The SECRET for GLUE in your mixes!

There are 2 fundamental things responsible for glue in your mixes, and neither of them is a mix-bus compressor!
☛ Learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes with my FREE Mixing Cheatsheet: mixcheatsheet.com
Listen to Roelof's Work: open.spotify.c...
Listen to Jordan's Work: open.spotify.c...
Website: hardcoremusics...
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MY FAVORITE GEAR:
Computer / Interface:
Mac M1 Studio Max sweetwater.sjv...
Avid Carbon sweetwater.sjv...
Apogee Duet 3 sweetwater.sjv...
Monitors / Headphones:
Avantone CLA-10a sweetwater.sjv...
Audio Technica ATH-M50 sweetwater.sjv...
Microphones:
Shure SM57 sweetwater.sjv...
AKG D112 sweetwater.sjv...
Sennheiser e604 sweetwater.sjv...
Shure SM7b sweetwater.sjv...
AKG C451b sweetwater.sjv...
Shure SM81 sweetwater.sjv...
Audio Technica AT4050 sweetwater.sjv...
Preamps/Outboard:
API 3124 sweetwater.sjv...
EL8 Distressor sweetwater.sjv...
Favorite Plugins:
BSA Clipper blacksaltaudio...
Escalator blacksaltaudio...
Low Control blacksaltaudio...
Silencer blacksaltaudio...
DSR blacksaltaudio...
Waves SSL Bundle waves.alzt.net...
Waves CLA Compressors waves.alzt.net...
Waves Platinum waves.alzt.net...
Slate Trigger 2 sweetwater.sjv...
SoundToys Rack sweetwater.sjv...
Auto-tune Pro sweetwater.sjv...
Vocalign Project sweetwater.sjv...
Cranesong Phoenix II sweetwater.sjv...
Instruments / Amps:
Ludwig Black Beauty Snare sweetwater.sjv...
Gibson Les Paul sweetwater.sjv...
Evertune Guitars sweetwater.sjv...
Fender Jazz Bass sweetwater.sjv...
Sansamp Bass Driver DI sweetwater.sjv...
EVH 5150 sweetwater.sjv...
Mesa 2x12 cab sweetwater.sjv...

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Grab your free Mixing Cheatsheet to learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes: www.mixcheatsheet.com

[@rightwinger-de1xv]

Doesnt work :/

[@nicholsonjay4724]

The one thing I’ve noticed about all these mixing and mastering videos is that they all state that everyone else is doing it wrong….lol.

[@bizionthebeat]

you might be right lol

[@witte_reus]

it's called engagement farming.

[@wardamo]

I was just thinking something similar right before I read your comment.

[@officialWWM]

😂😂 you’re wrong and I’m right 😂😂

[@finn2028]

And the mixes sound harsh and empty

[@Sheldonatello]

Man was born for mixing, with a name like Rolloff you know he's got the high and low ends dialed in - or rolled off properly, if you will 😂

[@lordhammerwind]

🌽🌽🌽

[@FrancisFarmerMusic]

Great comment! 😂

[@RoelofKlop]

That's hilarious! 😂

[@Tramaineguitar]

Beat me to it 😂 great minds and all…

[@Rhuggins]

Glue : reverb, EQ, when needed, compression: Neve compression is exceptionally gluey, or SSL on autorelease. Sometimes separation is more interesting than glue

[@DeejayRach0]

"Sometimes separation is more interesting than glue" intresting

[@bontempo1271]

Yes good thinking, because in the majority of genres, reverb no matter how subtle is acting as an audio spatial clue that binds elements

[@Lee_Rolfe]

When you press bypass, don't speak, don't stop playback. Give us time to compare.

