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I've just started reading a book titled This Is Your Brain On Music which was written by a musician turned producer turned neuroscientist named Daniel Levitin. I'm really into learning about the science of music at the moment. I've recently read two other books on this topic: Musicophilia & Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy.

It's a very good sign that I'm going to really love this book that on page two of the introduction I've already found something in it that "clicked" with me to the point where I want to share it here.

This little tidbit may be quite obvious to most of you reading this, and it probably should be obvious to me but for whatever reason I never quite thought about it like this.

The author was talking about listening to music on headphones for the first time and he wrote about how he could clearly hear "the placement of the instruments both in the left-right field and in the front-back field (reverberant) space."

It's that bit about thinking of the "front-back field" in that way that got my attention. This is something I already know really (a dry sound is more up front while a reverb sound is farther back) but yet it still seems like a revelation in a way. Like something that will help me when I'm doing my mixes. To think not only in left-right terms but in front-back as well.

What this really leads to is thinking more clearly about when and how to use reverb. I've already been experimenting with different amounts of pre-delay on my reverb lately and how that can make a huge difference in the sound. And reading this makes me want to go further with this experimentation.

As you can surely tell, this blog post is not really meant to be a "how to" lesson from me (like some of my other posts are.) This is more about a cerebral thing just to get you thinking (and to try to get whatever I'm thinking more clear to me.) I love thinking about mixing in different ways. I think that this can help open up new possibilities.

It's important to be open to learning new things and to be open to looking at what you think you already know from new perspectives. To never think you have it all figured out. I've noticed that some people are inclined to thinking they've got it all figured out when they've really only scratched the surface and this keeps them from progressing. Don't fall into this trap! (I say this to myself as much as to anyone reading this entry.)

In this post I'm talking about ear training in the recording/mixing engineer sense rather than in the musician sense (I'm a big fan of EarMaster software to help with that, by the way.)

Ideally you want to know what moving the EQ around is going to sound like before you do it. Instead of blindly sweeping the EQ around you want to go in with laser focus and move exactly the band that will get the track sounding the way you want it to within the mix (and that's important to remember; you don't care what it sounds like when it's soloed only how it sounds within the mix as a whole.)

Being able to do this will save you a lot of time that you would have been spending randomly sweeping EQs around looking for the sweet spot and it will also keep your ears fresher.

I believe this ear training method I'm about to share with you will help you to reach that ideal by training your ear to hear exactly what each EQ band sounds like so that you'll know where you want to cut or boost the EQ.

This is how it works:

(1) Bypass your EQ plugin.
(2) Picture the EQ cut or boost you want in your mind.
(3) Move the EQ so that you think it will sound that way.
(4) Activate the plugin.

At this point you want to notice the difference between how it actually sounds and how you thought it would sound.

Keep at this until you are able to consistently EQ to the sound that you want with your EQ bypassed.

People (including myself) love quick "takeaway" ideas that they can apply to whatever they are doing right away. That's the idea with these seven tips. Hopefully you'll find at least one these tips to be something you haven't tried before, something that you can try out on your next project.

#1 Cut Bass EQ When The Bass Is Muddy

I've found that many of the best mixing tips I've come across are also some of the most counter intuitive ones. This actually makes sense because counter intuitive ideas are the hardest ones to come up with on your own.

This tip is a good example of this concept. If you've got a muddy bass sound in your mix then your first instinct may be to try to pump the bass instrument up higher. But you may be better off actually cutting the bass EQ. Not on the bass or the kick drum but on everything else.

By cutting out the bass on other parts that don't necessarily need the bass part of their frequency spectrum you can open up more space for the bass parts you really want to hear.

In a similar way it's often a good idea to try to sculpt the EQs of your kick drum and your bass so that they each have their own space. This should provide more clarity and a stronger, clearer bass sound.

By the way, this tip also works for the high end. The first instinct when you've got no highs shining through may be to raise them, but you will probably get better results by cutting back some of the highs you don't need. This will leave more space for the highs you want to be heard.

