Improve Your Mixes With This Critical Listening Exercise

Oct 13th in Mixing & Mastering by Mark Garrison

When I teach recording classes my favorite lesson is this critical listening exercise. It’s fun and light, and practicing it helps us all improve our mixes. First, let’s look at what makes a great mix, then we’ll jump into the exercise.

Author: Mark Garrison

Mark is a recording engineer, multi-instrumentalist and graphic designer. He has worked in the recording industry for 10 years and has taught recording for 5 years.

Thumbnail image courtesy of rudolf_schuba.

The Elements of a Mix

In his book The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, Bobby Owsinski suggested that there are six elements of a great mix: Balance, Panorama, Frequency Range, Dimension, Dynamic and Interest. Below I’ll outline what these elements mean. My definitions vary a little from Owsinski’s, as I feel these definitions add some important factors that were missing from his definitions.

Balance: Do all instruments feel like they have appropriate weight in the mix? Are any instruments being lost in the mix because they are being overpowered? Are some instruments more prominent then others? (The answer may often be yes to the last one, but that should be a deliberate decision, not an accident.)

Panorama: Do instruments sit at various points in stereo field (left to right speakers)? Does the point of interest shift within this field?

Frequency Range: Are all frequencies represented somewhat equally? Is there something happening in all frequency ranges? (There are times when we deliberately have little happening in a frequency range – a violin concerto would sound silly with pounding bass – but again this should be a conscious decision.)

Dimension: Do some instruments sound closer or farther away that others? Is there a sense of movement in the mix?

Dynamics: Does the song change over its duration? Most often in recording we use the term dynamics to refer to changes in volume, but we need to consider other dynamic changes such as tempo, time signature, key, or major/minor tonality.

Interest: There are two important sides to interest. First is the hook; Is there something memorable about the mix? This could be a melodic hook, or a memorable tonality (think Cher’s “Do You Believe” or Smashmouth’s “Walking On The Sun”).

The second, and less thought about, side of interest is this: What pulls the listener through the song? When the lead instrument stops playing, what takes over as the focus of the song? The analogy I like to use is that of a TV show or play. If the characters leave the stage, other characters must enter right away to keep the viewer’s interest. If a TV show had long gaps of just background between dialogue and action everyone would get bored and change the channel. Music is no different.

It All Starts With Arrangement

Keep in mind that the first step in all of these comes with arrangement. Keeping these elements in mind during the arrangement process will make mixing far easier.

The Exercise

Now that we have outlined some criteria that we can use to critique a mix, pick some commercially produced recordings and pick them apart. Do this on a regular basis and it will become instinctual. Your mixes will improve and your creativity will soar.

Let’s look at a song. These are just my opinions, so feel free to add your own insight in the comments field below. Those who do not have a decent pair of speakers with their computer may want to consider listening on headphones.

Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Uploaded by yokatai

Step 1: Listen For Balance

Try to pick out each instrument being used and take note of exactly what it is doing. In a well mixed song this should not be difficult. Poor balance often results in instruments being hard to pinpoint. What instruments do you notice the most?

What instruments are subtle enough that you only notice when listening carfully? In this song the bass and percussion are very prominent. They are what drives the song forward. The vocals are clear and upfront as they are the focal point of the mix (after all, it’s Michael’s name on the album cover).

Step 2: Check For Panorama

Picture where from left to right each instrument seems to be coming from. If it helps, you may want to draw a line on a piece of paper and make a tick for where each instument seems to be.

The percussion, synths and backing vocals in this tune take full advantage of the stereo field. Note the double-tracked backing vocals panned left and right such as at 0:44 and leading into the chorus at about 1:28.

Step 3: Examine The Frequency Range Being Used

Listen for low, low-mid, high-mid and high frequencies. Is there content in each if those ranges? Does it feel like there is too much in any given range? In this song the thin kick and snare make room for the thick bass.

The synth fills the mids subtly in the verse, thickening along with some guitar and additional vocals in the chorus. The highs have some percussion, backing vocals, and the higher overtones of the synth.

Step 4: Listen For Dimension

This is a harder one. It may help to close your eyes. Imaging that you are watching this being performed on stage. Which instruments feel closer to you? Which feel farther away?