[@isaacalgutria]

Awesome video. I think most of us that’s had this issue have learned the bad habit of setting a master bus compressor and mixing into not it. It’s been repeated over and over again all over KZbin

[@codycreepcore]

I haven't finished the video yet, but I've always thought of glue as the frequency relationship between each element in a mix. Obviously you want some space for each instrument in the mix, but if it's too vast a space then things don't sound glued. If the brightness of a guitar is dull in comparison to super bright drum overheads, then it won't sound glued, but if you bring those brightness elements slightly closer in balance then things start sounding blended to me. EDIT: finishing the video and thank you for showing the the drums vs guitar brightness

[@kelvinfunkner]

excellent comparison of "just plain good mixing" and trying to "fix it with the mix buss". And I just need to mention that I really appreciate the format of having you (Jordan) open the video first and then turning things over to Roelof after the endorsement because in my opinion you are the face of the brand and it's been a bit confusing and jarring with other channels who have done similar things (bringing on additonal team members...Matthew Weiss comes to mind) when a new face comes on the channel when you were expecting the founder...so yeah...kudos for presenting Roelof in such a respectful way with your endorsement, but also making things clear for your fanbase too!

[@officialWWM]

Agreed. I have the same issue with “mix like a pro” channel.

[@doctortubes1]

Let me say: the real gluing effect is due to the "cross-ducking effect" when multiple instrument are playing above the threshold. No magic. No mistery. Only a subtle up and down in volume of every instrument in the mix. Low threshold ,Low ratio (2:1) mid-fast attack and release. Best regards

[@DrProgNerd]

My biggest struggle as a newb is hearing the subtlties of compression. It reminds me of those digital print posters that you stare at - then a hidden image 'reveals itself' to you. I could never see the hidden image. I'm still plugging away at it - getting my reps in - but man it's frustrating.

[@still616]

Agreed! I've been working at this for years now. They always say in videos that this sounds better than that. If I close my eyes and listen to the A/B comparison I can't tell the difference at all unless it's an extreme example. I have always wondered if this a KZbin thing or a me thing? I have heard that KZbin compresses videos when you upload them. Perhaps a myth? Who knows.

[@CarlosCastillogearhead]

Set your compression settings and then take threshold really really far so you can hear in an extreme case what the compressor is doing. The better it sounds as an extreme example the better it will sound dialed back. Also I like to use a waveform analyzer so I can see exactly what’s happening.

[@ms4365]

The best way to ear compression IMO is to practice with extreme settings on differents sources (differents ADSR). Start with classic compressors with few knobs

[@MrMockigton]

most mix decisions make no difference at all. when you are not able to hear the difference, then there is no use in doing the technique. do the steps that take the bulk of work out of your way. 99% of mixing is EDITING, setting proper volumes and using eq/compression. that only applies when you have decent sources, of course. if you mix is not at least "not terrible" without any effects - start from scratch

[@austindayaudio]

Need to add to this...Mess with compressors inside your DAW. KZbin videos are much harder to hear compression in. Grab some compressors in your mixes, save a new copy and don't be afraid to screw things up!

[@deividasgnedinas7592]

Yea it needs more compression over that already squashed-overcompressed-distorted track. Bravo!

[@jnbovee]

Purposefully throws off the balance of the mix....still sounds better than mine.

[@Friops]

I feel you 🥲

[@------YeahOK------]

Over compression on a heavily distorted track? 😂 the whole track is almost flat-lined already because of distortion.

[@rycktus1246]

If your compressor is well dialed you can actualy creat a tiny dip in volume right after the transient and make the track sound like it had more dynamics.

[@Frenkel111]

Thanks for that insight. What about using compression for glue of groups of tracks? Like putting compressor on the drum bus or on a group of guitar tracks.

[@BananaSplitBrain]

I always thougt thats a good idea. But I guess the effects of multiple compressors soon add up together with a mixbus compressor. I want to know what the experts say.

[@AmbiguousMotion]

What is the song title and where it can be found? It is a great song, at least the chorus anyway ❤️

[@rome8180]

What's up with modern metal burying the vocals? When he turned them up, I didn't think "Those vocals are too loud." I thought, "Hey, the vocals are finally being treated like the most important element." I swear, every mix I hear on this channel, I find the vocals to be at least 6 db too quiet. I certainly don't feel that way when I listen to '80s and '90s thrash.

[@edsohovocals]

I thought the same. And when he EQd the guitars down. Finally I can hear the vocals and lyrics. It's all art, I guess.

[@codycreepcore]

In some modern genres of Metal (at least the more underground styles I tend to work on) the vocals aren't the most important element of the mix. They sometimes are in there as another "instrument". I could see how in more modern mainstream metal you would want the vocals upfront.

