<h3 class="h3ResourceTitle"><u><a name="MixingSecrets">Seminar PSE10: 'Mixing Secrets: Production Tricks To Use With Any DAW'</a></u><br>(Friday 30th September 2016)<br><a href="http://root.cambridge-mt.com/SiteAudio/CMTWorkshops/PSE_MixingSecrets/AES2016_PSE10MixingSecrets.pdf">Download the slideshow PDF here</a).</h3>

<h5 class="h5ResourceCategoryLinks"><a href="#polarityphase">POLARITY &amp; PHASE</a> -- <a href="#singledrivermidrange">SINGLE-DRIVER MIDRANGE MONITORING</a> -- <a href="#mixreferencing">EFFECTIVE MIX REFERENCING</a> -- <a href="multitracklibrary">MULTITRACK DOWNLOAD LIBRARY</a></h5>

<h3 class="h3ResourceTitle"><a name="polarityphase">PART 1: Polarity &amp; Phase</a></h3>

<h3 class="h3ResourceCategory">AUDIO FILES</h3>

<ul>

<li><strong>Introduction To Polarity &amp Phase:</strong> Here's a drum loop [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0101_DrumLoop`]]. Inverting its polarity doesn't change its tone appreciably [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.02` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0102_DrumLoopInvert`]]. If you mix the loop with an exact copy of itself, you just get the same sound louder [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.03` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0103_DrumLoopsMix`]], whereas mixing the loop with a polarity-inverted copy of itself gives you silence. Mixing the loop with a delayed copy of itself, on the other hand, results in comb-filtering, a complex tonal effect that changes its sonic flavour depending on the exact delay time, as demonstrated in these three examples [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.04` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0104_DrumLoopsCombMix1` &exampleNumber2=`01.05` &exampleFile2=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0105_DrumLoopsCombMix2` &exampleNumber3=`01.06` &exampleFile3=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0106_DrumLoopsCombMix3`]]. Switching the polarity of the copy doesn't now mix to silence, but again changes the timbre, as you can hear from these two examples [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.07` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0107_DrumLoopsCombMix3` &exampleNumber2=`01.08` &exampleFile2=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0108_DrumLoopsCombMix3Invert`]].<br><br></li>

<li><strong>Corrective &amp; Creative Approaches To Phase:</strong> Here are the raw recordings made by two mics on a single guitar amp: a Shure SM57 dynamic mic right by the grille [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0109_Gtr1SM57`]] and an AKG C414B XLS large-diaphragm condenser mic placed about a foot further away [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0110_Gtr1C414`]]. The delay between the two mics causes comb-filtering when they're mixed together, giving a spongey and unfocused sound [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0111_Gtr1Mix`]]. Shifting the C414B mic signal around 1ms earlier using a DAW's audio-editing facilities compensates for the inter-mic delay, minimising any comb-filtering and giving a more solid and mixable timbre [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0112_Gtr1MixCorrective`]]. Alternatively, it's also perfectly justifiable from a creative standpoint if you deliberately mismatch the relative polarity and phase of the mics to reinvent the guitar sound, as I've done in the following examples to give new sounds which are mellower [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0113_Gtr1MixCreative1`]] and more aggressive [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0114_Gtr1MixCreative2`]] respectively.<br><br></li>


<li><strong>Phase &amp Panning:</strong> Here is another dual-miked guitar-amp recording, this time comprising a Shure SM57 dynamic mic [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0115_Gtr2SM57`]] and an Electrovoice RE20 dynamic mic [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0116_Gtr2RE20`]]. Although the mics create an impressively wide and full sound in stereo if panned to opposite image extremes [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0117_Gtr2MixStereo`]], their defective phase relationship is still ruthlesslessly exposed in mono [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`01.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0118_Gtr2MixMono`]].<br><br></li>

</ul>

<h3 class="h3ResourceCategory">LINKS</h3>

<ul>

<li><strong>Affordable Phase Adjustment Plug-ins:</strong> Here are some freeware PC VST options that'll work whether you're using 32-bit or 64-bit DAW software:  Audiocation's [[$software_Audiocation_PhaseAP1]] and two of the plug-ins in the Cockos [[$software_Cockos_ReaPlugs]] bundle (the all-pass filter in <i>ReaEQ</i> and the Phase Rotator module in <i>ReaJS</i>). Mac freeware is thinner on the ground, Airwindows's 32-bit [[$software_AirWindows_PhaseNudge]] being the only free plug-in I'm aware of. If you're after something cross-platform and 64-bit, then try Voxengo's [[$software_Voxengo_PHA-979]], which is only $60.<br><br></li>

<li><strong>Further Reading:</strong> You can find a more detailed and in-depth discussion of polarity and phase in the studio in this article: '<a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr08/articles/phasedemystified.htm">Phase Demystified</a>'. In addition, phase adjustment has played an important role in many of my 'Mix Rescue' remixes, so you can read some practical case-studies in the following columns: <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/articles/mix-rescue-0512.htm">May 2012</a>, <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct11/articles/mix-rescue-1011.htm">October 2011</a>, <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr10/articles/mixrescue_0410.htm">April 2010</a>, <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov08/articles/mixrescue_1108.htm">November 2008</a>, and <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar08/articles/mixrescue_0308.htm">March 2008</a>. In addition, polarity adjustment plays a prominent role in this <a href="[[~367]]#Mix">series of mixing videos</a>.<br><br></li>

