Mixing is essentially the process of combining multiple audio sources to achieve a desired balance of those sources.
A Mix is the end result of that process.
The word is actually an abbreviation of the word mixdown, in that you could be mixing twenty-four tracks down to two tracks.
Within this process, there are a number of key aspects which will affect (and hopefully improve!) the overall sound of the track.
The most obvious of these is the relative volume of each audio source; how loud each sound is in relation to the others.
Other factors that will be important in achieving a good mix will include Panning within the Stereo Image, Equalisation, Dynamics, Space & Depth and Effects.
The end result of all this work will be a bounce of the final mix.
For stereo mixing, this will be a two-track audio file that will now be able to be played on a conventional hi-fi or delivered to a professional post production studio for Mastering.
Ok, so we now know what a mix is but what are we aiming for when we start pushing up faders? To make our track sound as good as possible would be an excellent start! However, our idea of what is or isn't good is a very subjective concept and it follows that mixing is a very subjective art.
A lot depends on the song and the genre of music but even then one person may like a mix that someone else can't stand.
It doesn't take too much more thinking to realise that two people will usually mix the same track with very different results! If the aims of mixing are subjective then the process or modus operandi is just as subjective.
With experience, a sound engineer can develop his own style, his own own sound and his own preferred workflow.
To add some perspective here, we asked Ian Sherwin, a successful sound engineer and mixers for his thoughts on what mixing means to him.
Ian Says...
"So how can you please everyone with your mix? The hard and fast answer is that you can't! As with producing music, you can only tell it the way you see it (or hear it for that matter!) Whether you are very successful or not will often depend on whether the rest of the world agrees with your tastes..
!" What we can do universally is assess a mix using established criterion.
You will often hear mixes described as being punchy, warm, exciting, bright, deep or detailed.
These are just a few of the adjectives that we can use to describe the way that a mix sounds and by using words like these we can be more exact about what it is that we like about a particular mix and importantly, also create aims for ourselves when we are doing the mixing! To learn more about mixing view information at Sound Engineering Courses.