Mixdown
20
Tutorial
Step 4. Adding ambience
Ambience-type effects such as reverb, delay, and echo
can be used to add spaciousness and warmth. Up to
this point in the process, you have been working with
the “dry” sound, unprocessed by effects, but there are
many engineers and artists who prefer to work with
ambience-type effects already applied. Many artists
also like to monitor the “wet” sound (i.e., with an
effect) while they record. There is no hard and fast
rule as to when in the mixing process ambience
should be added, but in this tutorial we will handle it
as a separate process. This is because unlike EQ or
compressor, ambience effects do not directly affect
the actual sound of the tracks. Ambience does not
modify the sound, but rather adds sound.
To create a sense of unity, we will apply only one type
of reverb to the entire song. Since the AW2816 con-
tains two internal effect units, it is easy to apply two
different reverbs or other effects to separate tracks, but
to convey the “liveness” of this song, simpler effect
settings will be more effective.
Applying excessive reverb to all tracks is the worst
possible thing you can do. Use ambience effects with
a light touch. Since reverb accumulates, applying
even a small amount to each track will result in a sig-
nificant amount when the entire mix is played back.
In the beginning, you will need to repeatedly keep
adjusting the reverb send of each track, but as you
gain experience, you will learn the appropriate
amounts to use.
• Preset scene
By recalling the preset scene number 04 “STEP4 MIX”
you can hear the reverb and other settings that will be
explained below. By now you probably know how to
recall a scene, but if you are not sure, turn back to a
previous section.
■
Using effect 1 send, and selecting
an effect
1
Press the FADER MODE section [AUX5] key.
Now the faders will act as the AUX send controls
for the corresponding track. On the AW2816,
AUX5 is assigned to internal effect 1, and AUX6
is assigned to internal effect 2. Here we will use
only the AUX5 send.
2
Press the [F2] key to access the Effect
Library page.
The default Reverb Hall effect is a bit too big, so
we will select the Reverb PLATE effect which has
a warmth and presence that is just right for this
song.
3
From the effect library list, use the [DATA/
JOG] dial to select Reverb PLATE. Then
move the cursor to the RECALL button and
press the [ENTER] key.
A message will ask you for confirmation, so
move the cursor to “OK” and press the [ENTER]
key.
4
Press the [F1] key to access the Effect Edit
page, and make sure that the “BYPASS”
setting is OFF. (If it is ON, move the cursor
to “BYPASS” and turn it OFF.)
Effects used in “Can you feel it?”
EFFECT 1
Reverb PLATE
Reverb time 0.8s
EFFECT 2
Symphonic
■
Adding ambience to tracks as
needed
In AUX5 mode, use the faders to add just the neces-
sary amount of the Reverb PLATE effect to each track.
As in the other stages of the mixing process, you will
frequently be turning each channel on/off to hear how
a certain track sounds with the effect, or how it
sounds in combination with other tracks. As discussed
earlier, you should use the channel [ON] keys to turn
channels on/off, rather than using the Solo function.
