What is audio mixing?
Audio mixing is the process of taking recorded music tracks and blending them together. So sayeth Kip Allen, music producer, session drummer, songwriter, and Drum Workshop Artist, one of the most trusted names on the Nashville scene since 2008. Would you like someone to mix music and ultimately produce tracks with a professional touch, call Kip Allen at 817-995-8093.
What is the goal of audio mixing?
According to Kip All, the goal of audio mixing is to bring out the best in a multi-track recording by adjusting levels, panning, and audio effects such as reverb, chorus, and delay. In the end, you want all of your recordings to make sense individually and as a cohesive group of sounds. This is where the rubber meets the road in audio mixing. Even an untrained ear can tell when a recording has been mixed by an amateur vs a professional.
If you want your recording to sound professional, go with the best audio mixing professional you can afford, period, end of story.
How is audio mixing accomplished?
Audio mixing is accomplished using various methods such as EQ, Compression, and Reverb.
When some people think of audio or music mixing, they picture massive studio consoles that are 12 feet long and feature enough knobs and faders to make one’s head spin. Those devices still exist in high-end professional music studios, but if you’re mixing in a home studio, it’s far more likely that you’re simply clicking and dragging on digital faders in software like Pro Tools, Logic, Steinberg Cubase, or Garageband. And at the end of the day, you’re really doing the same thing as a professional mix engineer. Probably not as well as a professional mix engineer, but you are using basically the same approach as the pros.
Tips for professional audio mixing
A few tips to follow when you are learning audio mixing:
- Choose high-quality equipment/software
- Name your tracks properly to avoid confusion
- Color code your track flow
- Determine the main textures you are looking for
- Balance your levels
- Don’t be afraid to experiment
Can you afford a music producer/mixer?
This is ultimately your call, and it’s an important call to make. In the music industry, you generally get what you pay for. Professional music producers can be costly, but they are costly for a reason: they produce the absolute best results. Consider, for a moment, the case of an English rock band you may have heard of, The Beatles. They were a local rock band, kicking our remakes of “Roll Over Beethoven,” until they met up with George Martin, a legend in the music production business. The rest, as they say, is history. Would The Beatles have still been famous without George Martin? Probably! Would they have reached the levels they reached without Martin’s input and expertise? Probably not!
A word about Kip Allen
Are you looking for a trusted name in audio mixing in the Nashville area? Look no further than Kip Allen. If the likes of Phil Vassar and Josh Gracin put their faith in Kip Allen, songwriter, producer, et al, chances are excellent you will find his work to be of excellent quality.
Call Kip Allen today and set up a meeting to discuss audio mixing for your music.