One of the most often asked questions in audio mixing are as follows:
a.) How to mix instruments so that they would sound like they are up-front or back in the mix?
b.) How to put instruments in the center, right, left or mid-right and mid-left in the mix?
These are fundamental questions that are of so much importance in audio mixing. There are no short answers to these questions and it’s imperative that you entirely understand the concepts of front and back audio mixing.
“Front” and “Back” Elements Adds Realism to your Mix
Do you why live concert sounds so full and alive? It’s because the artists/performers are on-stage with live monitors placed on optimal listening locations. The sound combination of these monitors would make up a very nice front and back mix of the band performing on-stage.
On the other hand, even without live monitors, you can still feel the “depth” and “fullness” of the sound. Have you listened to a choir or musical ensemble playing live without microphones? The instruments in the front are the lead instruments while the back-up musicians are performing on the background providing the additional rhythm or harmony. The result blending of the sound mix is realistic and sounds great.
Problems will arise when you are mixing audio for an album or single. Aside that they are mostly recorded dry (no effects) and without stereo information (tracks are recorded mostly in mono). It is a crucial job for the audio mixing engineer to assign effects and locations of these instruments in the stereo field. The objective is to give life to the artist song/performance so that fans can relate to like they are playing live or in-front of them.
What will happen if there are no “front” and “back” information of the mix is that it would not sound realistic and the mix sounds dull.
“Effects” pull sound to the Front and Back
The first thing you need to learn is that there are lots of effects you can assign to make the instruments sound up-front or back in the mix. Refer to the list below:
a.) Reverb – this is the simplest effect for making the instruments sound up-front or back in the mix. Less reverb would make the instruments sound more up-front. More reverb would pull the instruments farther back of the mix.
It is why it is not appropriate to assign the same reverb settings for all instruments because the front and back image of the mix would be compromised. To have realistic reverb settings; you need to:
1.) Put less reverb on main or solo instruments such as the vocals. These would let them shine in the mix among other instruments in the background.
2.) Put more reverb on background or rhythm instruments so that they would sound like supporting the lead instruments on the front.
Again use you ear and imagine the mix as if the band/musician is playing in front of you. Ask this question to yourself: Does my reverb setting reflect a realistic front and back image of the mix?
b.) EQ – you can use EQ to make the instruments sound up-front or back in the mix. A good example is when you are mixing a combination of lead and back-up vocals. The lead vocals should occupy the most obvious vocal frequency range (where ears are most sensitive). This is usually 800Hz to 5000Hz. In this range, the lead vocals should be dominant. However the back-up vocals are reduced in this frequency range so that they would sound like supporting the lead singer (at the back).
A typical EQ setting:
1.) Lead vocal – Boost +3dB 3000Hz Q=1.0
2.) Backup vocal- Cut -6dB 3000Hz Q= 1.4
If you do not cut the back-up vocals using EQ, they would dominate the lead vocals in their dominant frequency range thus you are not providing an accurate front/back image of your vocal mix.
c.) Compression – when used creatively you can use compression to make instruments sound up-front or back in the mix. A good example is a weak bass guitar sound or a poor bass guitar player performance. Usually, when the bass player is not that good; the dynamics of the recorded bass are not consistent in the mix. This ends up the bass being buried in some sections of the song where other elements are loud.
To bring up the bass, you need to compress it so that weaker sections would become loud. As a result, the bass has more consistent volume even in louder sections and it will now stand-out in mix. Combine with EQ effect, you can even make the bass presence stronger and even.
“Panning” pulls sound left or right
Finally, you can use panning to assign instruments either in the center, left, right or even mid-right or mid-left in the mix. You can easily assign panning settings in your DAW or even in analog consoles they have a panning knob.
To sum-up the two dimensional mixing, just look at this screenshot:
Front and back mixing screenshot
An example illustration on the use of the above diagram when you are mixing:
a.) If you want the lead vocals to sound up-front and center on the mix. You would need either need to apply less cut on the crucial frequencies or boost them if you want to use EQ. Or use an even compression to make the vocals sound even. Or even apply less reverb to make them appear dry and up-front. Use panning to put the vocals on the center.
b.) If you have piano track that you wish should provide a background melody of the song (not a lead instrument), then you can cut the EQ where other lead instruments are dominant such as the vocals. This will pull the piano sound at the back of the mix. Or you can further add reverb to make the background effect significant in the mix.
By establishing a clear front and back image of the mix; you get clarity, fullness, ambiance and balance sound in your mix.
Content last updated on July 29, 2012