3 tips for a louder mix

► Mixing Essentials Tutorials : www.adsrsounds.com/category/mixing-tutorials/
In this video, Echo Sound Works shows you three tips to make your mixes seem louder.

[@Name-ul8es]

Me as a mixing master: *Increases volume haha sound go bzt bzt

[@skltr21]

your track sounded way louder actually

[@claesweicher4023]

I believe his track are more dynamic and less compressed.

[@mzza]

his track has more high end (too much even) which sounds louder to human ears by default. Not smart to compare future bass with trap since those long 808 subs boost rms a lot. But unless you are listening those trap songs in a club or in a car with good woofer, future bass will sound louder with lower rms values on headphones and bluetooth speakers etc. He should have used a ppm meter to compare the two since rms meters have just too long attack speed for those short future bass hits to kick in.

[@theshantanator]

Yea the Chainsmoker's track is limited to hell

[@burrellbrothersentertainme2281]

The HIGHS in your mix gives the perception of yours being louder

[@blastwatch4311]

It's not only the highs. His track also has a wider stereo image. Which is disturbing to my ears. Dunno why, but a really wide stereo image always disturbed me. And is his bass stereo??

[@melomania2637]

Your videos not only put it simply but at the same time pack a punch of information amazing video

[@summerlakes5045]

Your song sounded pretty good, just that main synth is a little loud and way bright. The chainsmokers song sounded more balanced to me.

[@BigBruhh]

A decent and well-informed producer making video's on youtube. Its a god send lool

[@sonnyjennings9035]

Really helpful!! Also that song you made to compare with chainsmokers sounds actually amazing

[@Adsrsounds]

Thanks!!!

[@VivanteMixes]

man who is this guy??? I hear his voice and I know these tips are gonna be so good

[@Adsrsounds]

Ha thanks! I'm just a guy that never goes outside and makes a lot of music

[@tomfresno120]

I gotta say... I had NO IDEA how complicated mastering was until now. However, this video makes it simpler to understand than anything i could find on the internet. Thankyou.

[@primarypenguin]

This video is actually awesome. This is the best and most helpful explanation I've seen like anywhere

[@ghoshneh]

3 minutes into this, and am alreaady excited!!

[@kennethcorbin8300]

People bitching about watching this video, don't take what they do seriously... THANK YOU! This was very helpful, the longer you take to explain things out, the more we learn. Much appreciated. Question, next to the sends, on your track, the little green knob that you can adjust, is that the amount of signal you're sending to that Aux?

[@kingkyoga9263]

Yes

[@riktascale4]

Finally a distinction between a louder mix vs mastering. Thanks so much ESW. Great info: great help!

[@Xrazyweather]

eye opener tips man,, thank you , absolutely agree with judging on RMS rather than Peak values

[@TheComposer1979]

I just used ur tips it just works like magic thanks we need more

[@Adsrsounds]

AWESOME!

[@keysbythenumbers]

Dude, your mix was not just louder but carried more presence

[@timzimmermann791]

Best video i've seen about that topic so far

[@federicomantilla]

6:18 Is it normal that i feel your mix is actually louder than chainsmoskers?

[@alexcazet2694]

I hear the same. That's why you can't always trust your eyes...

[@projectbeats1903]

**smosker**

[@XXROGUE]

13:21 the way you say "don't worry I'm gonna tell you." lmaoo - amazing vid :D

[@LifeIsGood1992]

hhhhh you also noticed that

[@ZackeryWalls]

Thanks Echo Sound Works, Great Tips for making Mixes Louder. Im Definitely gonna start using them to improve my mixes!

[@Adsrsounds]

What's up bro! Glad you liked the tips

[@magnificentelectromagnetic7417]

that was helpful, especially the bit about cutting unwanted lows - thanks

[@royowen2257]

This are the tips I need to move forward!! Awesome!

[@spacemanpope1805]

Solid advice bro. We appreciate it.

[@enjoyordie]

@15:10 To Recap: 1) Shoot for pre-master RMS and LUFS values of -10 -12 db. Mastering will bring it to -5 -6 -7. 2) Throw your FX plugins on Buses and Aux. 3) Clean up unwanted frequencies (high end on bass, low end on lead) before you do anything else.

