5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: The Pain Frequency – Part 13 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

One thing many amateur mixes have in common is they are too harsh. For whatever reason young mixers like to boost a lot of upper midrange stuff to make their mixes sound exciting. In the end it only sounds painful.

Notching Out The Pain

There tends to be one or two main frequencies that are worth pulling back in your mix in order to reduce harshness and protect the listener’s ears. If you can avoid boosting this frequency that’s awesome. If you can pull some of it out, even better. Let’s take a look.

13JAN
3

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Kick And Bass EQ – Part 12 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes your kick drum and bass guitar fight each other for space in the mix. It’s natural since both instruments have a dominant presence in the low frequencies. But with all that masking going on, you can easily lose the punch and clarity of both instruments, which is no good.

Carving Complimentery Holes

Mixing is all about compromise, and EQ in particular is all about cutting out what’s getting in the way. So when it comes to kick drum and bass guitar, try to cut/boost opposite frequencies and watch things clear up nicely. Let’s take a look!

12JAN
11

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: The Fat Fader – Part 11 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Looking for fatter kick, snare, and bass? You need the Fat Fader technique. It’s nothing new, but it works so well that I had to include it on 5 Minutes To A Better Mix.

Add That Little Something Extra

If your drums and bass tracks are sounding good, but are lacking that little something extra, a little parallel compression on the kick, snare, and bass can go a long way to giving you the fatness and glue that you’re looking for. Plus doing all of this on a separate fader gives you complete control in the mix, especially when it comes to automation.

11JAN
1

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Cut Through Kick – Part 10 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Getting the right balance of kick drum bottom and smack is tough. Especially in a dense mix where there is a lot fighting for the listener’s attention. And unfortunately it’s not always a volume thing.

It Takes Two To Cut Through

Taking advantage of a classic parallel processing technique, today’s tip gives you complete control of your kick drum sound on two faders, allowing you to dial in just the right amount of kick drum click or smack. I’m always amazed at how simple and effective the cut through kick is each time I do it.

10JAN
9

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Snare Drum Distortion – Part 9 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The snare drum is one of the most important parts of a great mix. If you find it getting buried beneath your other tracks as a mix progresses, you might need more than EQ to get it to cut through appropriately.

Adding What Isn’t Already There

Instead of simply trying to boost a frequency on the snare drum, it can be beneficial to add harmonic information that wasn’t there in the first place. You can do this by slapping on a simple distortion plugin to the snare. Used subtly this effect can be just what you need to get your snare to shine through a dense mix.

9JAN
6

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Instant Drum Polish – Part 8 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Generally I don’t believe in magic mixing moves, but this tip feels like one to me. When trying to get your drums to sound punchy and clear (and not amateur) you’ll likely spend a good amount of time with EQ. Today’s tip will take you no time at all however.

Clarity And Punch In One Move

The trick to mixing a great drum sound is to get rid of all the garbage that’s in the signal, revealing the best parts of your recorded tracks. Today’s tip is simple and might be just the thing you need to get started on a great drum sound.

8JAN
7

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Avoid The Solo Button – Part 7 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , ,

If you want better mixes, faster, then skip today’s video at your own peril. So much of good mixing technique comes with good foundations that help you from fighting yourself. I’ve learned this the hard way and I’m trying to save you the frustration.

Pretend The Solo Button Doesn’t Exist

When you begin applying EQ to your tracks, don’t do it in solo. If you can avoid the urge to pop that track into solo so you can “focus” on it and hear it “better”, then you’ll save yourself hours of wasted EQing. What matters is how the frequencies interact with the other tracks, so solo EQ is rather pointless.

7JAN
0

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Subtractive EQ – Part 6 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

If you can get EQ right, your mix is almost done. It’s really that important. And like we looked at in yesterday’s video, how you approach EQ has a lot to do with your final result. Today’s tip is no exception.

Cut Away The Bad Stuff

If you want mixes with more clarity, musicality, and headroom, then consider using EQ to cut away the bad stuff than to boosting the good stuff. If you use EQ as primarily a carving tool it will serve you well in the mixing process. Lets take a look.

6JAN
7

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: EQ In Mono – Part 5 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Plugins, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

We’re back with another video mixing tip. Today’s is so foundational that it’s really worth more than one day’s tip. But it’s so easy that it can easily be overlooked by newer mixers.

Mono Forces You To Work Smarter

If you want to get the absolute best EQ balance in your mixes, then make it a habit to do most of your EQ’ing while in mono. That way you won’t have the stereo field to distract you with “easy separation”. You’ll be forced to think hard about which frequencies need attention to get your tracks to sit together well.

5JAN
3

5 Minutes To A Better Mix II: Phase Check Drums – Part 4 of 31

Posted in: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix, Audio Example, Mixing, Pro Tools, Tips, Video
  |  by:
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Mixing drums is one of the hardest things to do well. But before you even dive into what kind of EQ, compression, and effects you want on the kit, you should take a few minutes to ensure your drum tracks are in phase as best they can be.

A Quick Phase Check Never Hurt

This step isn’t really a tedious one. I generally just try to make sure each close drum mic is at the best possible phase relationship with the overheads. That way you’ll have the fattest, punchiest raw sound to start with. Trust me, when you start to do this, you’ll wonder why you never did it before. Let’s take a look!

4JAN
7
«...34567...»

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Popular Posts

Categories

Stay Connected…

As Seen On…

About Graham

Graham Cochrane is a creative and versatile producer, engineer, songwriter, and worship leader based out of Tampa, FL. He provides remote recording, editing, mixing, and mastering services to clients worldwide through his service Mobile Studio Plus.

As the founder of The Recording Revolution, Graham's articles and tutorials have been featured worldwide by Avid, Presonus, Editors Keys, and Behringer to name a few, reaching readers in over 40 countries.

For more information and samples of Graham's work, please visit www.grahamcochrane.com.