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Tutorial—Mixdown
20 — Tutorial
Phase 4: Add Ambience
“Ambience” effects such as reverb, delay, and echo are generally used to provide
a sense of space and warmth. So far we’ve worked with the “dry” (i.e. no effects)
tracks, but many engineers and artists would already have ambience effects in
place. In fact, many artists insist on monitoring “wet” while laying down the
tracks. There are no rules regarding when in the mix process you should add
ambience, but for this tutorial we’ve chosen to make ambience a separate subject
because, unlike EQ and compression, it doesn’t directly affect the actual sound of
the tracks. Ambience “adds” to the sound rather than changing it.
For the sake of consistency we’ll use only one reverb effect for the entire piece.
The AW4416 has two separate effect processors built in, so it would be no prob-
lem to set up two different reverbs or other effects and use them on different
tracks, but the straightforward, “earthy” feel of the song demands a more simple
approach.
❒ Engage the “Effect 1 Sends” and Select an Effect
1. Press the FADER MODE [AUX7] key. The faders will now function as auxiliary
sends for the corresponding tracks. In the AW4416 AUX 7 is pre-assigned to
internal effect processor 1 and AUX 8 is pre-assigned to effect processor 2.
We’ll only use the AUX 7 sends for this example.
2. Press the [F2] function key to select the “Effect Library” page. The default
“Reverb Hall” effect is a little too big and spacious for our needs. The
“Reverb Room” effect, on the other hand, has just about the right combina-
tion of warmth and intimacy.
3. Use the data dial to select “Reverb Room” from the effect library list, then
move the cursor to “RECALL” on the display and press [ENTER]. When the
confirmation window appears move the cursor to “OK” and press [ENTER]
again.
4. Press the [F1] function key to select the “Effect Edit” page and make sure
that the BYPASS setting is “OFF” (if it is ON, move the cursor there and turn
it OFF).
There’s nothing worse than too much reverb all over everything!! Use ambience effects
sparingly! And remember, reverb is cumulative! That is, the seemingly small amounts of
reverb you add to individual tracks can add up to a great big mess when the entire mix is
played back. In the beginning you’ll probably have to go back and readjust individual
reverb sends many times until you get it right, but as you gain experience you’ll develop a
feel for how much to add right from the outset.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION!
You can instantly recall all the reverb settings described below (as well as all other settings
made up until this point) by recalling the scene number 04 “AMBIENCE” we’ve provided
for you. You should know how to do this by now, but if you don’t, go back and check the
previous sections.