The best way to improve your mix
hello it's @jamesub back with another edition of audio engineering and mix-down. I believe you’re all doing great? it's been a crazy busy months working on audio installation with a great team. I feel great writing again about the things I love the most. And yeah have really miss you guys. so let get started.
Some question have come across while working this view months have been, What’s the best way to improve your sound?
Honestly, I find most people get into the same routine of using the same microphones, in the same way, and also relay on the same basic mix-down process. So-and-so always gets a boost at 1.6Hz, the vocals always get the same type of reverb, blah, blah, and blah. You get the idea.
Most of the things we do are for good reasons, so don't get me wrong.
But what if you started from scratch on EVERYTHING?
I mean personally that is where I have seen the biggest improvements come. Turns out a different mic or mic setup always produce a better sound. Also mixing the vocals before the guitar makes it easier to keep the vocals clear. Be it from my personal experience or what I’ve seen others do, starting from scratch with the ability to be open to new ideas has often resulted in a better mix. so I challenge you to try that this weekend.😁
Gear Tip
How much will you be willing to pay for a Wireless Microphone?
It is not new that some gears can be very expensive and sometimes, you get what you pay for and sometimes you don't. But what do you do when you’re short on funding?
Someone once asked this question; “I have a budget of $250 for a wireless handheld microphone. What’s recommended?”
The fastest reply from most people was…”NOTHING.” And that's because they couldn’t recommend anything at that price point. Before I give my reply, let me add that the fact is there are many churches or a small home studios with ZERO budget or where stuff is purchased by volunteers so let’s look at the options when you have little cash and you need a wireless handheld mic.
First, look at the usage.
Usage consideration is very important in this situation as you must know what that very microphone will be use for. Will this be for a singer, the pastor, or will it be used as a secondary microphone such as for a congregation member to give announcements? This analyses will go a long way to telling you if you can get away with a low-budget mic or need to save up for a few weeks or months.😁
Personally, a wired handheld microphone is recommended in situations where money is tight. But this time wireless microphone is what’s needed so I’m sticking with the original request.
Second, look at alternative solutions to new.
Looking at alternative can be a great way of getting the job done too. Check out how many churches or studios are in your city. Odds are at least one of them has an old wireless unit that is still in good condition which they no longer use and would sell it on the cheap. You can also find used gear on sites like Reverb.com I hardly buy used gears but I'd definitely test out anything used gear before buying.
Finally, he asked for specific gear so here I go.
About a specific gear, outside looking at used gear when the budget is tight, I have a couple of recommendations that can help as well.
At a price slightly above the $250 is the Audio-Technica ATW-1102 Wireless Handheld Microphone System. I’ve used this very microphone on and off for years and when it comes to any church on a tight budget, this is the company to turn to.
Also coming in right at $250 is the Sennheiser XSW 1-825. I’ve heard it split tested with the XSW 2-835 and while I prefer the 2-835, the 1-825 is going to last you.
We can't all afford high-end equipment but at the end of the day we all have many of the same needs which is having a good mix-down. So we have to come up with creative solutions. Most times, little things we do goes a long way to helping other make a good mix. So this weekend if you have old gear at your church or studio that you're no longer using, sew if an area church or the friend who's trying to set up a small Ho. e studio could use it. Or post it up as there might be someone that would jump at the chance to have it.
And related to that, how fast can you identify a particular piece of gear that is failing when things go wrong? I will be doing a post on that soon
That will be all, for now, I hope it was helpful!! question and contributions are welcome through comment
This post should be curied because you showed lots of info here.
It will be nice to see it curied @botefarm 😁