If you are mixing rock n roll music, then you’ve probably come across a guitar solo in your day. Have you ever listened to a Van Halen track that raises the roof with a precision solo? Eddie is one of the greats but there is more to it than just an awesome music talent.
Normally the lead guitar will be positioned off center either mid-right or mid-left in the mix. That is great for rhythm sections and vs, chorus, bridge etc. but it will not help you bring your solo to life.
The obstacles are simple to overcome. They require knowledge of basic recording tools such as the volume control and the panning tool. You must also understand how to write automation. Once the knowledge of basic tools is gained it will be time to learn the theory of mixing the solo.
Basic controls:
In order to liven up the mix, and boost the energy of your solo you must be able to control the volume and panning in coordination. These are simple tools to write automation for a track.
Writing automation is how you adjust a number of affects which will be read by the DAW as the track plays. It’s a little tricky to explain, so let me give you an example. If you are writing automation for a track’s volume, then you must select the “write automation” command in you interface. Make sure the automation is set to what you desire to change. You will see the affect in a taskbar. The automation will appear as a line indicating the tracks current volume. From here, you can select points on the line to boost or reduce the selected effect. As for panning, the same applies; however, instead of volume you will be moving the audio from left to right in the 3D audio plane.
Once all of your automation is written, turn the write automation off, but make sure there is a “read automation” command still in affect so the track knows to follow the mapped out points. If you do not turn the write automation off, then you will continue to change the automation for the track which could destroy everything you’ve worked for up to this point!
Theory:
So you know how to control everything. Now how does one apply the knowledge to gain the sound that professionals have. It’s rather simple. Just as Eddie would walk to front and center stage while his audio men bring his sound with him, we’re going to do the same for your guitarist.
The first key is to be subtle. Nobody want to listen to extreme and unrealistic jumps in the audio. I can’t stress this enough because having a nice smooth ascension is so important to an overall great sound.
Slowly pan the solo from the starting position in the center of the mix. As the solo gets to the mid-way point or climax, the sound should hit the center. After the climax slowly move the sound back to its starting position (the climax depends on the solo).
The volume should follow a perfect image of the panning automation. It must climax as the solo hits the center mark, and decrease as it falls back to its starting position. Be subtle! You do not need to blast the solo so loud that your audience cannot hear anything else. The snare is a great ceiling in a mix, so if you have trouble finding the sweet spots at first, then don’t let any other sound exceed that of the snare drum.
There are many other ways to pan sound so feel free to explore and discuss how you make your solo’s sound great!