Mixing Advice?

J

jbkrule

New member
So I've been producing (non-sampled) for a while and I'm getting pretty comfortable with mixing different instruments, dealing with EQ, reverb, etc. However, now that I'm moving into more sample based stuff, I'm having trouble moving these skills over. For example, my samples feel really dry (or overly wet and mushy with just reverb) and I'm having trouble blending different samples together so that they feel like they were originally played together. Same with adding my own instruments on top, they just don't blend together.

With that in mind, what advice would you guys offer in terms of the most useful mixing tools and how to blend different samples and blend samples with plugin instruments. Like reverb, compression, eq, etc. If possible, I would love to know your workflows with the mixing process as well.

Thanks!
 
My main advice is to keep it simple, try to focus less on plugins and try to get it sound close to right by adjusting the volume levels. After that use the plugins to get it to sound just a little bit better.
 
EQ everything.

For example, some instruments (snares, hi-hats, etc.) generally have some low-end that will interfere with either the bass or the kick drum and may cause your mix to become muddy. So with that being said, hi-pass filters can be your best friend!

While mixing (and you have layered instruments: 2-3 snares, some hats and toms, etc.), utilize panning - nothing too extreme, just enough to give your mixdown the "stereo" effect. Always set the kicks and basslines to mono.

Hopefully those two tips helped you!
 
eq nothing

mixing is firstly about levels and panning

then it s about fx

lastly use eq as a creative tool not a corrective tool
 
use saturations on everything, it makes your track sound fatter and analog / cleaner and use bus processing to save CPU
 
All really great advice.

I'd agree with keep it simple. I find that it's easy to over do it with layers, compression, effects, samples/sounds etc. (especially if you are new to the process). I generally layer my drums but I try to keep it minimal to avoid phase interference. When I do layer I EQ pretty heavily.

I use EQ and panning a lot to carve out space for each track in the mix and avoid a muddy sound.

Once you get a feel for your sound, and you can get a consistently quality sound, then i'd start trying to add more instrumentation etc.
 
EQ is most important part of mixing, and balancing volume levels too. EQ will determine the clarity and finalization of the sound.
 
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