How Much Low End is Too Much? | FAQ Friday - Warren Huart: Produce Like A Pro

[@devinunderwood9039]

Dude. You have this knack for posting videos for the very issues I had the night before. Low end car tests. Just moved into a new home and am lucky enough to have a wonderful wife that likes me and let me have my own play room. So my studio is basically an empty bedroom right now. Terrible acoustically. So, good headphones (DT-990s) with Sonarworks software and lots and LOTS of CAR TESTS! (really glad to hear the car test comments. I feel less silly now walking out to my car late at night in my PJs to sound check my stuff cuz my studio is so naked lol)

[@Producelikeapro]

That's great to hear Devin! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren

[@devinunderwood9039]

Ya too funny. I'll be in my robe with my usb chip, a pad and pen and cup of hot cocoa just sittin in the car. I do get the occasional weird look from the neighbors lol.

[@tonyseals3253]

I've done the car test but when I record my guitar I prefer a small room with no acoustics because I think it's better to record dry with no reverb from the amp or through the room you can add that later the only thing I will do is sometimes use analog delay because I have a real analog delay but for a good country lead tone set analog delay to a slap back with one repeat in one amp or track pan hard left or right and have the other amp or track if you double the opposite with no delay once you get how the mix should be on the delay with the whole mix sounds really good to me

[@kcorkins]

I agree with you, that too much low-end can sound "boomy" in the car test. My recent technique for improving my low-end mixes is to mix in mono, (not new), but to listen to the mono mix at a very low volume on a small speaker (I use a single Mackie CR3 for this check). If the low-end sounds good in that mono environment, it seems to translate much better. YMMV

[@Producelikeapro]

Fantastic Ken! Thanks ever so much for sharing your insight!

[@akhilchandrashekar1725]

The last few days every issue I've had you've solved with so much sense and simplicity. Your a true blessing thank you so much

[@michaelmarton5483]

Haha no matter what fancy tricks I use to mix/master, if it doesn't sound good in the truck, back it goes...and +1000 on getting it right on individual tracks. Biggest game changer for me.

[@TheStevep52]

Some great questions and answers today. I've been recording and mixing for over 40 years but I'm constantly learning from these discussions. My current work is almost exclusively live recording without overdubs but there's always good information here. I agree that the car test is indispensable. It's my best test for getting mixes that work.

[@TheWolfbass]

Car test is maybe the most important part of my mixing process. I can even tweak my mastering in my car via Lurrsen and my iPad (:

[@LunaticTheCat]

Lol I have a habit of driving to 711 in the middle of the night so I can listen to my mixes.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much for sharing my friend!! That's a great way of working!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Fantastic Rick!!

[@marshallhawkins3754]

Car test is must... I usually leave the car feeling overwhelmed on the first mix. On a different note, I have learned something different from each and every video you've put out. Truly, thank you for taking the time and sharing your experience with us!

[@4dmind]

I do car tests routinely, but I also got tired of not knowing my room. So, a few years back, I took a bunch of time listening to reference tracks in my space, on my gear, and I studied mastering averaged curving, and also FFT displays very carefully. I looked at relatively gain differences in frequency spaces across the whole spectrum. Combining this with just listening - as well as referencing during mixing - and now I have an idea about how my room sounds. But this is something you have to keep reinforcing, or you'll slowly forget the room.

[@winterjps]

Love the car test, for sure. Also use my roomie's stereo, the laptop speakers, and my micro monitors. Between those, I can feel pretty confident in how my mixes translate.

[@Producelikeapro]

Great stuff Winter! Thanks for sharing!

[@paulEmotionalaudio]

Cannot agree more. The car test is the best. Also useful to have a mono speaker in the control room for monitoring and checking. The good old Auratone cube is a classic for this.

[@HanYhak]

Warren--so good--couldn't agree more. Even when one IS familiar with the room, the speakers, etc... the 'car test' is still de rigueur for me before anything gets released from my studio. Cheap ear buds, car test, tweak, and done! Love it, amen, and great advice. Appreciate your mix/master wisdom. Been at it for 25 years myself, and STILL learning.

[@ronbynum7304]

Another excellent FAQ Friday. I once was delivering a mix (before files were a thing) and popped a CD in the player and nearly fainted. The low end was simply overwhelming and unlike anything my studio monitors produced. Needless to say I turned the car around and called the client to say I needed another day. Now, nothing gets shared without the car test. As an aside, although I know and support everybody getting to have an opinion; WTF is with all the down votes? Don't sit through a valuable post, one nobody forced on you, just to click the thumbs down button. And no doubt most of those folks didn't sit through the video none of us had to watch or pay one pence for. Ingrates abound.

