Mixing & Mastering

Recording is one thing, but it takes careful mixing to turn raw multi-tracks into a balanced piece of music, and dedicated mastering to fine-tune a mix into a final audio track suitable for committing to CD.

Blue Lizard Studio employs the latest software, high quality hardware & processing and an experienced ear to put the vital finishing touches to your recording.

Also, checkout the MIX FIX service for getting your own exisitng recordings mixed and mastered by BLS (see below).

Mixing

Unless a client simply wants the raw, unedited audio files from a recording session, all multi-track projects will be carefully edited to create a stereo mixdown version. For each individual audio track this will include:

• editing out unwanted noise
• dynamics processing (gating, compression etc.)
• equalisation and tone-shaping
• level and panning
• addition of insert/send effects

For the mixdown itself, all the constituent parts are balanced together and, where necessary, level, pan and other parameters can be fully automated within the computer sequencer.

Depending upon the project, mixes can then be kept 'In The Box' (fully within the digital domain), or they can be summed 'Outside The Box' using an analogue signal path, where discrete components and valve buss processing can impart its distinctive sound quality.

Mastering

Mastering is the process of turning a stereo mix into a finished product; a cohesive audio master version that is fit for final duplication. Creating a master version from a stereo mix will include:

• overall dynamics processing (compression and limiting)
• equalisation
• editing of track lead-ins & lead-outs (fade-in/fade-out curves)
• compiling of CD track list
• burning of Red Book CD master
• auditioning/error-checking of CD master

MIX FIX!

Do you have a home-made recording of yourself or your band that you feel needs an objective set of ears and some professional polishing to achieve its full potential?

With the benefit of accurate monitoring and industry standard processing and effects, Blue Lizard Studio can mix your existing multi-track recordings or master your existing stereo tracks. Your tracks can benefit from some of the best software plugin EQ's, dynamics and effects around, coupled with the depth and colour of analogue summing and hardware mix buss processing.

Ideally for a full mixing project, you will have your multi-track recordings available at minimum 16-bit, 44.1kHz digital audio files, but please contact BLS for more information on supported formats.