Mixdown, Dynamics & EQ (and related) Topic

[Almanac]

Better than stereo widening, try using an EQ on Mid-Side mode- you can decide what frequencies to boost where so that way you can have the low ends of a lead EQ'd so they are mono and the high ends so they are stereo, and then maybe do an inverse EQ on some arps or something

[ljk32]

Better than stereo widening, try using an EQ on Mid-Side mode- you can decide what frequencies to boost where so that way you can have the low ends of a lead EQ'd so they are mono and the high ends so they are stereo, and then maybe do an inverse EQ on some arps or something

Indeed, however I've never actually used it. Another benefit of M/S processing as opposed to a stereo delay is that you don't run into phasing issues when the signal is played in mono.

[Cardioid]

(i think you are confusing compression with sidechain compression).

Which isn't compression

your being pedantic lol

Reminded me of this. sorry for LQ..

[Almanac]

Better than stereo widening, try using an EQ on Mid-Side mode- you can decide what frequencies to boost where so that way you can have the low ends of a lead EQ'd so they are mono and the high ends so they are stereo, and then maybe do an inverse EQ on some arps or something

Indeed, however I've never actually used it. Another benefit of M/S processing as opposed to a stereo delay is that you don't run into phasing issues when the signal is played in mono.

Exactly

I love using FabFIlter over standard EQs, not because they "sound better", but because they are simply more easy to use. Much more intuition, better spectrum analyzer, and of course, Mid/Side EQing. Another feature which works really well for layered leads is to do the same but with Left/Right EQing. Take all the frequencies between 1k and 3k and send them all the way to the left, and then everything above 3k goes to the right. Then, on your other layer, swap the EQ around and pan both channels. Send them to one bus, Make everything under say 800 or 1k mono, compress them together, do all your FX and you have yourself a very wide lead that doesn't interfere with the kickdrum

however, @ljk, phasing issues can also be fixed by just panning the sound.

Here is a great mid-side EQing tutorial:

[Soulshock]

lol... i think that alot of people think to complicated about mixing : ...
step1!. make all sounds so clean en clear if you can
step2. look at the interfering frequenties and remove them ....

some tips and tricks
- do a lowcut at your leads around 80-170 hz
- make sure you kicks are mono under 150 hz
- fuck stereo tools.. ( do the tricks yourself.. understand what a stereo tool does )
- dont think that mastering is the key for a good mixdown, and will fix your SHITTTY mixdown.. because it wil not
- everyone has different ears, speakers, etc.. dont think its sounds good whenit sounds good for your ears
- use your ears dont think its good because your meters say its awsome
- eq is your best friend
- use a send for your reverb ..
- dont use fruity loops plugins
- compression is something you need to understand otherwise you will destroy your mixdown
- when you layer a sound make sure the sounds are different ( anti-phase .... etc)
- dont think when you add a million fx plugins your mixdown will be pro
- have good sex before you mixdown your track..

[leeroy]

@Soulshock
thanks for te tips

I was happy to see that you posted here, cause your stuff sounds really well mixed!

the last point mindfucked me, but anyway, do you really need to use a send for reverb? i never really used sends

[Soulshock]

thx leeroy!.

more tricks and tips
- it doesnt matter if you mixdown is at -1 db.. you can lower all you mixer channels ? so whats the fucking problem
- cutting with your eq is better then boosting with your eq
- a good kick ist hard but sounds hard
- hardware is awsome because it is random, it doenst use 1.0.1.0 try to do the same with software, so you get less anti-phase etc so the sound is bigger.
- swaffel your kicks

[Echidna]

@Soulshock
thanks for te tips

I was happy to see that you posted here, cause your stuff sounds really well mixed!

the last point mindfucked me, but anyway, do you really need to use a send for reverb? i never really used sends

its personal choice ... i use fx buses for a number of reasons:

- you can route as many other channels as you like to one reverb unit, which can help keeping your cpu/processing power down.

- having 20 channels and 20 reverbs makes mixing down a NIGHTMARE, every can be extremely muddy and unclear

- ideally you want your track to sound as natural as possible, routing leads to the same reverb is gonna help maintain a natural sound as they will all have the same decay, spread etc instead of maybe 3 leads for example with different algorithms applied.

- using a volume control instead of a dry/wet just feels more stable

However if you DON'T want to go down the buses route it is totally your call, many producers prefer the dry/wet route to buses. I just personally prefer buses and get a cleaner mix that way!

In terms of low cutting ... low cut until you can hear the effect, then roll back slightly. I see too often people saying cut off 80hz etc ... No, cut off to a point when you can hear the eq changing the sound, then roll it back slightly. Also cut anything that is going to interfere. People forget ... mixing audio you need to use your ears, and every mix is different, so listen to what the problem is, isolate it and think how you can improve it.

And personally, your entire kick should be mono, not just below 150hz. And if you are producing anything that has a bassline and not a big distorted kick, your bassline should be mono also.

[leeroy]

I actually have been routing souns to specific channels, for ex I would route a few layers of a lead to 1 channel and put eq and reverb there, I've never been using the official "send" channels, just found them pointless

Btw I think it's actually importand to have some parts of the kick stereo sometimes, it can make so much difference to the sound

If you ever analyzed nc and headhunterz kicks, they are all stereo over about 500hz, and if you mono them it really lessens the sound

[Echidna]

I actually have been routing souns to specific channels, for ex I would route a few layers of a lead to 1 channel and put eq and reverb there, I've never been using the official "send" channels, just found them pointless

Btw I think it's actually importand to have some parts of the kick stereo sometimes, it can make so much difference to the sound

If you ever analyzed nc and headhunterz kicks, they are all stereo over about 500hz, and if you mono them it really lessens the sound

again ... personal taste