[@davidm6387]

This was a great FAQ Friday. In my car, I know a song has well-crafted bass if I can feel it thump my chest through the seatbelt while still sounding great.

[@mattgreenlee5377]

I recently recorded my band's EP, and aimed for a "no frills" type of mix. It led me to uncover the stock 1176 replica from Cubase, and now it's become my go-to compressor for almost everything. Do not overlook stock plugins! They're becoming VERY powerful!

[@MarcBecker_Music]

Great FAQ, thank you Warren. I love the fact that your hints, tricks and all the information you share come from you experience and the things you do on daily basis for a living. When it comes to the low end in my mixes I do check the mix on as many different sources as I've available. There's another thing I always do. I know one should mix with ones ears and not with the eyes, but I always check my low and high end with a frequency analyzer to make sure that there's nothing going on I've overheard.

[@itzvapor704]

Literally dealing with this right now and I open KZbin with this video popping up first. Warren never ceases to blow my mind

[@glenallan6279]

What i've found with BASS music such as Dub (Reggae) or Dubstep, etc., is that sometimes the mix is designed to be bassier to compensate for being on systems that aren't great at reproducing good bass. So they don't really blow up the speakers (so to speak) but are mixed to sound very heavy. This is good until you put that same mix on a system with incredibly capable subs, where it is then far too overwhelming. And that is it's own point... I bought a system (pro audio) with arguably some of the best subs the market has available, and the way it brings out bass in songs where it sounded weak otherwise is pretty significant. In this sense then it almost feels like you *can* mix for the system you want it played on, or release versions for that purpose. Obviously not great to mix that way if you want it to sound good everywhere no matter what the system is capable of. But when you have a pro audio system that effortlessly puts out down to 24Hz without EQ at -3dB, it's a different world :P

[@alexlombardi2879]

When I export my mixes and I want to check the bass level, I usually: 1) export many versions where the only difference is the level of the bass bus, let's say from +3 dB to -3 dB across a nominal level. 2) of course, I car-check the many versions 3) choose the sweet spot version 4) master, which in any case has a final huge impact on frequency bands control. Thank you Warren, greetings from Italy

[@janminor1172]

Now someone needs to do a video: Top 10 cars for mix testing!

[@Producelikeapro]

haha ME! I'd love to! Can we have luxury cars as well and cheap ones? haha

[@funk8669]

In the cemetery, you hear unadulterated low frequencies

[@kalidasmusic5637]

@@Producelikeapro You have to do luxury cars if you want hear something sound good!! ha ha

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

The car test was the one, back when I had a good car stereo that worked in my car. The latest runner I have has a set that won't play CD and I've just not gotten around to sorting out a new set. Now the car is on it's last legs so when I get another car I'll make sure the set that comes with it is fully operational. In the meantime I have 2 sets of Genelec near field monitors 8020 and 8010 that I use in the studio and I know the sound of the monitors and my room. I test on a pair of Samson Resolv 65 that are boomy so I get an idea of the low end. The laptop speakers are also a reference that I use and I have a pair of Yamaha MT8 headphones, AKG K240 studio headphones and AKG Y50 personal headphones that I use to test my mixes and masters on. These all have worked quite well for the past couple of years so I've not really needed to do the car test as the variety that I use across the board seems to give me enough of a balance view of my mix. I still want to bring back the car test though. There ain't nothing like blasting a mix and listening to it in the old motor.

[@corbyvinson1175]

Car test is king for me. As always you always have a lot of great information. I recently started getting serious with my music and this is a great channel with so much excellent content. Thanks so much!!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Fantastic stuff! Thanks ever so much for sharing!

[@sebastianpiedrahita37]

For the low end, I'm learning to control it on my trusty Sony mdr-7506, you just can't go wrong with those! But yeah, I will definatelly do the car test, good thing that I'm just starting in the busines! As ever, excelent tips and recomendations! Thank you Warren!

[@hbrookes]

Trade those in for senheiser hd600.

[@SiBaroni]

Recently found your channel Warren and am already counting down the days to my next payday so I can join the academy - thanks for all the excellent free content mate. Eagerly looking forward to digging into rest!

[@tonyatkinson4496]

"Focus and control low end" by cutting 110 hz on Kick to leave room for Bass synth. That was really explained well. Thank you.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Tony! Yes, just a little cut can make a huge difference!

[@AdamFaulkner375]

For low end, I hooked up a set of cheap, 2.1 computer speakers. The sub woofer tells me if I'm over doing the lows and the harsh left and right help me to scope the mids and highs through something different. It's really paying off.

[@TavaresProject]

You are so right about the car test. That is the supreme test that I find is conclusive. If it translates there, it will be fine on any system.

