Now That Sounds Like a Record

And You Can Get That Sound

By Charles Dye


For me, there are few words to describe the near euphoric feeling that washes over you when an amazing mix of a great song draws you inside its four-minute world, the sounds pulling you from first note to last through all the emotions of the lyric. There's almost nothing more satisfying than that magical experience. Well, there is one…and that's of course when you're the one who mixed it. Now, that is an absolutely incredible experience. And I'd like to talk about how to get closer to that place. In laying the groundwork for future columns, this month we're going to discuss the fundamentals of mixing.



Peter Gabriel's records are great mixes that don't necessarily follow conventional norms.
When mixing, it's important to understand that our primary goal is to serve the song, to make sure that all of its elements can be heard and that it has a musical feel. But our goal is much more than that. My friends and I, towards the end of a mix, have a phrase we like to say when we find the sound we've been searching for. Someone will invariably say, "Now, that sounds like a record!" That's when we know we've got a great mix. And that is every mixer's goal.

When Does a Mix Sound Like a Record?
In addition to serving the song, hearing the parts, and being musical, a great mix has dynamics, emotion, excitement, and, above all else, the artist sounds like a star. For me, that's a record. Is that all there is to it? No, but within that definition there must be many different ways to interpret a single song, meaning that there is more than one "right" way…or more accurately put, probably no right way at all. I mean this is music, isn't it?

"A great mix has dynamics, emotion, excitement, and, above all else, the artist sounds like a star — that's a record."

Take Peter Gabriel, for example. A friend once observed that his mixes often sound like the mixer put up the reel for another song after finishing a previous mix and just hit record on the two-track and play on the multitrack. His observation was that things were often placed in the mix in quite unexpected ways, and not the norm — things too loud, too soft, too wet, and too dry. But there is no doubt about it, Peter Gabriel's mixes are very musical, have a lot of dynamics, are never short of emotion, and he always sounds like a star. Now, we all know that his mixes were actually done with a lot of care and attention to detail. They're not only great mixes, they are also great records.

So, with that kind of freedom in mind, you should allow your inspiration to take you wherever it feels right for you and the song you are mixing. But how do you know when to listen to your inspiration, and when it feels right? We'll get to that in a moment.

Three Steps to Learning Mixing
In HDL-1 (April's column), we discussed when I first learned how to mix. I was a recording engineer, like many, who aspired to be a mixer. I always saw the ability of mixing as a higher craft (which it is), and I began to believe it was un-learnable (which it isn't). One day I finished a mix and, as I listened back, I was impressed with what I heard in a way that I had never been before. This mix sounded like a record. By comparing it to my previous work, I began to see the differences that set it apart.

What I discovered bears repeating. Mixing is not a singular skill, but a combination of a number of individual techniques, techniques that we will be covering in this and future columns. I should also point out that as I was learning these techniques, at no time did I feel that I was making any progress. None. As I was making incremental improvements with my mixing, I couldn't sense them at all. They were simply too subtle to realize. So, if you are feeling frustrated with your mixes, keep working at it, they are getting better.

Can you learn to get "record"-quality results with your mixing? I believe you can. The skills for recording are different than the skills for mixing, but you can learn them both. There are essentially three basic steps to learning mixing. First, you need to understand the musical genre you are going to mix. Second, you need to learn what it is you want to accomplish with your mix, that is, how you want it to sound. And lastly, you need to learn how to do it. (Yeah, I know that's the obvious one.) Let's take a closer look at each of these steps.

Understanding Your Musical Genre
A brilliant songwriter once shared with me that to be a great songwriter you should first get the best musical education you can and learn all the rules, and then — forget everything. It's great advice and the same can apply here. When mixing in any musical genre, you have to understand what the expected norms are. Only then will you have the freedom to move beyond them.

"When mixing in any musical genre you have to understand the expected norms so you can then move beyond them."
Understanding the musical style is the foundation upon which the following steps are based, and it's the most important. But in many ways, it can also be the easiest. We have usually been listening to the type of music we are mixing for most of our lives. And this familiarity is what allows us to understand the palette of sounds that we will draw upon while mixing.

On the other hand, if it's a style of music that's new to you, simply listen to it as much as you can, and not only the most recent, but also to the music's roots. You need to understand where today's sounds are coming from. Listen to records that are 20, 30, 40, and 50 years old. There are many incredible-sounding records from the past. Alternately, if the music you are mixing is so familiar to you that it is inside your veins, listen to music from other genres for inspiration and ideas. Songwriters, musicians, and producers often do this for their inspiration, and it can really free your mind about what you thought was sonically right or wrong.

Knowing What You Want to Accomplish
When you are familiar with the musical genre, you know many of the options that are in front of you. You may not know yet how to accomplish them, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. You need to first have an idea of what it is you want before you can even set out to get it-otherwise known as the concept for your mix.

