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Subject:mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Posted by: ozzborn
Date:3/23/2007 1:08:00 PM

whats good


i am working on a mix and i noticed that when i played it in one of my cars, the mix did not sound as good. i played some commercial tracks and i def noticed a problem.
i went back to mix and when i hit the MONO button , it was not smooth. i smoothed out some transients but than a question arised.

? does mono compatibilty equal a more consistant mix.

i know theres alot of factors when mixing. any help would be appreciated.

thanx in advance
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Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: pwppch
Date:3/23/2007 1:15:30 PM

We put down mix in there just for this reason. How it sounds in mono can give you a better understanding of your overall mix.

The best thing you can do is to learn your mix envirnoment - the room that is.

Take those commerical CDs you said sounded good in your car, and take some serious time to listen to them in your "room". Learn what your room/space does to them. Compare a CD track that you really like the sound of to your music and mix.

Every room is different, and few of us can afford a perfect room.

Many times it is not the mix, but the final mastering. Mastering is an art as much as learned set of skills. Try to listen to the commercial stuff with the "mastering' in mind. The mix is important, but treat mastering as a seperate work stage from mixing, just like recording intial tracks and comps are different tasks.

Mix for mono then. Everything straight up the middle. Make things sound good and hear what you want to hear in mono. Then flip over to stereo. Now work on placement. Switch back to mono often to see if things still sound good and clear in mono.

Also, less FX is always a good thing. Don't push the bass. Don't push the highs. Work in the middle. Understand what frequencies from your different tracks/instruments are killing or making things sound muddy.

Of course, this is just one approach. Others will disagree with me.

Peter





Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: ozzborn
Date:3/23/2007 2:59:40 PM

thanx SonyPCH , good info

i understand about the having a quality room ,good monitoring,and mastering.
i agree with you about most of your post ,but i disagree about the mastering part.

in my limited experience , mastering can't fix a bad mix.

i have heard a couple of mixes before mastering and after, some were just louder and overall better (prefrence vs. vastly superior)after mastering and some were very improved but the mixes were horrible to begin with before mastering.

mixing is a journey and i am just trying to figure out if this mono discovery is a mixing fundemental that i have looked over.

thank you for info and please understand that these are my personal thoughts on mastering and mixing. if you can shed some light to change my view please explain more.

thanx






Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: ozzborn
Date:3/23/2007 3:02:51 PM

i just noticed this.....
what is downmix, i thought it was just a dim switch like on my central station.

Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: pwppch
Date:3/23/2007 9:31:33 PM

>>mastering can't fix a bad mix.

I agree with you 100%. If I implied this, it was not my intention.

My point was the mastering should be a seperate task from the mix. You should not attempt to master while mixing is my point.

Peter

Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: pwppch
Date:3/23/2007 9:34:37 PM

The down mix button on the mixer page tool bar.

Down mix = Stereo to MONO, or Surround to Stereo.

It takes the current mix and makes it mono, so you can hear what the stereo sounds like in mono.

Note, Down mix does not affect the rending either. It is merely a convenience feature for A/B'ing between stereo/mono (or surround/stereo).

DIM is just a quick "lower the volume, somebody is talking" with out having to lower the master fader. It is a convenience thing also and does not affect the actual mix or rendering.


Peter

Message last edited on3/23/2007 9:36:02 PM bypwppch.
Subject:RE: mixing question about mono and mix consistenc
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:3/26/2007 10:48:36 AM

For me, one of the biggest obstacles when downmixing to mono is phase cancellation. It can diminish the wall of crunch I have going in my stereo mixes. It's a PITA.

Iacobus

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