In Billie Jean the bass and kick feel right up front. The snare and other percussion is farther back, as are the lead vocals. The syths are father back still. The layered backing vocals sit at various depths (such as at about 2:50).

Step 5: Observe Any Dynamic Changes

Take note of changes in the song. The most obvious dynamic changes in this song are the energetic choruses which contrast nicely with the more reserved verses (see about 1:30).

Within the chorus itself the guitar provides a dynamic change. It comes in first at 1:39 and plays double time in alternating 2 bars on, 2 bars off and then 2 more bars on, greatly changing the feel of the chorus while it plays.

Step 6: Take Note Of Where Your Interest Goes

Pay attention to what is holding your interest at each moment in the song. Again, pen and paper may help. Here, the interest is pulled forward by the interplay between the additional vocal tracks, the guitar and the synth which each take their turn as focal point when the lead vocals pause.

Let’s take the turnaround at the end of the first verse as an example (1:14). At the end of the first line the sax-like synth takes over our attention between lines (1:17), then after the next line the backing vocals (the famous Michael Jackson “Heee-eee”) do the same (1:20), then the synth again (1:25), then the layered backing vocals pull us into the chorus (1:26).

Below are a couple more examples of great mixes and how they hold up to this exercise.

Sun King by The Beatles

Balance: Note how the kick and the bass are distinct, as are the two guitars. In the second half of the song the vocals are big and prominent without drowning out any of the other instruments.

Panorama: From the hard panning to the moving instruments this mix takes great advantage of the stereo field. When the vocals come in they are everywhere, rather than singular.

Frequency Range: Each instrument has its own place, nothing gets in the way of anything else. Thick lows and sparkling highs.

Dimension: In a reversal from the usual way of doing things, the bass and kick are right up front with the guitars and keys farther back. When the vocals come in they are farther back still.

Dynamics: Subtle at first, though big when the vocals come in.

Interest: The interplay between the instruments grabs you at the beginning and leads you right to the vocals which take their place as the focal point.

Supervixen by Garbage

Balance: The snare hides a bit in the heavier bits, though this is probably intentional in this aggressive mix.

Panorama: The bass and kick sit solidly in the center. Abstract sounds tease at the edges. The guitars play back and fourth from left to right in the bridge.

Frequency Range: A bit bass heavy in the heavy parts, but balanced nicely with the highs of the vocals and the far thinner low end in the verse.

Dimension: The backing vocals and drums feel very distant in stark contrast to the very upfront guitars and bass.

Dynamics: Huge. It’s rare to hear jumps in volume and energy so large in modern music.

Interest: The abstract sounds take over interest between the lines of the verse carrying interest nicely along. In the chorus the backing vocals do the same.

A Basic Guide to Acoustic Treatment

Apr 6th in Recording by Mo Volans

After touching on the critical subject of acoustics and room treatment in a few recent tutorials, I felt it was fitting to create a basic guide to acoustically treating your work space. I get asked about this subject a lot so I'm hoping a run down of the essential technique and kit needed will be of some help to readers.

Of course this is an extremely technical subject and this tutorial in no way claims to be the definitive guide to acoustic treatment, but these tips and guidelines should get beginners up and running and generally help to clarify the whole subject of room acoustics.

I'll run through the basics of choosing the right space, positioning your kit and then look at different types of treatment techniques and materials.

Author: Mo Volans

Mo Volans has been releasing tracks for well over a decade with many of the world's top electronic labels. Having worked with a long list of high profile artists, he has enjoyed top ten success on numerous of occasions. Mo records under the names MoHawk, Twisted Air, and Openair and also writes music for TV and film. 
Mo is also a prolific writer and journalist writing for publications such as Music Tech, Remix mag and EQ.

Step 1 - Your Room

Unfortunately most of us don't have the luxury of designing our own studios from scratch and in some cases permanent customization is even a problem, so often the rooms we work in have pretty obvious faults and more often than not there is work to be done. If you can afford it, you can have the room analyzed, or you can even attempt this yourself but assuming this is too expensive or technical for most, we'll look at a more basic route.

