Balance

: Balance-Hie Hixino Port
^^ he most basic element of a mix is balance. A great mix
I I must start here first; for without balance the other mix
elements pale in importance.There's more to balance
than jusl moving some faders, though, as we'll see.
THE ARRANGEMENT — WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
Good balance starts with good arrangement. It's important tounderstand arrangement since so much of mixing is subtractive
by nature. This means that the arrangement (and therefore the
balance) is changed by the simple act of muting an instrumentthat doesn't fit well with another. If the instruments fit well
together and don't fight one another, the mixer's life becomes
immensely easier. But what exactly does "fighting oneanother,"
mean?
When two instruments with essentially the same frequency band
play at the same volume at the same time, the result is a fight for
attention. Think of it this way: youdon't usually hear a lead
vocal and a guitar solo at the same time, do you? That's because
the listener is unable to focus on both simultaneously and
becomes confused and fatiguedas a result.
So how do you get around instrument "fighting"? First and
foremost is a well-written arrangement, which keeps instruments
out of each other's way right from thebeginning. The best
writers and arrangers have an innate feel for what will work in
an arrangement, and the result is one that lies together without
much help, almost automatically.But it's not uncommon to work with an artist or band that isn't
sure of the arrangement or is into experimenting and just allows
an instrument to play throughout the entire song,thereby
creating numerous conflicts. This is where the mixer gets a
chance to rearrange the track by keeping what works and
muting the conflicting instrument or instruments. Not only