Mixing and Mastering in the Box: The Guide to Making Great Mixes and Final Masters on Your Computer

2014·6.71 MB·English

by  Steve Savage

Mixing and Mastering In the Box

Mixing and
Mastering
In the Box
The Guide to Making Great Mixes and
Final Masters on Your Computer
Steve Savage
With diagrams by Iain Fergusson
1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in
research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
© Steve Savage 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or
under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope
of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Savage, Steve, 1948–
Mixing and mastering in the box : the guide to making great mixes and final masters on your computer / Steve Savage.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-992930-6 (cloth) — ISBN 978-0-19-992932-0 (paper) 1. Sound—Recording and reproducing—Digital
techniques. 2. Mastering (Sound recordings)—Data processing. 3. Sound recordings—Remixing—Data processing. 4. Computer
sound processing. 5. Digital audio editors. I. Title.
TK7881.4.S3824 2014
781.460285—dc23 2013042817
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 5 4
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For my family—where the rumpus begins!
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
vii
The greatest influences on this book have come from the many artists and musi-
cians whom I have worked with over the years. As should be clear from the
content here, making recordings is a collaborative process. For all the technical
details involved—all the strategies and critical listening elements—the work it-
self must reflect the spirit of the artists and musicians. So while the book is
steeped in the techniques of mixing and mastering, my primary goal is to serve
the creative process—the musicians and their work.
I want to thank my editor, Norm Hirschy, for his enthusiasm for this proj-
ect; he has been a critical link in support of my writing. My gratitude also goes
to my family and friends who put up with my obsession about how things
sound. Finally to my students—even though you can read the book now—you’ll
still have to listen to me talk endlessly about all this stuff!
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
ix
About the Companion Website • xiii
Introduction • xv
Part I Mixing and Mastering
1 The Starting Point: Fundamentals of Mixing and Mastering • 5
1.1 Preparing to Mix and Master • 5
1.2 Where to Mix and Master • 7
1.3 The Tools of Mixing and Mastering • 11
1.4 Introduction to the Quick Guide • 18
2 Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters: Five Best Practices • 20
2.1 Have a Concept • 20
2.2 Monitor Level • 28
2.3 Monitoring Options • 31
2.4 Revise, Revise, Revise • 32
2.5 Live with Your Mix or Master • 33
3 Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters:
Four Common Mistakes • 37
3.1 Poor Control of the Low End • 38
3.2 Overly Bright Mixes and Masters • 44
3.3 Overly Compressed Mixes and Masters • 48
3.4 Trusting Inadequate Monitoring • 55
Part II Mixing
4 Building a Mix: The Concepts and Tools in Detail • 63
4.1 Starting Concepts and Setting Level • 63
4.2 Panning • 73
4.3 Processing: EQ • 79
4.4 Processing: Dynamics • 90
4.5 Processing: Effects • 100
4.6 Processing: What Else Is in the Box? • 114
4.7 The Stereo Buss • 122
5 Automation and Recall: Fine-Tuning • 123
5.1 Online versus Off-line Automation • 124
5.2 Details of Online Automation • 125