Mixing process

[Nitrox 32]

When should I add all of the instrument effects (EQ, Compression, etc.), before of after all of the articulations and cc data is complete?

Thanks,

Aric

[PauloRego]

The effects should go last.

Try to get as realistic a performance as possible using the articulations and dynamics/expression etc.

P

[Nitrox 32]

Thanks!

[PaoloT]

I agree with Paulo. Finishing your score with all the articulations is like making accurate rehearsals with your instruments/ensemble/orchestra players in a secluded room. Ambience will be different when you move to the main hall, or the audience will come in.

Paolo

[Nitrox 32]

Thanks, I just got Vienna Suite and wasn't sure where to begin.  Any other thoughts are welcome.

Aric

[jasensmith]

@Nitrox 32 said:

When should I add all of the instrument effects (EQ, Compression, etc.), before of after all of the articulations and cc data is complete?

Thanks,

Aric

Depends on which effect.

With regards to Vienna Suite:

Personally I set up my virtual environment within VEP first.  For example, if I'm doing a string quartet, power pan each instrument on the virtual stage by adding the effect in VEP.  Then add your E.Q. for each instrument tweaking to desired effect.  Then put the same IR convolution reverb for each instrument adding or subtracting the wet signal to create the illusion of depth.

I then assign articulations to each midi note and record the CC data.

Then bounce to audio tracks.

I might automate the mix with regards to volume.

If an instrument track (audio) is too "shy" in the mix, compress or limit the instrument (unlikely to happen in a string quartet BTW)

Sometimes I'll add the exciter to something but only as a sweetner.

Once satisfied with the mix, I bounce everything down to one track and master. 

Mastering is a whole other thread😊

[jasensmith]

I forgot to mention that my method applies to a DAW set up not notation software.

[Dietz]

Hi Aric,

mixing is an art by itself, so I won't even try to answer your question in depth here. Just keep in mind that most effects depend highly on the context, which means that something that worked out beautifully in one piece can wreak havoc on another. There might be good starting points for many occasions, but there are no "best" solutions in the sense of "one size fits all".

Personally I would suggest to start out with some kind of generic template where you have implemented some of your preferred processings already (e.g. certain EQ settings that please your ears for individual instruments, mayby some kind of dynamic processing for percussion instruments, and a basic "room" which breathes some air into the performance of each orchestral voice). Everything else is a question of the actual arrangement (i.e. instrumentation, tempo, key, dynamics ...) and should be treated on a case-by-case basis after the piece itself has taken form.

HTH,

[Nitrox 32]

Dietz,

I understand that mixing is an art and that everybody has their own approach but should I begin by just trying to get the piece sounding as close to what I want with articualtions and CC data before adding any processing as Paulo sugested?

Aric

[Dietz]

Start with generic settings that fit your needs and your taste, but don't go into specific audio-technical details before you're done with all but the very circumstantial fine-tuning of your composition, arrangement and MIDI programmings. 

IOW: Without the basic treatment it might be hard to judge the interplay of the individual instruments. Without hearing the final relationship of the instruments, any meticulous audio treatments is a shot in the dark. 

It's an evolutionary process full of interdependencies, actually, where you come back to revisit each topic several times. You start with "the big picture" and add more and more refinements - both to the programming and to the audio processing.

... the "art" is to know when you're done! ;-) 

Kind regards,

[Nitrox 32]

Thanks everyone!