#2 Panning In Mono

This may be the king of counter intuitive tips. I've found that I can often get the perfect panning arrangement by actually flipping REAPER over to mono and then moving the panning around until everything sits just right in mono.

When I flip it back to stereo I've got a nice rich stereo spectrum that isn't too wide and isn't too narrow. And of course I already know it works perfectly in mono too.

#3 You Don't Have To Include Everything In The Final Mix

Just because it was recorded doesn't mean it has to be included in the final mix. You know that old saying "less is more"? It's probably more applicable to mixing than just about anything else.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you need to have spare mixes. A lot of my favorite music is quite busy. All I mean is that you don't want to be wed to including every single part that was recorded in the mix. A lot of times the best thing you can do to make a mix come to life is to remove something that may be holding it down.

#4 Level Matching

When you add effects to a track be sure you adjust the output so the volume is the same as the bypassed version of the track. This allows you to listen to a good A/B comparison to make sure that you really like what the effect is doing rather than just getting excited about it being louder.

#5 Mix At A Normal Listening Volume

Or even a bit lower.

It's not a good idea to mix while listening to the music at a very loud volume for a number of reasons. One of those is that you will fatigue your ear very quickly. Another is that it's much easier to make something sound "good" when it's loud. It's more of a challenge to make it sound good when it's quiet. If you can do that, it will sound good when it's loud too.

#6 Don't "Perfect" Soloed Tracks

Nobody's going to be listening to the guitar by itself, they are going to be listening to the guitar within the mix. It doesn't matter how it sounds when it's soloed, it only matters how it sounds in the mix. You can waste a lot of time perfecting a soloed track only to realize that it's in the way of everything else when you bring everything else back up.

I think learning how to set a compressor correctly is one of the more difficult things to master because the way it effects the sound can be quite subtle. The key to setting your compressor correctly is to make the changes less subtle (before eventually making them more subtle again.)

Before I get to what I mean by that statement, let me first direct your attention to my last post on the "Importance of Level Matching" because I think it's very important to think about this when setting a compressor. Sure, you can make things "louder" with a compressor but does it really work within the context of the song? There may be some times when you are, in effect, using compression to make a track sound louder but be sure to listen to the difference between using compression and just turning up the volume.

I also think my post before that (on technique being more important than gear) is also relevant here. It may be more relevant when talking about compressors than anything else actually. I believe it's far more important to know how to set your compressor than whether you are using a cheap (or free) compression plugin, a $300 MPA PRO VLA II, or a $4000+ Focusrite Red 3.

OK, now to get to what I mean about setting the compressor so that the changes are more obvious at first so that you can hear what you're doing more clearly. What I do is I think of it as a step by step process where I get each setting (Attack, Release, Ratio, & Threshold) correct one at a time.

The Compression Setting Process

Step One: Set the Release to as fast as it will go, the Ratio to as high as it will go, and the Threshold to where it's very sensitive (where the compressor is working on the input in a significant way.)

Once you've got those three knobs set in this extreme fashion you are ready to start adjusting the Attack knob to where you want it to be. The idea is that the above extreme settings will allow you to hear what's happening when you adjust the Attack much more clearly so that you will be able to get right.

What you will want to do is move the attack faster and slower and listen closely (mixing, when it comes down to it, is all about listening closely) to how it effects the sound. When the attack is faster it will cut out more of the transients and when it's slow more of the transient will get through. Which way you want it to be set depends entirely on the situation.

This is an important point. You need to forget about presets when it comes to compression. They are a waste of time. You need to be listening to how the settings effect what you are doing in each particular situation. The more you do this, the more of a "feel" you will get for getting the sound that you want quickly.

Another point I need to make is that with the extreme settings on the other three knobs, the overall sound of the compression will be really awful, you need to ignore that. Those extreme settings are so you can focus in on the sound of the Attack and how adjusting the attack effects the sound.

Step Two: Once the Attack is set where you want it, it's time to start working on the Release setting. To put it simply the Release is how quickly the compression stops working. This is an important setting as far as how your compressor effects the timing of your track.

The Attack knob tells the compressor how quickly to start compressing (when the sound goes above the Threshold) and the Release knob tells it how quickly to stop compressing the sound after it's been triggered.