[@davidhayman9330]

Thanks Roelof very helpful... do you lose some of the width as well when the freq and vol balances are off?... with the properly balanced mix I seemed to hear the stereo separation better...

[@RoelofKlop]

Yep absolutely, especially when guitars (wide) go down in volume

[@RoelofKlop]

Couple people asked for the song, it's Hans Hammer - The Blood Queen

[@kusurrr]

Hi! I understand, we see and hear distortion and too much gain reduction when the balance is bad, but you should show us how you work with the volume fader and eq, and the compressor on the bus send should be a reference point, right? Explain how we can notice, maybe because there is too much gain reduction on the compressor or we hear distortion, so how to orient ourselves accordingly. Actually how to work with the volume fader and eq directly into the compressor to achieve balance of the mix. This seems a bit confusing. You showed just how the compressor reacts to a bad balance, that's how I experience it.

[@mrfurst]

thanks, fellas. Love your approach!

[@dillonbrowning4564]

The mixing advice here is always top notch but damn the songs they're mixing are usually terrible. 🤢

[@MrMockigton]

over the years, ive learnt more from jordan than any other producer, and my mixes have hotten significantly better. but all his mixes were always "meh" lifeless and boring, and usually it was the song that made it still listenable. take silverstein for example - their quality got so much better once jordan wasnt mixing them anymore. but still, jordan is a great teacher. so my take away would be: follow some of his advice, but some: ignore.

[@rickyspanish4792]

I kinda liked this one! Matter of taste..

[@dillonbrowning4564]

@rickyspanish4792 I guess it is but man those vocals and lyrics are just so bad in my opinion.

[@mainsailsound983]

Amateur comment. Keep your thoughts about the source material to yourself. Work to make it as good as you can.

[@dillonbrowning4564]

@mainsailsound983 obviously if it's something you're actually working on that's the case. I'm making a comment about a song in a KZbin video, it's not that serious. I honestly think it makes a lot of their videos hard to watch because hearing the same clip of a shitty song on repeat gets annoying, but that's also just part of being an engineer so I get it. It just makes the content less enjoyable imo.

[@mattwyre]

Andrew Schep has started using a reverb for 'glue' he said in a recent interview

[@snowandcoal]

Aren't everyone using room reverb as glue?

[@nashse7en]

gain staging and cleaning clashing and useless frequencies helped me a lot tho, I use the ssl bus comp only at 60% doing -1.6db max.

[@rickyspanish4792]

I love watching these videos BUT I can't learn it myself.. every time you change some buttons and play it and go like "yeah definitely sounds a lot better/worse this way" and I'm like, I don't hear any difference lol. All sounds pretty good to me! And I have monitor speakers! I probably just don't have the proper ears for it!

[@nicholsonjay4724]

No…you are right. The thing is…mixing and mastering artist have tuned their ears way too fine and therefore get way too fussy. Most of the listening population will never hear these adjustments. Also, each one has their idea of what is right.

[@nuh-uhbro765]

@@nicholsonjay4724You’re completely right. Even with my studio headphones sometimes when I watch these tutorials there is absolutely 0 audible difference. If you need even better speakers or even better trained ears to hear the difference that is next level splitting hairs. Nobody will notice and nobody cares.

[@Chaz_r]

Most of the time I find it to be a KZbin thing. You can hear things better in you’re home studio with actual files

[@RipOffImrul]

RIGHT???? I WROTE THE EXACT SAME THING. AND I"M PRETTY CERTAIN I DON"T HAVE TERRIBLE HEARING. MAYBE...

[@nuh-uhbro765]

@@Chaz_r That’s a good point, I never have a problem hearing compression for example when I’m the one doing it. KZbin automatically compresses audio and that’s probably why we can’t hear the differences sometimes idk.

[@yonatron5684]

Incredible advice thanks!

[@snowzeus001]

Thanks for the tips I got something even though I use FL studio

[@oupahens9219]

Yeah, make the drums louder, man.

