The former process allows the instrument to pop out of the mix when it needs to, while the other brings ambience down to a more suitable, blendable level (more on that later). More often than not, both upwards and downwards expansion are more suitable in these contexts. So when you're compressing the channel, you're not only bringing the vocalist down-youвЂ™re also bringing up the crash right behind the singerвЂ™s shoulder. Consider the vocal: that SM58 is cardioid, but it'll still pick up all the sound coming directly into it. Onto compression, which also might also make things worse. Yours, unfortunately, must exist in every playback system under the sun. Less thought might be given to how the spill distributes, because the engineer is counting on the old principle of вЂњif it sounds good, it is good.вЂќ The live engineerвЂ™s вЂњgoodвЂќ exists in the room. It tends to be fifty/fifty with a show: Unless a distributed recording is intended from the outset, the mic setup usually facilitates live performance-and thatвЂ™s a different discipline from studio recording. But in the studio, instruments are usually micвЂ™d with mixing in mind. Of course, songs are recorded with bleed in studios all the time. Thus, if you EQ the drum overheads, youвЂ™ll probably have a palpable effect on whatever instrument is nearby, which could be the piano, the bass, or any number of elements. But these processes, though useful in spots-donвЂ™t get me wrong-can often do more harm than good on a live record, and hereвЂ™s why:Д«ecause of the bleed inherent in live recordings, everything you're putting up contributes to the sonic picture in an interdependent, relational way. So, assuming youвЂ™ve got a decent band on your hands, you're going to get the best results with our two simplest tools: level and panning.Д®Q and compression are obviously mainstays of studio mixing.

One assumes the band wouldn't be terrible, or else they wouldn't want you to mix their show for public consumption. If you run into signal problems, you have plenty of tools to correct hum, noise, clicks, pops, and other issues ( iZotope RX 6 comes to mind), though not a lot beyond global editing (always risky) to save a lousy performance.

Various factors can surely undermine this principle: The band could be terrible the recording could have problems the guitar player couldвЂ™ve had an off-night. To a certain extent, a live band mixes itself on stage. 2) Reach for Level and Panning over EQ and Compression Indeed, thereвЂ™s a lot about mixing a live record thatвЂ™s quite different and counterintuitive.ДЄnd that brings us to tip number two. I donвЂ™t approach mixing a studio recording this way. Your job is to make sure every other track follows its light, and enhances its every aspect. Next, going through each track in solo-and constantly comparing to them the overall jumble-find the channel (or channel pair, if it's a stereo overhead/ambience capture) that best encapsulates the performance. It clears the mental cobwebs, allowing you to move forward. You bless the mess, embracing these tracks exactly as they are. How does this translate into an actual tip? The very first thing you do is listen to the tracks and come to terms with their limitations. See, with rare exceptions (overdubs provided in studio), what you have is what you have. This was his morning ear-training ritual, and it always stuck with me-never more so than when mixing live tracks. 1) Bless This MessДЄ guitar player who supported Ornette Coleman once told me the following: Every morning he'd wake up, roll out of bed, walk over to his upright piano, lay his hands over some random keys, and, as the unholy noise planked out, heвЂ™d bless that chord. Instead, what youвЂ™ll find here is my general approach, whether IвЂ™m mixing rock, jazz, classical, or podcasts as long as itвЂ™s taped in front of a live audience, these six tips have worked for me. These arenвЂ™t necessarily specific tricks for esoteric situations. What follows are some quick tips to get you started-a breakdown of the best possible processes and practices for pushing a live mix to its pinnacle. To take the analogy further, itвЂ™s more like crafting a mechanism that recreates the appearance of lightning, and then stuffing that in a bottle others might see the lightning, but you know the hard work that went into creating its verisimilitude. ItвЂ™s not unlike trying to catch lightning in a bottle. You have to reproduce both a reality and the realityвЂ™s quintessence-something that goes beyond the reality. The mixing of a live record is no easy task, regardless of the genre or the instrumentation.

Fl studio live performance