Similar to what I said about setting the Attack, when you are setting the Release you need to be listening closely to how it is effecting the music. Forget about presets and try to forget about math (about where it's "supposed" to be set based on BPM or whatever) and try to get a feel for where it releases so that it fits in with the groove of the song. And that doesn't necessarily mean "perfectly in time" either, in fact it pretty much never means that. Don't set it like it's a metronome. That's not groovy.

Step Three: At this point you should have your Attack and Release settings where you want them to be. Now it's time to lower your Ratio knob and lower it until you get it where you want it to be.

One way of approaching this is to lower the Ratio until you no longer hear the effects of the Attack/Release clearly and then to start raising it back up until it's where it sounds just right.

Presets and formulas aren't going to do you much good when trying to set the Ratio. Memorizing that you're supposed to be at 4:1 for this and 2:1 for that may help you get you pretty close to where you want to be, or it may just stop you from doing what you need to be doing most: listening closely.

Step Four: Once you've got your Attack, Release, & Ratio settings right you will be ready for the final step of setting your compressor which is setting the Threshold.

If you followed my advice and set it to be very sensitive then the compressor is probably working pretty much all the time and this is great for being able to hear what you're doing so that you can effectively set the first three knobs but it's probably not what you really want.

You should make the threshold less sensitive until it's higher than you want it to be and then you should lower it until it sounds right (this is sort of like what I just said you should do with the Ratio where you lower it until you don't really hear the effect anymore and then raise it until it's just right.)

It's unlikely that you would want the compression to be on all the time. There should be moments where it's not doing anything (the quieter moments.)

Conclusion

I'm hoping that you find this "process" helpful in opening up your ear. It's really all about allowing you to hear what each setting is doing more clearly so that you can make a more informed decision about where the settings should be to get the sound you want. My motto is that mixing is all about listening closely and I think using this process makes it easier to listen closely to the effects of compression.

It's natural for us to initially hear louder as "better." If we hear a track at one volume and then pop in a plugin that increases the volume we're probably going to think that plugin made the track "better" at first because it's louder. But over time we may find that it didn't actually make it better at all. Maybe we figure this out when we go back to the track the next day with fresh ears.

This is (in as simple of a way as I can put it) why level matching is so important. When we add an effect to something we want to zero in on what the effect is doing (so we can hear whether we like it or not) rather than just being dazzled by an increase in volume.

In order to make sure we are hearing the effect itself rather than a volume increase (or a decrease if the effect makes the sound quieter) we should adjust the output of the effect so that the volume level matches the volume when the effect is bypassed.

In short: by using level matching we are tuning our ears in to what really matters instead of being distracted by a superficial change in volume.

"Everything In It's Right Place" is my general philosophy towards mixing (and also the title of an excellent song by Radiohead.)

What I mean by this is that the ultimate goal when mixing a song together should be to find a "place" for every part of the song that's essential (and this is an important point because with most mixes there are elements that are not essential that should be cut out of the mix in order to leave more room for everything else.)

There are three basic things that I think about when trying to make the mix work: Frequency/EQ, Dynamics, & Panning.

Frequency/EQ

It's important not to have multiple elements of your song fighting for the same frequency space. When you have lots of "fighting" among instruments/vocals for the same frequency space it ends up making all of those elements harder to hear. It sort of turns it into "mush."

The first instinct of people is often to try to boost certain frequencies with EQ to try to get an instrument more clear. Sometimes people will solo an instrument and get sounding just right with EQ adjustments (often boosting some frequencies to get a "brighter"  or "fuller" sound) and this can make the instrument sound great on it's own.

The problem is that unless you're doing a solo instrumental recording, that instrument isn't going to be heard on it's own, it's going to be heard in the context of the full mix. And what usually happens in this scenario is that as soon as you bring in everything else the mix sounds bad.

The key is not to applying EQ adjustments when a track is solo'd because it doesn't matter how an instrument sounds on it's own, only how it sounds within the mix. What you really need to do is to get the instrument to sound good with all of the other parts going on at the same time. And usually the key here is not so much EQ boosts on an instrument mix but EQ cuts on the other instruments that are getting in the way.