[@welshaccenttutorials3104]

Jordan posts a video. I watch it

[@Noxal99]

You mean Roelof

[@atmodiver]

I got here by accident, but this clickbait I will just delete this channel and I do not recommend anyone to come back here in principle.

[@officialWWM]

What if “pumpy “ is what I want?

[@atmodiver]

What does it have to do with tonal balance and other things to glue??

[@RipOffImrul]

Honestly speaking, I'm not great at mixing or anything, but none of the volume changes or frequency changes made any 'significant' impact to the mix pre bus compression and all of them sound good and glued enough. I wouldn't even notice the difference and happily listen to any of the 'volume imbalanced' and 'frequency imbalanced' versions because they still sound COHESIVE. The lacking for most people is going to that point of sound COHESIVE so that finishing touches can be applied to personal taste, but the song remains the same. I understand that a lot of it depends on the arrangement, but yeah, lemme know if you can help me reach the point before you start putting bus comp.

[@MKD371]

The lower mids are washed out and sound slightly muddy with a bit too much reverb on the overall mix. Less reverb and sort the low mid range, with 0.5 db at 4k, is what this mix needs.

[@rubenbekkevold4455]

Look at this dude! Mixing through youtube comments. HAHA!

[@ochefangelito]

0.5 db? wow

[@Durkhead]

6:00 sounds good

[@Nullllus]

Of course, the econd compressor is gonna pump like crazy since the SC isn't on.

[@taraslevchenko3253]

What song is that?

[@tyandthetymebenders6317]

What is the secret of glue mixes? Should we use Pro Q2 glue?

[@MortalFear-mt4ov]

actual glue

[@DariuszBlasi]

I want that song!! :D

[@philippgrunert8776]

Had the impression that the mix bus compressor pronounced the mix being off balance EQ wise

[@flmason]

Hmmm... some folks would say it's imperative to carve space for each instrument... give each it's own space... then along comes mix bus compression to "glue" them back together???

[@joristimmermans5058]

That's not Jordan and Roelof's philosophy - in fact just the previous video was him talking about this exact thing IIRC. Their idea is: get it good as early in the process as possible. Record the best basic tracks - it should already sound like a record if the balance is right. Then edit it tightly. Now it sounds like about 50%-75% of a pro record (I know this because I managed it with one of their multitracks, and I'm a shit mixer). Then you mix statically, then you mix dynamically - adding automation (and sometimes add some production if it needs some more). And if you do all that with your ears, you'll probably end up making good-sounding records pretty fast.

[@flmason]

@@joristimmermans5058 It's always great if the source is the perfect sound for the mix... but after listening to lots of isolated tracks... often what sounds great in solo... doesn't work in the mix... and most musicians find there sound solo... At the very least the idea of getting it right at the source means knowing what the source should sound like... to work in a mix... that could take a lot of experimentation and learning. Most folks turn to mixing tools... to fix that gap. That said, carivng and glueing are clearly contradictory concepts. Sort of like Random Walk and Efficient Market pull in two different directions in finance/trading.

[@itwr]

Don't glue your mix, mix your mix.

[@ManoElMacho]

Has ola always sounded like Connor McGregor?

[@joefarrar3917]

That is not Ola England. lol

[@Sliver90]

lmao

[@fftunes]

So what's this got to do with the thumbnail? 😂

[@irok81]

Ableton glue compressor works just fine.

[@Just-gt9oo]

👍

[@AlbertoBundy53]

I think it's more about taming transients in order to achieve a louder master, cause the limiter can get hit harder without sounding too shitty. Some dinosaurs called it "top end limiting" I guess. Top end meaning the top of the peaks, not the frequencies. Today everyone says "glue". Correct me if I'm wrong! 🫶

[@domiageless]

aih aih , NIGHTMARISH, not the choice of music for me ... Too harsh 😕,eh, where are the teachers headed ? 😠 ... ahr

[@atmodiver]

The whole world uses Bus Compressor and writes hits, and you say it's wrong?? Seriously??

[@michaeljenks4427]

I guess somebody didn't watch the video..

[@davejohnsonmusic]

No, he said that eq and volume balance is more responsible for the "glue" than a 2Bus Comp is. I think of the 2Bus Comp more as tone, than glue anyways.