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THE MAGIC MIX

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Contents

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3

WHAT IS MASTERING? ........................................................................................................................... 4

THE MIXING PROCESS ............................................................................................................................ 6

GETTING STARTED ................................................................................................................................. 7

EQUALIZING (EQ) ..................................................................................................................................... 9

THE BLUEPRINT....................................................................................................................................... 11

THE MAGIC MIX


Introduction

Thank you for taking the first step to achieving great sounding mixes.

They call me Pappa E. I'm the founder of Mixing-mastering.com

Since 2003, I have performed post production, mastering recordings for

Grammy Award Artists, Award winning producer SCOTT STORCH

including an impressive roster of independent artists & bands from all

over the world. We were one of the first, leading online mixing and

mastering services to emerge in 2003. We went on to servicing

worldwide clients from 13 different countries. During that time we

branded ourselves as Pappa E (www.pappae.com).

Our eBook assumes that you already have basic knowledge of using or

operating your own preferred DAW (Pro Tools, Ableton, Sonar, Logic,

Cubase & etc). It also assumes that you already have attempted to mix

your own song but failed to achieve good or favorable mix results. You

may also be seeking answers to improving your skills or to avoid

commonly made mistakes.

We left out much technical terms so that it can be easily understood by

everyone from audio beginners to professionals.

Before we proceed, we should touch a little bit on the subject of audio

mastering. Your final song mixes will need to pass through this final

stage.

http://www.pappae.com/

THE MAGIC MIX


What is mastering?

Mastering is the final touch after the recording and mixing process. This

is a very technical stage that will bring your recordings up to par with

commercial, popular music you hear on radio or on iTunes. This technical

process will ensure your music to sound its ultimate excellence on all

mediums, including various music systems ranging from large to mid-

size, small speakers and headphones.

It will transform your finished mixes to sound as loud & sonically balanced

as the popular recordings released by major artists & labels. The technical

aspect is very detailed and we will not bore the average reader here.

Perhaps we will save this for another future segment to come.

A good mastering engineer is equipped with mainly experience, ears and

the ability to effectively solve problems with the available tools at his

disposal. His experience and critical attention to the finest details is

absolute paramount.

Here’s the low-down. Can any music recording achieve great mastering

results? The answer is no. There are no short cuts to great mastering. It

will significantly rely on the quality of your mix. Many expect miracles in

mastering from a poorly mixed recording.

THE MAGIC MIX


What is mastering?

A good mixing job is the ultimate key that will lead your music recordings

to exceptionally great mastering results. In other words, great

professional mixes equal better mastering results.

Of course, good mastering will also depend on the assumption that you

are working with an experienced and reputable mastering engineer. But

don’t expect him to do miracles to a poorly mixed recording.

THE MAGIC MIX


The Mixing Process

There are many things to pay attention to in the mixing process simply

because there are many instruments or audio tracks to manage. Some

projects range from 16-24 tracks or more. A good mixing engineer will

monitor every signal in his path and ensure that each instrument is

carefully attended to or fine tuned.

During mixing, we advise to steer away from using any mind altering

stimulants as they may impair your listening & judgment. If you do smoke,

cigarettes are acceptable. It’s important to note that we need your critical

ear in making audible decisions during the mixing process.

By applying the formula revealed in our next eBook entitled, MAGIC MIX

FORMULA, you will win half the battle in achieving a solid mix.

THE MAGIC MIX


Getting Started

Organize your tracks by labeling them accordingly. As you know, many

instruments comprise or make up your song mix. Let’s run down the list

of instruments. As we go through the list, understand that each

instrument has an allocated placement or space & presence in a song

mix. Some are assigned a certain degree to the left channel while others

to the right channel. Other prominent instruments like the snare, kick,

vocals or lead instrument are assigned to the center.

The instrument’s unique individual space or placement is defined by its

Pan position. As most of you are aware, panning can range from 0 (Center)

to 100 on either the Left or Right channel.

For better accuracy in panning, we suggest converting your tracks into

mono. This is entirely optional as you may have an audio track that

possess unique stereo elements that you may like to highlight.

The presence of an instrument in a mix is defined by its shape, EQ and

volume.

In addition, we will also prescribe the relevant audio effects that will suit

or complement each unique instrument. The effects we prescribe on our

blueprint are only recommendations. We are not suggesting that they are

an absolute must.

THE MAGIC MIX


Getting Started

Since this is a short eBook, we will not cover compression settings for

instruments since it can be varied & complex. However, due to

revolutionary audio compressor plugins, many of you now have the

luxury of choosing compression presets designed for each unique

instrument. This should solve much of the problems or mystery on how

to compress your unique instruments.

Let’s get started. Setup by importing all your required audio tracks into

your song project.

THE MAGIC MIX


Equalizing (EQ)

Before making any decisions on EQ, we should focus on mixing the drums

first. Follow the blueprint guide revealed in our next eBook entitled

MAGIC MIX FORMULA.. Refer & perform our prescribed parameters (peak

volume, pan position, compression, effects) we have set forth for each

drum instrument.

TIP: Always setup our prescribed parameters first. You may

EQ only after this step.

Let’s start with the bass/kick drum. Mute all other instruments or you can

choose to ‘Solo’ the kick drum. Next bring in the snare or hi-hats, cymbals,

toms, overheads (optional) and so on.

Once you have mixed the drums, you can start to bring in other

instruments. Our next preferred instrument is the bass guitar or synth

bass.

It is common practice to cut off unwanted low frequencies from audio

instruments & vocals. This commonly applies to bass guitar, keyboard

synths & vocals.

THE MAGIC MIX


Equalizing (EQ)

There’s no uniform approach to EQ instruments. Audio signals come in

unique shapes and variants. When performing EQ on a bass guitar/synth

bass, you will need to use your bass drum as a reference. It’s important

to note that these 2 instruments complement each other. Refer & apply

our 'bass guitar' parameters revealed in the blueprint of our next eBook

entitled MAGIC MIX FORMULA.

When we perform EQ, it is common practice for us to reduce low

frequencies & boosting mid frequencies. We rarely boost high

frequencies. Our favorite tool to use is the Parametric EQ.

Listen & pay close attention to the relationship between bass guitar &

bass drum. If the bass guitar sounds like it is drowning the bass drum

punch, cut off more low frequencies from it. If the bass guitar needs more

prominence or attack, don’t boost the volume. Instead, use the

Parametric EQ to boost the mid frequencies by 3.6 to 4.2 dB.

THE MAGIC MIX


The Blueprint

Get complete access to the MAGIC MIX FORMULA

Get our secret blueprint by visiting us at:

www.mixing-mastering.com

http://www.mixing-mastering.com/

THE MAGIC MIX


THE BLUEPRINT

• Discover secrets hacks to crafting a solid golden mix

• Don't work hard. Work smart

• We cut out the fluff & get straight to the point.

• Our formula can be applied by all DAW users:

o Logic Pro X,

o Pro Tools

o Studio One

o Ableton Live

o Cubase Pro

o Propellerhead Reason

o FL Studio

o MOTU Digital Performer

o Cakewalk Sonar

o Nuendo

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