EP-320 Project 3

Mix Project
This is a Pro Tools mixing project. In this project, you will mix a pre-made Pro Tools
session, One and Only. Youll do this lab in the Music Synthesis studios, in Studio B or C.
You can book time in the EPD Equipment room. You will have 3 hours in Studio B or C for
this project.
The Pro Tools session for this project is located in the EP-320 folder on the EPD Support
drive of the Music Technology Server.
Copy this zipped file to the Media drive of the studio computer, then double click to un-zip
it. The zip file should unzip into a Pro Tools session. Boot Pro Tools, and open the session.
The D-Command, the control surface for Pro Tools, should automatically engage with Pro
Tools when you boot the program. If it seems like its not communicating with Pro Tools,
ask for help from the EPD Studio Support Office (A76).
Before you get started, create a master track, so that you have a master output level as well
as a reliable 2-mix meter to work with. Remember that you should leave the Master Track
fader at 0dB (unity gain). If you see the clip indicators come one, pull down all the
individual track levels to solve this, not the Master Track fader.
First, play the Pro Tools session so you can get to know the song. Be sure to solo the tracks
to get a sense of what it all sounds like. Check each track, and make some observations
regarding the issues in these tracks (phase issues, noisy or quiet tracks, etc).
Reorganize the ordering of the tracks as you see fit.
Before you begin mixing, the session needs some elements added to it so that the session is
more manageable. These session elements are as follows:
Tempo Track
This session doesnt have a tempo track. It would be helpful to have one, so build a
tempo track either manually, or using Beat Detective to help you. If nothing else, this
gives you a meaningful display of bars & beats in Pro Tools. This means you can
navigate the session in musical terms, rather than minutes & seconds. Also, when you
set delays and other tempo-related plug-ins, theyll follow the songs tempo. It would
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be a good ides to do this work *before* your studio session time, so that you dont
waste time in the studios building this tempo map.
Mix & Edit Groups
Go through the session, and group the tracks as you see fit. You can group the tracks
any way you like, as long as they make sense to you in terms of workflow. At a
minimum, you should create at least five Mix&Edit groups.
Markers
Use Pro Tools markers to lay out the form of the song. Its up to you to decide how
youd like to use markers to note the different sections of the song, but in this song
there are at least five sections in the arrangement, so youd want at least that many
markers.
Set up a good static mix of the tune, adjusting the faders and the pan controls to make a
good balance of the tracks.
Basics
Using the Digidesign plug-ins, plus any other plug-ins approved by your class instructor,
add some EQ and dynamics processing to improve the sounds in the mix. Be sure and use
the TDM versions of these plug-ins, not RTAS (and definitely not the file-based AudioSuite
plug-ins!)
Use this Project as an opportunity to explore some of the Waves plug-ins you dont have
in your Berklee Waves bundle. The only plug-ins you should are avoid are the Waves
Mastering plug-ins; the LinEQs, the LinMB, and the L2. These arent really appropriate
plug-ins for mixing work, and they put a HUGE strain on your computer.
EQ & dynamics ideas
Theres a LOT of stuff you can do with EQ and dynamics to improve this mix.
Heres some ideas you might try
Mixing the kit - the individual drum elements will most likely need EQ and
dynamics on them. The kick, for example, has a low end thats not very focused, so
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some EQ there would give the kick more punch, but wont collide with the bass as
much. Also, note that theres more than one kick in this session, and you might want
to figure out how to sort this out.
The crashes might be too splashy, and compete with the vocals in the 2-5kHz
range.
The track called Maraca is actually a maraca sample as well as a kick sample, and
the HiHat track also has a kick on it, meaning there are really three kicks in this
session. You might try to EQ these tracks to compliment the other kick track, so that
there isnt excessive bottom end in this mix.
One idea to try is to duplicate these tracks, then put a gate on the duplicated
track. Set the gate so that it isolates the kick as best you can. On the original
version of this track, use EQ to remove the low end of the kick. The gated
version of this track now lets you handle the kick from that track as a separate
element.
Some of the synth pads might be a little too thick, and need a bit of EQ to reduce the
low-midrange mud.
Compression can get a lot of these tracks to feel more smooth and controlled, leaving
more room for the vocals.
Make sure that you keep the mix focused on the vocals, even in a dance tune!
External keying
As you are working on your mix, theres some opportunities to try some external
keying techniques. See if you can do these.
The clap track supplies a pretty good backbeat. Put a gate on the HiHat Loop track
(s), and key the gate off the clap track. Set it so that the Hihat has a little stronger
emphasis on the backbeat (2&4).
The lead synth track sometimes competes with the lead vocals in the chorus. Try
compressing the lead synth track, keyed off the vocals, to slightly push the lead synth
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back when the vocals are singing. Then, see if theres a second element in the mix
that could also benefit from a little bit of compression keyed off the vocals.
Find at least one other opportunity for keying a dynamics processor (gate, expander,
compressor) from another track. There are a lot of choices here.
FX
Lets add some FX to this mix, starting with reverb.
Create a mono aux track, and insert a reverb (either D-Verb, RennVerb, or another
reverb if approved by your class instructor) on that track. Be sure to insert it as a mono/
stereo reverb plug-in. Set-up the reverb as a plate reverb, something appropriate for the
tune. Make sure the reverb mix is set to 100% wet.
Choose an unused bus as the input to this Aux track. Now set up sends to this bus from
the lead vocals plus any other tracks youd like to send to this reverb. The pads, for
example, might benefit from a small amount of plate reverb, as might some of the
percussive loop elements.
Set up a second reverb on a second mono aux track, something contrasting to the plate
you already have. For this kind of song, a small to medium sized Room reverb might be
effective, although you might try something a little larger. As before, specify a bus as the
input to this Aux track, and set up sends from the individual tracks as appropriate. For
example, you can layer the sound of the mix by putting some of the synth tracks into this
reverb, rather than the plate reverb. A similar contrast can be made between the lead
and backing vocals here.
Set up yet another mono Aux track, this time inserting a mono/stereo Long Delay on the
track. Again, specify a bus as the input to this track, and send to this delay any tracks
you feel appropriate. Notice that because you made a tempo track in this Pro Tools
session, you can set up this delay to musical delay values, such as 1/4 note delays, 1/8th
note delays, and so forth. A typical setting in the mix might be a dotted 8th note delay,