</ul>

<h3 class="h3ResourceTitle"><a name="singledrivermidrange">PART 2: Single-driver Midrange Monitoring</a></h3>

<h3 class="h3ResourceCategory">AUDIO FILES</h3>

<ul>

<li><strong>Phantom Image Test:</strong> Here's the noise-burst file I used to demonstrate the instability of phantom images [[playerWavMp3Button? &exampleNumber=`02.01` &exampleFile=`PSE_MixingSecrets/AES0201_PhantomImageTest`]]. The real-world example I played was an excerpt from the Madonna song '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Life_(song)">American Life</a>'.<br><br></li>

</ul>

<p><strong><big><a name="audio">LINKS</a></big></strong></p>

<ul>

<li><strong>Affordable Auratone Substitutes:</strong> Although my favourite project-studio substitute for the Auratone 5C Super Sound Cube is the <a href="http://www.avantonepro.com/">Avantone Pro</a> Mix Cube (active or passive) which I reviewed in <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun10/articles/mixcubeactives.htm"><i>SOS</i> July 2010</a>, there are a number of alternatives available, including: the <a href="http://www.auratonesoundcubes.com/">Auratone</a> company's reissued 5C Super Sound Cube, which I reviewed in <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/auratone-5c-super-sound-cube"><i>SOS</i> May 2016</a>; the <a href="http://www.triplepdesigns.com">Triple P Designs</a> Pyramid (passive); the <a href="http://www.fostexinternational.com">Fostex</a> 6301B (active); and the <a href="http://www.behringer.com">Behringer</a>'s Behritone speakers (C5A &amp; C50A, both active) which I reviewed in <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb12/articles/behringer-c5a-c50a.htm"><i>SOS</i> Feb 2012</a>.<br><br></li>

<li><strong>Headphone-to-Auratone Adapter Cable:</strong> If you want to connect a single-driver midrange speaker to your computer DAW system, but you don't have a <a href="ms-ch4.htm#links">dedicated monitor controller</a> to do the necessary mono/speaker switching, then you can work around it by <a href="/SitePix/Fig2-7aUpdate.jpg">wiring up this adaptor cable</a> and feeding your Auratone-substitute from the headphone output of your audio interface.<br><br></li>

<li><strong>Further Reading:</strong> For general-purpose advice about setting up studio nearfield monitoring systems and acoustic treatment for mixing, check out '<a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb06/articles/studiosos.htm">The Studio SOS Guide To Monitoring &amp; Acoustic Treatment</a>'.<br><br></li>

</ul>

<h3 class="h3ResourceTitle"><a name="mixreferencing">PART 3: Effective Mix Referencing</a></h3>

<h3 class="h3ResourceCategory">LINKS</h3>

<ul>

<li><strong>Affordable Metering &amp; Analysis Software:</strong> Here are links to all the software utilities I mentioned in the seminar: Brainworx's freeware L/R/M/S switcher [[$software_Brainworx_BXSolo]]; the freeware Sonalksis [[$software_Sonalksis_FreeG]] peak/RMS metering plug-in; ToneBoosters's [[$software_ToneBoosters_TBEBULoudness]] plug-in; Flux Audio's freeware [[$software_Flux_StereoTool]]; Melda's freeware [[$software_Melda_MStereoScope]]; the high-resolution freeware spectrum-analyser plug-ins Voxengo [[$software_Voxengo_SPAN]] and Melda [[$software_Melda_MAnalyzer]]; the EQ ripper plug-ins Voxengo [[$software_Voxengo_CurveEQ]] and Melda [[$software_Melda_MAutoEqualizer]]; and the stand-alone visual mastering software [[$software_Harbal]].<br><br></li>

<li><strong>Further Reading:</strong> Here are a couple of articles that talk in more detail about assembling and analysing reference tracks: '<a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/articles/referencecd.htm">Creating Your Own Reference CD</a>' and '<a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr11/articles/listen-and-learn.htm">Listen & Learn</a>'. For more specific examples of commercial reference tracks I used on a day-to-day basis, check out this <a href="http://www.cambridge-mt.com/PatronPost-2016-08-SpeakerTestReferences.htm">bonus article I wrote specially for my Cambridge-MT Patreon supporters</a>. If you're referencing your mixes against heavily loudness-processed commercial masters, then here's an article which provides some suggestions for how you can increase the loudness of your own mixes for comparison purposes should you wish to do so: '<a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar12/articles/loudness.htm">Crafting Loud Mixes That Sound Great</a>'.<br><br></li>

</ul>

<h3 class="h3ResourceTitle"><a name="multitracklibrary">The 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library</a></h3>

<ul>

<li>This library contains more than <a href="[[~373]]">[[$numberOfMultitracks]] free multitrack projects</a> in a variety of different musical styles, which can be freely downloaded for mixing practice or as a basis for educational assignments. The projects can easily be imported into any DAW by copying all the WAVs to the same point in the time-line. Some of the projects have been remixed as part of the <i>SOS</i> 'Mix Rescue' columns, so you can read specific tips and tricks there if you need some pointers.<br><br></li>

</ul>
