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DRAWMER
Going Solo
Whilst working on a mix you can get so used to hearing the entire audio as a whole
that it’s difficult to pinppoint any problems in certain frequency ranges, using the
low
,
mid
and
high solo
buttons can really help. A common problem within many
mixes is that there is too much going on in any given frequency range leading to an
unbalanced mix. Perhaps the bass is overpowering the vocals, or there is an
undesirable noise somewhere that you can’t quite put your finger on. Using the
solo
buttons of the MC7.1 you can easily remove the bass to hear what’s going on
in the mids and highs, or to hear just how the mid range panning is working, for
example, and correct the mix to redress the balance.
A common problem when using high levels of compression across the mix is
pumping, this can be really desirable in the case of dance music, but not elsewhere.
If the majority of energy within the mix is in the bass, every time the kick drum beats
it will trigger the compressor, thus lowering the volume, but not only of the bass, but
across the whole mix, creating a pumping effect. Soloing the mid and high makes
it very easy to hear the extent of the pumping and to rectify it if desired.
Know your Left from your Right
It is useful to get into the habit of using the
Left / Right Swap
button every now and
then when working on a stereo mix. We get so used to hearing a mix as it’s
developing that its’s easy to get a stereo imbalance. If when pressing the
Swap
button the stereo image is mirrored around the centre, and you notice that it’s more
prominent in a certain ear then the stereo image is likely to be out of balance. If it is
unclear that it has altered then the stereo mix should be balanced.
The
Swap
button also highlights problems with the monitoring system such as if
piece of audio that is panned centrally but actually sounds off centre. If by pressing
the button the stereo image remains the same then it shows one speaker is
louder than the other and the system should be recalibrated. If the same audio is
mirrored around the centre then it shows that the fault is within the mix itself.
