Mixing sound is an excellent way to edit the sounds of a film, and accentuate the mood of a project. There are a variety of mixing tools available for both professionals and amateurs to create excellent mixes to enhance the quality of their film productions. Regardless of type of mixer, most contain modules that will adjust for qualities such as pan position, equalization, and automation. Other functions, such as compression and inserts, are not always available on the main mixer. An example of this is the Recent platform, discussed in greater detail below. However, the lack of features on the main mixer is taken care of by extra modules available with the platform.
A common feature in mixing is called panning. Like all music editing techniques, it can have a great effect on the music. However, errors can always arise as a result of lack of attention to detail or by overdoing the effect. One common error is a shaky foundation to the background of the music. This is the result of skewed low and high frequencies. To avoid this, keep both low and high frequencies centralized, which will create stability.
In addition to sound problems created by panning, mixing problems created by an overuse of effects is extremely common. Overusing reverb is one of the most common effect-related problems. And while equalization can be used to help control the mixes (discussed later), like reverb, they can be used to the detriment of one’s musical creation. Fading, which is regularly employed at the beginnings or ends of musical tracks, can also be used poorly during the mixing process, contributing to the lack of quality in the piece. Of course, there are some problems that can occur outside of the mixing process, such as a poor quality of the initial recording. But despite the fact that these problems do not happen as the result of mixing, they can make the mixing process that much more difficult. Mixing is not a cure-all for a poor recording; there is only so much that can be done.
Another tool featured on most mixers is the 14:2 and 6:2 devices; these are secondary mixers that can be used to add more channels to a main mixer that does not have as many as required. Both of these secondary mixers include auxiliary sends, used to route a musical signal to different locations other than the main mixer. Normally, signals are sent to an effects device. Rerouting is most commonly used to achieve reverb and delay affects. Aux returns are then used to send the altered signals back to the main device. The rerouting process has limited use in digital mixing; however, as the use of effects devices can produce delays in the sound signal, distorting the sound quality.
The Reason platform, whose third version was released in 2005, has been noted for going beyond the traditional tools available on mixers, offering a wide range of effects for a musical creation. Although it takes on the traditional modular environment for digital music synthesis, it is extremely flexible in the ways it can be applied during mixing. One of these applications includes functioning as an individual production tool. One of the new features in version 3 is the addition of mastering processors; these will facilitate the mixing process. However, critics have noted that the instruments included in Reason do not have built-in special effects; they need to be imported from another source. This means that the user needs to rely on the extra modules for particular effects. Despite the need to use the modules, reviewers have expressed satisfaction with the wealth of effects available.
It has been noticed that Reason is capable of producing fat-sounding mixes. They accomplish this type of sound using compression and equalization tools. There are a wide range of sounds available with Reason, and inexperienced mixers can overdo the effects, distorting the sound. The equalization and compression features restrict the ranges in order to keep things under control.