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The Beginner's Guide to Mixing [Audacity]

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Post by persona Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:09 pm

Tired of apologizing for terrible mixing on every cover? Don't know what "clipping" and "compression" mean? Frustrated by your microphone's apparent love for buzzing noise? Want to make it a little easier on the judges' ears when you audition? Then this guide is for you!

It's a bit long, so it may be better to just read the section you're interested in.

Not meant for pros or the lazy =P You still have to think! Also not a replacement for practicing your singing >_>.

Update: July 18, 2010
  • Removed Specific Adjustments, Fix Clipping, Volume/Timing sections.
  • Added Mixing - Panning, Amp, Normalize, Gain sections.
  • Added Effect - Radio, Echo, Autotune sections.
  • Added Before Mixing - Clipping, Timing, Pitch sections
  • Added Examples section
  • "Equalization" section re-written!
  • Mentions other contributors in this thread =D
  • Broken up into three parts

This guide will cover:
  • Audacity, LAME, Recording/Editing
  • Before Mixing - Timing, Pitch, Clipping
  • Mixing - Noise Removal, Compression, EQ, Amplify/Normalize, Gain, Reverb, Pan
  • Effects - Radio, Echo, Autotune
  • Exporting to mp3
  • Examples

Part One
Audacity and LAME:
Audacity Recording and Editing Basics:
Before Mixing - Timing:
Before Mixing - Pitch:
Before Mixing - Clipping:
Part Two
Mixing - Noise Removal:
Mixing - Compression:
Mixing - Equalization:
Mixing - Amplification:
Mixing - Normalization:
Mixing - Gain:
Mixing - Reverberation:
Mixing - Panning:
Part Three
Effect - Radio:
Effect - Echo:
Effect - Autotune:
Exporting to mp3:
Examples:

The End
That was crazy long, wasn't it? Actually, this is the second version of the guide. The first version was eaten by the forum cause I was writing this for too long and my login timed out. I clicked preview and it told me to log in. I logged in and it showed me a blank "new thread" page. I seriously started getting a headache for a few minutes there. But I found an extension in firefox that prevents this sort of thing, so it'll never happen to me again =D.

Hope it helped. More importantly, I hope people won't tl;dr this... <_< Right? >_> Right. I guess it'll help if it's stickied, but that's if you think this guide is good! =P So please! Add mixing to your arsenal and make sure the quality of your voice is not lost to nefarious plots of mics and comps.


Last edited by persona on Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:56 pm; edited 15 times in total
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Post by ☆ mei Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:11 pm

I haven't even read this yet and I'd like to say ilu for writing this 8D

/edit: Finished! That was nicely written, I can understand it all, good job~ I'll try it out on my next audition. (: It has a lot of nice tips and you're very thorough. owob
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Post by Sakerune Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:56 pm

It's the middle of the night, and part of me wants to go to bed,
but another part of me wants to sit here and read this.

Thanks for keeping me up. Jeez. : )

Really, though, thank you. I'm going to come back and read this again tomorrow because I'm not absorbing any of it now. But I really think it'll help.
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Post by Haruna Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:29 am

I haven't read this yet but it'll help me mix from being stupid mixing random and using the same stuff I to use only XD


Last edited by Haruna on Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post by Guest Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:27 am

you made my day, y'know that?

thank you for explaining me, the total noob I am, the awesomeness of mixing :3 red luv

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Post by Kouko Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:54 pm

Thank you! Now, I don't use Audacity for my mixing, but these tips will probably help anywhere :D
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Post by Kumbancha Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:34 pm

Very good guide! It really goes into the basics of what mixing is for the beginner's, you're awesome for making this <3

lol the only step I don't do out of all the ones you mentioned was equalizing, I never equalize my vocals lol
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Post by Ciel Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:11 pm

Kumbancha wrote:lol the only step I don't do out of all the ones you mentioned was equalizing, I never equalize my vocals lol
MORE PEOPLE SHOULD EQ. Why is it so underrated D8. I dare say it's the most important process in mixing, full stop. I may use a different program from Audacity, but the final mix all comes down to the EQ levels (and compression) in the end.

