Fundamentals 1: How to mix the 909 for Classic House Music

[@andrewhill2920]

Oh my god, I’ve been trying to mix the raw 909 from my TR8S for ages thanks to your video they sound SO MUCH BETTER this is a diamond mine of techniques for a beginner like myself!

[@TheCratesMotel]

Awesome man. Thank you for watching.

[@lesbroughton3925]

Great informative video & very well presented

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks matey

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

Awesome bro! Seriously great 909 tips here

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thanks for watching dude 🙏🏼

[@ethannr1]

Went through this video using ableton stock plugins and the results are great.

[@TheCratesMotel]

Awesome! Thanks for watching.

[@antoineguilbeault8025]

The glue compressor is basically another ssl g bus emulation fyi

[@Noise-Conductor]

I really liked what 160 did to the clap.

[@TheCratesMotel]

It’s legendary on claps and snares.

[@fallenmusic2698]

thanks for the super video! I have only one question: You are applying the SSL and EQ on the mix bus, but in this case, there are only drums. However, in another case, there could be all the other buses that end up there. Is that correct? So, would I be compressing and equalizing the other sounds as well ?

[@TheCratesMotel]

Hey, yes you would be if you had the compressor and EQ on the mix buss. You could apply the compressor and EQ just on a drum buss and use different processing on the mix buss. Or you could apply the SSL and EQ to both the mix buss and the drum buss with different settings. There’s no rules.

[@fallenmusic2698]

@@TheCratesMotel thank you so much !! I just red your answers ill try with the "drum bus" suggestion.

[@real.demesure]

Very helpful as a guideline !

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thank you and thank you for watching.

[@mariopak4817]

Great tutorial! Thanks

[@TheCratesMotel]

You’re welcome dude. Thanks for watching.

[@mnmj]

Great demonstration. Any change you'll do a video that includes mixing down a full house/techno tracks - drums, synths, fx etc?

[@TheCratesMotel]

Yes I will absoloutely be doing that at some point. I have a few clients that are willing to let me use their tracks as a demonstration, so yes definitely in the future.

[@Rafa3lloMT]

Great content keep it up!

[@TheCratesMotel]

Thank brother, I appreciate that. Really excited about sharing over 30 years of knowledge with everybody.

[@mnmj]

Also, do to do a static mix before top down mixing or that's not necessary?

[@TheCratesMotel]

That is a very good point and I didn't really mention it in the video. I do usually do a rough mix before I start mixing and keep it as a reference.

[@colinfaherty8805]

This video is so helpful. Thank you! Do the drum samples have a groove applied to them? Did you create swing by moving the drum hits, or is the swung feel coming entirely from the effects processing?

[@TheCratesMotel]

To be completely honest I can’t remember, however, I almost always apply 65% swing to my beats, so it’s probably likely. Thank you for watching.

[@colinfaherty8805]

Thank you! I really appreciate this video. @@TheCratesMotel

[@ryancovill2878]

Loving these videos man and looking forward to more. Really interested in this top-down mixing approach. Do you approach this as something completely separate from production, once you have a full arrangement, or do you produce and mix in parallel?

[@TheCratesMotel]

That's a great question mate. Obviously, if I am doing a mix for a client, it is top-down from the start, and it's a normal mix-down process from then on. But if I am producing myself, I tend to do a combination of both. I do a little mixing whilst I am writing, recording and arranging, but I don't go into the whole process, I just kind of have an idea in my head where I am going to go and how I am going to make it sound in the mixdown. So I guess I prefer to have all the elements of a production as different processes. So I do tend to write, record, and arrange. Then I put on my mix-down hat and do the mix, then I take a break from it and then put on my totally different mastering hat. I have a very different mindset when I am mastering. You have to. It has to be a separate thing to mixing.

[@ryancovill2878]

@@TheCratesMotel this is really helpful! Thanks Conan.

[@TheCratesMotel]

@@ryancovill2878 You're welcome matey

[@omarr2423]

Do you mind sharing the project ? Not a lot of studio one stuff out there like this. It's much needed

[@TheCratesMotel]

Hey buddy, thank you for watching. I will try and find it. It is quite an old session.

[@omarr2423]

@@TheCratesMotel Thanks Bud.

[@JBR.1974]

enjoyed this a lot...made it far less techyfor me even though I know there's a lot of tech to it

[@TheCratesMotel]

Ah that's great. That is my intention with my tutorials. I really want to keep it real. Get the nerdy stuff in, but say it in a way everybody can understand. Meat and potatoes rather than Foie Gras and a rosemary jus haha. Thank you for your kind words brother.

[@michaelrasmussen8590]

Thanks for the detailed video. It’ll be my new go to resource for mixing 909 house drums. Could you please tell me if the API 550 will work just as well as the API 560 in this scenario? If I end up grabbing the other, would you pls kindly share your preset? Thx

[@TheCratesMotel]

Hey buddy, you’re welcome. The 550 is not really the same beast as the 560 so it would probably not be possible to have the same result. I can share my preset if you get the 560 though. But let me know if you get the Waves or UAD version.

[@michaelrasmussen8590]

@@TheCratesMotel Ok, I grabbed the API 560 Waves edition. Please hook me up with that preset whenever you get a moment. You should have my email already. Thanks bud.