[@UncleBenjs]

Such an interesting topic, with so many roads to go down. Another thing is the 90's hiphop with the big booming bass, of which Bob Powers pioneered an amazing technique to achieve. Gives the perception of so much bass, yet very carefully carved out the ambient and lower frequencies that would muddy the mix. Thanks for this video, your videos are always top notch, and kick my brain into thinking further into things. Cheers

[@michaeltablet8577]

I am learning so much. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Saves me years of learning on my own. Your teaching is marvelous!

[@jurgenschuler8389]

These were really great questions. To be honest you touched one of my biggest problems. The stereo on my car is the only thing that doesn't work as I want. Amazing answers! Thank you so much!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Jürgen, thanks ever so much my friend!

[@michaelperry2446]

thats exactly what i have done!! listen to the mixes in different environments and different sound systems! figured a little too much low end!! thanks for your time and expertise,Warren!!!!

[@LukeGibsonSS]

I've started getting into sidechaining a lot more, I used to use it purely on Bass with the kick drum, but on one of my latest mixes I've side chained the rhythm guitars with the lead guitars to push them down by a couple of Db when they come in, and then another higher lead part sidechaining onto a lower lead part to move that an extra db or 2 to let that come through better, then side chaining the vocals to one of the guitar busses, I'm also thinking about trying sidechaining the toms to a few things so they can cut through better without needing to put the volume higher. So far very impressed with the results, I'm thinking of going back over other mixes I'm currently working on and applying it to them. I know I could use automation of this as well, but I think the compression if used tastefully gives a great result with each sidechain applying dynamic gain reduction in real time without the hassle required of creating and editing tons of automation trying to draw in the same detail by hand would be almost impossible, not to mention it can be adjusted on the fly with minimal effort, something that would be impossible with normal automation. Other thing is really heavy use of MB compression on the bass guitar, even splitting up the bass area of it into 3 or even 4 separate compression channels as different notes will cause different frequencies to spike by different amounts, if the lowend is only using one compression setting it can end up with the bass becoming too thin pushing down all the lows at once and taking a lot of the low end warmth out of some notes and not others resulting in very uneven bass response some notes sounding huge and others disappearing into the mix, by spitting it up it gives much more nuanced control. I also do the same of the high end, it's why I love Fab Filters MB as it doesn't restrict you to only 4 bands offering an amazing amount of control while only needing to use one plugin. Regarding the last question, I never really place reverb on a channel strip unless I'm doing some sort of special effect, all reverbs should be on a send FX channel and dealt with completely separately to the rest of the tracks, I then usually EQ the high and the low end of the reverb and roll them off slightly as a lot of reverbs often add a sort of washy sounding top end and boomy lows that just rarely sits well in a mix. It also saves tons of processing power only needing very few separate reverb plugins, which some higher end ones are extremely heavy on the CPU, so if you can send all your tracks to it at once it's very useful. It's also a big help keeping the mix sounding consistent, if you've got tons of different types of reverb going on with different decays, eq's, and room sizes the mix is going to start sounding very disjoint IMO.

[@Eventual420]

Yes, I car test. I also rebuilt some channel routings, and cleared the mix bus, the master channel of all EQs. Thanks for all advice Warren, heeded!

[@mwintersteinsmith]

Awesome 😎 I have been focusing much more on the Low End of my mixes. This has really made a massive difference. I found you MUST reference your mixes and listen to them in your car, earbuds, headphones and (if you can) in a public space, (like a cafe or restaurant). It really helps you focus on the low end. Headphones alone CANNOT produce super lows accurately enough. It makes you clean up the “MUD” from your mixes 😎👍

[@breezy985]

The car test NEVER fails!

[@Opeckie]

With regard to the higher sample rates, something I borrowed from CLA on the matter. He said he mixes at 44 or 48k depending on how the tracks arrive, then he has a second PT rig that he records into at 96k or higher since his mix is actually adding information to the original tracks. This satisfies the label demands of the higher bitrate, but doesn't tax his system while mixing. The concept made sense to me, so I purchased a cheap little Behringer UMC404HD (about $100) and hooked my main PT rig up to that through the 2 bus, it up-converts, then I have that going out to my laptop and record 2-track, then master/bounce at 96k there. I find the results to be great, and it then satisfies the 96k+ bitrate issue. Yes, there's probably some slight coloring going on from the MIDAS pre-amps in the UMC404HD... but as long as it's compensated for in the final process, I don't hear anything bad going on in the final product. Just a quick/budget-friendly solution to 96k+ bitrate "future proofing."

[@tyleranderson7089]

Was mixing while listening to this - helped my mix.