Dynamics

I'm not a fan of over compression. I don't like the modern rock sound where everything is compressed to the point where it's just one continuous loud sound. I can't stand it actually.

But I don't mean to go off on a rant here, what I'm trying to talk about is the elements of dynamics and why you need to think about this when you're mixing a song.

I think it's important to first think about this when you're arranging a song. Why try to "create dynamics" in the mix when you could create it with the arrangement of the song in the first place?

What am I talking about? To put it simply I'm saying instead of having everything going on at once, you should have different parts come in at opportune times. If you listen to great recordings closely (and this is something you should be doing if you want to make your own mixes) you should notice how different elements come in at different times during the song. For example if you have a great guitar riff it doesn't go through the whole song, it comes in at certain times where it has the most impact and so that it doesn't get stale by just repeating endlessly.

But this is only one type of dynamics, what people usually think of when this term is used is compression. And yes, compression is important but too many people are abusing it and creating really lifeless mixes because of it.

Most instruments (including vocals) will sound better with compression applied and it's important to realize that compression is not some new thing unique to modern recording. For example, The Beatles used compression on virtually all of the parts of their songs (but they usually used it in a much less intrusive way than is usually the approach today.)

I really recommend starting off with a "less is more" approach with compression. When you start to hear it as an effect, that means you've probably gone too far. (I'm not totally against the idea of using compression as an effect, if it sounds interesting - that's cool - but the sort of over compressed "one volume" modern rock sound is truly awful and I hope it dies a horrible death as soon as possible.)

I also recommend using your ears. Presets and recipes are of very little use when applying compression. You must listen closely to how the settings are effecting your song and then adjust those settings accordingly. I do not want to go into the details of what "attack," "threshold," and "ratio" mean (at least not in this post) but you should really understand what these things mean and, most importantly, what adjusting these settings sounds like.

Panning

I look at panning as a way of creating a "space" for each element of my mix to live. This is especially important when you've got parts that have overlapping frequencies. You can help make those parts audible by panning them away from each other.

But, while I think panning is an important tool - I try not to rely on it. In fact, I like to get my mixes sounding clear when in mono before I start to think about panning for my stereo mix.

Overview

I want to go into a lot more detail on mixing in the future, with this post I am just giving a sort of overview of my approach towards mixing. I think the "takeaway" from this should be that applying adjustments while a track is solo'd is not a good idea and that you should think about cutting EQ from other instruments before boosting EQ on the target instrument. Clarity comes from removing what's not necessary from a mix.

Playing & Recording

I like to record my bass guitar direct in playing with a pick and using my WAVES GTR3 plugin (which is awesome for bass and guitar btw) to fatten up my sound. I play with a pick to get a more even sound. I find that when I play with my thumb, my sound is not as even and it can be more difficult to correct with compression. If you are a good bass player maybe you won't have this issue (I'm not good.)

Compression

I think compression is often overused these days but the bass guitar is one place where it's usually needed. Start off with a compression ratio of 4:1 with an attack of 25 ms and a 500 ms release and then tweak things to your liking.

EQ

There's no set rules on how to EQ your bass but here's a hint to get you going: Try boosting the 400 Hz, 800 Hz, or 1600 Hz frequency. Notice that I said "or." That means figuring out which one sounds best, not boosting all three!

If you are getting a "muddy" or a "boomy" sound then try lowering the 120 to 200 Hz region.

Mixing

In the end you have to mix everything together. Set your panning for each instrument and set your levels. What am I getting at? Well the compression and EQ that sounds best on the bass on it's own may not be what sounds best when everything is playing together. You have to find "space" for each sound in your mix. That may mean further adjusting your compression & EQ.

You may also want to wait to do any compression and EQ until you get to this final point. I've often seen this recommended, but it's something I've never been able to do. I usually like to start twiddling with things right from the get go. I think it depends on what kind of music you are trying to create and what your own creative process is like.

