Exploring Mix Bus Secrets: Insights from Top Engineers

[@mixedbymatty]

To all who noticed the error in my mention of Andrew's last name, I acknowledge the oversight and appreciate your attentiveness. There's no need for further comments on this matter-I simply misspoke. I fully understand there is no W in his last name. I hope you got more than that out of the video. :)

[@RollsRoyceEnvy]

🤣 great video Bro

[@AndyDouglasMusic]

Thanks, Matty. The Cranesong Phoenix II mentioned in the video is now available in beta as a VST3 and AU plugin on the Cranesong website, alongside the original AAX version for Pro Tools. There’s a demo labeled "beta" for those using VST3/AU for other DAWS in Windows and MAC OS. Like the hardware, this plugin has earned a reputation among mix and mastering engineers as a "secret sauce." It’s not just another tape emulation-it brings a unique character that’s been highly regarded since its Pro Tools-exclusive days.

[@LesVegasMusic]

If I was trying to get the cleanest, most balanced mix possible for pop or hip hop, I'd definitely go with Jaycen Joshua's mix bus. Tchad Blake's mix bus definitely has the flavor though and I love it for this particular song. His mix bus seems to work for the widest variety of genres. I've tried it many times on many different songs myself. I can't stand Andrew Scheps mix bus, too much mid-range for me, but that mix bus chain makes sense for Scheps since he primarily mixes rock. That mix bus would sound great for rock I'm sure. Excellent tune for this test! Thanks again Matty.

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

God particle one unit processing with under the hood saturations, multibands etc could be the way to go. Kind of like Sonible and Ozone with the curve and spectral detections, shaping.

[@cekirdekci32]

I really like this engineer’s channel a lot actually.

[@jonnyoh4731]

The softube chandler limited is a cool lil unit. The low end secret is in the feedback knob on the far right side! It is a low end harmonic shaper that gets a lot of different eq/saturation tones

[@mixedbymatty]

you are 100% right!

[@BennyJayYouTube]

i don’t know which i like more they all sound good i like the high end with shepps but the first one is great too

[@alessandrogarofalo8699]

JJ's sounds already radio ready, it's a well packaged product ready for delivery. I love TB's the most, although we know that a lot of it's flavour will be tamed in mastering

[@mixedbymatty]

Yah. Big fan of the god particle myself

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Tchad Blake is super underrated, especially these days.

[@trevorokorenmusic]

U gotta try Luca Pretolosi’s: Pro L2 (if u don’t have the Bettermaker limiter) Into his Acustica 3bx plugin (compress mids, expand top and and bottom) into the hard well stereo plugin into Lift4 with clipper no 3 into standard clip into pro L2 with a standard clip hard clip at the end.

[@LeKing56]

While it's interesting to see the differences, the sound comparison doesn't tell anything as they are meant to be mixed into. The useful comparison (but it would take hours) would be to actually mix the song into all those busses and explain the difference in the workflow it implies. At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure it's all about workflow differences more than sound differences. Scheps doesn't sound brighter than others, I'm sure all of them can achieve any sound they want using their mix bus. For myself I don't mix enough in order to settle for one workflow. I constantly change my process which I know is not the best way to be efficient. But I like exploring new ways. Thank you for the video!

[@mixedbymatty]

1000% That's why the test is a bit unfair. Gotta mix into these.

[@sedecasinada]

Andrew and Tchad’s were my favorite ones

[@flyoverfredusa]

crazy how different they are

[@RipleySterling]

I think a bit of an issue with this, while insightful, is that all of these mixers mix bus setups are probably reflective of their entire mixing process as well (if that makes sense), which probably means they're not really performing in the way that these mixers expect them to, out of context... but it's still useful/insightful.

[@kevinbatchelor9566]

Seems like the real key to Brauer’s approach is his multi-buss compression idea.

[@mixedbymatty]

yah Brauer's whole set up is wild. I think it might be hard for anyone but him to get a mix to sound right with it haha.

[@LesVegasMusic]

Excellent video Matty! Thank you! Did you level match each of these audio comparisons?

