The Mixing Engineer

Christine Heriot 13014015

Within the process of creating a song; there are many roles for different engineers to do.
The main roles include; the recording engineer, the mixing engineer and the mastering engineer. The
recording engineer generally gets the raw materials of the track for the mixing engineer to then edit
together and create a rough outline. From there the track goes onto a mastering engineer for more
refine editing and making sure that the track is in the correct format. Throughout this essay, I will be
focusing on the mixing aspect of a recording with reference to the role of the engineer, processing
techniques and to context and genre.
According to Dictionary.com, a mix down is; to mix the tracks of an existing recording to
make a new recording with fewer tracks. 1 A mix down engineer is essentially the person who
administers the mix down process. Mixing can be considered an art form due to the many years of
experience which is required.2 Musicians rely heavily upon the mixing engineer to create a sound
which they desire for their record.2 Different engineers tend to mix a record according to what genre
the piece is and to their own preferred taste. For example; engineers who tend to mix pop music
generally use more reverb and compression in order to make the sound more appealing to listeners.
Engineers who mix rock music prefer to use less effects in order to create a record which sounds
more genuine. Both engineers are still working towards a similar goal though, creating an album
which is mixed well enough for listeners to not hear obvious changes, through the use of certain
processing effects such as compression, EQ and reverb.
Audio engineers always use effects. Whether its in a corrective way in order to make the
song sound more pleasing to the ears or using them in a creative way to make the song sound
better, they are always used. Most engineers apply Equalisation (EQ) to the majority if not, all- of
the tracks which they are mixing. EQ is usually applied in order to keep the frequencies all at
controlled levels. High pass and low pass filters are commonly used for cutting the frequencies
rather than boosting them whereas shelving, parametric and graphic EQs can both boost the signals
or cut them in order to create a more sonically pleasing sound. Compressors are another effect
which is frequently used in the mixing process. They are used to shrink the dynamic range by
allowing the lower levels to become more prominent in comparison to the higher levels. Gating is
used more to minimise the background noise of a piece or to isolate particular frequencies in a mix.
Finally, the other most used processing technique which mixing engineers use repeatedly is
reverberation. Reverb is mostly used to produce a certain depth to the recording. It can also be used
to create a distinct warming atmosphere to the whole tune. Chris Lord-Alge was the mixing engineer
for Green Days American Idiot (2004)3. He used a few of these techniques.
American Idiot was one of the biggest albums from 2004 even though it was only released
in the September that year. It became number 11 on the Worldwide Chart 4in 2004 yet number 5 in
20055 and even won Best Rock Album at the 2004 Grammys6. Chris Lord-Alge was the mixing
1

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mixing?&o=100074&s=t
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-mixing-engineer-do.htm
3
http://chrislordalge.com/albums/
4
https://web.archive.org/web/20090530025526/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top50-2004.pdf
5
https://web.archive.org/web/20090530024815/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top50-2005.pdf
6
http://www.grammy.com/artist/green-day
2

engineer for the American Idiot Album. For this essay I analysed the whole album and came across
quite a few mixing techniques. Within my notes, I wrote the words prominent cymbals in very
track. This technique shows that the EQ was fixed so that the high frequencies were able to be heard
throughout the album. The levels on the guitar and bass guitar are similar. They are also loud
enough for both instruments to be heard distinctly and the listener can differentiate between the
two. One of my favourite techniques which Lord-Alge used was accurately convey each instrument
within this 3-piece band. Reverb is a very common techniques which Lord-Alge used to emphasise
the boom of the kick drum and to make Billie Joe Armstrongs voice sound more warm and whole
without sounding too echoy. On the tracks Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming, there are a few
drum fills which are panned in such a way that the listener can hear the full kit. Going back to vocals;
there a few tracks where Lord-Alge was able manipulate Armstrongs voice in order to make it sound
very digitalised. This effect was obviously created through some sort of voice editor but it makes a
very powerful change to the songs on the album. Finally, the strangest mixing technique which I
came across while analysing the album was the modulation in volume in the middle of a song. For
example; in quite a few of the tracks, Lord-Alge would use the automation in his software to lower
the volume of the track half way through and then return to the original volume. The strange part of
this effect is the fact that it can only be heard through headphones rather than a set of speakers. The
final thing to bring into consideration is how this album has been mastered.
The mastering on an album is one of the final stages for the record to go through before it
goes out to the general public. Mastering includes; making sure that the album flows from each song
smoothly, making sure that all of the tracks are at similar levels and correcting any small mistakes
which the mixing engineer might make. Ted Jenson was the mastering engineer for American Idiot.
He is the mastering engineer for many artists in many different genres. For example; Tim McGraw,
Owl City and Michael Bubl7. American Idiot is mastered in such a way that the album stands out
to its listeners and continues to get the attention of people 11 years after its release. Jenson also
had to make sure that the album was in the correct formats before he sent it back to the record
company. To date, American Idiot is available on CD, Vinyl and Digital Download.
Overall, the creation of American Idiot shows that the mixing of a record is very important.
The mixing engineer is in charge of making the album sound exactly how the artists want it to sound
and adding techniques such as reverb, panning, EQ and compression emphasises certain parts of the
tracks to make it stand out to listeners.

Word Count: 1087

http://sterling-sound.com/engineers/ted-jensen/#discography