Every room is unique and everything in the space will effect its sound. Wall angles, flooring, windows, doors and of course its overall shape will all dramatically change the way sound is perceived within the room. The first thing to do in any situation is to identify the problem areas in your room and home in on the issues that need to be addressed. It's possible that some things can be rectified before any acoustic treatment is even purchased.

If you are restricted to using one particular room, you are pretty much stuck with its basic shape and size but look out for things such as highly reflective surfaces. These will create large amounts of reflection and play havoc with your stereo image and you are also likely to hear your audio several times as it bounces back to you. These issues can make mixing an absolute nightmare.

So if you have any large windows try using some curtains to cover them up. Even blinds would be a better option than large exposed areas of glass. Mirrors and exposed polished work surfaces should also be avoided if possible. This rule of thumb generally extends to floors as well, so try to opt for a hard wearing carpet rather than a laminate or hard wood floor.

If you are fortunate enough to have a choice of rooms (or you are able to modify the one you are in) it's a good idea not to go for anything too large or too small. I realize these are very general terms but common sense should prevail here. Extremely large rooms often have many inherent problems, such as standing waves, nodes and large amounts of reflection. These problems often require a lot of treatment to rectify. The sheers size of the walls in larger rooms will mean that more acoustic treatment is required.

Large rooms can require a lot of treatment

Very small rooms will arguably present fewer problems from the offset but there will be obstacles none the less. Lower frequencies will often not have space to develop in these more confined spaces and this can lead to mixes that don't translate well to larger systems. Unfortunately a lot of the problems caused by monitoring in smaller rooms cannot be solved using acoustic treatment, so the only remedy here might be to relocate!

A well designed small room set up

As far as shape goes, there are a huge number of variables here but as a rule symmetrical opposing surfaces are not ideal and rooms with differing angled walls will be much easier to treat.

Custom room design is ideal but expensive

Step 2 - The Listening Position

Just as important as the room you are in, is the listening position you choose. Smaller rooms may limit your choices here but if you have enough space, you can afford to take a more considered approach and really think about where you place your equipment.

First up the sound coming from your monitors needs space to develop, especially the lower frequencies. Try not to position your workstation in an alcove or too close to any walls. The same goes for your listening position, this should be a good distance away from any walls as well. Some speakers for example will be rear ported and these need to be placed at least ten inches or so away from any hard surface in order for the bass be reproduced correctly. The same goes for any sub woofers that are rear or side ported.

If your room is oblong in shape or has one aspect that is longer than another, it is wise to position your self so that you are in line with the longer part of the space. Again this gives the all important low frequencies a chance to develop and any reflections from the back wall will be more easily managed by using broadband absorption.

Correct position in an oblong space

Another important thing to think about here is something known as the 'sweet spot'. This is really just the ideal position between your speakers. With your speakers positioned correctly you should be able to draw a triangle between your ears and each speaker. The speakers should be positioned so they face down the lines of this triangle and if they are above you in height they should also be tilted downwards.

A simple representation of the 'sweet spot'

If you are positioned correctly in your room and you are in the sweet spot you should get a good stereo image and be able to hear all the frequencies your system is producing. You should now be ready to identify and tackle any acoustic problems the room may be throwing at you.

Step 3 - Absorption

Before I go into how and where to fit your acoustic treatment, let's look at the different kinds of treatment that can be used and what each one is capable of. If you can get your head around these basics then it should be relatively easy to decide what you need when you experience a certain problem.

The first kind of treatment we'll look at is absorption. This is possibly the most commonly used acoustic treatment in home studios, in fact it is possible that it is over used. In some studios this will be the only sort of treatment you'll see and often far too much of it. This can have a really negative effect on your final mixes, so let's look at the how it works and when to use it.

Absorption is needed where there is a lot of reflection taking place. This will present itself as an echo or ring in your room and will usually effect the mid and high frequencies. These echoes are called early reflections and if untreated can be very fatiguing to the listener over time. It's also hard to get an accurate high end mix when these are present.

Representation of early reflections

Early reflections being treated by absorption

Absorption treatment most commonly comes in the form of tiles, and these can be of various densities and textures. These tiles will actually absorb a proportion of the sound that hits them. This means less reflection and less of the signal coming back to the listener.