[@happyshadow]

🤓

[@mixedbymatty]

Tried to get as close as I could, Les. :) Glad you dig the video.

[@LesVegasMusic]

@@mixedbymatty Ok. Great. You know, what I do with my comparison files is level match them with the plugin LEVELS by Mastering The Mix using INT LUFS measurements. This at least gives us a reference for comparison. Could you please export each comparison audio file in this video and make it available for download for us so we can compare in our DAW's? Thanks again!

[@scotthstevenson]

And how did you get the mixers settings ?

[@chris2353]

Brauer said in his pureMix template video that the Germanium plugin setting has way too much bass compared to his hardware, so he takes the feedback down to around 4 or 5 I think. He said they need to fix that preset but obviously that never happened lol

[@mixedbymatty]

Ahh. Makes sense. Yes. I've played with it quite a bit and the feedback does change it a bit. I actually have like 4 presets that are just changing the bass character.

[@ChrisAdkins1985]

I use the god particle. I’m only looking to put together quick song demos to send to other collaborators. It’s a decent guide 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@meronyach.]

Best video I've seen on mastering, honestly. No BS, and you explain the logic behind their decisions really well, and not in an overly complicated way. Good stuff!

[@andresacosta8598]

ty for sharing your insight! do you know where in his chain does tchad blake uses crane song’s phoenix?

[@happyshadow]

Could you do a bit of a tutorial/deep dive into the Unisum comp??

[@mixedbymatty]

I did make a video about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJClZIminc5kpZY

[@junglequeencrimsondisc]

gonna check these out!🤠 thanks! - 6dB on the chandler WOW!

[@onseanzion4363]

FIRST of All...that beat...that HOOK Tho!...Dude.....thank u

[@yoyoyayu]

What if I prefer the no bus (the first track)? ^^ Great mix btw :3

[@greganikin7003]

What you're missing is they're mixing into the MIX BUS, not just processing already printed tracks.

[@Mitsch76]

Yes, but it has the same effect I guess. All is summed to the mix bus. No matter of it is one bounced file or 54 tracks. ;-)

[@greganikin7003]

@@Mitsch76 you guess, but i know))))

[@jrgroberts]

Thanks. Useful comparisons.

[@lashonbrown1708]

I’ve been seeing studio one a lot in your videos 👀😏

[@JamesArthurHurley]

My question for you, did you “mix into” their busses they way they would? I.e. did you hit them the same way they would in terms of gain staging and gain reduction? Genuinely curious. Though. Still watching though atm.

[@mixedbymatty]

No! I think I mentioned that. The video was for fun to see how 4 different people treat the mix bus

[@JamesArthurHurley]

@@mixedbymatty I’m a nerd. I personally would like to see you mix into them and see what you can get out of each :)

[@johnmoney910]

“Such a important particle”

[@clarinetistcrazy1989]

Great video! Thanks! I just copied TB settings and my mix become better!) P.S. After good gain staging))

[@SeemoreDunkan]

Is Phoenix STILL not working on PT? What the hell is wrong with Avid?!?! Is there ANY plugin that costs more than a Crane Song?

[@jwilliams6976]

Make sure the volumes match

[@marlowdurden5330]

I like the last Two tracks

[@CSPRfilms]

TB for sure

[@HeartMere]

Thanks a lot!

[@bloomingbeats1318]

Andrew’s bus sounds light years better than any of the other ones.

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

The engineer's bring heeps to the party and its amazing how they deal with what they are hearing. Very interesting.

[@panda_express88]

JJ most balanced and radio ready. TB most 'hi-fi' and club ready.

[@endlessnameless4369]

I find that once level matched its usually evident that VSTs on a mixbus take life from the original mix and give a sort of sanitised 'sheen' that doesn't quite have the original punch or organic sound. There is a reason so many older records sound more alive and impactful than modern records when you level match - they were not run through a multitude of processing after the mix was done. I think this video is a good example - I found myself preferring the unprocessed mix. The last two sounded particularly bad to me - like some awful windows 'enhance' EQ had been used. Sometimes I think it is better to follow Mixerman's advice and stick a transparent limiter on a mix you are happy with than have it mangled by mastering processes.

