Mixing audio for your stream using a DAW – Cuckoos Reaper

By FAR, the best way to get an incredible mix for your stream is to use a DAW.

WHY? Because firstly you get the raw audio out of the sound desks pre-amps for you to gain stage, EQ and compress exactly how you like with studio and broadcast grade processors that are not suited for live. If you merely take a AUX BUS feed approach to mixing, you signal has already been altered, made thin and compressed only for live performance use, then you have the impossible task to compensate some of what has been lost in that pre-processing.

Also, broadcast requires an entirely different approach to mixing, its more live a live studio mix and the power that a DAW gives you allows you to create some incredible mixes that cannot be duplicated easily in any other way.

The main benefits to mention a few are;

• pitch correction – make every singer sound pitch perfect and amazing
• drum replacement – make your drum set bigger, cleaner and better placed so there is no ‘wash’ or ‘drowning out’
• stereo instruments – most people listen on a stereo system, so make it sound wider and fuller
• multiple layers of compression – create a well glued together balanced mix with clarity, richness and separation with good translation between multiple listening devices

The following training videos teach you how to do that using REAPER and the Behringer X32 – but all of these skills are directly transferable to other sound desks by Allen&Heath, Yamaha, DIgico and more. Reaper is also easily substituted by Logic, ProTools, Ableton and more.