The Brief

By Montel Bartlett

Static Mix:
A Static Mix is a mix that doesnt require any volume
automation throughout the arrangement, this is normally
done through compression and setting the right levels for
each individual track, and in some cases, the sounds you
select for your mix. Most engineers will tell you that the
best mix downs are static, but that isnt the case most
times.
When we was mixing the without words arrangement, we
set the levels of each individual input. To make sure that
there wasnt any clipping on any of the tracks because
that would of made it almost impossible to keep the mix
static. Which was a goal we wanted to obtain.
PSNR (Peak Signal to noise Ratio)
Peak Signal-to-noise ratio (abbreviated PSNR) simplified is
basically a measure of desired signal to background noise.
For example, a ratio higher than 1:1 (which is more than 0
dB) indicates more signal than noise. 1:1 means also
means that its not letting any dB past 0. The higher the
ratio, the more dB that is going to be let through. Another
example of this would be if you had a 2:1 ratio and 10db
was over the threshold, itd only let 5 dB through. This is
called gain reduction
DBFS (Decibel Full Scale)
In every Digital Audio Workstation 0db is the maximum
level your system can handle, anything above that will

result in clipping which isnt needed, so for example -10

dBs means a level that is 10 decibels lower than the
maximum level your system can handle.
A sound in your mix can be 6 decibels louder than another
just by simply bringing the levels down on that track by -6
dBs this is the mixing technique my group used in order to
keep the levels in check for the bands input.

Dynamic Range
Dynamic Range is the difference between the softest and
loudest sound that a device can make. Dynamic range
compression or simply standard compression reduces the
volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds by
narrowing or compressing an audio signals dynamic
range. Dynamic range in waveforms is really dependant
on the sort of music youre listening to.
Here are a few different waveforms of different types of
music to compare.
Classical

Modern Pop/Dance

The differences in these two waveforms are quite

significant. The Classical waveform seems to have a lot
more dynamics within the track whereas the Modern
Pop/Dance track seems to have much higher peaks
throughout the track meaning that its louder. This is
mainly because of the technology influence on music
nowadays
Because most of that technology wasnt around when
classical was at its peak, which is why most classical
musicians stick to the traditional roots.
Headroom:
Headroom essentially means the difference between peak
level and the ceiling of which it reaches before digital
distortion. (Clipping) Headroom is really important for an
audio engineer because the amount of headroom on a
master determines how much they can really do to a
track. For example,

If your Headroom looks like this youre pretty much hitting

0dbfs meaning that your at the maximum level before
distortion. So an audio engineer couldnt really do much to
a track in this state.

However, if your headroom was looking like this youre in

a much better state because your audio engineer will be
to work with a lot more, rather than just 0.3 decibels of
audio. In conclusion its best to leave at least -6 dB of
headroom for your tracks if you really want to see best
results with your audio, or simply want your tracks to have
more dynamics. We also took this into account when we
was mixing the without words project.

EQ/Frequency Spectrum
The Frequency spectrum is basically the range of every
single sound in your mix; most DAWs audio spectrums
normally range from 20hz 20khz that is the hearing
range for a human being. Eqing is basically modifying the
frequencies of a sound to make it have more low, mid or
highs, or simply to remove annoying frequencies.

This is the frequency spectrum for ableton, as default it

has the low frequencies cut off at 30 Hz but that can be
taken off. You can also see the numbers on the left hand
side of the picture, which is how much you can boost or
cut a frequency by from -12 to 12 DB.
Low cut (48 or 12
DB/Octave)
Low Shelf
Bell
Notch
High Shelf
High Cut

These are all the different

types of
eqing you can get in most
DAW these
helped us be more
accurate
when cutting unwanted frequencies from the projects we
were working on. One of the problems we came across
was the guitar, so we decided to take some mids out of
the frequency range by using a bell tool, and also got rid
of any low ends by using the low shelf tool. These both
came in handy for when we was mixing the tracks.
Digital Distortion (digital distortion)
Digital Distortion (clipping) is basically the act of
waveform distortion/override when reaching over the limit
of 0DBFS.

Which normally leads to an unpleasant sounding mix in

most cases. However, there are different types of
distortion and Ill give you a brief understanding of them.
Hard Digital Clipping: This gives the most amount of noise,
but also the biggest loss of low bass. Has most of its
frequencies found in the mid bass range of the audio
spectrum.
Soft analogue clipping: The variance between these two
are quite large. Analogue normally gives off a more
musical sound of distortion, and gives more punch and
thump. However, the sound is still distorted.
An example of a sound clipping would look like this

As you can see the mixer goes red when the mix is
clipping indicating that its peaking the maximum level of
0dbfs, Digital distortion sounds almost like a growl or a
badly damaged tuned radio station which is unpleasant for
most ears. You can also see that the heads room is in fact
over the threshold limit by 18 decibels
On the other hand, a sound that isnt clipping looks like
this

As you can tell the green indicates that the mixer is in the
safe zone of the mix meaning that it isnt near
clipping/digital distortion. There is also a quite a bit of
headroom (top left corner) left to fill before I hit 0 dBs
which is another good thing. My group and me made sure
that our project wasnt clipping by adjusting the levels
before their rehearsals and also compressing any fills that
needed doing so.
Compression Threshold
Compression threshold basically sets the input level at
which compression starts at. Its pretty straightforward.
Compressors work on signals that peak above this
threshold. A threshold is normally the first thing you set on
a compressor and then normally following the ratio
because that determines how hard a compressor works.
Compression Make Up Gain/ Output
Make up gain is an automatic button that raises the
volume of threshold without out you having to bring up
the gain for instance if I brought down threshold by -8db
make up gain will increase it by 8db, Which can work in
some cases, but be way too loud in others and ends up in
you losing dynamics. Which is why I think its best to do it

manually by looking at the threshold and bring it up ear

until your compressed signal sounds the same volume as
your uncompressed sound so you can get a much more
natural sound.
Compression Ratio
The ratio function is the amount of compression that will
take place. The ratio stands for the balance between the
inputs and outputs above the threshold so if a ratio 3:1 for
every 3 db. Over the threshold only 1 db. Will come out
meaning if I had 9 dbs. Over the threshold 3 dbs. Would
come out.
Compression attack and release
Attack time is a setting that defines how long it takes for
compression to take place, so if you had a short decayed
sample youd need a short attack otherwise the
compression will be too slow to compress the signal.
Which is why you need a short signal in order for it to
work. In the case of something which would need more
attack on the other hand (like a vocal you need a longer
attack in order to get a more natural sound).
We had to use this technique for the vocals on the Africa
track that we had to mix. My group and I decided to add a
long attack on the lead vocals in order to keep their
natural sound instead of sounding too harsh and uneasy.
The Release however is how the long gain reduction takes
place before going back to its original signal so it would
start off with the attack then move onto the compression
lastly moving onto release. Theres also normally an auto
feature for the release especially if youre using a side
chain method. If you were use a 707 kick with short
release and fast attack it would need a short attack and
release compression whereas if it were to be something
like and 808 the gain reduction will be much more slower
than of something of fast and snappy decay. Which is why

we put a short release on a kick of our without words

project.
Overall my group and I are quite proud of our work on the
mixes. Considering it wasnt the best material to work but
we still managed to make something of it. If we were to do
this project again I would have most definitively changed a
few things like the levels of certain tracks and looked into
more depth with compressing and eqing.