How to Adjust Mixing Desks

It is great to be able to play music to a high standard in a band or individually, but if you don't know how to adjust your final mix using a mixing desk when you're recording, the finished product isn't going to showcase your musical talent. If you master the basics, you can produce a professional sounding mix without too much difficulty.

• 1

  Get your levels right. This is the most important aspect of mixing and will influence the quality of the piece you're working on above all others. It's largely a matter of having an ear for what sounds right and experimentation, but there are a few basics that you'll need to get right. Playback your recording and adjust the sliders for each channel input until you have a coherent mix. Make sure that no one element is drowning another out and that each element sits naturally in the mix. If you're playing in a traditional four-piece band with a drummer, bassist, singer and a guitarist, concentrate on getting the rhythm section, the bass and drums, sounding right before moving on. You can mute the other elements by hitting the mute button above the channel slider while you work on these. Make sure that the bass is not at a level where it overpowers the drums.

• 2

  Use the channel pan knob above the channel sliders to alter each track's place in the stereo field. By moving the knob slightly to the left or right you'll widen the feel of your mix and make it sound less cluttered and flat than it would if all channels were set in the center of the stereo field. If the drums are recorded on different tracks, such as snare, ride cymbal and toms, it's a good idea to start by tweaking the position of each of these in the stereo field before moving onto other elements of your mix. Avoid panning bass sounds as these need to centered and shared equally between both speakers as the driving force of the track.

• 3

  Adjust the bass and treble controls above the channel pan knob to enhance the sound of each track. You might want to increase the bass on the bass channel if you don't have enough bottom end to it or ease off a little if it is distorting or overpowering the rest of your track. Increasing the treble is great way to bring cymbals and snares out of your drum track.

• 4

  Apply effects sparingly. The aux send knobs above the channel slider will alter the level of any effect units that you're applying to each track through the mixing desk such as delay, reverb, additional EQ or distortion. It is easy to get carried away with these, but overdoing it on all of your channels will make your mix sound clumsy and crowded.

• 5

  Set your mixer's master out channel so that it's indicator is not going into the red when your track plays before mixing down the finished track. Failure to do so will result in distortion or clipping if you're recording digitally.