Mixing Tricks You Wont Find on YouTube

Here is an incredible tip I learned from one of the biggest mixers of all time.
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[@TheDaveDodsonProject]

Bobby, my mixes are getting better and more interesting with every video I watch of yours! You are the real deal brother!!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks man! Biggest compliment I could get! I appreciate it!

[@5T3U3RM4NN]

Same here. He's the man.

[@caseyhayes2004]

Dr. Bob, I had to post again...I have owned Trackspacer for two years but didn't know how to properly use it, or I was simply too dumb to realize it's potential. Well, I followed your advice in the video and am knocked out! This will be on my template for kick/bass, acoustic/vox, piano/vox, and ANY other instrument fighting vocal frequencies. Thank YOU GOOD SIR!!

[@enduromusicproductions2351]

The single BEST mixing trick found ON KZbin! Ducking frequencies revolutionizes mixes. Period.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Enduro!

[@EqDior]

The first time that i found out about this trick created a light bulb effect. Been using it ever since.

[@shelob12347]

I just found this on YT And now I watched this and I’m gonna give it a go. Thank you

[@BobbyHuff]

Great Boots!

[@malcomfitzpatrick5795]

Man I could watch your techniques all day cause they actually make a difference in my mixes, could you please keep making things like this that are not popular mixing tricks that are not discussed.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Malcom!! I try to be a bit different and I appreciate you noticing!

[@malcomfitzpatrick5795]

@@BobbyHuff could you do a video on real industry eq and how to get the vocals as clear as the modern day music like doja cat song You Right, like I would like to know how to mix like that and what it takes to do such things. I’m definitely not looking for the simple basic things I’m looking for the top level of mixing and I definitely feel like you offer that and I definitely appreciate that about you.

[@jamfactory4119]

When you shared your first video on using ducking on drums to make room for the vocals it absolutely blew my mind. Finally I understood why no matter how many times I rewind and replay certain sections it seems like the guitar just disappeared and I can't pull it out. It's amazing how intricate the play between instruments becomes on a waveform level.

[@teslatravels4197]

Always look forward to a Dr. Bob video. Well explained and a great tip. Thx.

[@curtismech]

Thanks Bobby, for another amazing tip! Soooo many of your videos have made huge improvements to my mixes. Appreciate it.

[@BobbyHuff]

thanks so much Curtis!

[@bradzillarocks]

I did the sidechain technique on the album I just finished but with a regular compressor, didn't even occur to me at the time to try a multiband. Thanks for the excellent idea! I'm definitely trying this on the next one.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Brad.

[@ARFullerMusic1]

Excellent!! Love it!!

[@michaeltablet8577]

Your videos are so very helpful! Thank you so very much!

[@Sr.LaGGarto]

Gracias Doctor Bob, always great tricks

[@javascript6948]

Thanks for bringing these tips to us . I would never think about using the vocal to trigger the guitar compression

[@BobbyHuff]

Do it!

[@caseyhayes2004]

Thanks Dr. Bob!! Great video as usual!!!

[@johnhicks8073]

thanks Doc , outstanding content

[@mattdowning]

Fiendishly clever!

[@pelter1969]

Great tip.

[@HojoSinclair]

This was unbelievable, and makes me imagine the different ways this technique could be applied. Awesome stuff dude

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Hojo!

[@davebops2478]

Great tip Doc!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Dave!

[@JaviBello]

Nice tip, I do that every time. Thank you Bobby!!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Jav!

[@frankwyatt627]

good stuff my friend. nice tune bob. what we hear is tight and fun. hope the rest of the tune is as good. thank you. frank

[@carpentemusic]

I've waited for this secret sauce. Been creating static scoops, when this restores between the vocals. THANK YOU!

[@BobbyHuff]

My pleasure Kenny!

[@meteorheartofficial]

Excellent!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks man!

[@brilliantatyahoo]

Good stuff. Waves' F6 actually has a preset for this. I think it's called "Carve Out Space for Vocals - SC".