[@michael_emm]

Definitely the car test. I also have a few set of consumer grade speakers on my bridge connected to a consumer amp that i flip back and fourth between. Helps out a whole whole bunch!!!!

[@cryptonios]

thanks for the reply to my question....also can wait to see the video with David

[@supersquare]

Thanks for the amazing FAQ Friday as always, Warren!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much!! You Rock!!

[@peterbjargo3440]

I experienced just that problem this morning. I thought I had a good mix and while listening through my earbuds I experienced alot of low end, too much in fact. So, despite having really good monitoring, I trusted my old earbuds and went through all re-mixing, premastering and voila!!!! Sounds perfect now

[@goat2hell524]

Thats awesome! The car test is something i do alot Room , headphones , phnoe and car. Im a bed room for my personal enjoyment and thats what i do for sound testing.Awesome video !

[@adamfox9651]

If you're one of those guys who drives around town with a big sub-woofer in the trunk-or as you English say, the boot-of your car, then you can never have too much low end. 😉 I recently went out and got one of those inexpensive Behringer compressors to compress my vocals on the way in. However, I never use it to record an amp, since the amp already does its share of compression already. Any compression I do put on a guitar or harmonica amp, I do with plugins in the box during the mix. Since my interface can do up to 192k, and my PC has an i7 CPU and 16 GB of RAM, I typically record and mix in 192k so I can future, future proof my mixes. Of course, that means shutting down all unused background processes when I run my DAW and doing lots of track freezing, as well as regularly cleaning out my hard drive, and moving finished projects to external drives to free up space.

[@CameronEarlyMusic]

great episode, i've always wandered how much low end is too much especially in hip hop/trap music

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Cameron!

[@philbright502]

I always like to see something that supports what I'm hearing. How about showing what "too much bass" looks like on an RTA, then make adjustments until the low end is correct, and show what that looks like?

[@paulstefanowicz4236]

I find that the best way to judge low-end is to match it with a reference mix. I tend to use any plugin that will solo bands; often a multiband. Mayybe 20 to 150 150 to 400 400 to 800 800 to 4 K 4K and up. I match the volumes first and then compare each band. I do this last in the mastering stage and it works every time. I picked this tip up from Graham Cochrane.

[@Crazelord91]

That's awesome he does the car test! I do the same thing since I don't have the luxury of a full blown studio. I feel validated now

[@nickhaldin8674]

Crazelord91 the key is listening on a variety of speakers. The most important thing is knowing your speakers, and how your favorite well-mixed songs sound on those speakers you know well. That way when you mix on them, you know how your mix should sound. And since most people know their car speakers well, it’s an amazing tool for reference.

[@OlympusHeavyCavalry]

Hi Mr Huart, it is always a pleasure to hear your views and ideas on how to mix. My thoughts are that it is more common sense relying on car testing as well as listening to your mix on a home stezza (stereo) than just monitors, computers and plugin's to make changes. I feel getting a wider dynamic idea of how it sounds in the real world is better than sitting in an office and making judgement that way, and gives the the mixer a better idea where to make changes if necessary. Cheers and have a great week, BTW I like my tea proper strong (1SM) bud :-)

[@BrofUJu]

Thanks for all this. I feel like I've got a good handle on mixing but figuring out the low end has been so difficult to figure out.

[@griddle07]

I love the car test, I know my car system so well, when Ive been stuck on a mix I have mixed on my laptop in my car

[@senadinfaze]

Couldn't agree more on a car test. Also, forget about headphone mixing. No headphone can come close to a decent pair of monitors. If I can get the low end right on my genelec 8040s and in my car (which does have hyped low end like most car systems do these days), I'm pretty confident it'll sound good anywhere. Enjoyed the video. Thanks, Warren!

[@MrGuitarist9891]

Car tests are the best. I also like the apple earbud test as well.

[@jaytyler5741]

I haven't had a problem with low end in almost 15 years. Mainly because I know my monitors. I can also check my mix with other mixes and the car test is always a good one.

[@DropAnchor1978]

Lots of superb questions this week! Thanks as always.

[@buddhabinaural]

What is the mixer in the background when you show the question? That is one of the first mixers I ever used and I never knew what it was because I didn't really care back then, I was just happy to be in a big studio making music. Now I wish I had taken note. For the record I am 100% with you on the car test. Modern TV with crap speakers and car speakers are essential.

[@nickrobinson2276]

After "watching" with a frequency analyzer to make sure the low end isn't over the top (my HS5's and my room are no good for listening to low end) I do the car trick for sure it's an awesome trick for us with less than awesome rooms to mix in.