[@donnydarko7624]

How many times do you figure say a song off of the Album Rumors by Fleetwood Mac had to be bounced down to free up tracks on the master tape? Because every time you do that you end up further compressing the parts that were being re-recorded, on top of that every time you end up losing definition and and raising the noise floor.

[@endlessnameless4369]

Putting aside the differences between hardware and VSTs for a moment I don't think you can compare chains of active and subtractive eq, and purposeful compression of the master bus with the side effects of tape bounce. Even if you disagree the results clearly speak from themselves, the older records sound punchy and more alive. Secondly, and another can of worms but I personally don't think you can compare hardware with plugins when it comes to stereo master bus processing. Admittedly with VSTs the differences are less evident on individual tracks but apply to the whole mix and its more prominent (shoot outs of g bus compressor VSTs Vs the hardware show that clearly).

[@donnydarko7624]

No hardware gets anywhere close to the transparency well developed plugins, but there are a lot poorly developed plugins for sure. @@endlessnameless4369

[@HollerAtcherBoi]

Rookie comment

[@endlessnameless4369]

​@@HollerAtcherBoigood one, can't string more than two words together😂

[@mrmorpheus9707]

jaycen for the win here IMO

[@magneticpitch]

i'm a big fan of Tchad Blake, this confirmed why

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

For the brainworx foundation push up, 30 hz highpass, 50 hz bass mono, 64 hz push warmth and bass, fullness, 16 khz lift and then Mcdsp. Not that there is agreement or we are agreeing

[@manykzdj792]

Thanks

[@Deezy_Kidd]

Scheps not Schweps-it’s a beverage 😂

[@bobbyweezer]

Indeed

[@mixedbymatty]

My bad! Not intended to say his name wrong there. I see how you had to edit your post so you can understand that it's hard to perfect. :)

[@LesVegasMusic]

Actually, Schweppes is the name of the beverage. And Schweppes was a last name too! So, not just a beverage.🙂🥤

[@Deezy_Kidd]

@@mixedbymatty bro at least I’ve got an excuse, I’m not a English native speaker😂😂 and at least I looked up a bit😂😂 but no hate though, just to make fun, all love❤️

[@Deezy_Kidd]

@@mixedbymatty and you’ve edited yours as well 😂😂😂. It’s hilarious.😂😂😂 Love you man, im a subscriber and always watch all of your videos and enjoy them. But I just couldn’t pass by this opportunity, you’ve gotta understand😂✌🏼

[@madsonit]

This tells you Mix Bus Processing doesn't matter. The mix and the way you work matters. You could have anything on your Mix Bus and still sound bad. Or Anything and Still sound good. The Mix Bus Processing is just 5% at most of the actual sound. Don't get lost into the idea the Mix Bus does the trick.

[@mixedbymatty]

Yes! This is the take away.

[@therearenoruleshere]

Yep

[@bighousemusic628]

Wrong if you want your mix to sound cold lifeless dull thin and all over the place dont do mixbuss processing

[@madsonit]

@@bighousemusic628 if you need mix bus processing to make it not sound dull, than your mix needs more work.

[@peterheinen6110]

You call Scheps bright - my verdict would be harsh - ear fatigue is real here

[@callmeal3017]

If they do mix into their mix bus i guess you'd have to also...

[@johnlegrande1042]

I'm liking JJ - punchy and tight!!

[@MilezAwxy]

the middle one was the best sounding no wonder why it's jaycen joshua, & last one sounded like it's mixed as if it's a rock/pop song, just too much mids

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

Yup, so tinny. For a pop song, should be balanced and full

[@music_man_studio]

🎉cool🎉

[@shtdapuck]

Not a fair comparison. I’m sure those other engineers mix into their bus processing. They don’t apply it after like this. If you’re trying toot your own horn this isn’t a good way to do it.