[@nightowlrecordingstudio6437]

Thanks so much Bobby, great explanation on a mostly "mysterious" subject. Thank you for the clarity. Cheers from Canada!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Man! Love Canada! Working with a new artist from Toronto right now!

[@nightowlrecordingstudio6437]

@@BobbyHuff That’s awesome! They’re lucky to be working with ya

[@TimE_5150]

Very nice Bob!!! Thanks again!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Tim.

[@HenryMittnacht]

Gold!

[@burgerguitars]

This is a really cool tip. Thanks for sharing!

[@BobbyHuff]

My pleasure!

[@adammurdock4319]

I’ve done this on a bus with all the instruments in it when a vocal performance wasn’t cutting like it needed to. Sounded great.

[@BobbyHuff]

Smart!

[@cdurand510]

Great tip. Thank you.

[@BobbyHuff]

Ur welcome!

[@billysmart6825]

To my ears even without the extra dynamics controls, that EQ curve made those guitars sound better. When you bypassed it all of a sudden they got super boxy

[@Banditman]

Hey Bobby - glad to see someone talking about this. I was worried I was tricking myself. I started doing something similar a few months back, but I got there in a little different way. I liked the effect, but sometimes we're too close to our own mixes to be objective. Thanks for confirming that this is not just my biases talking. My solution was to use a dynamic mid/side EQ (Waves F6) side chained to the lead vocal. I looked for the vocal fundamental and gave a nice bell around it, then set the side chain and chose mid only. It ducks just the frequencies I want, and only in the center of the mix. I "feel" that it allows me to really get the guitars loud without fighting the lead vocal.

[@BobbyHuff]

Very good! Keep doing that.

[@nulloandfloyd1103]

This is the stuff!

[@prd004.2]

Deep knowledge

[@M.Holland]

Great Content as always! :-) I already knew that trick, but its a good reminder to actually use it! :D

[@THEESHITSHOW]

fantastic!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Blah!

[@studiogorilla]

Great stuff, Bobby! As usual...

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Chris. Nice to see you on here my friend!

[@viol8rmusic]

I started using a dynamic EQ on the low-end of basslines and I trigger it to react to the kick snare and Tom's respective low-end. Now I can EQ a thick bassline and yet my drums all bump right through. Sounds very musical.

[@BobbyHuff]

Very smart..

[@viol8rmusic]

Not something I'd do all the time. But for this particular song I was working on it seemed to make sense. There was a lot of Tom work. The other thing I did was I tuned the toms to the key of the song. And I wanted the low end of each Tom to really boom while not sacrificing the thickness of the bass. So say for example the kick triggered a 3db cut at 60hz, floor Tom triggered 3db at 80hz, maybe upper toms at 120 or 160... etc. The result was a very churning and tumultuous groove.

[@r2aul]

I love you, man....

[@BobbyHuff]

Love back!!

[@toddscotdrumcovers2341]

Wow.

[@rickblackers88]

Subscribed

[@scorpio1710]

God I’ve tried to understand this forever. Thanks Doc!

[@BobbyHuff]

My pleasure !

[@antcall6779]

Amazing as always bobby thanks!🤘

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Ant!

[@antcall6779]

@@BobbyHuff do you set the release time with the tempo like a kick&bass or have it as quick as possible?

[@BobbyHuff]

@@antcall6779 good question . Pretty quick so those frequencies pop back in as soon as the vocal stops. Use ur ear Ant and you will do fine.

[@bigkidband5731]

Track spacer would work too.

[@NorthernSkiesMusic]

Bobby! I use this every day in many different ways. Both soothe and track spacer are great at removing only the information the source needs. I also do this on guitars.....but I change the compressor to only sidechain the mono information. This can easily be done in fabfilter MB or soothe. You can even blend the % ratio of side to middle information. With the mono sidechain on a guitar bus with the vocal you can completely make a pocket for the vocal while leaving the sides intact. It is invisible. Try it if you haven't already.

