Mixing / Production

I've only really just started getting to grips with EQ and I've come to a stumbling block. I'm working with Apple Logic 8 and am using all of the preset synth and drum sounds, which sound fabulous on their own (no problem frequencies, in other words). However, there are obviously overlapping frequencies between instruments, because things are getting muddy. Given that I have to remove some frequencies from one already perfect–sounding sample to make room for the other, how do I decide which frequencies are expendable? How can I identify which frequencies are causing the problem? For example, if you have a guitar part, obviously you remove the low end, but what frequency bits should you take out in the rest of the waveform? A little bit of the 500Hz range and 1000Hz? How do you know which bits waste headroom? Also, is it best practice to reduce the overall level of an instrument and then raise certain frequencies containing the essential musical parts ('attack', 'body', and so on)? I'm not asking which parts of specific instruments should be removed, but am more wondering how I can identify which parts of a sound are useful or unnecessary. Is it common to have seven or eight steep (high-Q) 'notches' removing a number of frequencies in one instrument?

I often record double-tracked vocals and pan them left and right, but was listening closely to some other artists and noticed how the vocals seem to be close-up and spread across the stereo field, without appearing doubled up. How can I achieve this?

While I know this is pretty much the job of a mastering engineer, how frowned upon by professional mixing engineers is...

All of my mixdowns start with a list of all the tracks involved, then each one is introduced and blended into the mix...

I recorded a performance of Handel's Messiah recently, and I was wondering what the common practice is when compressing...

I use Cubase SX v1 and I want to set up a reverb that the vocalist can hear during recording, but that doesn't get recorded...

I have a few tracks that I'd like to put on-line, but I'm having trouble getting the bass to sit forward enough in the mix...

I have been recording music for quite a few years now, but I always get the same problem when I listen back to my mixes:...

I understand how to record and mix music for surround, but how do I burn an audio-only disc to share my surround mixes with others on their domestic systems?

I seem to get different information on the order in which mix processors should be used. What should I have on the master output of Cubase when I export my mix?

I'm looking to create a home studio so that I can make beats and improve my DJ and production skills. My current set up is...

Is there a preferred method of using normalisation?

I've seen it suggested that compressing the stereo bus is the key to getting a mix to come together and sound 'like a record'. Is this really the case?

When I plug my guitar into my 16-track and send the same signal to two channels, if I pan both channels to the middle it sounds louder. Why?

In Cubase SX, can signals be 'routed' to a compressor's side-chain to modulate another signal?

Even with the subwoofer turned down a bit, the amount of boomy low bass was incredible and pushed the other frequencies to the back. Do you have any tips on how to prevent this from happening?

I was wondering if it's possible to use a single mono compressor that can be stereo linked (the Focusrite ISA430, for...

I am trying to recreate the famous gated reverb effect on Phil Collins's records. Can you tell me how the original effect was created?

I have some sampled drum patterns that I am trying to loop. I find that they are losing sync over the course of the track. What's going wrong and how do I fix it?

I'm about to do some mixing and I'd just like to find out if there are any right or wrong ways to pan my audio. I'm sure I'...

I recently tracked a female vocalist with a large dynamic range and horrible mic technique. After trying lots of compression and limiting schemes, I have finally resorted to going through each song and manually editing the volume profile...