May 12, 2007 04:41 am years of practice and learning....
i donno, you can find interviews of people who mixed/mastered each album (just read the liner notes).....one characteristic of their mastering is the lack of abuse of a limiter...they're real good at gettin' quiet, then building up to roaring loud. that's called dynamic range, and it's something you rarely hear on the radio dial. (cept for NPR ยง=op)
eq-wise, it's pretty much standard protocol, make everything blend nicely....now one thing i have noticed is they're vocal vs. instrument levels....most modern music is centered around the lead vocal....which means that track is way ON TOP of the mix...tool (especially 10,000 days) will bury the vocal levels way lower making the music sound proportionally louder *message*.
when mixing EVERYTHING is relative...the guitars only seem fat because the bass isn't covering them up.
tool works like most three piece bands so the tonal balance is pretty much taken care of (drums are the transients, bass/synth is the low end, guitars and vocals are mid, and the cymbals, vocals, and synth FX make up the highs....three piece bands are pretty easy to mix because by default, every member has his/her own space.
things get tricky when you start stackin' up tracks.
i did hear from a reliable source their vocal compressor's threshold was set to -12db. *bad joke*