[@wowerman]

I have quite important question related to freezing /bouncing the tracks. Why are tracks bounced and effects applied after bouncing lower in volume and worst in quality? Is that a reason plugins analyzing audio material differently comparing it to midi tracks?How to bring it back to same level and quality like before bouncing?

[@Patbwoy]

The question about sample rates is an interesting one. There's another reality: Kids these days don't listen to music like we old geezers did, they seem to be fine with ripped audio from youtube videos. Why make an effort and record with these high sampling rates? Another reality is, that the industry mainly produces music for exactly the same age group, kids, youth and young adults, who listen to music on cheap earpods or USB speakers, that in many cases don't even do stereo anymore, but some weird pseudo stereo nonsense to make it sound wider and bassier. The latest small portable BOSE comes as a single mono unit, that does some weird surround thing so the sound comes from everywhere. If you want stereo, buy a second one (for a substantial amount of money BTW) to link them up to a stereo system. But who would want that? ;) I remember back in the days when I was a young adult, we were all into nice hifi systems, we read all those magazines with their reviews, our speakers had to be large and of high quality, and of course positioned in the best possible way so we'd be sitting in that typical triangle when listening to music. We wanted to have the best possible listening experience. Of course we took great care of our records, made sure they were stored correctly, and when we put them on, we used a high quality brush to rid them of dust. When the first CD players came out, we made listening sessions to compare them to LPs, and shared those test CDs, that had exceptionally well recorded tracks on them, showing how transparent and 3D a recording could sound etc... I'd say, we were certainly rather nerdy, but had a pretty good idea about what constitutes a good sound. That isn't the fact anymore with the way people tend to listen to music today. As said above, bad quality rips off youtube videos, cheap crappy earpods or bad USB speakers, that's the typical listening chain. Since the industry mostly just caters for this demography, I can't see why 96Khz would be here to stay. It's not like they'd produce a lot of music for us the older people, who would actually appreciate a higher sampling rate and thus better audio quality, and who'd actually have the money for a high quality listening chain. Our age group is largely left alone with our old music, and there's little coming out that would actually make me buy it. As for producing, I still use 44,1, because amazing recordings have been made using 44,1 and also people rarely listen to music on systems that would warrant a higher sampling rate. Besides, if record companies demand a 96khz master, I can just upsample my track. I doubt they'll mind, as long as it sounds good ;)

[@descargamusicalny]

I agree with you, another thing to consider is, in order for a recording to take advantage of a higher sampling rate a higher quality of equipment is needed. For example a Newman U87 only has a frequency response of 20hz to 20khz and those are frequencies that fit nicely into 44.1k(according to the nyquist theorem). Now if we want to take advantage of 96k then ideally we would start with a mannley reference microphone which could capture higher frequencies, then a mic pre that also captures more than just 20hz to 20khz like an Avalon or a mannley and then a good converter like apogee or a lynx Aurora.

[@michi9955]

@@descargamusicalny Not to say that we dont need frequencies above 20k at all, so 44.1k sampling is fine enough (and it's been more or less proven that humans can't tell the difference between 96k and a downsampled file). The only thing where higher sampling frequencies have an advantage is if you do time streching stuff etc.

[@descargamusicalny]

@@michi9955 yes indeed... if you are planning to manipulate audio then yes a higher sampling rate is best. But otherwise, 44.1k is good

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Patbwoy! Yes, this is such huge discussion! It comes down to what world you're working in, if you're a film composer and you are creating music fro movies to be mixed in Dolby Atmos then the requirements are much higher than music that's never going to go past a CD or the current streaming rates. I understand that for most people's needs 44.1k is definitely all they currently need to work in. As I was explaining in the video it's just about future proofing yourself, however that may not be a concern a large amount people given their client base. Thanks ever so much for sharing your insight!

[@Patbwoy]

@@Producelikeapro Sure it' also question of who or what media you're producing for. But then again, I'd make a bold claim by saying that in the end most "audio products" are made for the normal consumer with normal listening equipment and normal ears. You don't earn money if you don't sell your product to the wide public. So in the end even the video guys are producing for average Joe who wants to watch a movie but can't tell an mp3 from HD audio. Give 'em bass and make it loud, and they'll be happy. It remains to be seen if this future proofing isn't just a marketing ploy to sell newer and better equipment. Mp3 should have been dead by now, if you believe what they say. Yet it's still strong, and since mp3 is everywhere, new formats for the average consumers find it extremely hard to penetrate the market. Just look at Neil Young's Pono player. I've certainly never seen one in real life (and as I just read it lost against an iPhone in blind tests. Go figure) Same goes for HD audio, which will only become significant for the larger market if all of a sudden high quality gear becomes the latest trend among normal consumers, or if the industry forces it upon them (like Apple wouldn't hesitate to do). The big question in the end is: Even though the quality can be improved, does it have to be? Most of us don't miss anything when listening to music or cinema sound. Where there's no lack of perceived audio quality, does it need to be improved just because we can?

