Matthew Tracey

Better Mixes
Static Mix: This is when there is no automation within your project file. Every
project intitially starts out as a static mix. For example; when recording the live
musicians for this project before the mixing process we had a static mix as there
was no automation at all, just the raw recordings. Being a statsic mix meant that
the audio had not been improved or altered any other way so clipping was still
an issue.
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR): This is the balance of sound going in to a mic
and the sound of the surrounding environment. For example; if a vocalist sings
in a noisy environement, then the background noise is going to affect the audio
file in some shape or form, it is good to have a balanced SNR to make sure that
you get the sound you want.
DBFS: Decibels relative to full scale is the full term and it is a way of
measuring volume in music. Zero DB is the maximum volume you can have
beforw clipping occurs. During the mixing and mastering of the tracks we
attempt to get all levels rigth and the final master as close to zero DB as
possible.
Dynamic Range: This is the highest to lowest point of an audio wave. This
determines how much room the sound has to play.
Headroom: This is the designated level before damage to the audio file is
made. For exmaple; causing a piece of audio to distort via loudness rather than
something like a bitcrusher. This is vital to know when recording and mixing as
you do not want to exceed your headroom as you will lose quality and basically
the finished product will sound terrible.
EQ/Frequency Spectrum: These frequencies conist of Low/Mid/High. Eqing
involves cutting certain frequencies to get the best quality sound in your mix.
We use EQ in our mix to cut high frequencies in unwanted areas such as bass.
We only want low frequencies in a bass and some mid, we do not want high
frequencies as that would cause it to clash with other sounds in the mix such as
hi-hats. Eqing is all about giving each instrument or vocal space in the mix so
that it all comes together clearly.
Digital Distortion (as opposed to analouge): This is distortion used as an
effect rather than bad mixing. For example; the bitcrusher is a form of digital

distortion it can be controlled and so does not cause clipping. It is genreally

used for guitars or vocals (most popular in electronic music).
Short Compression Definitions
Compression Threshhold: Determined by a certain ratio, this is basically just
the amount of gain rdeuction made.
Compression Output/Make Up Gain: This is basically where you make up
the level of gain on your track.
Compression Ratio: These ratios are expressed in decibels.
Compression Attack/Release: The compression attack is how quickly that it
begins and the release is how long it takes to end.
All of these parts of compression were used during the mixing of the recordings
we used. Certain parts of the song in this case drums were compressed to make
them clearer, bolder and to have more punch. After compression things sound a
lot clearer, but it is also very easy to over compress, whcih is not good practise,
as your basically squashing that sound and lose any good quality that the
original audio had.
If I were to do the mixes again I would spend more time on the Eqing. Looking
back I hear some resonance from bass frequencies that need fixing. Also the
compression was not perfect and could use some real improvement next time.