Live sound mixing varies greatly from
studio mixing. The fast paced adrenaline rush of the concert venue
versus the calmer and quieter work area of the recording studio.
Studio mixers can take their time while the live sound tech has to
think quickly and react in real time so the difference can be
significant, even though some might say they are doing the exact same
thing. Besides this, there is also a difference in their
workstations. Mixing desks in a live situation can be very different
than the one used in a big recording studio. Let’s go through some of
the main differences between both the mixing desks and their
respective users.

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The basic rhythm track drives the song forward, and everything else
builds upon it. You may have written your song on an acoustic
guitar and laid that down first, but drums are usually the backbone
of a song, keeping everything well structured and grooving. But what
if you don’t know how to record drums? Or you end up with
someone’s recording that’s so bad that you’d rather tap pencils
on your desk. Drum replacement may be an option.

Recently we showed you how to use Logic Pro 9’s Drum Replacer. This tutorial covers a technique that allows you to fix drum tracks by replacing the drums using previous versions on Logic.

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You’re in a darkened concert hall, your favorite band rocking out on stage. You get chills running down your spine as the singer hits that high note and the crowd begins to cheer. You are close enough to the stage to realize that the band-members are enjoying themselves immensely on stage, smiling to each other, locking into a groove that’s so tight it sounds like it could have been taken off their studio record.

You look to the side of the stage, following the guitarists line of sight and spot a guy off the side of the stage, barely noticeable. The guitarist gives him a signal, nods his head in satisfaction and rips into his outro-solo. Who is that guy? That guy is the monitor mixer.

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When tracking for your record, you may have to go through loads of takes to get that perfect track. In the old days this meant cutting up a lot of tape and pasting the right takes together — a time consuming and difficult effort. Now, in the world of wonderful digital technology, you can just cut, copy and paste to your heart’s desire, without having to worry about super-expensive tape that you could ruin with your next knife-cut. Who wants to become a surgeon when all you have to do is copy and paste?
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The biggest and most difficult sound to get right in the studio is usually the drum kit. There are many factors involved — the kit is made up by an assortment of instruments, usually with individual mics on every drum, and then room mics on top of that. This makes for a difficult job and usually the part of the tracking process that consumes the most time. Especially in home studios where the acoustics and mic selection don’t really cut it, additional processing is required to improve the sound. Let’s take a look at improving the kick sound with sine waves.

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