Comments on: Spectral Management

By: Brian Hazard

Brian Hazard — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:45:38 +0000

Thanks for dropping by! That’s a great topic for an article, though I’m not sure I’ve developed any hard and fast rules. If the source is stereo, I record it as stereo. I can always make it mono by panning the channels to the same spot. I’ll often pan stuff hard left or hard right in mono, being sure to roll off everything below 250 Hz or so to enhance the imaging.

By: NJM

NJM — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:45:22 +0000

Hey Brian,
It’s been a while since I visited, I’m glad to see your still posting some good articles. The Taxi article is quite interesting and has had quite the ‘responses!’
Anyways, I always enjoy seeing your mixing tips since you explain yourself and the ideas/processes so well. I know this is a promotion blog more than a mixing blog, but if you ever get the time or interest. I’d like to here how you approach stereo and mono in recording and mixing. I’ve found the subject somewhat elusive yet its seems possibly important in balancing a mix. Any rules of thumb? I generally record everything into my daw into stereo tracks. Should I be rendering most of those into mono, or it just a matter of taste?
Thanks again for all the insights you have!

By: Tim Howland

Tim Howland — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:50:57 +0000

So cool! (and this comment was flagged as too short, so here I’m making it longer)

By: Brian Hazard

Brian Hazard — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:02:55 +0000

Thanks Rick! I agree, most “EQ problems” are really arrangement problems. By starting with the right sounds, we avoid painting ourselves into a corner. Working on others’ mixes has forced me to be creative in those sorts of situations.

By: Rick Stubbs

Rick Stubbs — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:36:16 +0000

Thanks Brian for this clear thinking on the mixing process. I’ve always had difficulty getting my head around mixing but I think it might finally be coming together now. One of the greatest things I learned was about cutting rather than boosting EQ but this article explains this more clearly. I think the best thing you can do with electronic music though is to choose the right sounds to start with so there’s not much mixing involved at all. Getting a good sound library and collection of sounds, especially drum ones was one of the best things I did.