Your recording/mixing software (or "digital audio workstation") is something you will be constantly working with if you plan on producing music with a computer based system (which is what this site is all about.) Because it's going to make up the core of your studio, choosing the recording software you're going to go with is a pretty big decision.

The first thing you should probably consider is what kind of computer you have (or are planning on getting.) Some recording software works only on the Mac or the PC and some software is known to work better with one or the other (such as Pro Tools' reputation for working better with Mac computers.)

The second thing you should consider is what kind of music you plan on recording/producing and whether or not you will be using MIDI heavily. Some programs such as Cubase are very good for MIDI while others such as Nuendo are not very well suited for MIDI. If you plan on creating music that is entirely (or almost entirely) loop based then Sony's Acid may be the best choice for you.

The third thing you will definitely be considering is your budget. Some recording/mixing software is far more expensive than others. For example, Nuendo 4 is $1800 at GuitarCenter.com while Cubase 4 is only $600.

The fourth thing you'll want to consider is your audio interface. If you do not already have one you may be interested in buying an audio interface package which includes reasonably high quality recording software. If you've already got your audio interface then you'll want to make sure that your recording software works well with the interface you own.

Summaries Of The Seven Top Choices For Recording Software:

Pro Tools - Pro Tools works with both the PC & the Mac although it doesn't yet (as of this writing) work with Windows Vista. The next release of Pro Tools is supposed to be compatible with Vista but even then it will work only with Vista Ultimate. Pro Tools has a reputation for working better with Mac computers, if you are a PC person you may want to consider another option.

If you do not already have an audio interface then you may be interested in one of the Digidesign audio interface packages which come with "light" versions of Pro Tools (you can then upgrade these versions if you become unsatisfied by any limitations.) If you do already have an audio interface then you'll probably want to choose another option as the Pro Tools software probably will not work (or at least not work well) with your non Digidesign audio interface.

Pro Tools may be considered the "standard" for producing audio but that doesn't mean it's the only choice or the best choice for you. You also must make note that the Pro Tools LE versions that come with the cheaper Digidesign audio interfaces are not the same thing as the Pro Tools versions that professional studios use, it's a "light" version which has quite a few limitations that you may be very irritated by. Other choices such as Cubase & Nuendo do not have these limitations.

Nuendo - This software works well with both PC computers and Mac computers, it also works well with almost any audio interface. The only drawbacks are it's price (about $1800) and that it's not particularly strong with MIDI. If you do not use much MIDI (or don't mind using MIDI through Reason, which can be rewired inside of Nuendo) and you have money to burn then this may be a great choice for you.

Nuendo is excellent for surround sound mixing. If you are interested in mixing in 5.1 (and many other options) then this is a great choice. It also includes a video element so if you are interested in producing music for television, movies, or any other video format then Neundo will get the job done.

Nuendo works well with Windows Vista.

Cubase -  It is made by the same company that makes Nuendo (Steinberg.) It also works well with both PCs (including Vista based machines) and Macs. Cubase is an excellent choice if you are MIDI based, although it also works fine for recording audio. It's far less expensive than Nuendo.

SONAR - Cakewalk makes SONAR which is PC only software. Obviously if you have a Mac you'll be crossing SONAR off your list of possibilities. It works well with audio & MIDI. It's capabilities are similar to those of Cubase. In the end it comes down to which program you are most comfortable with, as each program has it's own quirks but generally the end result (in capabilities & audio quality) will be similar.

Digital Performer - Mac only. This software works well with both MIDI & audio. It's created by MOTU (Mark Of The Unicorn) which also makes quality audio interfaces. This is a great alternative to Pro Tools for Mac users, but you should note that their audio interfaces do not come with Digital Performer, you'll have to purchase it seperately.

Logic - Mac only. This is Apple's recording software. If you are an Apple fanatic you'll probably be pleased with how it works. It's reasonably priced and has a lot of great extra features. It works well with audio and MIDI.

Acid - Sony's Acid is a PC only program. It's designed primarily for creating loop based music. For Hip-Hop or electronica it may be a good choice but you should probably avoid it unless that's what you are doing. It is considerably less expensive than the other options as it's only $300 for the Pro version currently at GuitarCenter.com