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Mixing with only the Midrange!!!???
Hey MP Fam!
Recently, the YouTube algorithm gods have been serving me up a healthy dose on the subject of mid range! (probably because I was watching all those tutorials on that Voxengo Span plugin haha)
One video I watched recently suggested an interesting technique for mixing which had not occurred to me before. The engineer was basically saying that the “soul” and “clarity” and the most impact of your mix comes from the mid range, specifically between 200 Hz and 4000 kHz. The engineer suggested that he tries to do a good portion of his mixing ONLY within that frequency range, and at times only allowing himself to hear that specific band of frequencies. He went on to say that this is why people use those famous Yamaha Ns10’s and Auratone speakers. He suggested that if you don’t have those types of midrange speakers you can simply put an EQ on your master bus that is a band pass and limit yourself to the frequencies which would simulate those speakers. He suggested frequently referencing your mix with that EQ curve engaged. He kind of suggested going back-and-forth between bypassing it on and off every five minutes or so. He continued to say that you should only start focusing on low end and the very high frequencies after getting the mix sounding great within that mid frequency range.
I guess my question is – is this a good idea? It seems pretty smart to me, but I’ve never heard of this before and I have no idea if this person knows what they’re talking about haha!
Wondering if Dana or any other of you genius mix protégés could give me any input on this subject, and let me know if this is common practice or something that you guys do as well?
Many thanks in advance!
Best,
Jesse
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6 Replies
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Heck yeah, Jesse!
What you’re describing is exactly how/why I use my beloved little Radio Shack ‘Realistic’ speakers, which are positioned on a shelf on the other side of the room, pushed together to simulate mono sound, and far enough away from me so I’m never listening to those in the “sweet spot”. There literally is NO sweetspot for those, lol. Just “mono” midrange boom-box-style audio … the most important stuff to focus on. And I probably spend 50% or more of my mixing time on those lil guys! 🙀
This concept and process is outlined in my “Chaos to Clarity” pdf. Check it out and lemme know what ya think!
https://mixprotege.com/chaos-to-clarity/
mixprotege.com
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Thank you Thank you Thank you! I just read it again! I know I had read that before but for some reason, I just wasn’t really ready to understand what you were fully trying to say! Especially the part about how you actually use them to mix with! I always sort of assumed you were just monitoring on them, but now I’m starting to understand that you actually make adjustments while using those as your monitors! I think I get it more now! Also – That low end tip in “chaos to clarity” is so fantastic, too! The idea of just using the EQ rather than the faders at that point of the process isn’t the most intuitive thing, but it makes complete sense! This journey is so much fun, and it means so much to have this space as a learning resource and community of support!
I’m just starting a new mix today and I began with your advice about starting with the biggest part first and now I’m kind of working backwards to the beginning – it’s such a great concept for getting the big parts to feel like they hit hard when they need to! I hope to have something to share very soon! Thanks again brother!
with love,
Abuela
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YESSS! You’re en fuego, homey!! Love that you’re diving deep into this stuff – and crushing it!
Lookin fwd to hearing your next masterpiece! ⚡️🎚️🥰
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Jesse,
Hell yea it’s a good idea, however, I don’t think the most important point of the “Only mid-range” story is the most important one to be considered.. Certainly listening to a bandwidth limited mix will show you if the killer kick drum you’ve created that is shaking the NBA’s balls even makes an appearance in a small speaker listening environment. There’s harmonics of the low stuff and attack of the kick that can be used to imply the presence of the kick without the low end present. Does the musical story get told if the speaker system is less than ideal, and probably more typical of many listeners’ situation?
My takeaway is that the actual topic is about changing perspective whilst listening. The small mono speaker on the shelf listened to off axis or even from outside the room is like downing a couple slices of ginger to cleanse the palate when you’re out for sushi. New perspective to be sensitized to the new taste. …From the audio perspective, if I let go the attachment and pride I feel about inflating up those basketballs to above league standard and listen with fresh ears…am I still in the game? For the football fans amongst us, and Patriot fans in particular, it Deflate-Gate, but reverse polarity.
I used a version of this thinking in my years being responsible for making sure that what was in the preacher lady’s heart made it to the audience members’ hearts. Highly intelligible was the goal. When walking around the outer concourse and poking my head into every seating entrance area I could check my success. Also I could see which vendor had the freshest pretzels. A man has got to have hobbies, you know.
PT
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Thanks, Paul!
I hadn’t thought about how important those frequencies are for speaking in a live sound situation. Very enlightening…
This stuff is all slowly coming together. Amen!
-JLew
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This is so great, Paul!!! Excellent points (and pretzels 🥨🤤)!
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