Board Thread:Off-Topic Discussion/@comment-20791725-20131003093527/@comment-32500188-20131005075038

(Hey, no prob, I had to step away myself.)

Well, it really depends from person to person. Some people can pull off mixing with just editing one singular sample, and I applaud them for pulling it off if it's well done. However, I personally choose to go with layering, which is pretty much common practice among mix masters. (And to add, a short while back Voidorchestra had posted a blog about this here. They have a lot of good info that was new for me as well, and can be used in this case as well.) That helps to balance out any maddening issues like muddiness and sharp articulations by just mashing even the extremest of edits together... though it takes a good amount of time depending on the music you're fitting it to.

This is what I usually do: when editing sound bites of instrumental/vocals/etc., make multiple copy tracks using the original file. Keep one of the tracks untouched, then have at least two other edits: one track that's been edited to bring out the higher frequencies (for clarity), the other the lower frequencies emphasized. (You can do more if needed... mid-frequency boost, formant changes, chorus effect, you name it. if you have a few extra edits of the track you want to mix in for extra color to the sound, it's fun to play around and see what you come up with.) Once you get the layer tracks the way you want them, then adjust the gain for each track (including the original) and blend them together until the result is pleasing enough.

I know it's kind of loaded, but it works out pretty well... and it gives you quicker access to the base if the mixing results don't turn out as hoped.