[@naticrane6325]

Love the T-Racks classic compressor on buss channels. The stereo enhancement really helps make things pop.

[@darrenross9168]

Hi Warren, Great FAQ Friday, you always give us fantastic accurate advice, thanks again, all the best, Darren Ross.

[@siriusfun]

Some great info, Warren, although at 3:40 I think you meant 60 on the EQP-1 - they don't do 70. :-P That being said, I sum out on 32 channels of BURL Mothership into a BURL Vancouver summing mixer out into an API 2500 (usually, but genre-dependant; if more acoustic or organic, I use an Airfield Audio Liminator 2) for a vibe-y hug and squeeze, off to a TKlizer M/S EQ for subtle broad strokes and widening then into an API 5500 for extra punch and focus and THEN back into the box via a BURL B2 Bomber, usually driving the transformers and attenuating accordingly. I call the Bomber my 'green tape machine' as it has a wonderful, 'tape-y' vibe.

[@MixRPD]

Junkie Xl sounds similar to what I'm trying to do. Look forward to the interview. I'm doing orchestral/ hybrid score music for videogames currently. Learning lots about how to make my music sound the way I hear it in my head. Thanks a lot Warren!

[@MelomanTheNerd]

Car test is pretty solid for sure !! Although a pickup truck is tricky because of the back side bed ... that will sometimes act as a resonator on some tracks ... even tracks mixed by big names ... sometimes the bed will produces an coo-ing overtone. Pretty funny actually \w/

[@TheWilliamlong1]

when i record guitars, I use the fredman technique, except I use a sennheiser e606 on the dust cap,and a sm 57 off axis, i record on seperate tracks,(high passing one the way in ), then i use a sepperat amp and repeat. I pan 1 amps recording one way and the other to the other side. I said all that to say this, I like a cla 76 on those guitars(even though they are distorted) with a slow attack and release. I know they are technicallly compressed but the 76 just adds something that makes them shine.

[@shawnmelody8346]

+1 for the car test! great video!

[@lahattec]

That's awesome that you talked with Junkie XL. :)

[@Producelikeapro]

He's amazing Clay!!

[@lahattec]

@@Producelikeapro Absolutely! Was it recorded?

[@gropapa]

Agree on the car test. Actually, I review my mixes on real-world sound systems: car, cheap earbuds, mono Bluetooth speakers, smartphone speakers, bookshelf speakers... Those are the sources most people will use, and a good mix should aim at sounding OK in all those situations.

[@cbrooks0905]

I’m with you, Warren. I’ve always done the car test. In fact, I don’t consider a mix done until I’ve checked it in the car.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much! I agree my friend!!

[@richardhart8533]

The Stillwell Rocket compresser is really good.

[@ivansenkevich3576]

I bought subpack s2 and always compare with top mixes. It's really works.

[@NacekO]

I compress the low end of the bass with two compressors, both compressing 2 - 4 db, with medium attack and fast-ish release (going for punchy but nice and round). Then a limiter at the end of the chain just to keep it in check.

[@thecapsicumkid4740]

Excellent advice Warren! Thanks again for your guidance, you're a great bloke. I always look forward to your videos because your enthusiasm is refreshing. I'm from the West Midlands and everyone is miserable here haha

[@MrPeteBaker]

I will write in portuguese because it's very out of the box.. Eu descobri um jeito de criar um som de válvula usando um compressor multi banda da Sonitus, e só funciona com ele. É preciso comprimir a "Band 4" (médio agudo) aproximadamente de 1262Hz à 3900Hz, usando Ratio 30.0, Knee 9, Type Vintage, Attack 0.3, Release 1, Threshold até perceber que está quente o suficiente pra você, esperimente tb em ouvir só esta banda pra notar melhor a mudança. Na aba "Commom" ative "TCR" e "Limit". Pronto. Você pode fazer a mesma coisa na "Band 5" usando os mesmo parâmetros exceto o "Threshold" que você regula ao seu gosto.

[@xplanet2112]

Fantastic content, didn’t know he did these.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!

[@paulEmotionalaudio]

Not really a music/production/engineering question but something that I think is really relevant to people going into the industry.... how do you balance family life and the music?

[@touc2007]

Great Episode. Lots covered. Thanks Warren!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!

