Author Topic: What does "mixed by" mean?  (Read 535 times)

icebergslimIII

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What does "mixed by" mean?
« on: March 19, 2005, 05:42:22 PM »
Ok, dumb azz question probably, but I don't know the answer. I know a producer basically creates the beat and concept for a song, but what does a "mixer" do?. I noticed that most of the Games' songs were "mixed" by Dr Dre. Does that mean that Dre refined the beats and added new touches? I'm assuming that he maybe remixes it a bit and adds some touches? Also, does anyone know if Dre mixed Disco Inferno or Candy Shop? Early internet articles said that Dr Dre produced both Disco Inferno and Candy Shop, but he isn't credited as producing them now. I saw an interview with 50 where he said that dre fixed disco inferno by adding the drums and I'm assuming adding some final touches to the beat. Disco INferno sounds so much like Dre, that I'm shocked he didnt get producer credits!
 

Jome

Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2005, 05:54:57 PM »
For most of the time, it means that the mixer mixes the a cappella with the instrumental, but he can also do changes to the instrumental, e.g. add pauses, remove parts of it, add small effects, etc. but if he does add some stuff to it, he might be listed as co-producer or you might have seen "Additional production by.."

He will also adjust the volume of the instrumental/vocals and the different instruments, or remove instruments who doesn't fit, or make the bass sound sharper, the kicks sound sicker, lower the hi-hats, etc. little shit like that, it's the details that makes the difference.


 

ecrazy

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2005, 01:31:21 AM »
For most of the time, it means that the mixer mixes the a cappella with the instrumental, but he can also do changes to the instrumental, e.g. add pauses, remove parts of it, add small effects, etc. but if he does add some stuff to it, he might be listed as co-producer or you might have seen "Additional production by.."

He will also adjust the volume of the instrumental/vocals and the different instruments, or remove instruments who doesn't fit, or make the bass sound sharper, the kicks sound sicker, lower the hi-hats, etc. little shit like that, it's the details that makes the difference.




yup, your pretty much just turning nobs...Easiest job EVER!!...you gotta have a good ear though
 

Don Seer

Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2005, 01:37:04 AM »
well yeah you may think so.. but Dre will take a month to mix an album...

all the various layers of the song.. remember proper shit is done in big multi track studios are mixed down and processed to that they sound at their best.. unmixed stuff sounds shit.. it just sounds flat.. (some pre release album rips come premixing) Dre is a very good mixer.. he makes sure the bass hits right and that the snares crack.. its a level beyond producing that most leave to the engineers
 

ecrazy

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2005, 01:49:23 AM »
well yeah you may think so.. but Dre will take a month to mix an album...

all the various layers of the song.. remember proper shit is done in big multi track studios are mixed down and processed to that they sound at their best.. unmixed stuff sounds shit.. it just sounds flat.. (some pre release album rips come premixing) Dre is a very good mixer.. he makes sure the bass hits right and that the snares crack.. its a level beyond producing that most leave to the engineers

I know, but once again, its not like its that hard to do...I have to do it all the time for my electronic music class....the only reason you might take long is if you keep becoming unsatisfied with the way it happens, happens with me when im making beats, i might record something 5 minutes long, add everything in, drums, bass, etc.....then go to mix it and it sounds like shit....gotta redo, gotta redo again, and again and again...
 

wcsoldier

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2005, 05:37:54 AM »
maybe it"s easy but I still hear a difference when it's mixed by a dope producer or not
 

Christoffer_

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2005, 10:19:10 AM »
Mixing aint that hard to do in theory, but it is difficult to get a really good mix. What you do when you mix is alot of things, things like: panning instruments, EQ the instruments, use compressor, put on effects etc. is some of the things. Most of your favourite rap producers don`t know shit about mixing, 9th wonder for example don`t know what the fuck he is doing with the compressor, he overuses it and it`s sounds verry unatural and out of place. The ultimate goal when you make music is to make it sound natural, keep that in mind when you listen to music
 

BIGMOZ

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2005, 01:30:35 PM »
Mixing is a very hard process.  Im assuming whoever said it was easy was bieng sarcastic.  I can say playing basketball is easy too, cuz all u do is run and throw a ball through a hoop,  but to be on a professional NBA level is not easy.  Your ear has to be able to disdain between so many different frequencies, and find out what sounds best...  So you level off the different instruments, untill everything falls into place.  People assume Dre did so many beats, moreso because of his mixing...  The way the kick and snare thump, and snap, he has a process, and when people hear the finished product, they know it was Dre... 


