Have you ever wondered what the difference is between audio editing and audio mixing? This article will shed some light on the differences! We’ll be discussing some of the key differences and why you should separate these individual audio processes.
Without a doubt, the lines have been blurred in modern music production processes and techniques. With the ease of access to all the necessary tools with nothing more than a simple laptop, means that you can easily be recording, editing, mixing and mastering on the fly and on the go, toggling between the tasks as needed. Although there are definitely some benefits in this approach, we would like to go through some reasons why you should consider separating some of these stages of audio production. Today, we will focus on editing and mixing. The following are some key differences between editing and mixing and the benefits gained from treating each stage as it’s own important process.
Clean Up
One of the first tasks that falls under the audio editing category, is completing a general clean-up of each individual audio track. This should include noise reduction/removal of unnecessary passages of audio and creating smooth fades and crossfades between audio clips. The last thing you want your mix engineer doing is worrying about dirty, noisy audio tracks which ultimately holds up the entire mixing process. Programs like Acon Digital’s Acoustica and Izotope RX are lifesavers when it comes to editing, however if you’re not experienced in using it, you can potentially do more damage than good. If you find yourself in doubt, you should consult your mixing engineer (Audio Engineer) prior to starting the mix to get some advice on what might be needed in terms of a general audio clean-up. If you’re doing the editing yourself, it’s worthwhile spending some time learning some of the key functions of plugins like Acoustica and RX to help you through the editing stage.
Tuning & Timing
The editing stage is also when you should be checking the tuning of all audio tracks, in particular vocal tracks. Yes, creative tuning such as Celemony’s Melodyne and Antares Auto-Tune is often applied during mixing. It is important to have a solid baseline when it comes to tuning. If something is drastically out of tune, it can really skew the perception of the track during mixing and can leave the mix engineer at a fork in the road with difficult decisions to make, in which direction to take the track. We are not suggesting that everything should be perfect, but simply listen to the track in detail to ensure that nothing sounds out of place. Working closely alongside tuning is the timing of each audio track. Examples of this include, do the drums sound tight and in time? Does the start of the guitar come in at exactly the right moment? Do the vocal phrases flow as intended? These are elements that should also be addressed during editing.
Song Structure
We have often mixed songs where the artist has felt that the song structure needs improvement and/or changes. An example of this may include, removal of a verse or shifting a chorus into a different section of the song or addition of a bridge. If you feel that your song structure is not yet set in stone and you’re sensing you may want to make changes, you may want to pump the brakes and consider that you are not quite ready for mixing. You can think of mixing as that stage where the song feels pretty much done, but it just needs some balancing and careful adjustment to make it come to life!
Effects
Audio effects are something that are utilized during the recording stage and all the way up to the final mastering. This is where things often get intertwined and there is a handshake that takes place between these different stages. For example, when it comes to music production, when we refer just to the editing and mixing stages, you may want to consider which effects are non-negotiables/must haves when it comes to the final sound of your song. An example of this might be, maybe you have a bass track that you recorded and have become particularly attached to a chorus plugin that you placed on the track when you were recording. Additionally, maybe you used a guitar pedal that had a unique sound that you don’t want to lose because you deem it important. It is a good idea to finalize this during editing and make the decision on if you want to keep the effect on the track or not. In a perfect world, if you can have the option of a dry version and a version with the effects intact. This will give you maximum flexibility during the mix. If you are sending your track to a mixing engineer and you’re not 100% sure which version to use, you may want to get the mixing engineer’s ometimes opinion on which one they think works best sonically.
Quality Control
Quality control is closely linked to the audio clean-up stage (…or audio janitor work…) and paying attention to these details during the editing phase will set a much better baseline for your final mix. If you are a recording artist, you can think of yourself as an inspector of the final product coming off a meticulous production line. You want to check each individual track and ask yourself “is this the absolute best quality that I can produce”? Are the individual tracks consistent? Do some tracks sound better than others? If some tracks do sound better than others ask yourself why? By giving yourself the final opportunity to critically assess the audio will give yourself the feeling of genuine satisfaction when the final mixing and mastering is eventually completed.
- On 08/06/2024
