Originally Posted By: bluage
"guitarhacker"...



I think -- I believe -- I'm pretty sure -- that I heard the proof of what you advised: "...you should be able to get practically any track to set well in a mix. ."

What I didn't notice upon studying your initial response to my post, was the term, "normalizing," the definition of which I read as "...the application of a constant amount of gain to an audio recording to bring the average or peak amplitude to a target level (the norm). Because the same amount of gain is applied across the given range, the signal-to-noise ratio and relative dynamics are generally unchanged."


In the wake of this mighty revelation, the only question I would ask you, is at what point in the mixing stages would the effect be most usefully applied? To the separate tracks before they're rendered to a single audio file, or only to the finished file?


So that all may know:

If a track can not be made to fit into a mix properly, it's time to reevaluate that track's purpose in the song. It's not that the track "can't" be made to fit, but the more proper question is, should it be made to fit? Every project I work on has tracks that were planned for the mix but after all was said and done, they never made it into the final mix. Don't ever put something into a mix just because you can.


Normalizing and compression. In a nut shell...... Normalizing raises everything in the mix in a linear manner, by the same exact amount up to a predetermined point which is determined by the highest peak in the song. Compression raise or lowers everything in a mix to a certain average determined by threshold settings and compression levels. Compression can actually change your "finished mix" by brings up soft parts and compressing down the loud ones. Both of these tools are useful when applied properly. I use normalization as one of the last steps in my wave editor. Compression on my projects is generally pretty mildly applied and always in the DAW before I export my final finished wave.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.