This is a critical point in mixing; more mixes go south here, before a single fader has been moved, than at any other stage. A great mix has a point of view, a commitment to a particular sound. It may be unique to your mix. It may be an invention of your imagination, this combination of sounds, but there needs to be an underlying theme to the choices you are making. But, how do you decide which way to go? Well, when I listen to a song I've learned to follow my instincts. If you are mixing a song in a genre that you're very familiar with, ideas will probably immediately start popping into your head, sounds that you'd like to create. These first instincts are often excellent choices. They're natural and are born from years of listening to the music you love. But, how do you mold these seemingly random ideas into something that is responsive to the song? Something that when you put it all together makes sense? That emotionally represents what the song is about?

My first ideas usually come from the music: the rhythm of the track, the chord changes, and the melody. I respond to these sounds emotionally, and I listen to that emotion. If the song is sad, I follow sonic ideas that will support that somehow. And if the music is exciting, angry, etc., I go for sounds and textures that I feel will support those emotions. We'll discuss different ways to do this in future columns.



A song's lyric can provide answers to many questions about your mix.

But there is another place to look for more specific direction for your mix, and it's right there on the lead vocal track. It's the lyric of the song, and it can often unlock a number of mysteries about your mix. Using a term from organizational gurus, the lyric is the song's Organizing Principle. "All other issues are subservient to it." (Again, guru-speak.) The lyric can give you concrete answers to what the song is about, and therefore what kind of feelings your mix should support. For me, whenever I'm at a crossroads with my mixing, I simply pick up the lyric sheet and start reading it. The answer will almost always rise to the top.

And if you can't figure out what direction to go, don't let it stop you. Sometimes you don't find out where you're going to take a mix until you are halfway through it. You just have to start. Pick a direction and run with it. Things will begin to make sense as you move through the song, and ideas will come to you while you're working. Just pay attention to that inspiration when it speaks, and follow those ideas. If you bring up a fader on a naked unprocessed part, and a sound instantly pops into your head, go with that. As I said, first instincts are often great choices. Another trick when tweaking a sound is to pay close attention to the tension in your shoulders. When they relax, I know I'm there.

Learning How to Do It
You have a sound in your head and you next want to hear it coming out of the speakers. Being familiar with a genre and then knowing what you want to accomplish gets you more than half way there, but now you must be able to translate your ideas into mixing terms. First, listen to mixes in the genre you're mixing that you consider to be great mixes. Then learn to audibly identify the different types of effects + processors (and their parameters) that are used to create the sounds that you'd like to use in your mixing. For example:

  • Compression — Hard vs. Soft, Fast/Slow Attack + Release, Compression vs. Limiting

  • EQ — 20 Hz to 20 kHz, Shelf + Bell (and the different types of each), Q or Width, HPF, LPF

  • Saturation — Solid State, Tube + Tape

  • Reverb — Types: Plate, Chamber, Hall, Room + Non-Lin, Pre-Delay, Early Reflections, Analog/Acoustic/Digital

  • Delays — Analog + Digital, Musical (1/8 note, 1/4 note...), Non-Musical (more vintage-sounding slaps), Feedback, LPF

  • Chorus/Flange — Tape + Digital, Delay, Modulation, Feedback

  • Pitch-shifters — Pitch, Delay, Feedback

Of course, there are more, but if you can identify all of the above, that would cover the majority of sounds you hear today.

The most straightforward way to become familiar with these different processors and learn their different settings is to simply experiment with them until you hear how they affect the sound. And try them on different types of sound: percussive non-pitched instruments (drums, percussion), soft attack pitched instruments (voice, flute, synth pads), and hard attack pitched instruments (guitar, piano, bass). They will respond differently to each type.




The best way to learn effects + processors is to emulate sounds in your favorite mixes.

When you are familiar with how the different settings can affect the sound, you should then try to emulate what you hear on records. For example, when you hear a particular reverb in a song try to identify its type and settings, and then try to duplicate that sound in your studio. Do the same with different EQ curves and compression, as well as with the other effects, and on different instruments.

With the ability to identify the different processors + effects and how they relate to the genre you are mixing, you will have begun to create your own palette of sounds that you can draw upon while in the studio. And when you next hear an unprocessed instrument you'll know what your options are for that genre, you'll know what would be right for the song, and you'll know how to create it. In future columns, we will be going over each of these effects + processors in much more detail, and we'll use all of them on many different instruments.



Engineer / Mixer / Producer Charles Dye (Jon Bon Jovi, Sammy Hagar, Julio Iglesias, Ricky Martin) is based out of Miami. www.charlesdye.com email: charles@harddisklife.com

©2002 Charles Dye
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