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adding a nice syncopation to the groove if you send it rhythmic elements like the
HiHat track.
Its common to process delay returns, to make them more interesting. You might
experiment with LoFi effects like AmpFarm on the delay return (set to something
subtle, of course!!)
Create a fourth mono aux track, and insert another Long Delay, Make this delay a
dotted 1/4 note delay. Use this for whatever mix elements you like, such as the pads, but
use it sparingly!
Create at least one more aux track, and choose any effect you want to use in your mix
(chorusing, another delay, etc.). Use this effect in any manner you like. You can even
add more beyond this if you like - your choice. Be sure to keep track of your sends,
which busses are involved, and so forth.
As you are working on your mix - open up the window called Show System Usage, and be
sure to keep an eye on your DSP resources. Youll see the DSP chips used by the TDM
plug-ins, as well as a gauge showing the load on the computers CPU.
From here, theres more to tweak and adjust in your mix. Spend some more time getting the
mix just right.
When you are happy with your mix, you will bounce it down to disk. To do this, first use the
Selector tool to make a selection in any track that spans the length of your song. Then,
choose File/Bounce To Disk from the Pro Tools menus. Choose a 24-bit stereo-interleaved
file. When prompted to do so, save the bounce inside your Pro Tools session folder, but not
in your audio folder. Give the bounce a good name, making it clear that it belongs to you,
and it is the final mix.
In addition to your Pro Tools session, youll hand in a short session report (2-3 pages). In
this report, describe the whole process, how it all went, what went wrong, how you solved
it, and what you think of your mix. Hand in the session report as a Word or Text document,

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and put it in your Pro Tools session folder. Name this document EP320_P3_lastname.doc or
EP320_P3_lastname.txt
As before, hand in your Pro Tools session, including the mix bounce and the session report,
by dropping the session folder into my faculty drop box before the due date. Rename your
Pro Tools session folder EP320_P3_lastname. Note again that you *dont* have to include the
audio files folder (I already have the audio files), and it will copy to the drop box much
faster without it.

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