When Your Sounds Stop Working

One of the hardest aspects of mixing music is knowing when the sounds you’ve created stop working in their overall context. Being able to hear when this occurs is crucial to landing a great mix. So how do we spot these moments, and what can we do to fix them? Let’s investigate.

When it comes to this singular aspect of mixing, the most important thing to be conscious of while you work is that sounds often require some sort of modification along a song’s timeline to remain consistent for the duration of a track.

As a song unfurls its musical arrangement, certain sounds will always appear to change as their musical context changes. Even though these sounds may themselves be static in the mix, the shifting arrangement around them can alter the way they’re perceived: either in volume, tone or spatiality, and at this point they’re no longer the sound they once were.

In the same way that colours influence one another, sounds can appear to change when their context changes.

Being mindful of this fact is crucial if you ever hope to spot the moments when a sound goes off the rails in your mix. Embedded in this understanding is the deeper mindfulness that for any sound to appear static or unchanging in a track, it nearly always requires adjustment along the way. In other words, sounds that appear unchanging in a mix almost never are. Like so many aspects of this mixing caper, things are rarely as they appear at ‘face value’, and almost everything is influenced by its context.

Masking and Disguise

One of the main ways a sound goes off the rails during a mix – whether it’s a core snare sound, a rhythm acoustic guitar, an organ, or even a main vocal – is when another sound (or group of sounds) is introduced into a song’s arrangement.

At that point, it’s often the case that one (or more) of the core mix element’s sound is thrown into question or knocked off its stable axis. This destabilisation can be subtle at times, depending on the circumstances, and often this is why the problem at first goes undetected – sometimes for hours, occasionally even days.

When it does finally dawn on a mix engineer that something about their mix isn’t quite right, often it’s not clear what’s causing the disturbance. In many cases the problem tends to be ‘sensed’ initially, rather than discovered; recognised more by your subconscious without ever being quite grasped by your more logical, problem-solving faculties. In these circumstances, it’s often then the case that you’re sent up the proverbial garden path in search of a solution.

This is why it’s so important during a mix to be mindful of how often these insidious disruptions occur in relatively static mixes. So, for example, when you do finally twig that your chorus lacks power because the snare’s crack has suddenly disappeared beneath a blanket of guitars, it’s important to understand that while in some cases it’s indeed the newest element that’s causing the destabilising effect – the guitars – ‘fixing’ this newly introduced element is not always the solution. Sometimes the fix (or at least part of it) involves a modification to the sound of your established core element – in this case, the snare and its associated reverb – so that it appears not to change (even though it has).

Sounds Unmasked

Of course, in other circumstances, the opposite holds true.

At some point along a song’s timeline an instrument in your mix, which earlier seemed perfectly embedded in the song, can be unexpectedly hung out to dry by a changing arrangement. Sometimes this is caused by the absence of a sound (or group of sounds) or by the re-arrangement of voicings in a chord structure, pitch or melody.

When this occurs, the tone, volume or depth of a certain sound might suddenly be exposed in ways you hadn’t foreseen: a drumkit suddenly too over-the-top with explosive reverb, a guitar too hard in the upper midrange (the tone for which might have been established earlier to fight through competing elements that are no longer present), a backing vocal too loud or out of tune… you get the picture.

Regardless of what’s changed, it’s now clear that what was once a perfectly reasonable tone, volume or level of effect for a particular instrument, is incongruous in its new context. This might occur for the remainder of the song or only a fleeting moment – two beats in a single bar perhaps – before reverting back. Take note of the changing context here. The arrangement might revert to its earlier form on the other side of that middle eight, or something else might influence the sonic landscape that causes you to think outside the box for the third time in as many minutes on this one instrument.

The destabilisation or ‘unmasking’ of an instrument’s sonic fingerprint can also occur when a song’s arrangement is modified, either by a structural change or tweaks to the musical arrangement. Sometimes these edits are subtle, and the knock-on effects are similarly minor, but when they’re substantial, or even radical, the disruption to your already well-developed mix can be severe, and in these circumstances, it pays to remain emotionally detached from your earlier work. If you hold onto well-crafted sounds that no longer suit this latest iteration of the song out of sheer stubbornness or an inability to accept that the sounds you established earlier no longer make sense with the song, then you’re gonna go down with the ship.

Take The Pressure Down

Sometimes all your hard work seems to be for nothing when circumstances change during a mix, and that’s understandably hard to accept at times, but the key emotional state to adopt under these pressures is always flexibility.

Not all mixing flows towards a natural conclusion in some idyllic, linear fashion. We all know this, of course (or perhaps we don’t!) but it’s good to reflect on nonetheless, remembering that sometimes mixing is about controlled chaos and herding cats, rather than straightforward methods and perfect outcomes. Flexibility is a healthy mixing mindset to adopt, and I can’t think of a circumstance where it ever hinders good outcomes. Obviously the same can’t be said of stubbornness.

In nearly every mixing circumstance, you don’t know what’s around the corner or who’s about to walk through the control room door, literally or figuratively, so remain open-minded… always.

You may have a client’s partner walk in late one night and throw a spanner in the works with their loose (albeit well-meaning) comment about the drum machine’s harsh tone and level, or your own partner mightn’t like that horn section that’s playing “instead of the vocal.” Who knows what unhelpful, disruptive (or conversely, insightful) comment is just about to drop. Irrespective, your reactions will determine the outcome.

So, remain flexible and see the glass half full wherever possible. Failing that, lock the control room door!

Shake It Up

Of course, sometimes none of these circumstances arise, and your mix sails across calm seas to the finish line. The arrangement remains rock solid and very little changes other than the sonics of your mix. But even then, sometimes a realisation slowly dawns on you: that your mix has lost its dynamism and power, sparkle or magic.

In this situation, while it may seem that everything’s been working well, something, or perhaps lots of things, now need to change. This can be a daunting crossroad to arrive at, and in some cases a soul-crushing disappointment, particularly if you felt certain that your mix was already over the line.

Now is a great time to take a break. Get up, make a cuppa tea, walk the dog, clean the kitchen, listen to a podcast… anything to clear your head. Don’t walk back into the room until your mind is clear, and you’re ready to judge – with fresh ears – only what’s coming out of the speakers, nothing else.

The key to mix success at this juncture is to stand back, listen to the big picture, and spontaneously mark in real-time the points along the timeline where you feel something needs to shift in your song’s arrangement, power or focus.

Now repeat the process, only this time, while listening to the track, write down a couple of ideas about what might need adjusting, exaggerating or addressing. Spend the next hour or so making these changes, then ‘Save As’ and, once again, walk away.

When you go back to the mix later with fresh ears, you may hear other adjustments that need attention… or you may not. The trick here is to be honest and to some degree fearless, but not reckless. Make the changes as you instinctively see fit, each time ‘Saving As…’ so that later you can compare the versions. This isn’t something I generally do I hasten to add – I commit to changes and only ‘Save As’ when I’ve sent a client a new mix. But each to their own.

Mixes are often unstable, cantankerous beasts, and it’s helpful to remind yourself that you’re probably pulling these elements together for the first time ever. There’s no formula for the unique combination of elements in front of you, and there’s no one way or perfect outcome. Do your best, stay flexible and trust your instincts.

Andy Stewart owns and operates The Mill in the hills of Bass Coast Shire, Victoria. He’s happy to respond to any pleas for recording, mixing or mastering help… contact him at: andy@themill.net.au