Yamaha AW4416 Tutorial - Page 21

Tutorial-Mixdown ❒ Add Ambience to the Tracks as Required All you have to do now is use the faders in the AUX 7 mode to add the required degree of the Reverb Room effect to the tracks. Tip! As with other stages in the mix process you'll probably be turning channels on and off so you can hear how the processed tracks sound alone or in combination with certain other tracks. As we mentioned earlier, don't use the SOLO function to do this, use the channel [ON] buttons instead. ❒ Tracks 1 & 2: Drums Drums usually benefit from a touch of reverb, especially if they have been recorded fairly dry like the "So Fine" drum track. But beware of adding too much. Fairly heavy reverb is sometimes used on drum tracks for ballads, but usually only specific drums - particularly the snare. In order to do this you'll obviously need to have at least the snare recorded on a separate track. It's perfectly OK to leave the drums totally dry, too, depending on the overall effect you're after. For "So Fine" we'll add a barely-noticeable amount of reverb to help define the recording's "space". Move the AUX 7 faders for tracks 1 & 2 (they're paired, remember, so you only have to move one) up to about -25dB. Tip! You can check and edit precise fader settings for the selected channel in the MIXER VIEW display (press the MIXER [VIEW] key). The AUX 7 fader near the lower right corner of the display shows the current level, and if you move the cursor there you can use the data dial to make precise adjustments. Remember to press the FADER MODE [AUX7] key if you want to go back and make further reverb adjustments via the channel faders. ❒ Track 3: Claves/Electronic Drums Leave this track dry. The claves sound has enough natural room ambience which was undoubtedly picked up during the initial recording. The electronic drum sequence for the outro needs to remain dry to emphasize its "techno" quality as well as maximize the contrast with the acoustic drums. ❒ Track 4: Bass It's usually a good idea to avoid adding reverb to bass because the resultant boomy wash of sound can severely compromise the clarity of the mix. And that's precisely what we'll do with the "So Fine" bass track - no reverb. ❒ Tracks 5 & 6: Rhythm & Lead Guitar Electric guitar is one of those instruments that almost demands added reverb (unless the guitarist applied reverb himself while recording the tracks). In the studio electric guitar is often recorded close-miked or directly injected into the console, so the sound tends to be extremely dry and brittle. Unless you're specifically looking for a very dry sound, you can safely add a fair amount of reverb. Track 5 rhythm guitar reverb at -12.7; track 6 lead guitar reverb at -11.8. 21 - Tutorial