« Last Edit: March 20, 2005, 01:32:34 PM by BIGMOZ »
 

lil layzie

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2005, 01:49:12 PM »
Well thats the hardest thing in my eyes but you get well payed!Chuuuch!
 

_That_Cracka_J

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2005, 03:35:42 PM »
well yeah you may think so.. but Dre will take a month to mix an album...

all the various layers of the song.. remember proper shit is done in big multi track studios are mixed down and processed to that they sound at their best.. unmixed stuff sounds shit.. it just sounds flat.. (some pre release album rips come premixing) Dre is a very good mixer.. he makes sure the bass hits right and that the snares crack.. its a level beyond producing that most leave to the engineers

True, Dre doesn't get a whole lotta credit for mixing.  It makes a helluva difference to the track depending on who is mixing it.  With Dre mixing, he can make a song sound a lot better than its original format.
 

C-clamp

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2005, 04:47:29 PM »
Good mixing makes all the difference, a good example of this in The Doggfather album, snoops vocals were so low it was hard to hear him over the beat.  Now if I'm not mistaken that's cause of poor mixing.  Imagine how good that album would have sounded if it was mixed properly
 

_That_Cracka_J

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2005, 04:52:57 PM »
Good mixing makes all the difference, a good example of this in The Doggfather album, snoops vocals were so low it was hard to hear him over the beat.  Now if I'm not mistaken that's cause of poor mixing.  Imagine how good that album would have sounded if it was mixed properly

Yep...great example
 

DPG4Life

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2005, 05:05:09 PM »
He will also adjust the volume of the instrumental/vocals and the different instruments, or remove instruments who doesn't fit, or make the bass sound sharper, the kicks sound sicker, lower the hi-hats, etc. little shit like that, it's the details that makes the difference.

its basically equalizing the the different "tracks" that you have...
that what we as listeners call track consists in its productiong of a base-drum track, snare track, baseline track, etc...
and every track can be equalized seperately and if you do that you change the frequenzy-area, it will sound warmer or colder, or more punchy (drums)

i believe choosing the vocals is also a part of the mixer
so again, there are different vocal tracks
you got the rap simply
and then you got so called 'doubler' - you can notice that in rap very often. to emphasize some important parts of the lyric, rapper double that part
the mixer chooses what double to take and what not
same with effects, mostly there is an effect track, where rappers make sounds to help understanding the story, or just b/c theyre know for it:
xzibit makes always that sound of a crow for example
or mc eiht makes a lot offects, or quik is laughing a lot, and keeps saying 'yes' and 'no' etc...

and i think breaks also are a part of that
you can simply turn off some tracks
and you may have noticed some tracks where for a short moment all instruments are gone, only the hi hat keeps riding or the snare PLUS the rap
since those effects has to fit to the vocals, i think this is also done in the mixing process

so the producer has the ideas how everything should've been put together, the basic idea of the melody and rhythm,
but how everything is put together (besides the instrumental) thats up to the mixer

but MOST cases the producer also mixes the song

but like we've heard in that new unreleased tupac track that spread around the internet mixing is VERY important
i think that track can compare with further death row releases, besides the beats is pretty simple
but its also very flat, the whole sound is flat...
there are no razor sharp snares, or punching bass drums.. just flat

ive read somewhere someone said "yea, that track is good but can never compare to old death row ish"...
believe me, if it wouldve been mixed you wouldnt say that at all...
 

madsamoan

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Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2005, 06:16:19 PM »
Jome and DPG4Life pretty much sums it all up as far as your question.
BTW, There's no such thing as a dumb question,just dumb people.
 

Trauma-san

Re: What does "mixed by" mean?
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2005, 09:09:37 PM »
Christopherr's the only one who mentioned one of the biggest jobs of a mixer: panning.  That's incredibly important.  If you take a song and just record everything dead center, it sounds like shit, and all of the instruments blur together.  If you listen to a Dre beat, it's incredibly layered, but yet you can hear all of the instruments... that's because he might have the keys panned hard left, some strings panned slightly to the right, maybe there's a small little area in the spectrum where he's got the backup vocals nestled in so none of the other instruments trip over that... maybe the bass is panned hard right (bass is hard to differentiate which direction it's coming from, so ultimately it doesn't matter where you put it, as long as it's out of the way of your other tracks).... etc.

Another important job is the Mastering of the CD, mixers basically handle the seperate tracks, where as a mastering job deals more with finishing the entire CD off as one package, i.e. making the songs fit together and the levels of each song be correct, etc.