[@CharLessMajor7Music]

Yea trackspacer is a cheat code! 😂

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks man! So you are side chaining Soothe?

[@NorthernSkiesMusic]

@@BobbyHuff yeah man! It is killer. The great think about it is that it will only duck out the exact frequency notches it needs and leaves the rest untouched. I use this on so many different things. On overheads....have the snare ducking out the mono information. Vox to gtr groups. Even main vox ducking the center of dense BV stacks. Even main vox ducking the center of FX tracks. It address so many masking issues flawlessly.

[@mattelder4269]

How did you get your volume faders on the mixer page?

[@guillermodelnoche]

“I’m so awkward”…. Is that line auto tuned? “I’m” to “so” sounds synthesized. Great video!

[@BobbyHuff]

It has a vocoder on it.

[@guillermodelnoche]

@@BobbyHuff thanks for the answer. Your channel is pure gold! You are the only channel I refer back to whilst working to run ideas or concepts I learned on your channel. After 8 cd’s of original music I feel like my next offerings will be infinitely better thanks to you.

[@hallongview]

Bobby: "Mixing Tricks You Won't Find on KZbin" Me: but i found this on KZbin Bobby: shhhh

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha! Until now...

[@johncostigan6160]

Bobby, this is a MAGIC trick! The combination of vox channel EQ triggering the multi-band ducking compressor is miraculous. Thank-you, sir. May I have more?

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks John. More to come!

[@GingerLeftyGuitar]

I just found this amazing trick on KZbin

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahahaha!!

[@peterzee]

Bobby - I only have stock Logic multipressor which does not have side chain capability (although the compressors do). Were you using a C6 from waves in the video? Thanks.

[@BobbyHuff]

Yes Peter that’s what I was using. If you have Soothe or Soothe 2 you could use that as well if it side chains in Logic. You could also do this same trick with a dynamic eq if you have one of those that side chains.

[@peterzee]

@@BobbyHuff Much appreciated!

[@peterzee]

@@BobbyHuff I found a free plugin that can be used for this method for all your followers that may not have another option. It is TDR Nova which is a parallel dynamic equalizer that has side chain capability. I just tested it out. On most DAWs you need (including Logic) you need to side chain to the bus that the trigger sound is on. Again many thanks for all you do.

[@sword-and-shield]

Damn solid, for fronting the vox, but it did take the edge off the guitar. Gonna to be a trade off decided upon by a yay or nay from the band for sure. With this tune, from a guitarist perspective, I wouldn't want that edge loss....thx for the vid brother

[@TheMichaelseymour]

as a person with all types of learning problems - ADD , dyslexia etc ... i cant do "process " at all ...i find it very confusing just storing/ finding files on my PC - so much so i now forgo DAWS and only use simple multi track digital boxs like tascam ... simplifies it for me - BUT i will say , just understanding this in principle has me looking at the relationship between the frequencies - as my tascam does not have much editing features - going into EQ choices before i record is very important to me - dont know if i am wrong here- but the guitar sound you had was also more "pleasing " less harsh after your process - ? btw - the only way my "demos " can faux do this ,is to duck in volume when i bounce my tracks ......works ok, hey , thank you ....love your work, greetings from australia .

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Michael! I LOVE Australia!!!

[@Bhallmed]

Bobby would this be the same method when a snare gets masked in a mix especially when the full band is in with heavy guitars.

[@BobbyHuff]

Yes figure out what frequencies in the guitars are masking the snare and do this trick with the snare instead of the vocal.

[@bluematrix5001]

you already carved the gtrs with C6 plus a SC to go a bit more when the singer sings...

[@bigkidband5731]

Not true, dr Bob! I just found this on KZbin 😂

[@zilibobazilibobovich7429]

Soothe2 - all you need

[@BobbyHuff]

Correct but…You would still need to side chain it and find the correct frequency.

