One of Dr. Dre's engineers, Steve B shares the basics of a good mix.
Story Kether Gallu-Badat | Photography Ben Clark
Steve “Steve B” Baughman is not just an in-demand engineer. He’s one of Dr. Dre’s right hand men in the studio—mixing and engineering tracks on countless albums including Eminem’s The Eminem Show, 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, and The Game’s The Documentary. Point blank, the man has skills. So all you aspiring engineers and producers out there read on and think twice before you drown your sounds in compression and effects. Steve B is listening...
Mix Basics
In my opinion, the purpose of a mix is to polish up the sound that the producer and the artist created. I like to think of it as a finishing touch. Hopefully I’m adding some clarity and sonic quality that the artist/producer hasn’t heard yet. To me, the mix is like a good wax job on a classic car that’s been sitting in your grandma’s garage for 30 years. The car was already a classic, but after the wax job, it looks brand new. I really feel that the major secret to a good mix is balance. For example, a great way to make your kick drum sound huge in a mix is to make it one of the loudest things. I’m over simplifying it a little bit, but good balances are key to a great mix.
The Setup
I enjoy mixing on SSL consoles. They have 90 percent of the tools I need to complete a good mix—good compression, great EQs and an overall clear and punchy quality. In conjunction with the board, I will use some outboard ’verbs and delays. For the majority of the mixes I do, this is all I need. I look at additional outboard gear and plug-ins only when I feel that something might need a little extra help. Sometimes a vocal will not be recorded as well as it should have been, so I will revert to plug-ins in Pro Tools to help me restore a sonically damaged vocal.