Mixing and Mastering in the Box

Mixing and mastering are the final challenges in creating great recordings. Great mixes require both creativity and a practical understanding of process, while final masters require both a clear sense for purpose and specialized ears for achieving artistic goals. Mixing and Mastering in the Box gives readers the practical tools for accomplishing both of these tasks while highlighting the artistry of the creative process. While much of the information presented in Mixing and Mastering in the Box is applicable to those using analog mixing gear, or a hybrid of digital and analog tools, the book focuses directly on working completely within the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Author Steve Savage lets readers in on such topics as the secrets of collaboration and using EQ, compression, delay, reverb, and brickwall limiting to improve the sound of records, each topic illustrated with a myriad of concrete examples.
Mixing and Mastering in the Box is the ultimate reference manual for the home recordist and the perfect basic to intermediate text for any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) training class in mixing or mastering. The book is also ideal for readers who handle their own mixing and mastering or who wish - or are professionally required - to be better informed when collaborating on mixes and masters.

An active producer, recording engineer, and music technology instructor, Steve Savage has been the primary engineer on seven Grammy-nominated CDs. He is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Digital Audio Recording: A Practical Guide for Home and Studio (OUP, 2011) and Bytes & Backbeats: Repurposing Audio in the Digital Age (Michigan, 2011).

- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I - Mixing and Mastering
- Introduction to Part I
- 1. The Starting Point
- 1.1 Preparing to mix and master
- 1.2 Where to mix and master
- 1.3 The tools of mixing and mastering
- 1.4 Introduction to the "Quick Guide "
- 2. Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters: Five best practices
- 2.1 Have a concept
- 2.2 Monitor level
- 2.3 Monitoring options
- 2.4 Revise, revise, revise
- 2.5 Live with your mix or master
- 3. Quick Guide to Great Mixes and Masters: Four common mistakes
- 3.1 Poor control of the low end
- 3.2 Overly bright mixes and masters
- 3.3 Overly compressed mixes and masters
- 3.4 Trusting inadequate monitoring
- Part II - Mixing
- Introduction to Part II
- 4. Building a Mix: The concepts and tools in detail
- 4.1 Starting concepts and setting level
- 4.2 Panning
- 4.3 Processing: EQ
- 4.4 Processing: Dynamics
- 4.5 Processing: Effects
- 4.6 Processing: What else is in the box?
- 4.7 The stereo buss
- 5. Automation and Recall: Fine-tuning
- 5.1 Online versus off-line automation
- 5.2 Details of online automation
- 5.3 Details of off-line automation
- 5.4 Timeline of automation
- 5.5 From simple to complex mixes
- 5.6 Fades
- 5.7 Advanced automation techniques
- 5.8 Recall
- 6. Mixing Piece by Piece: How to approach individual elements
- 6.1 Drums and percussion
- 6.2 Bass
- 6.3 Guitar
- 6.4 Keyboards
- 6.5 Vocals
- 6.6 Horns
- 6.7 Strings
- 7. Mix Collaboration: The mix team
- 7.1 How to communicate about mixes
- 7.2 Levels of mixer intervention
- 7.3 Managing remote mixing projects
- 8. Delivering Mixes: Formats, mix types and multiple mixes
- 8.1 Digital formats for mix delivery
- 8.2 Full mixes, TV mixes, and clips
- 8.3 Multiple versions of a single mix
- PART III - Mastering
- Introduction to part III
- 9. Setting Up to Master: Tools and files
- 9.1 Tools
- 9.2 Creating a template
- 9.3 Building the timeline
- 10. How to Listen for Mastering: From your ear to action
- 10.1 Level
- 10.2 Frequency/EQ
- 10.3 Dynamics and effects
- 10.4 Consistency
- 11. Creating a Master: The concepts and tools in detail
- 11.1 Creating a reference track
- 11.2 Processing: EQ
- 11.3 Processing: Level
- 11.4 Processing: Dynamics and effects
- 11.5 What else is in the box?
- 12. The Final Master: Creating and delivering
- 12.1 Creating a master
- 12.2 Formats and delivery options
- 13. Mastering Collaboration: The mastering team
- 13.1 How to talk about mastering
- 13.2 Levels of mastering intervention
- 13.3 Managing remote mastering projects
- Addendum I: Notes on surround mixing and mastering
- Addendum II: Why mixing and mastering can no longer be separated
- Index