20 Tips on Using Effects in The Mix

1. Reverb creates the illusion of space…
2. Reverb is very useful for making vocals sound more musical...
3. Bright Reverbs can flatter vocals but may exaggerate sibilance…
4. Reverb is probably the most important effect in the studio…
5. Vocals almost always require compression…
6. Compressors bring up low-level noise just as effectively as they do low-level signals…
7. Avoid gating during recording if at all possible…
8. Always gate signals prior to adding reverb if you can…
9. Don't always set your gate to fully attenuate the signal when the gate is closed….
10. Single-ended noise-reduction units are useful in reducing the perceived level of hiss during material…
11. Don't add long reverb to bass sounds unless you have an artistic reason to do so…
12. Chorus is a useful effect for creating the illusion of space and movement…
13. If you need a sound treated with chorus to stand out in a mix, try either panning a dry version of the sound to one side…
14. Equalization is often used as an alternative to getting a sound right at source…
15. Sounds can often be made to sit better in a mix by 'bracketing' them with high- and low-pass filters…
16. When setting up a mix, try to get the mix sounding close to right before you add any effects or signal processing…
17. Don't be tempted to hide poor playing by heaping on more effects, it never works…
18. Go easy when using enhancers to treat complex signals such as a whole mix…
19. Often it's better to enhance just some elements of a mix so as to make them stand out from the rest…
20. Treatments designed to increase the stereo width of a mix can have detrimental effects on mono compatibility…

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