BMOREBEATZ
New member
Greetings, I have a method I use and I can put it in laymen's terms. The very first thing I will tell you is, trust your ears. Now this method I'm going to explain may not be orthodox but it works.
After I've cleaned up the frequencies and volume for each track I then group my tracks together for further processing such as.
1. The drums all go to a group (note*) all drums except the bass kick and the bass line. because the bass line and kick have the most energy they will cause trouble at the master bus with a limiter or compression.
1.a - with the drums in a group ill apply compression as needed to get them crisp and tight then re-adjust volume where needed to fit in the mix.
1.b - The bass kick and bass line at this time on have filters and eq to sound the way it should for the music style.
2. all other instruments are put into a 2nd group, such as, synths, strings piano guitar etc. basically all the stuff at a higher frequencies.
2.a - with this group a light compression or limiter is use depending on the sound needs and I re-adjust the volume for the overall mix and listen. I follow this process until believe I hear a balance in the track.
3. I put a multi-band compressor on the master Bus, ill adjust the mids, lows and highs as needed and then turn the volume up. *(note) this is all done in my DAW). Now first ill go to 0 db then +3 or +4 and in most cases I've stopped at +5 to 6 db past 0 DB.
3.a - the key is to make sure there is no distortion as you go past the 0 db mark because the meter on your computer will indicate clipping however, its not clipping hence the reason you need to use your ears. The insightful thing I notice with this technique is you have full control over the bass kick and bass line since they are only affected by the multiband compressor. Sometimes ill put a compressor on the kick but that's only if I'm going for a specific desired effect otherwise my source sound and proper EQ is enough.
Once I'm satisfied with the loudness of the mix I bounce the track down. The first listening device I use as a references are laptop speakers. If the track is indeed clean and mixed well, you will hear every detail to include the kick on your laptop speakers or any small form factor speaker. Next ill move over to the home stereo or the car to see if the baseline and kick translates well. More often than not, its right on target for my intended audience. that's it. Your mix will be loud and clear and compete with the best of them and no one can say otherwise.
I find that it does not matter how you get there as long as the end product is what your looking for. cheers. Hope that helps you.
After I've cleaned up the frequencies and volume for each track I then group my tracks together for further processing such as.
1. The drums all go to a group (note*) all drums except the bass kick and the bass line. because the bass line and kick have the most energy they will cause trouble at the master bus with a limiter or compression.
1.a - with the drums in a group ill apply compression as needed to get them crisp and tight then re-adjust volume where needed to fit in the mix.
1.b - The bass kick and bass line at this time on have filters and eq to sound the way it should for the music style.
2. all other instruments are put into a 2nd group, such as, synths, strings piano guitar etc. basically all the stuff at a higher frequencies.
2.a - with this group a light compression or limiter is use depending on the sound needs and I re-adjust the volume for the overall mix and listen. I follow this process until believe I hear a balance in the track.
3. I put a multi-band compressor on the master Bus, ill adjust the mids, lows and highs as needed and then turn the volume up. *(note) this is all done in my DAW). Now first ill go to 0 db then +3 or +4 and in most cases I've stopped at +5 to 6 db past 0 DB.
3.a - the key is to make sure there is no distortion as you go past the 0 db mark because the meter on your computer will indicate clipping however, its not clipping hence the reason you need to use your ears. The insightful thing I notice with this technique is you have full control over the bass kick and bass line since they are only affected by the multiband compressor. Sometimes ill put a compressor on the kick but that's only if I'm going for a specific desired effect otherwise my source sound and proper EQ is enough.
Once I'm satisfied with the loudness of the mix I bounce the track down. The first listening device I use as a references are laptop speakers. If the track is indeed clean and mixed well, you will hear every detail to include the kick on your laptop speakers or any small form factor speaker. Next ill move over to the home stereo or the car to see if the baseline and kick translates well. More often than not, its right on target for my intended audience. that's it. Your mix will be loud and clear and compete with the best of them and no one can say otherwise.
I find that it does not matter how you get there as long as the end product is what your looking for. cheers. Hope that helps you.