Summary of Adding Main Parts

The key thing when adding the main parts is to not take a "prescription" approach that blindly follows any "rules" you think I've outlined above. You should make sure that you really understand what each of the parts are "saying" and how they interact with each other. That will help you decide both the sound and the stereo positioning. Use your ears, and look at the controls only if you think you've done something wrong or if you want to remember the settings for a future session, and remember - there are no rules - it is really only how the thing sounds in the end that matters after all this - not the theory of how you did it - and above all, please remember that the above comments are just intended as helpful hints and suggestions, and feel free to disagree and go against them as you see fit.

Perhaps you might have totally different approaches in mind, so feel free to experiment as much as you like. Remember though, as time goes on your ears will get more and more tired and you will be less able to make sensible decisions, so work as quickly as you can, and don't spend too long on any one instrument - it will drive you to the point of mental breakdown if you do.

Also, don't be afraid to use quite extreme compression on some of the lead parts if you genuinely believe it sounds right to do so. I've often been amazed at how much compression some parts seem to require, but yet in the overall sound of the mix, heavy compression if often not particularly noticeable (unlike final "mix compression" which is very audible if overdone). Make sure that the compressor isn't permanently compressing though - otherwise you're not getting the best out of it. On the quiet sections of a performance there should be little or no "Gain reduction" showing (it's obviously very helpful if the compressor has a "gain reduction" meter). If the "gain reduction" lights are always on, then you have almost certainly got the "Threshold" control set way too low - unless you are deliberately using the compressor to add "punch" in which case its excusable. Otherwise, a compressor with the threshold set too low is starting to act more and more like a simple volume control and is a waste of time.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 797