AUDIO EQUITY

Well one could be forgiven for feeling a little cautious within the current climate of credit crunches, stock market crashes and fluctuating exchange rates. Although we are yet to see the overall effect of these times on our individual lives and our industry, you could say that we have been here before and that the economy is just continually moving in phases.

Everything around us is constantly in movement, whether its share prices, emigration of people, electrons, or planet earth herself. Therefore movement is a natural phenomenon and energy that needs to be respected and utilised. The use of movement and energy in a mix can breathe life, excitement or just space into your creations.

Subtle and clever use of level automation, pan automation and ducking can create a sense of excitement and creative flow in a track. Too much movement however could leave you listener feeling like they’ve just spent a day intoxicated at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, so this month I am focusing on some subtle tips that could be of help.

Once you have recorded all your parts and have got the basic mix together (level matching, EQ and compression, reverbs etc) then you can start paying attention to the energy and movement in the track.

I always like to start with drums, percussion and bass. Once you have your drums and bass gelling together nicely it sets a whole framework for your track, a bit like the foundations of a building.

Make a map of your song, which gives a story board structure of what is happening in terms of verse / chorus pattern and any lyrical or musical signposts that you would like to highlight.

Try pushing levels of the main percussive elements up in the chorus and back down in the verse to give the chorus a ‘lift’, or automate a percussive element to mute during the verse and then introduce it for the chorus and/or middle 8.

I would aim to keep your bass level and constant throughout and panned centre. If you find the bass to mask your kick drum, instead of turning down, try using the EQ methods of ‘cutting a space’ that I spoke of last month.

If your kick is still competing for attention with other instruments, try using some sidechaining. Insert a compressor over the Low Synth track (for example) and connect a copy of the kick drum track to the compressors sidechain.

The kick drum will now act as the trigger for the compressor, so that every time the kick sounds the low synth track will be compressed. This effect works particularly well in dance music, but the method can also be used effectively in other genres and with different instruments.

You can also create the effect using a gate in ‘ducking’ mode. Simply connect the gate in the same way as you would the compressor with the kick drum track again connected to the sidechain input. The gate will then close each time the kick drum sounds, momentarily lowering the volume of (in this case) the low synth part.

Playing around with parts like pads, rhythm guitars, strings and synths that may not be the main elements of your track can be great fun. Try treating parts as ‘themes’. Use your storyboard map of your track and plan when each theme should be introduced or taken away and how long it should be apparent for, then automate the theme into your track’s storyboard using level, mute and pan automation to achieve it as you feel necessary.

Try using a synth sweep part as a signpost. By this I mean create a track with a swirling sweep sound on it that lasts maybe a couple of bars, then place this part before each chorus. Have it relatively low in the mix, automating it to ascend in level as the chorus approaches, maybe panning from left to right and back to centre. This informs the listener that something is happening or about to happen, and helps create a dynamic energy flow within your track.

Automating reverb time and delays to sound or increase on end phrases also helps create motion in your mix, also try using a reverse reverb at the beginning of a phrase to introduce a vocal.

If your main vocal is getting a little washed out with reverb then try another little trick, insert a compressor over your reverb return channel(s) and insert a copy of the dry main vocal into the sidechain of the compressor so that as the vocal sounds the reverb wet signal is compressed and controlled a little to make space for the dry vocal, helping it to be less washed-out sounding with better intelligibility.

Creating movement in your mix can give it the professional sounding edge, which could help earn some extra pounds even in the current financial climate. After all, isn’t money what makes the world go round?