[@ivanthedictatormusic]

Hi, Warren! This video is fantastic! I have never seen anything like it! It’s a miracle! Thank you! But can I ask you something? My mix was in an emergency situation I have to deal with, and would it be okay to ask you as many questions as I can for another FAQ Friday? It might be overwhelming, but mix didn’t make me happy for a long time. Can you save these questions for later for the video I asked. It’s just to preserve them and I don’t want to raise false hopes. Thanks for understanding. Here are my questions: 1). I am ambitious about being an electronic dance music DJ. I finished my track, but 2 labels didn’t reply or they probably rejected it. So I sent it to the mix critic and he said that my mix didn’t sound mixed well enough, and after this, I thought they were right. They even could that my mix is garbage, and I refuse to give up, but as I mix, it’s sounds even worse. Do you think my track is terrible? What are some ways to fix this track, even I can’t afford to have a mixing teacher? 2). What are the benefits or disadvantages of mixing while songwriting and producing? Besides some regards in terms of recording, what other methods are there in this work flow even with the recording phase? 3). Do you gain stage in mono? Does gain staging go before or after volume balance? As I’m using, which has a pre-fader mode, to easily identify the signal to reduce the levels when it is too hot, do you believe that the RMS value is more sustainable than peak levels? And after gain staging, how do you level match the levels to make it a cleaner signalflow? 4). Does top down mixing save time in mixing? Does it really work? Why? 5). I’m good with eq, but I knew I have to improve. Do you believe we have to trust our ears to get rid of muddy frequencies, unnecessary low end, lacking clarity, sounding too thin, or have resonating frequencies? Do we had to do any of it? 6). I only knew compression to sidechain and parallel compression. Is compression really important? Why? If I really struggle with normal compression, should I leave it alone? 7). I know about automation of the pitch bending effects on the synthesizer, and delay. But how to make the delay affects sound good even in mono? 8). Concerning about muddying the mix with reverb, how do I EQ the reverb properly? 9). I love to sound design the kick and clap by making it sound crispy, crunchy, and hard and aggressive. Is it possible to do that with a sample and a transient designer? 10). What are the good placements for the elements that need saturation and distortion sound? 11). At the end of the mix, can I use a limiter to reach the RMS -12 dB to -10 dB? Does gain staging in the beginning helps to get a clean signal for a pre mastered song to send in for mastering? 13). This is a fun question. :) Do you know Paul Oakenfold? That’s all the questions. I hope you have a fantastic day! Cheers, Ivan

[@Kevin-vq6rv]

I use your crossover technique on bass. I do not think there is another technique that gives better results. I also apply the usual "cut and boost" on the bass and vice versa on the kick, so that these don't get in each other's way. When I finalize the mix, I print a stem from the kick and the bass. I insert a limiter to chop the transients and I insert the Waves MaxxBass. You will not hear much difference if you blend in that track. In fact, when you do hear a difference, you are overdoing the effect. The MaxxBass tends to make the low-end more audible on small speakers, while it doesn't fry your 3-way hi-end Hi-Fi system in your car.

[@pulse-160]

Generous as always with the insights Warren. Many thanks.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!

[@AdAstraOnYafro]

Big thumbs up on the car test! As far as a great free compressor I like Vlad G's Nova 76, the bare bones version. There is also a slick looking version he did for Tokyo Dawn, but I love the EQ interface on his version.

[@MatthewParsonsDrumsAndAudio]

Not only do I use my car for checking mixes, I also use my television sound system, which is a sound bar and a sub. Yeah, may not be the most used sound source for music, but is another good check.

[@igorvertus_official]

Every studio should have a room with a car in it. And maybe some controls in the car for adjustments :D

[@Producelikeapro]

Interesting idea

[@slavesforging5361]

Car test is great. i did one metal mix on my monitors and it sounded great. plugged in my regular desktop speakers that i typically listen to music on, and the bass was atrociously overdone and wompy/woofy as crap. completely remixed it until it sounded good on my regular desktop speakers. then i tried both mixes out in a modern car stereo. That original mix was GLORIOUS!!! the new mix with the bass greatly reduced sounded like flaming crap balls. maybe some day i'll be able to mix well on all three. but for now i'm happy with sounding good on monitors, headphones, and a car stereo! who has a desktop anymore anyway? (i was assuming that's what most people's tv's would sound like if watching on youtube- but screw it).

[@marshallfairbrother7602]

I have 1 but it is currently mapped in to my console then out through monitors / headphones what ever I feel like when gaming, usually headphones. Since I don't do live drums in here I like to use the extra channels I have for something useful

[@adrianallen5347]

This is great advice . It's exactly what I do. It just works.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Adrian!

