02/12/2021
Mix Like a Boss!
Spatialization (part 2)
To continue upon the framework from last week I would like to continue on to other components of the spatial field. So far we spoke about left to right, which is commonly known as the stereo field. And while we only have two ears (at least most of us) there is more to the field. There are essentially three layers, left to right, front to back, and top to bottom. Top to bottom is the frequency spread (low/bass sounds to high/treble sounds). And front to back is more of a mind trick as we use effects such as reverbs, delays or compressors to make things appear further back or further away in the mix.
We will first tackle the frequency or top to bottom part of the field. Where there are a few areas of the spectrum I am going to break this down by layers:
- Sub (20-60 Hz): kick or sub bass, these sounds will often be panned center, but they do not really make a sound seem closer or more distant. Only one sound can occupy this space.
- Lows (60 - 150 Hz): kick and bass, these will often be panned center and will seem closer to the listener.
- Mid-Lows (150-300 Hz): a lot of information is in this area and it is used to add warmth to guitars, keyboards, toms, snares, vocals, etc. This can get crowded, so a little goes a long way. These will not necessarily seem close to the listener, but will have a stronger impact, so we often will add more of these sounds to the instruments/voices that we want closer to the front.
- Mids (300 Hz - 2 KHz): between 300-500 Hz can get pretty muddy, so these frequencies are often lessened on most sounds and are reserved for overtones. Above that is to add clarity, but these come with a price of being harsh. Around the 1-2 KHz area is extremely sensitive to the ear, so only a little will do here. These will make sounds seem closer.
- Upper Mids (2 - 6 KHz): this is where most of the clarity is found, but do not necessarily make things closer or further away.
- Highs (8-12 Khz): sounds here are often reserved for only a few sounds as these will often become harsh to the listener. These will bring a sound closer to the listener.
- Upper-Highs (12-20 KHz): these are the air or higher clarity sounds. Use this like the icing on the cake and don't over do it. These will not make things closer or further away.
To summarize, closer sounds often have more bass or highs and those with less of these areas seem further away.
Compression and Effects is how we handle the front to back with even more control. Compressors give us the ability to make a sound more punchy, which feels closer to the listen. Using an attack of 10-30 ms and a quick release (1-30 ms) will do this. Using a compressor in a more relaxed way (ie. slow attack) will push things back. There is a ton of in between with compressors, so play with these settings to help your mix come together and also help create the picture of front to back. You may also want to use a compressor in parallel to have the best of both worlds.
The most obvious method for achieving the front to back feel is using reverbs and delays. Something that is echoey often feels further away. Delays can also feel the same, but these have less of an affect as they are only repeats and are not a constant surge of energy like a reverb. Using the pre-delay on a reverb will help you to dial in how close or distant a sound is. The trick is that the more pre-delay used will make a sound seem closer. Another trick here is to use a compressor after the reverb using a side-chain from the source. This will allow you to lessen the reverb at the start of the reverb and then slowly have it come back in when the compressor releases. This will also keep the effect out of the way of things.
Happy Mixing,
Chris
