally want to see?

Answer 1

The low end having a higher slope and then smoothly ramping/curving down toward the high end (don’t wont to see any big spikes in the slope)

Question 2

When comparing the affects of plugins/effects - how do you make sure you’re hearing the actual sonic change vs just volume?

Answer 2

Use a loudness meter and see how much gain is being adjusted - then counteract accordingly in the output settings. If there is no output parameter - you can use the utility tool

Example:

Adding a saturator adds 7 db to the sound. To see how it actually affects the track, reduce the “output” of the saturator by -7 db so you can hear what happens without the volume changing

Question 3

What is a general rule of thumb for device effects order on a track?

Answer 3

1) Freq reduction (EQing)
2) Signal boosting (compressor, saturator)
3) Freq boosting (EQing)
4) Modulation effects (chorus, reverb, distortion)

Question 4

What 4 families of EQ’s are there?

Answer 4

Parametric - sculpt using a selection of bands

Graphic - fixed crossover points at equally spaced intervals (stereo system and live concert mixers)

Static - applies set reduction for sculpting

Dynamic - affects frequencies depending on the level of in coming signal

Question 5

For EQing quality (Q) you generally want to do ______ boosts and _____ cuts

Answer 5

Wider boosts
Narrower cuts

Question 6

What are the following parametric filter curves?

Hi/Low Pass Filter
Shelf
Bell
Notch

Answer 6

HPF/LPF - lets the high/low freq “pass” through

Shelf - S curve that boosts one side of the spectrum

Bell - allows wide boosts at selected points

Notch - aggressive reduction dip at selected frequencies

Question 7

When looking at your tracks in session view - how can you tell which ones may need some compression?

Answer 7

Take a look at the mixer levels and see which tracks have a large gap between peaks and RMS levels

Question 8

What is the mixing environment?

What’s the idea distance between you and monitors?

Answer 8

The physical space where you hear and mix your sounds (headphones, monitors, room treatment, etc)

Distance between you and speakers should be as close to an equilateral triangle as possible

Question 9

What is the mix trajectory and how to determine it?

Answer 9

The gameplan ahead of time when it comes to the mix

Determine the following:
Genre?
Sounds?
Listening environment?
What audience?
Look at reference tracks and how those are made (sounds, audio effects etc)

Question 10

What is frequency mapping?

Answer 10

Knowing where you want each element of your song to reside in relation to the frequency spectrum

Question 11

If noticing frequency issues - what should you look at first before trying to EQ tracks?

Answer 11

Look at the arrangement of the song and see where all the elements lie and make sure its all cohesive

Question 12

When adding fx on tracks, what something to watch out for when checking levels? What is something you can do to adjust it?

Answer 12

Effects and make some parts quieter/louder so you can use a compressor after to even out the dynamics

Question 13

What elements differentiate transparent digital EQs to analog or plugin EQs modeled after analog ones?

Answer 13

Analog eqs are less precise and typically don’t affect the signal at exactly the value stated on the UI.

Also analog EQs create affect each instance of signal separately - so if there is a stereo sound going through it will split the audio into separate channels and affect them slightly differently.

Question 14

When using multiple metering plugins - what should you check to make sure all are displaying the frequencies the same?

Answer 14

Check the slope/tilt settings to make them all the same value.

Question 15

What is the nyquist frequency?

Answer 15

It is half of what the sample rate of your song/project is

Question 16

When using a reference track what output setting should you select so that it is not being affected by any effects placed on your master?

Answer 16

Change it from “master” to “ext. out”

Question 17

When panning STEREO tracks - be sure to change the mode to what instead of the normal default balance setting?

Answer 17

stereo split mode

in the normal default setting it just lowers the volume of one side rather than moving the actual signal

*right click on pan parameter and change the setting

Question 18

When using samples it is good practice to adjust the _______ to allow more headroom since most samples will be processed to peak at 0db

Answer 18

adjust the clip gain and lower it

Question 19

When should you use dynamic EQs?

Answer 19

To attenuate frequency issues that change over time instead of just cutting a uniform amount out of the entire signal

Question 20

When EQing its a good rule of thumb to _______ so you know how much to dial it back to not affect the sound too much

Answer 20

push the EQ to an exaggerated amount

Question 21

When EQing - once you find the target frequency to edit, you want to _____ the track and adjust it to see how it reflects in the context of _______

Answer 21

un-solo the track and adjust it to see how it reflects in the context of the entire mix

Question 22

What should you keep in mind when determining the order of EQ and compressors on your processing chain?

Answer 22

There is no right way but keep in mid that EQ before compressor could affect the way it works since its gain dependent if you’re reducing/adding gain to frequencies