Andy Waterman's Cloudbursts

Mono Mixing

Dear Andy,

When I mix in my home studio, the sound field and ambience sounds weird when I listen in mono.  What's the problem?

Radio-Head

Dear Radio-Head,

Important question - does anyone still listen in mono?  The answer is...they should.  Here's why.  Mono compatibility is often a revealing indicator of overall good balance and a mix that will ultimately sound good on lots of systems.

First, as you build your mix, try slightly closing the pan pots on some of your stereo images.  Stereo piano and other stereo elements often will hold their sonic personality better by not being 100% panned.

For a real radical approach, try taking some of your stereo images - especially synth patches - and "mono-ize" them.  Then pan those sounds like organs, stereo guitars or clavinets to one side or the other of the stereo field.  This can open up huge amount of sonic space in the mix and leave more room for vocals, pumping bass sounds and driving drums that, more or less, have to be in the center.

Finally, try building your mix with the mono button on.  After all the parts are in good balance, switch to stereo.  You'll be amazed how your mixes will hold up better on multiple systems.

Good Luck!

Ask Andy

Dear Andy,
My mixes always sound dull or different in my car than they sound in my studio. What am I doing wrong?

Dullsville

Dear Dullsville,

Welcome to the wacky world of mixing! What we hear in our studio environment doesn't always translate to the outside world.

In my experience, the most difficult part of mixing is getting the bottom right. In most home studios, we just don't have the space and the monitor power to correctly assess the low frequencies.

But wait! Before you hire Tom Hidley or Studio Bauton to redesign your room for a quarter million dollars, I suggest adding a sub-woofer to your monitor system.

Recently I added an inexpensive consumer sub- woofer to my home studio setup that has a small, but professional, Event ALP 5s for my "big" monitors.

Before adding the sub, the CDs I used as my reference CDs sounded thin and my mixes sounded muddy and unclear.

As soon as I added the sub-woofer system, my reference CD sounded much like how it sounded at Entourage. And my home studio mixes sounded 100% better in my car and in my boom box.

This is important! You shouldn't have the sub-woofer too loud. Your favorite CD by a major artist is the best tool to set your sub.

When your favorite CD has a more defined bottom - but NOT BOOMY - your sub is probably set correctly. In fact, I often wonder if my sub is even on.

The final product has definitely left dullsville.

Ask Andy

Dear Andy,
I'm thinking about upgrading my home studio. I've always heard that the classic German mics are the best but that they're expensive - anywhere between $4000 and $10,000. What's your opinion? Any other recommendations?

Dear Homey,

I've been doing professional studio work for over 30 years and it's only recently that great low priced microphones have come on the market. First on my list is the Rode NT 1000. Actually, their entire product line rocks! Rode mics are designed and manufactured in Australia and they are the most incredible sounding mics out right now at any price. The NT 1000 sells for under $600 They also make great tube condenser mics that sell at just under two grand.

Next on my budget friendly list is the Shure KSM 44. Recently I recorded animation voice tracks for a television show using that mic. The mixing engineer at the post house wanted to know what mic I'd used because he thought that the voice overs were, "awesome." The KSM 44 is under $1000 Check out it! Shure is making outstanding products these days.

Finally, nothing makes a good microphone great faster than a top quality mic-preamp. I have fallen in love again with my old mics after connecting to pre's such as API, Avalon, Martek and Focusrite.

Good luck. If you want more info about mic-pre's, let me know!