[@charisjohnson7008]

This video was a blessing. Thank you so much:)

[@CostasCh]

Well, i'm not a mixing/mastering engineer. I'm just a producer. I don't understand much of these stuff and i don't have a properly room too do that. This is a job for the mixing engineer.

[@TheClearMediaContent]

I hate to break it to you my man, but as a producer your job is all of the above. If you don't have a treated room invest in solid monitor headphones, like Audeez or Sennheisers

[@slapshot14imo]

awesome vid! and that track you made is hot hot hot

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

I find it very fatiguing listening to these tracks. They're so overcompressed and pumpy, I don't know how you do it. I get this sound when I use the wrong compressor settings but this is the style right? Your mix sounds louder than the reference, and it actually sounds clearer. I'm just waiting for the day when it's not about loudness, but about good sounding music. :P

[@FluidITGuy]

It's EDM and all EDM sub genres in general. The emotion of dynamics is not present.

[@666ACDCROCKNROLL666]

It's purposeful. Think of the context where this music is gonna be played, clubs/concerts/loud cars. It's meant to pump and sound exciting. If they went with what you THINK sounds good for this genre, it would be really flat and boring in the clubs, which is where this genre makes its bank. CONTEXT.

[@coogibeatsandproductions7559]

you cant turn up to a quite song. fuck that

[@tbonebeats6429]

question, you sent drums, leads, chords each to their own seperate buss, then put individual parallel compression, etc on those busses. then u created aux sends for each bus and added processesing on each aux? am i understanding that correctly?

[@HotelEdenMusic]

Excellent techniques and teaching.

[@matthewtoledo3675]

Outstanding vid ESW. Thanks

[@BahFraz]

Really insightful. Thanks man!

[@nkhstudio]

First thanks for a great eye-opener re: mixing levels! I want to echo Philippos Slicher's first question. As you well point out, mastering pros usually want some headroom in the premaster mix you send them, say -3db to -6db. In the "premastered" version of your track (around 8:20 in the video), you have the RMS at around -13db and the LUFS at around -11db, which you say is in the good range. But your peak in the track is right around 0db. Assuming you send your tracks out with headroom as the pro mastering people suggest, what would your next step be? In other words, how would you lower your mix, say to even -3db peak, without sacrificing the wanted RMS and LUFS values? Or do you send you premasters "as is," with little to no headroom, but making sure the music isn't, at the very least, clipping?

[@diversekcox]

Great tutorial. Just to review for the buses/ send return tracks. Do you have a bus with different effects in it and send any instrument into that buss? Or do you create a separate buss for every instrument then add the necessary plugins to create a high RMS value? Thanks!

[@TheHornetSquad]

Very interesting. I try to not focus on making the loudest possible sound, because that is not going to sound the best. I've never used Auxes in my life though. I probably should.

[@artandpromo1043]

Thank you bro !!! I love the way you explain everything! very helpful !!! ;)

[@AutoclaveBeats]

great tutorial....please more on this....is the busing similar to Micheal braurers method or Andrew scheps?

[@ronakpatange5224]

Hey Echo Sound Works, big fan of your tutorials, Massive libraries, and Kontakt instruments. Question: Which mastering houses do you send your tracks to? Thanks!

[@IAskForNames]

Very insightful! Thank you E.S.W.

[@KingTheDreamer]

SUPER HELPFUL!! THANK YOU!!

[@AlexanderKhanukhov]

Hi when it relates to score / cue mastering: 1. Do your master your film music? 2. If so, how about retaining dynamics ? 3. What is your LFSU , RMS meter show before and after mastering? Does the same meter rules apply to film, e.g. -10 before mastering etc? Thank you

[@fededj2002]

Alexander Khanukhov I recently did audio for a movie with an engineer and what I discovered is that you do not master audio for movies and the average level LUFS has to be floating around -23

[@sw1ftyrange1]

Phenomenal video. Question: I wasn't able to tell, but do you mix with the mastering plugins active on the master bus, or mix and then reference with the master bus to get a sound of how your mix will sound once mastered?

