Yamaha AW2816 Tutorial - Page 21

Mixdown Step 4. Adding ambience Ambience-type effects such as reverb, delay, and echo can be used to add spaciousness and warmth. Up to this point in the process, you have been working with the "dry" sound, unprocessed by effects, but there are many engineers and artists who prefer to work with ambience-type effects already applied. Many artists also like to monitor the "wet" sound (i.e., with an effect) while they record. There is no hard and fast rule as to when in the mixing process ambience should be added, but in this tutorial we will handle it as a separate process. This is because unlike EQ or compressor, ambience effects do not directly affect the actual sound of the tracks. Ambience does not modify the sound, but rather adds sound. To create a sense of unity, we will apply only one type of reverb to the entire song. Since the AW2816 contains two internal effect units, it is easy to apply two different reverbs or other effects to separate tracks, but to convey the "liveness" of this song, simpler effect settings will be more effective. Applying excessive reverb to all tracks is the worst possible thing you can do. Use ambience effects with a light touch. Since reverb accumulates, applying even a small amount to each track will result in a significant amount when the entire mix is played back. In the beginning, you will need to repeatedly keep adjusting the reverb send of each track, but as you gain experience, you will learn the appropriate amounts to use. • Preset scene By recalling the preset scene number 04 "STEP4 MIX" you can hear the reverb and other settings that will be explained below. By now you probably know how to recall a scene, but if you are not sure, turn back to a previous section. s Using effect 1 send, and selecting an effect 1 Press the FADER MODE section [AUX5] key. Now the faders will act as the AUX send controls for the corresponding track. On the AW2816, AUX5 is assigned to internal effect 1, and AUX6 is assigned to internal effect 2. Here we will use only the AUX5 send. 2 Press the [F2] key to access the Effect Library page. The default Reverb Hall effect is a bit too big, so we will select the Reverb PLATE effect which has a warmth and presence that is just right for this song. 3 From the effect library list, use the [DATA/ JOG] dial to select Reverb PLATE. Then move the cursor to the RECALL button and press the [ENTER] key. A message will ask you for confirmation, so move the cursor to "OK" and press the [ENTER] key. 4 Press the [F1] key to access the Effect Edit page, and make sure that the "BYPASS" setting is OFF. (If it is ON, move the cursor to "BYPASS" and turn it OFF.) Effects used in "Can you feel it?" EFFECT 1 Reverb PLATE Reverb time 0.8s EFFECT 2 Symphonic s Adding ambience to tracks as needed In AUX5 mode, use the faders to add just the necessary amount of the Reverb PLATE effect to each track. As in the other stages of the mixing process, you will frequently be turning each channel on/off to hear how a certain track sounds with the effect, or how it sounds in combination with other tracks. As discussed earlier, you should use the channel [ON] keys to turn channels on/off, rather than using the Solo function. 20 Tutorial