If you are pretty new to the area of acoustics, it might be best to acquire some broadband absorption tiles. These tend to be of a higher density and will work well across the largest frequency range possible. Some dealers such as Studiospares (UK) and Truesoundcontrol.com (US) supply some great bundles when it comes to a large number of tiles.

Absorption tiles

The trick is here to do things a little at a time. As a general guideline you are looking for about 70% coverage using some kind of acoustic treatment. Don't go crazy here and slap tiles on every surface, you will end up with a totally dead unrealistic space. You are really just trying to eliminate the ring for now and once you reach this point you will have certainly made enough impact to start looking at other areas.

Step 4 - Diffusion

Some reflection of the sound in our workspace is actually a good thing, believe it or not. Hearing some of the mix come back to our ears from various parts of the room can help create a realistic stereo image and a more open natural sound.

The problem is that if you simply leave areas of wall bare to create this reflection you will get a horrible slap back style delay and this is far from desirable. Other hard flat surfaces such as your computer screens and work surface can also create this sort of unwanted reflection.

The answer to this problem is diffusion. This is similar to reflection but instead of all the sound being reflected in one go it is diffused and returned to your ears at many different intervals.

When you see a diffuser you will immediately see how they do this. An average diffuser panel is made up of numerous small segments. These may appear random but are designed using exact mathematics. The Skyline range of diffusers for example uses a primitive root formula, meaning each section is an exact prime number.

Skyline diffuser

Diffusers fitted above listening position

This sort of treatment works really well in smaller rooms and can greatly enhance the stereo image and overall sound of a room when applied correctly.

Step 5 - Bass Traps

Fine tuning your space to reproduce low frequencies correctly is an art of its own and can prove to be a challenge. The first step here is to use traditional bass traps to treat all the corners of your room. This will help to prevent the powerful omni-directional low frequency energy from grouping and creating bass heavy spots. If you need to you can also treat the join between the ceiling and walls.

Traditional bass traps

If after this initial treatment you are still experiencing bass heavy areas in your room, it is likely that you have nodes or standing waves occurring. These can be reduced using heavier wall mounted traps. These are similar to broadband absorption panels but are usually made up of several layers and of much denser material. These are pretty expensive to buy but if you are confident enough DIY versions can be effective.

DIY traps

Step 6 - Decoupling and Isolation

When treating your room it is worth looking into isolating your speakers and subs. By using dense platforms under your speakers you can 'decouple' them from your work station, desk or floor. This will do a few things, firstly it will prevent anything the speakers are resting on from resonating. This means you will be listening to your mix and not the furniture in your studio. Secondly decoupling will reduce the amount of low frequency transmitted into the walls, floor and ceiling of your studio, cutting down on the sound traveling into adjoining rooms.

Speaker isolator

Subs can be isolated using dense pads especially built for the job and you can also decouple kit that is effected by vibration. For example turntables can be isolated to prevent errors in playback in loud environments.

Sub woofer isolator

Step 7 - Placement and Fitting

When you have got your head around the different flavors of acoustic treatment available to you and you have identified the issues in your particular room, you are about ready to start installing the stuff.

When it comes to actually sticking the panels, traps and diffusers up you have a few choices. For a permanent solution go for glue. For a more semi permanent, re-fixable option try spray adhesive and if you need something that leaves absolutely no marks at all you can get velcro pads or pins to hold the treatment in place. A hint: companies such as Auralex do supply excellent products but a quick scout around your local hardware store may reveal the same thing for a tenth of the price!

Fixing glue

Spray glue

Fixing velcro

If you are not well versed in the science of acoustics and you are unsure about the placement of various treatments, a good analogy to use is that of pool balls being fired from your studio monitors. If the balls hit a hard surface imagine they continue on their path, they then hit subsequent surfaces and continue further.

With this in mind it is likely that the path of the virtual balls will eventually reach your listening position and this is what you are aiming to stop. Try to treat the spots along this route you have traced with broadband absorption panels and listen to the difference this makes. This method should highlight how important it is to treat the rear and front walls and the surfaces directly above and to the sides of the listening position.

This is a very basic guideline on placing your treatment and shouldn't be taken as gospel. If you are serious about doing this to the letter then you should really take the time to do some further research into audio acoustics.