I will say that it's really not a good idea to lower the volume of the karaoke track because it makes everything sound "pasted on" a background track, rather than blending together to produce a full sounding song? Using EQ on the karaoke track to allow "space" for the vocals to enter is a better tactic IMO, though I honestly don't know how easy that is in Audacity which is completely different from most DAWs haha (and very stripped ): )

Thanks for writing this guide though, I'm sure it'll be helpful for everyone <3
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Post by JinSeng Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:41 pm

Possible sticky

I just gotta read it when it's now midnight right now.

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Post by persona Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:21 pm

Thanks for all the comments, everyone... it makes me feel all warm inside...Embarassed

Ciel wrote:Using EQ on the karaoke track to allow "space" for the vocals to enter is a better tactic IMO

!

That's a great idea! I'm sorry, I've never thought of that lol... Lower the volume of your vocal frequencies a bit on the karaoke track, right? That way the low and high ranges of the karaoke track would still be uncompromised, yet the midrange doesn't get in the way of the vocals. Brilliant! Definitely doable in Audacity, just run the Equalizer on the karaoke track and turn down the midrange...

What do other people think of this? I'll edit the guide accordingly...
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Post by ☆ mei Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:25 pm

persona wrote:Thanks for all the comments, everyone... it makes me feel all warm inside...Embarassed

Ciel wrote:Using EQ on the karaoke track to allow "space" for the vocals to enter is a better tactic IMO

!

That's a great idea! I'm sorry, I've never thought of that lol... Lower the volume of your vocal frequencies a bit on the karaoke track, right? That way the low and high ranges of the karaoke track would still be uncompromised, yet the midrange doesn't get in the way of the vocals. Brilliant! Definitely doable in Audacity, just run the Equalizer on the karaoke track and turn down the midrange...

What do other people think of this? I'll edit the guide accordingly...

Whatever sounds the best in the finished project is fine with me, make the edits you need to. owob I didn't understand much of what you said, but I'll probably get it better when and if you decide to add it in xD
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Post by Suntamukun Fri Jul 02, 2010 12:26 am

/Beware of my very basic english skills/

Oh yeah, someone posted finally an interesting thread IMO.
I've been learning recently a lot of stuffs about Mixing and yeah, I can tell that post processing (EQs, reverb,compression) is a must.
EQs are really important especially for my microphone .. ;D And somehow it makes the vocals to fit better in the song IMO *v*
I agree with Ciel san. I'm totally fed up with very basic mixing covers from now, since I think that you must spend the time as long as your singing practice. ;w;
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Post by Sakerune Fri Jul 02, 2010 12:53 pm

☆ mei wrote:Whatever sounds the best in the finished project is fine with me, make the edits you need to. owob I didn't understand much of what you said, but I'll probably get it better when and if you decide to add it in xD

Yeah, this. XD
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Post by Cherysh Fri Jul 02, 2010 8:19 pm

Thanks for writing this guide (:

I'm sure this will be useful for a lot of us that are still learning how to mix or want to improve.
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Post by Ciel Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:50 pm

@persona: That's how I mix, and that's how basically...all mixers mix. MOST karaoke tracks have mastering done over them, so basically EQ'ing the track changes the balance to allow the vocal frequencies to blend in without sounding pasted on top or becoming too loud.

Then there are cases where the karaoke tracks have NO mastering run over them, and even then EQ is needed to make it sound more polished? Haha.

Just stuff I've learnt from my mixer friends from Nico Nico over time! I don't believe mastering is possible in Audacity, but it MIGHT be possible to mixdown everything into a .wav file and then run some final EQ and compression....? Though mastering's hard, and I'm pretty sure the world can survive without knowing how to master a track XD

I don't use Audacity to mix, but I can upload an example of a track with no mastering and no EQ on the karaoke track just for comparison XD



EDIT:

01. Without EQ on instrumental & Mastering: http://www.box.net/shared/rh804x9b8k
I lowered the volume of the instrumental so that the vocals could stand out. Basically the outcome of this tutorial...just not in Audacity 8D

02. With EQ on instrumental & Without Mastering: http://www.box.net/shared/ocqb4o7u6u
Raised the instrumental volume back to what I had with my final mix, but vocals still don't quite stand out too great though. It does make it sound less stripped compared to 01.

03. With EQ on instrumental & Mastering: http://www.box.net/shared/y8f09bg940
The final mix! Absolutely no changes from 02 other than mastering. Youtube link here. But I linked an mp3 for proper comparison, since YT degrades audio quality.