[@keithrowe1007]

Hey Bob. A fairly serious amateur here. I’ve tried this but the problem is that if the vocal is hitting harder it’s attenuating the guitars more. If the vocals are quieter, of course it is attenuating the guitars less. This is the exact opposite of what we want. If the vocal is a little quieter we want the guitars attenuated more don’t we? I’ve had to Automate an EQ dip in the right spot while the vocal is going and then copy and paste that for each phrase In the song, and then adjust And tweak from there. Maybe you’re always supposed to Compress the snot out of a lead vocal and I’m leaving it to dynamic So it isn’t hitting equally for me?

[@BobbyHuff]

The vocal is very compressed so it stays at the same level so the guitars don't dip at different rates.

[@babar141]

Hey Bobby what do you think if soothe plug-in is it really worthwhile getting?

[@BobbyHuff]

It’s incredible!!! Yes worth it!

[@babar141]

@@BobbyHuff do you have a video on ? What do u use it on mostly?

[@BobbyHuff]

@@babar141 no I don’t have a video on it but it’s used in a lot of my videos. I mostly use it on vocals, acoustic guitars and electric guitars. Really helps tame unwanted harshness!!

[@babar141]

@@BobbyHuff ok thanks

[@scottakam]

Thanks Bobby. I know it works but it seems a little counter intuitive. The louder the vocals get the quieter the guitars get. Seems like when the vocals are a bit low is when you want to help them by pulling back the guitars.

[@BobbyHuff]

The vocal is very compressed so it stays at the same level so the guitars don't dip at different rates.

[@scottakam]

@@BobbyHuff ah, that makes sense!

[@BobbyHuff]

@@scottakam all good man!

[@raphaelszok8561]

Chris Lord-Alge?

[@harwoodtheband]

I think I just found them on KZbin...in your video

[@michaelcottle6270]

Fantastic tip. Is this the sort of thing Bob Mould did here kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3m2YmtqhMiZm6s ? I was always amazed at the transition at the 14 second mark where the guitars kick in and the vocal remains intimate & perfectly clear. Back in 1998 would you use a TC M5000 to get this effect?

[@hummarstraful]

I think I've heard this technique called "mirror" EQ.

[@BobbyHuff]

Cool. Never heard that.

[@benburnett8109]

I just found a bunch of secrets on YT. Actually they aren't really secrets....they just haven't been shown on this channel

[@TimMilliken]

I was gonna say 2.5k but I almost think this isn’t necessary for this type of track. My UAD multiband catches most of this without overcompressing or chaining tracks. I seriously tweak the multiband attack release etc and I think it reacts even better than side chain.

[@SeanGould]

This is on KZbin.

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha…well it is now.

[@jonmorris9645]

Interesting... I found this on KZbin! Lol

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahahaha

[@thelaststan1]

U Rock Dr Bob

[@ritzenhauf]

wait--that's only one trick i won't find on youtube!

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha…I suck u in with the first one. More to come.

[@ReeWebster]

A great tip for sidechaining/ducking is to analyze how the sounds sum together. Can really control how the peaks overlap and sum together by adjusting the time/shape of the envelop to carve out the most suitable space without it being audible. Also, biggest secret rarely mentioned, or barely explained when talked about, is clipping ;)

[@cary3428]

But wait, I’m on You Tube. I’m confused.

[@wyrlismike]

Doesn't he mean you won't find on KZbin.....until NOW!!!!

[@MikeYusi]

Wait, I found this on KZbin….

[@BobbyHuff]

Don’t watch. It’s over your head..

[@brandonevans8024]

How can this video exist?

[@leswhite3524]

LOL A YT video called mixing tricks you won't find on YT...

[@mrmorpheus9707]

But.where .on youtube bob .lol

[@rawpoweraudio]

What are your thoughts about doing this with a dynamic eq? Great video

[@BobbyHuff]

Hey great question and absolutely yes!