10-02-2020, 06:40 PM
I do have a faderport but I find I really prefer to use the mouse or touchpad and draw in the automation. You might find you can get on ok without one perhaps, and save some cash.
Yeah, first off you need to practice and get comfortable with your daw automation. It can seem a bit of a chore to set up when you first start with it, but it soon becomes second nature with practice. Sometimes there are preferences and things you can set to make it work the way you want a bit better too. It's well worth spending a week or two to get into it.
It might make things easier if you mark out the intro - verse 1 - chorus - verse 2- bridge - chorus - chorus - outtro, etc in the daw first. This will help you to keep track of where you are. You can then work section by section. This might help stop you from getting into too much of a mess.
If you have got a good initial balance, you'll find you'll only need to push a snare fill, or whatever up by a few dBs for it to be highlighted in the mix. Then you'll start noticing the odd vocal phrase that needs pushing up a bit, etc, etc, then you'll be away.
Once you start getting the hang of it, you can start thinking about the volume balance between sections - you know - making the chorus bigger than the verses, etc. It's also worth checking out commercial tracks for ideas and practice too. Pick an instrument (or vocals) and follow the volume level throughout the track, and then listen to the volume level relative to other instruments - kick/snare etc.
That's some of the theory anyway. I'm still very much working on the practice part. For me, it seems to learn how to mix, first, you have to learn how to mix....
Oh, there's a lot more info and depth on this topic in Mike Senior's book too of course.
Cheers!
Yeah, first off you need to practice and get comfortable with your daw automation. It can seem a bit of a chore to set up when you first start with it, but it soon becomes second nature with practice. Sometimes there are preferences and things you can set to make it work the way you want a bit better too. It's well worth spending a week or two to get into it.
It might make things easier if you mark out the intro - verse 1 - chorus - verse 2- bridge - chorus - chorus - outtro, etc in the daw first. This will help you to keep track of where you are. You can then work section by section. This might help stop you from getting into too much of a mess.
If you have got a good initial balance, you'll find you'll only need to push a snare fill, or whatever up by a few dBs for it to be highlighted in the mix. Then you'll start noticing the odd vocal phrase that needs pushing up a bit, etc, etc, then you'll be away.
Once you start getting the hang of it, you can start thinking about the volume balance between sections - you know - making the chorus bigger than the verses, etc. It's also worth checking out commercial tracks for ideas and practice too. Pick an instrument (or vocals) and follow the volume level throughout the track, and then listen to the volume level relative to other instruments - kick/snare etc.
That's some of the theory anyway. I'm still very much working on the practice part. For me, it seems to learn how to mix, first, you have to learn how to mix....
Oh, there's a lot more info and depth on this topic in Mike Senior's book too of course.
Cheers!
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!