Diffusion panels can be placed above any hard surfaces such as a workstation or computer monitors, and absorption panels can be alternated with diffusers for a more open sound in the room. This can be adjusted to taste as you go.

Treating the room for bass frequencies should be a separate process really and this is one area you can afford to be pretty heavy handed in. It's pretty difficult to go over the top here but treating all corners is a pretty safe bet.

Bass traps being fitted

Bass traps being fitted

DIY acoustic treatment is all about applying common sense and caution. Apply a good mix of treatment types, add more treatment a bit at a time and take time for critical listening sessions throughout the process. If you follow these guidelines you should end up with a superior listening environment and mixes that transfer to the real world satisfactorily.

Treated room example 1

Treated room example 2

8 Stifling Myths About Studio Recording

Aug 30th in Recording by Joel Falconer

For the neophyte, the studio can be a place of myth and legend. It’s complicated and takes many years of learning and hands-on experience to become a talented studio engineer or producer. It’s not at all helped by the amount of misinformation that has been distributed about studio recording, unfortunately; let’s clear up a few of these myths.

Author: Joel Falconer

Joel Falconer is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and frontman. While Joel's first love is writing and performing songs that touch on important and personal issues, programming, engineering and producing music in the studio are also strong passions.

1. There’s a “right way” to do things.

You can record your vocals through an SM58 or let clipping go unchecked if you want; there’s really no hard and fast right way to do things in the studio. There are guidelines and best practices, but at the end of the day you have to go with what your ear says sounds good, and more importantly, sounds right for the track.

2. Studio magic can fix a bad performance.

Studio magic can make a good performance great, or a great performance stunning. But the only way to get something that sounds good is to make sure the instrument sounds good in the room and the performer is nailing it. The proverb in the studio is you can’t polish a turd. If it sucks, it sucks.

3. Record on tape, it sounds better.

There is a marked difference in the sound you get from a track recorded on tape and all analogue gear and a track that was recorded using Pro Tools. There’s a myth that tape sounds better, but it’s not true; digital recording means higher fidelity (or accurate representation) to the original sound source, which means cleaner, better quality recordings.

There’s a certain warmth to analogue recordings because of a mild level of distortion. So, that quality people look for in tape is actually caused by a lack of quality. I don’t mean to say the tape sound isn’t desirable and appropriate for some recordings, but don’t be suckered for your money by one of the tape fan boys.

The next myth is related…

4. Every time you copy an audio file, it loses quality.

True enough for tape: every time you make a copy onto another reel, a miniscule level of quality is lost. But when you’re copying digital files, you don’t lose anything. Binary digit for binary digit, every last detail remains perfectly intact even if you copy the same file a hundred times over.

This myth is perpetuated by people who don’t really understand digital technology, and by the same crowd who insists that tape is inherently “better.”

5. Digital technology means any musician can make a hit recording.

Just because you’ve paid a whopper of a price to rent the studio out doesn’t mean you can make a hit recording. Sure, digital technology makes recording easier in so many ways, but you need to know how everything in the studio works to pull a great sound and make an excellent, radio-ready record. If you're dishing out for the studio, make sure you dish out that bit extra for a decent engineer—you won't regret it.

6. You must use a click track.

Granted, it’s almost impossible to edit your drums up or do any shuffling around later on if you don’t use a click track, but it’s not a necessity. If you and your band can’t or don’t want to work with one, there’s no reason why you have to. If it kills your vibe, ditch the click—some things are, of course, more important than others.

7. You need outboard processors to get a good sound.

Some people say you have to use an outboard compressor or reverb unit to get a decent sound. Not true: you can get sounds that sound smashing using good plug-ins. It’s hard to tell the difference between the BombFactory BF76 and the outboard it was modeled after unless you’ve been listening to both for years.

That said, outboard is almost always better; that’s no myth at all. The myth is that you need them to get a good sound.

8. The best vocal tracks are a mash-up of a million takes.

The best tracks sound great because they sounded great in the room. This doesn’t just apply to the room itself and the instrument, but the performance of the instrument in the room. If you get a vocalist to do one good take, it’s going to sound better than having the vocalist do twenty average takes and mashing up the greatest moments from each.