[@djtwilite318]

thanks for the video. do you think you could remake this video with vocals included? most people mix songs with vocals included.. keep up the good work

[@avidfiregaming3369]

Nice beat and ty for the insight

[@jayarsn9978]

Great video, very helpful. Do you turn off all of the plugins on your master buss before sending to mastering, or just the limiter?

[@itsbovo]

good tips i agree with everything but sending your lead to two separate busses panned left and right doesn't make your lead wider but i can see how it helps with maybe being a little louder because you have the original signal at a certain db level and of course it will be louder because your sending additional signals to buses therefore having more volume.its like adding to the original signal lol but everything else was great. having a wide mix is based on modulation effects weather the audio is stereo or mono and the direction mixer but panning doesn't actually make anything wider . if your audio is mono and you duplicate it to pan it left and right it will still be mono

[@chriscrushmusic]

By aux sends, are you just referring to effects? I never use aux sends, so I’m curious.

[@OneStepToday]

Simply means parallel processing. An aux or send buss to use effects on it instead of original channel buss.

[@mephistovonfaust]

Thanks a lot.. I really always struggled with that

[@Adsrsounds]

Glad it helped!

[@mephistovonfaust]

***** First thing I tried when I was home and my last track sounds so much better now.

[@manicmurph]

I'm using cakewalk and they have like 6 or 7 different "mastering" plug ins, but how do you know which ones you need to use? I basically learned about the equipment to record, how to use the daw, record, and mix all on my own and I tell ya, it's pretty complicated but I'm sticking with it.

[@nickdombroski7426]

Thank you so much, very helpful! I'm trying to master my tracks myself and I'm just curious, should I bounce the track into audio files and then load them into a new project where I can work on it? And if so how should I split it up? I've seen people work with mids/sides or low/mid/high frequency.

[@ThirddOracle]

You just bounce the whole track to a wave-file, start a new project and import the track. Then you import a couple of reference tracks. Then start you mastering chain. EQ cuts should already be done back in the mixing stage.

[@shanemckenna9701]

AWESOME video

[@i.a.productions147]

this was very helpful..i did have one question tho... about the RMS and LUFS meter..where can i find that plugin ?

[@deanc2000]

You said it's easy to control the peaks, but I'm not finding that easy. How do you make the song louder while keeping a reasonable amount of the transient peaks?

[@evanbrown1367]

Great video! So, is the idea to make the RMS levels as high as possible while simultaneously maintaining enough headroom? If so, I struggle with keeping the rms at -15 with a headroom of -3db. OR do you get it to the highest rms possible without clipping, then bring it down to 3db of headroom? Apologies for the longwindedness of this. Thanks!

[@rube6729]

EQ is, imo, the best tool to get your tracks louder. If you EQ each track properly, the compression you do at later stages will work better, gel the track better AND give you the ability to push the final loudness much more...if that is your goal. :)

[@rube6729]

***** I definitely spend way more time with automation and modulation of my synths, etc. than I do mixing as well. I'm by no means an expert when it comes to mixdowns, but that has been what I've found. :) I also started writing, arranging, mixing, etc. into a mastering type of master chain (pushed relatively hard). This seems to make my overall mixes sound better in the end and keeps me from having to go back and fix EQ and even modulation problems that pop up once that final heavy compression / limiting is applied and it changes the tonality or movement or whatever... of many of the individual tracks. Then I just back it off and bounce a wav to be sent off for mastering or start the mastering process myself. It has worked like a charm for me, especially with the more aggressive, heavily processed and distorted tunes.

[@BrodieMatthews]

hey I've been using these techniques, is it a bad idea to use on a master stem? Thanks for the videos.

[@producersgo-2852]

thanks appreciate you, you seem like a great dude keep it up

[@alexcazet2694]

5:53 your track sounds way louder than the chainsmokers one!

[@Itsmadafm]

Awesome Video! Quick question ESW.. i got a similar master chain that i use to get to commercial level but is it wise to send out a track for mastering with those plugins on or should i by pass when its time to master?.. Thanks!

