19-07-2012, 07:55 AM
Hi Kaivalya,
Phase is quite an involved subject when it comes to mixdown, so it's not something I can give a good overview of in a post like this -- which is why I wrote this big article about it a while back. Hopefully that should help with most of the points you raise here, but feel free to ask any specific questions that you feel it doesn't answer and I'll see if I can clarify.
Well, there are various issues here:
There aren't any easy answers to these questions, though. Indeed, if you compare different classical recordings, you'll hear that they frequently differ quite considerably.
No. I suggested this because the oboe is in the centre of the ORTF image, so EQ'ing the Middle channel with MS EQ could target that more directly without as much impact on the strings. It's a rebalancing suggestion, rather than anything creative.
Certainly not, although they do tend to crop up more in rock/electronic styles. Such effects can be very useful for adding additional frequency information in pretty much any genre, although clearly you're going to have to keep the kid gloves on when the sources are acoustic so that the listener doesn't smell a rat.
(19-07-2012, 06:54 AM)Kaivalya Wrote: had a few questions. You talk about phase issues. Will it be a problem in the stereo mix or will it just stick out when it is summed to mono. Also when i line up the tracks in protools they seem to have a similar waveform and i cannot see any phase issues there. May be I am missing a trick. Would the trim plugin inverting the phase solve the issue or is it a deeper problem. Are you talking about sample delaying the tracks a little bit(how much delay ?) .Could you please elaborate on this. Pardon my ignorance.
Phase is quite an involved subject when it comes to mixdown, so it's not something I can give a good overview of in a post like this -- which is why I wrote this big article about it a while back. Hopefully that should help with most of the points you raise here, but feel free to ask any specific questions that you feel it doesn't answer and I'll see if I can clarify.
Quote:Also is it advisable to get creative with effects and panning when mixing a live orchestra or should you aim to represent the live setting as closely as possible. For example I am thinking of isolating the harpischord freq wise in the ms pair mic and panning it to the right to balance the loud oboe.
Well, there are various issues here:
- Mixing is an art, so if you and your audience are happy with the result, then it doesn't matter what you use to achieve your ends. If you're in any doubt about a specific mix decision, then the best thing is to listen to a few similar records which you or your audience like, and use those to inform your decisions.
- With recordings that have a lot of spill like this, you're options for isolating individual instruments are fairly limited, so although you can try to treat things independently, it'll be tough going.
- With any decent live ensemble performance, there's something slightly magical happening between the musicians, in terms of the way they interact with each other. If you tamper with the internal push/pull of the performance too much, you may lose that bit of magic.
- The live positioning of instrumentalists for a concert isn't necessarily what listeners expect on a recording, so whether the recording matches the live event in that respect is a bit of a red herring, in my view.
There aren't any easy answers to these questions, though. Indeed, if you compare different classical recordings, you'll hear that they frequently differ quite considerably.
Quote:Is that what you were intending the MS eq for?
No. I suggested this because the oboe is in the centre of the ORTF image, so EQ'ing the Middle channel with MS EQ could target that more directly without as much impact on the strings. It's a rebalancing suggestion, rather than anything creative.
Quote:Would harmonic exciters be advisable or some sort of saturation? Or are these just used in pop or such mixes.
Certainly not, although they do tend to crop up more in rock/electronic styles. Such effects can be very useful for adding additional frequency information in pretty much any genre, although clearly you're going to have to keep the kid gloves on when the sources are acoustic so that the listener doesn't smell a rat.