[@mixedbymatty]

I'm assuming you didn't watch the full video, but at the beggining I say you would normally mix into this process and to take this info all with a grain of salt. :)

[@TaureanMixing]

In fact it is a fair comparison. I don't understand why these ideas get echoed in comment sections! IF @mixedbymatty processed some stereo mixes for some of the mentioned engineers, and mixed into the chains for the others, THAT would be an unfair comparison. This comparison gives you an idea of the type of flavor and sonority you'd achieve running through each respective chain. There is nothing "unfair" about it.

[@nobodyspecialmusic]

There's no W in Scheps you're killing me lol

[@mrbeats7434]

last one a smudge louder brother

[@JakeyWakey]

I feel like Brauer is constantly trying to mess everything up on purpose.

[@mixedbymatty]

I think his chain is just so setup for him.

[@xochitl12]

and on serbans we have the

[@django3108]

Mixhead, prob an SSL bus comp (Serban came up under teddy Riley who was spamming that SSL shit) or a 33609, prob Ozone vintage comp, ozone tubes/tape saturation, they then clip the mix in the DAW by letting the peaks hit that cuz I think they prefer that sound compared to using hard clipping plugins, definitely the ozone vintage limiter into the final limiter. This isn't theory either. The Mixhead was confirmed by them in a forum and the other stuff has been figured out due to certain artifacts that all their songs have, like DC offset.

[@roberteismann1929]

Haha, Andrew Scheps, not Schweps. Interesting video though, thank you so much.

[@mixedbymatty]

yah I mis-spoke on that one. Metioned it a few comments down :)

[@frankharley442]

This don't make sense to me. You took presets from different people and applied them to your mix. Of course they're all gonna sound different

[@mixedbymatty]

It's really just a study of different mixing engineers mix bus techniques. It's more about studying their signal flow than slapping it on my mix. The mix is just there as an example.

[@frankharley442]

@@mixedbymatty OK

[@mrwilliamz311]

Michael Brauer and Chad Blake have the best sound for the genre of song that this is. Andrew Schlep’s mix was pretty disappointing IMO and sounded like the mix bus had been temporarily switched out.

[@FromTheHipp]

TB's sounds clear and away better to me. with that said, i think JJ has gotten people used to absolutely overcompressing everything and that sound is so tired to me.

[@mixedbymatty]

You can always backoff the God Particle. Sometimes I use it with external sidechain so it shuts off the compressor.

[@FromTheHipp]

@@mixedbymatty no yeah i should have been more clear lol. i think putting GP on the mix bus is great. i personally put the acustica sand comp and UAD's ampex atr 102 on mine with the ozone imager and may implement GP as well. But just in terms of JJ's main mix. He absolutely compresses the dog shit out of everything and the sound itself is exhausting to me.

[@matiasss550]

whats the point of this? its more important the quality of the recording that they give you to mix that the plug ins those pros use in their master bus, wtf. They mix GREAT recordings. U think you will get their sound by copying their chain? LOL.

[@johnjhonny646]

I don't understand the point of this video. They are all mixing engineers, shaping and enhancing the sound before the mixbus. Their mix bus is a means of assisting their mixing. And then all of their work gets the final touches from mastering guys and the records are released.

[@scotthstevenson]

Isn’t this a totally pointless video as those 4 mix into their chain so you can’t Replicate that , duh.

[@theend9494]

Nuance is the new way, REALLY its all scam by the plugin makers, Bypass / on ugh don't hear any difference, and if you can't mix a crap rap track you got problems

[@Mynelka]

Dude, please learn the names of the guys you`re talking about ... ANDREW SCHEPS ... NO "W" !

[@owlmuso]

You right. Kinda important detail if an influencer wants credibility

[@mixedbymatty]

@@owlmuso Please see the pinned comment.

[@mixedbymatty]

Please see the pinned comment.

[@owlmuso]

@@mixedbymatty copy that, thanks

[@peterheinen6110]

Andrew Scheps blew it - sounds like it came from a tin can. I hate his omni channel - now i know why

[@RichardHerczeg]

Lazy 2 bus noise. I prefer mixing.

[@HollerAtcherBoi]

lol what

[@mookiiieeee]

My mix bus is better than all of those lol

[@mixedbymatty]

As it should be! Cause it's made just for you. :)

[@mookiiieeee]

@@mixedbymatty I love this reply