[@LostOnThePianoRoll]

Jesus Martinez bypass

[@michaeldarolfi2110]

Were can i hear your song you used for this video, sounds awesome

[@RansomnoteWill]

Nice perspective thank you sir

[@JG-to8sp]

Probably missed the boat on a response however, I have a track that is I believe well mixed, but it is soft, its an EDM track written for a game level on an iphone app, and I need it to be loud. However, for streaming you have to preserve about 8db of dynamic range, otherwise your tune actually gets turned down. Problem I am finding is that when I have my kick at -10db, I've got no dynamic range or rather have filled it up, yet I still can see I need more loudness. Are you saying that the RMS should hold steady at -10 and then use a limiter to get another couple of db? I would imagine that while I do hit -10 the RMS does not stay at this level.

[@bigmoomusic]

awesome tips!

[@jamesfergus4473]

How much of signal do u send to the parallel bus? Whenever I add parallel compression etc it does make it louder but always eats up loads of headroom! Thanks :) great vid btw

[@Hifcrea]

how do you get the RMS values up tho. By busing and auxing it out? also whats the difference between aux and bus channels

[@foolishmusic9430]

ive never seen someone use a saturator on a return track, what is the difference between sending the signal to a return track instead of just putting the saturator directly on the track?

[@youngTAGZ]

Can u do a video on parallel processing and aux sends

[@Adsrsounds]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX_MoX2AmMynqNE

[@mrbeats3330]

wow.. Great Tips ..Really helpful..

[@cook-music]

Who do you send out to for mastering?

[@lukemoseley8120]

I was under the impression though that all streaming sites now normalise (except soundcloud and spotify in browser streaming) so anything louder than say -14LUFS is just going to be turned down by spotify. Is this not the case though?

[@ayt351]

hey im a beginner to this and I would really like to put lyrics to your song at 5:53... I think it sounds awesome and I would really like to use it. I'll give you credit and wont make any money from it ! Thanks

[@mikereeve4938]

Great tutorial; thanks

[@georgewirkus]

really good video.

[@Dantheman1490d]

Who do u go to for mastering?

[@marceldhaini3363]

should we use high pass filter on the bass?

[@dvnybeats9608]

What about for trap/rap? How can I mix the beat with the vocals?

[@JayNikam]

Bro which is the good or optimum level of peak before sending out for Mastering.My track has RMS of about -11 but peak goes to 5 db .

[@JohnMorris-ge6hq]

Jay Nikam Professional mastering engineers ask for at least 3db but would prefer 6. Your 5 is fine. Don't worry about how low your RMS mix level is. Mastering engineers (who do this for a living) will have no problem making your track loud, if that's what you want. Professional mastering engineers have full range monitors. They can hear stuff I'm your mix you can't hear. They prefer an uncompressed unfiltered mix to work with. Mastering engineers hate this kind of advice. Just mix normally. Even if you are going to master it yourself. Mastering is a separate process. Leave the low bass cuts to the mastering engineer. But no matter what this guy or what anyone else says the loudness war is over. Replay Gain has leveled the playing field. A mix with a larger DR rating will sound better. Forget the "commercial level" crap. Do a search for, "Things mastering engineers hate the most."

[@whenteenagersgetbored5179]

9:12 what's that plugin?

[@PhilipposSlicher]

2 Questions. I have a mix in which the RMS and LUFS are almost the exact same as yours without mastering, but my regular levels are clipping, and if i make them not clip, then the RMS and LUFS drop WAY down. Question 2: How did you get Sausage Fattener to work in Logic, mine always crashes. :(

[@Adsrsounds]

Do you have the legit version of the sausage fattener? You need to adjust the balances of your mix better in that case and turn down the peaking elements (like kicks, snares etc.) and then bring back gain with compression and limiting.

[@claesweicher4023]

How do you master your mix? Directly on the project or do you export an mp3 file and THEN master that file? Which method do you prefer/recommend?

[@sw1ftyrange1]

I could be wrong, but I believe the standard practice is to bounce your mix down as a .wav or other lossless file format, and have that file mastered in a different DAW session.

[@blakmath2554]

Mastering is only done by wizards.

[@nomadmusicNC]

Is there any metering plugin for FL studio where i could see the LUFS/peak/RMS? Also, what exactly are the AUX sends? How do you set up one? Do I have to put something in the send like Sausage Fattener (lol) to get the same effect you get? Sorry for asking so many questions and thanks a lot for the tutorial!

[@nomadmusicNC]

Oh wait nvm so you put compressors and stuff like that on the AUX sends?

