Excellent 'Mixing To A Pink Noise Reference' feature in Latest SOS !!

[Martin Walker]

Got my December 2014 SOS yesterday, and was immediately drawn to a most fascinating feature written by our own Eddie Bazil (zukan of this parish), entitled:

In The Pink! - Mixing To A Pink Noise Reference'

(starts on page 36, while on-line subscribers can view the feature in its entirety here:

www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec14/articles/pink-noise.htm

The reason I'm posting this here is that although I've heard rumours about this mixing technique before, I've never actually tried it, but having read this feature I reworked a mix I was currently working on following Eddie's instructions, and was amazed at the improvement!!

This really is an excellent way to get any mix underway without making any artistic decisions - once you've got that initial mix then you can of course wade in with your creativity, fairy dust, and critical tweaks, but it's a real time saver.

There's an accompanying mix example on line too, showing how good the basic technique is - Eddie apparently mixed this track from scratch to this standard in about four minutes!

Well done Eddie for bringing this to our attention, and to SOS for publishing it at the perfect time for my mixing improvements!

Martin

[ronmac]

I am travelling, and just downloaded the new edition to my iPad mini this am. This was the first article I looked at, as well. I love being shown new tricks, even though I don't chase a stick as fast as I used to!

Thanks SOS, and Zukan!

[Ben Asaro]

The new issue has so many good articles, I was debating which to start first! I decided on this article followed by the Pink Floyd one ...

Looks like a very interesting technique, and one I will try in the near future.

[Jack Ruston]

It's very useful. I learned this from Ed a few months back and it's a fantastic way to get a blank slate sort of even balance when you're short on time and tall on tracks

J

[Ben Asaro]

Well, I tried the technique tonight with a mix that was giving me a bit of trouble. As I was running through the tracks, at first I was a bit skeptical, as the levels I was setting things at seemed off ... but I decided to stop letting my eyes do the thinking and went through each track anyway.

I would say using this technique got me to the 75-85% mark on the first go! There were a few things that I changed based on stylistic preferences, mostly.

One of the things I noticed off the bat is how much more BALLSY the mix was using this technique; perhaps it was because I wasn't thinking about a preconceived level for the bass and kick and instead just let the pink noise guide it? Not sure, but the mix overall has a lot more drive and urgency to it, in my opinion.

Here's a quick excerpt, if anyone is interested, CLIP.

[Billum]

Yes great article, and I intend to give it a try toot-sweet.

Incidentally, might it also be the basis of the 'nerdy video' on mixing?

http://www.homestudiocorner.com/nerdy-video

(I'm always a bit reluctant to give out my email for things such as this if it's going to just end up telling me something I already know - so much spam so little time)

[Matt Houghton]

might it also be the basis of the 'nerdy video' on mixing?

It's not a proprietary technique, but the article was based on one of the author's own (paid but inexpensive) video tutorials: http://www.samplecraze.com/catalog/videos

[Wonks]

It was developed from Eddie's earlier tutorial about Mixing with a Pink Gin.

[TheReson8or]

Just tried it with a recent mix...everything worked except the drums...which were too loud...so turned them down a touch...mix sounds better. Great stuff, will be pursuing it further! Dave

[The Elf]

It was developed from Eddie's earlier tutorial about Mixing with a Pink Gin.

I thought it was 'Mixing With a Pink Nose'. That's screwed up tonight's mix...

[Martin Walker]

Well, I tried the technique tonight with a mix that was giving me a bit of trouble. As I was running through the tracks, at first I was a bit skeptical, as the levels I was setting things at seemed off ... but I decided to stop letting my eyes do the thinking and went through each track anyway.

I would say using this technique got me to the 75-85% mark on the first go! There were a few things that I changed based on stylistic preferences, mostly.

That's exactly what I've found - abandon your ears temporarily, use the pink noise, and within a couple of minutes you'll have a reasonably well balanced mix.

Because of the way you're setting up each track level, I found it perfect for getting every single instrument to give of its best, before you start making creative decisions about pushing some forward and pulling others back in the mix.

I actually ended up pulling a bass line down by a massive 12dB - yes, I have edged it back up 3dB since, but I'm still far more pleased with the bass/kick interplay in the post-pink-noise mix than I had been before.

Great technique that I'll be using as a kickstart every time in future

I only wish that I'd bought Eddie's original video highlighting the technique when it was first released (a steal at just $8)

www.samplecraze.com/product/mixtonoise

Martin

[oggyb]

Right, I'm off to WHS to buy it then. As an amusing point of interest, only the other day I bought a copy of the late-and-great Hollowsun's noise generator for Kontakt.

Time to party!

[MorayM]

Picked the mag up today. I've never quite got on with normal reference tracks, so I'll be interested to give this a go.

[Stinki]

After several hours of indecisive mixing, I decided to try out the pink noise technique - it’s fantastic!

It is difficult to hear everything in context after a hundred listens, but this did the job in a few minutes, and then it required only another few minutes of minor adjustments.
I also found that the bottom end instruments required the largest decreases. I suspect I become less sensitive to them over time, so over-compensate, and get into more trouble. Therefore, this technique will be used at some time during every mix in future, even if just to check their perspective.

Thanks Eddie for this best-of-all mixing tips.

[Martin Walker]

After several hours of indecisive mixing, I decided to try out the pink noise technique - it’s fantastic!

Glad you found it so useful Stinki!

I also found that the bottom end instruments required the largest decreases.

Me too

Martin