Re: [LAD] Half-OT: Fader mapping - was - Ardour MIDI tracer

On Thu, 2014-08-21 at 15:50 +0100, John Rigg wrote: An EQ and a fader for each channel is a must have and never ever could be a nuisance. Control over volume and frequencies are needed tools for mixing music. There is nothing like "recording the right sound in the first place" regarding the mix of several tracks. Controlling frequencies can be used to get the "right sound" for an individual instrument and yes, you can record it that way in the first place and then you don't need the EQ for this task, but when mixing music the EQ is needed to control interaction of the sound from different tracks, too keep the sound you recorded right in the first place. Nowadays many people use compressors to do the work that actually is a task of an EQ and not the ask of a compressor. A transparent acoustic pattern and control over dynamic range by a good engineer mainly is done using EQs and faders and not by using compressors and fade ins and outs. Fading out a reverb is disgusting, anyway, I'm mixing pop music myself, somebody perhaps sings ten words and you want a delay just on one of the words, this kind of mixing is done and some people might like fading out a reverb or to add reverb to the end of a guitar solo ... the claim is that fates are _rare_ and to add delay or reverb by a fade or to fade out reverb or to fade out a song and sometimes to adjust the volume is done, but it's rare and not that often as fades are done by amateurish computer music "engineers" using mixer automation. Another problem of bad mixing are dynamic effects for each track and different sorts of delay for each track. This usually isn't done with knowhow, it's usually done because of a lack of knowhow. On Thu, 2014-08-21 at 08:30 -0700, Len Ovens wrote: Pop music usually ends as classical music ends, with a composed end, only the around 3 minute radio versions need a fade out. Bad composers already make this part of their compositions, they don't compose an end, they repeat something and make the fade out part of their composition, usually the same kind of composer who don't shy away from repeating the first half of their song by transposing it two half steps for the second part of the song. There are different levels of simple pop music. I love simple pop music without too much cheap tricks. But within the last decades cheap tricks became more and more the business. However, a fade out for the radio version is ok, lead and backing usually are on separated subgroups, another feature that also a virtual mixer should provide by default, needed for the fade out you described and for the post fader aux sends I mentioned. The design of virtual mixers shouldn't be that modular as they are. Some people might not need this or that, but to learn how to mix and to decide when something is needed or when not, there's the need to have a good default mixer. Some people, including myself have the knowhow and could use a modular mixer, but it does cause extra work or at least a template. There are exceptions, such as gated drums, but indeed, it's good common practise to use one reverb. _But_ the reverb is not simply given to the clean stereo sum, it's controlled for each channel individually, that#s a good reason for using aux sends. The pad string like sound needs another volume of reverb, than the dominant pop music kick does need. On Thu, 2014-08-21 at 09:01 -0700, Len Ovens wrote: You only can estimate what sound is needed for the end mix when you're much experienced and even then it can't be optimal. Faders and EQs are basics for doing a good mix. To act from necessity is ok, but stupid when good EQs are available for the mix. I will repeat it. The EQs for _mixing_ are less needed to give the recorded instrument a sound characteristic, this can be done for the recording. For _mixing_ the EQ is needed to _keep_ this recorded characteristic when mixing with other recorded instruments, when the frequencies start to interact. The EQ also is needed to control dynamic range of the mix and to control transparency of the mix.