[@MartinLuxen]

Thank you Warren! Have a marvelous weekend! I also do the car test a lot. I'm in my car a lot so I know how good mixed music sounds there. So with my own mixes, I can more easily identify problems. Although I tend to crank the volume up in the car because it's soooooo nice :D

[@KennethACrashwaggonMusic]

The top-down thing can sort of work, but you really have to go VERY lightly on the master bus. But I wouldn't recommend it unless you really know what you're doing. You have to be aware that you can't sort everything out at one bus. And use your ears, obviously.

[@timjonesguitar]

I always do car test and works great for me, just hate it when lease is up and get a new car, new speakers, I'm lost for awhile!!!

[@MarcBecker_Music]

I'm still doing the car test in my 30 year old car. I hope it will never break, otherwise I would lose my most reliable listening source.

[@timjonesguitar]

lol, I almost bought my last car so I wouldn't lose my reference speakers lol

[@JK_35]

what kind of car eq settings do you use to do the test? example, rock, flat...?

[@Producelikeapro]

Marvellous question! I use the default setting that we always listen to. That way I can hear it the same way I hear all other music!

[@readyfortomorrowmyanmar]

rock, flat...?

[@MrBaskevin]

I think the important part is to listen to the same settings as when you ate listening to music in your car. That way tou can reference your own mix to the mix of the songs you hear in the radio.

[@readyfortomorrowmyanmar]

@@MrBaskevin Thank you Bro

[@grilledspaghetti]

I set my car stereo just to where it sounds good with the songs I like to listen to. Check my mixes to that, I like my listening experience balanced anyways. It is my preference after all.

[@vicesquadpunk]

Not only is the bottom end amount genre specific but tempo specific. As a member of the band Vice Squad I work primarily in a Punk Rock crossover and much of what we do is over 170BPM, I struggle to get the bottom end right as some trad Punk is very bass heavy and fast Rock less so.... When I record slower songs it is sheer heaven, I can get where I want to be far easier at slow/medium tempos.... Cheers from London 🇬🇧🙏🇬🇧 x

[@TheMentalblockrock]

Which car is best for the "car test"? and which car stereo?

[@L.Lyubomirov]

One of my best low end mixes are after listening in car !

[@Producelikeapro]

Fabulous

[@fastpeak]

"low-end" is the king discipline of mixing. my experience - you "feel" when it's right. low-end never lies. usually it's not the kick the has too much, 90 % it's the bass. DON'T be afraid to "slim-out" the bass around 80 to 200 hz (depending on the bass players quality, sound and the key of the song). you rather thin-out the bass and turn it up in the mix, than to tweak the low-end frequency to forcefully make it sit in a track. it's also SUPER important that the bass part itself is arranged in a way so it matches the feel, key and arrangement of the song. the keyword here is REGISTER! when your client says give me a FAT LOW END don't alway think fat in terms of frequency - also think level!

[@flavanthensome]

When starting a home recording setup, would you focus more on a higher quality computer or higher quality I/O?

[@gatherstudio5219]

Finale word on my mix is most definitely the car . After recording you can always add low end but once its there you can't take it out

[@petefaders]

Yep the IK 1176 does wonders for drums

[@Boissinova]

I mix rap and the car test helps to see if the 808 will swallow the lead vocal. Nice video - cheers, Warren! - from Toronto, Canada

[@JoshuaDalviken]

Another excellent video, Mr. Huart! 👌🏻🐺

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Josh!

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

I love the car test. In the car I can get things sound optimal for what I desire to achieve. Good people mention it as legitimate way of testing your mix. I will not feel alone now 😁

[@John123DAoust]

Wow this is so easy, the reason that most people have way too much bass is because the monitors that you mixing with have too little bass so you tend to over compensate which leads to too much bass in the mix. It may sound great in the studio with whatever monitors you use but it's not flat! So you have not enough bass on your monitors so when you make them sound good in studio you have actually pumped the bass up too hot. Compression and all the rest is just a bunch of bullshit, if you set-up your monitors correctly you won't have any problems and they will put out a very true representation of the mix and you won't have too much bass in the mix, this is also the case for high-end. The same fix will correct this issue. Compression and more plugins are NOT a solution, half the time they ARE the problem!! If you want to see what you mix really sounds like in the real world listen to them on your home stereo and compare them to known great mixes, Pink Floyd, Tony Bennett, a wide variety of people and bands. That's usually a good listening test, if it sucks at home where everything else sounds great then...your mix and monitors SUCK!

[@MontyCraig]

Love the car test!

[@normannutbar424]

This isn’t an advert for Apple, but as soon as I put my AirPod pros in my ears, I can hear my mix problems within a second. I’m not sure why, but I hear details that I miss in my monitors. It’s annoying because I can’t real-time monitor in my AirPods, so I’m effectively retrospectively mixing! (I.e tweak the bass, email mixdown to myself, open it on my phone, listen through AirPods, repeat process.)