[@Adsrsounds]

You put any effect you want on an AUX send! Reverbs, delays compresors etc

[@nomadmusicNC]

***** Ah, thanks a lot! Love your channel btw

[@onaucc9899]

Hi, i'm relatively new to all this... can you tell me what "Aux sends" is and what i do with it?

[@Adsrsounds]

They split the audio signal into a duplicate path, so you can put FX on a sound and mix it as a DRY and WET source.

[@mrm4v965]

Is it posible that my song sound weak if i have a RMS with -3 but LUFS with only 21

[@denom123]

What plugin are you using to track your LUFS and RMS values?

[@denom123]

never mind, its at the bottom

[@MadACeTeeMack]

you need m/s processing. Look at your correlation meter. In addition, its a digital mix and not analog summed like the commercial track. Thats the major difference. Analog mixes have rounded and softer peaks; digital mixes have square peaks.

[@willdobson79]

Good stuff

[@Janomix]

You compare future with trap? oh may gash... The "little 808" release kick kill any possibility to get more loudness compared with your track, with very high end sounds and with a "woody" and short kick...

[@wsollnti]

Tutorial on that track you made?

[@milessmith3249]

Do a tutorial with mixing vocals with a loud mix and master

[@gilormsplay]

When folks said they'd spent 3 years doing audio engineering, I'd think "So, what did you do for the rest of the 2 and a half years?". . . Today I think "It's not enough".

[@BarmizzIe]

Anyone know where I can find the RMS values in Reason 5?

[@rowdyrocketeer2111]

Should my song be finished first?

[@ParsevalMusic]

fantastic

[@jjproductions8654]

I'm not so sure that I understand the aux theory. What am I sending there and how is it making my mix louder?

[@deejaySilence]

but if i use aux for this use, whould not that be eating my headroom ?

[@SoundsBy80K]

parallel processing can prevent it

[@deejaySilence]

+Krischkros what is parallel processing exactly?

[@SoundsBy80K]

you have a dry channel and a wet channel.. wet -> proceed. so.. you can (over-)compress your wet channel, do ott compression.. or reverb, delay.. phaser, flanger and more.. than you can mix your wet channel within your dry.. your dry channel would be fatter, fuller, bigger etc. but.. dont overdo it :D

[@SoundsBy80K]

you preserve your headroom / dynamics, you fill holes, you make it recognisable and much more.. (you mix the wet channel with your volume knob.. or you automate em.. you have many ways to do it)

[@JaserBlades]

Is a Bus send the same as an Aux send? Or are they diferent.

[@JaserBlades]

Yes it does help thanks, I will see it that way from now on hehe :D

[@therealrussellsmyth]

Fab video kudos

[@Steyreon]

i find it all way too loud. let the music exhale once in a while! it appears like you squeeze a face against a window pane.

[@JohnMorris-ge6hq]

Steyreon My God I don't believe it! Another smart person on the Web.

[@johngoulart69]

What plugin do I use to see the rms if I'm in ableton?

[@JayJ8498]

John Goulart did you find a plugin?

[@oTemptation]

Did you? Also want to try it myself

[@charlesdurocher3433]

John Goulart You can with Span analyser from Voxengo and you choose k-14 preset on it. You will be able to see peak level and rms

[@andor3xy712]

ableton natively displays peak and rms in every level meter

[@shahnewazmanto4798]

voxengo span

[@ivanthedictatormusic]

Hi. I have a critical question to ask for. I have -3dB of headroom meaning I am not clipping, and I have -17 RMS which technical is good as I’m not clipping, but as I knew that, that’s not enough to get a -12 or -10 RMS. I mixed my track very well, and in order to get the mix to sound good, I must find a good method to to get to -12 to -10 RMS, without clipping the peak levels. I’m not very good with parallel compression, or saturation on the mix busses (although I kind of fattened the bass just a little by distortion). Can you give some advice? I have every faith in you helping me. I believe in you. Thanks. Ivan.

[@DougSkillmore]

is the chainsmokers song running thru your mastering chain?

[@nicebluejay]

esw -- who do you recommend for mastering?

[@Adsrsounds]

Try glowcast.co.uk and say ADSR sent you :)

[@davidmarley8387]

Booty