Mixing / Production

Manipulating the frequency spectrum is one of the most important skills in recording and mixing. We explain the different types of EQ you can use in your mix and share some tips on how to get the best from them.

When you're trying to achieve a tight, commercial hip-hop sound, you might need to resort to some heavy processing — but not on every track...

Here are the links to the MP3 and WAV files that accompany the December 2008 Mix Rescue article for our newsstand/bookstore readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article and don't fancy typing in all the long URLs by hand.

When they began work on The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow had no record label and no producer. Two years later, it's brought them mainstream success at last.

For the recording of their fourth album Only By The Night, Kings Of Leon and co-producer Jacquire King decided to aim high. The result: a worldwide smash and a long-awaited breakthrough in the band's native US.

For his second solo album, Steely Dan's Walter Becker made the unexpected decision to apply his band's high production values and jazzy sophistication to the world of reggae...

We get to grips with a mix in which big, up-front vocals are crucial to the impact of the song, and dispense plenty of tips along the way...

Portishead's long-awaited third album has been one of the artistic highlights of 2008. The band's unique blend of lo-fi and hi-fi, vintage and modern is reflected in their unique approach to recording.

Here are the links to the MP3 and WAV files that accompany the November 2008 Mix Rescue article for our newsagent readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article.

I've only really just started getting to grips with EQ and I've come to a stumbling block. I'm working with Apple Logic 8 and am using all of the preset synth and drum sounds, which sound fabulous on their own (no problem frequencies, in other words). However, there are obviously overlapping frequencies between instruments, because things are getting muddy. Given that I have to remove some frequencies from one already perfect–sounding sample to make room for the other, how do I decide which frequencies are expendable? How can I identify which frequencies are causing the problem? For example, if you have a guitar part, obviously you remove the low end, but what frequency bits should you take out in the rest of the waveform? A little bit of the 500Hz range and 1000Hz? How do you know which bits waste headroom? Also, is it best practice to reduce the overall level of an instrument and then raise certain frequencies containing the essential musical parts ('attack', 'body', and so on)? I'm not asking which parts of specific instruments should be removed, but am more wondering how I can identify which parts of a sound are useful or unnecessary. Is it common to have seven or eight steep (high-Q) 'notches' removing a number of frequencies in one instrument?

I often record double-tracked vocals and pan them left and right, but was listening closely to some other artists and noticed how the vocals seem to be close-up and spread across the stereo field, without appearing doubled up. How can I achieve this?

We help singer-songwriter Jamie Knight make the most of his recording space, and advise on separation when recording multiple sources simultaneously.

Coldplay's recent album Viva La Vida was one of the most high-profile releases of the year, and an impressive showcase for Michael Brauer's unique approach to mixing.

No ordinary 'boy band', McFly have taken complete artistic control over their output, from recording to retail.

We show you that if you put enough effort into the musical arrangement and get the editing out of the way at the start, the mix itself isn't that difficult!

For our newsstand magazine buyers who do not have access to the subscribers-only eSub version of Mix Rescue, here are the URLs for the Audio files that accompany October 2008's instalment of MIX RESCUE.

While I know this is pretty much the job of a mastering engineer, how frowned upon by professional mixing engineers is...

The SOS 'dreamboys' (aka Paul & Hugh) paid a visit to Dean McCarthy, the lucky winner of the Dream Studio prize from this year's London International Music Show, to install and integrate all the new gear into his studio. Read all about it...

Some mix engineers work entirely 'in the box', while others treat Pro Tools as little more than a tape recorder. Kevin 'KD' Davis employs the best of both worlds, as his work on Ne-Yo's recent hit 'Closer' shows.

Have you ever wondered how a guitar's pickups affect its sound? Well, everything about a pickup has some influence, but...

With no budget to hire a studio, Jacob Golden decided to record his album anywhere and any way he could. The resulting sound is a unique exercise in the use of ambience.