Hope that helps demonstrate the differences 8D. Again, no idea how hard it is to master in Audacity however 8D. BTW You can tell I made use of the mastering to bring out both the instrumental and vocals and make it overall less "muddy" sounding?
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Post by persona Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:13 am

Ah, a new cover. So soon after the release too... like a true veteran Manly . I'm glad you took the time to make the separate files, btw... I'm sure people will learn from it.

But admittedly, I couldn't make out the finer differences in your three mp3s at first, so I made a mp3 that cycles through each of them every few seconds to compare them more carefully... (Here, in case anyone else is following along)

The difference made by doing EQ on the instrumentals was slight, but the difference made by mastering was vast. When it switches from the full one to no EQ and no Mastering, you really notice the pasted-on feeling a lot more in the latter. I guess that means the mastering made the vocals blend in with the music a lot better.

But I'm curious... what exactly did you do with mastering that you didn't do with EQ on the instrumentals? Is there an option in other programs that says "mastering" or something? Why is it not possible to master in Audacity? Isn't it just the combined process of EQ, compression, reverb, etc., all of which Audacity is capable of?
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Post by Ciel Sun Jul 04, 2010 4:39 am

Veteran..!!??!! No no, I'm just an otaku 8D. And I like covering lesser known songs because hopefully everyone else will get to hear it <3

Well, Mastering is what you run on the master track, but of course, in Audacity there's no master track XD. I ran EQ, compression, and maximiser...which I believe is not possible in Audacity? I have no idea if it will be or not.

Because I didn't mix with doing only EQ on the instrumental in mind, that's probably the reason that one doesn't sound too significant. I could have probably fiddled with the EQ version more, but since I was mixing with mastering in mind, the settings I used were different from what they could have been if I wasn't a mastering person XD. However the instrumental is able to stand at a louder volume without interfering with the vocals as much? Like you can hear the instrumental sound brighter, even though the vocals are at the same volume as they were in the "base mix"

p.s. your track is really funny to listen to XDDDDDD *listening nao*
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Post by Guest Sun Jul 04, 2010 5:57 pm

I am beginner in audacity and i would like to know to the people that can manage audacity, what do you do, like in effects, how do you those things??

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Post by persona Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:56 pm

junieangel wrote:I am beginner in audacity and i would like to know to the people that can manage audacity, what do you do, like in effects, how do you those things??

Um.. if I interpreted this correctly, it's actually very simple. You select whatever you want to apply the effects to, then go to "Effects" in the menu bar from the top and choose whatever effect. A dialogue box pops up, you change the settings if you want, and click OK.
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Post by Guest Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:15 pm

is there an effect that can autotune, becacuse i want to try it out^^

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Post by ChoAkkar ♥ Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:31 pm

It's GSnap, if you want a free version. ^^
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Post by Guest Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:46 pm

thank you!

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Post by Guest Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:54 pm

Wait I've seen one of your covers and was really good, i want to know what do you do after recording your singing, i know that you put effects but.. some how when you guys sing sounds that you've recorded in a good microphone.. so just asking...

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Post by ChoAkkar ♥ Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:58 pm

I use this tutorial to clean up my vocals so it sounds like I have a good mic. ^^
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Post by persona Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:32 pm

junieangel wrote:Wait, I've seen one of your covers and it was really good, I want to know what do you do after recording your singing, I know that you put effects but.. some how when you guys sing it sounds like you've recorded in a good microphone.. so just asking...

That's probably a combination of good recording technique and good mixing. I don't have a good mic (it's a thin headset that's close to breaking. Speaking of which, I need a new mic.), so I try to compensate by good recording technique. Here's a few points that affects how you sound
  • Position of mic, distance away from mic (not too close, not too far, not too in front of your mouth)
  • Background noise (close your windows, turn off AC, minimize your computer's humming)
  • Mic sensitivity (not too high, not too low)

You'll have to experiment to get these right. But they should help.

Next you'll have to process the sound in your computer properly - that's mixing. And if you do the stuff specified in the first post, your vocals will sound much better.

Well, that's what I do with my vocals. People more pro than I will have more advanced advice, so when you're ready, make sure to ask them!

In the meantime, experiment!
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