How to Make a Clean Mix

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If you’re new to Sage Audio, we’ve been providing industry-leading audio engineering services and education for over two decades and created this channel to help you make professional songs.

[@andrewdwillis6]

That out of time bass guitar was KILLING me but what a valuable video man! Thank you! Learned a lot.

[@igorsenayoutube]

Best music channel on youtube. Clear, concise and a great amount of good advice. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@sageaudio]

That's awesome to hear - thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@igorsenayoutube]

@sageaudio I was going to say in my previous comment that if you ever did an affordable mixing course it would be an instant buy for me and then i saw the offer on your community. Will definitely purchase when i can. Thank you again.

[@cherisecarvermusic6658]

This video tutorial from Sage Audio is absolute gold, as usual from them. There are more nuggets of excellent mixing advice, from basic to intermediate, presented here in 15 minutes than most people could accomplish in several hours. And everything is presented in a clear manner, with outstanding bits of demonstrated examples through which you can REALLY hear the differences. The part at the beginning about basic project organization is absolutely essential to good work flow for those beginners out there. The tutorial then goes on with a with excellent, easy to accomplish suggestions to get your mixes sounding much cleaner, and much more professional, in no time and with basic tools. The presenter has a superb teaching style and manages to present concepts of acoustic phenomenon in an easy to understand manner. If you follow their advice, your mixes WILL sound better. They also offer pro mastering at a reasonable price for those artists out there who want to release "radio ready" music, and I say that as an artist who has had 4 songs in a row on radio rotation and in the top 100 of alt country charts over the last year and a half as well as placements in other genres.

[@sageaudio]

Thank you Cherise! It's great to hear that you're enjoying the videos. Looking forward to releasing some more soon 👍

[@Submangalam]

Absolute wonder. An entire course on mixing! thank you so much!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! We're working on a full course now that'll be included in our membership, so I'll let you know when that's out

[@Reggi_Sample]

My brain always associates clean mix with no saturation or clipping but I guess it means more balanced mix. Good video😊

[@Selftaught]

This video is fantastic, and I've learned a lot about creating a clean mix from it! The step-by-step breakdown provided valuable insights into organizing tracks, using filters effectively, and balancing instruments. The tips on EQing the kick and bass, handling multi-tracked instruments, and adding subtle saturation were incredibly helpful. Moreover, introducing creative effects at the right stage was a great takeaway. Thanks to this video, I feel more confident in my mixing skills, and I can't wait to apply these techniques to my own projects. Kudos to the creator for sharing such valuable knowledge!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! It's great to hear your feedback and know what about the video was helpful. I hope some of these tips help the next time you're mixing something.

[@johngruber8888]

I enjoyed it very much. Very informative. I am a total beginner to audio engineering and I'm soaking up the knowledge presented. Hopefully it will transfer to better mixes on my songs.

[@MrSasUGames]

You can use linear phase eq to avoid phase shifting in multitracks :)

[@Bigg_Mo33]

I am a beginner the video was very informative. Thank you for the knowledge. I have became one of your students g.

[@sageaudio]

That's awesome to hear - thanks for watching, and I hope that some of the tips makes mixing easier

[@macbrownie7390]

you guys are literally the best

[@sageaudio]

Thank you! Glad you liked this one

[@djvoid1]

I'd love to see a vid on specific tips for super loud genres with lots of distortion

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll see if we can make this video in the future

[@Dismiazs]

Just in time when I'm about to mix my song. Thank you!

[@sageaudio]

That's great! We hope this helps

[@xsasquatch]

well explained - thanks

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@blackdaybeats]

Amazing ❤

[@NealJohnson]

In Logic you can also just create a Track Stack (summing stack) with selected tracks and it'll generate a bus and allow easy collapse/expand like a folder for quick navigation.. And can still do the bus processing and everything as shown here!

[@sageaudio]

I heard about this! I think it's a newer feature that I didn't have until I updated (unless it's been around for a while, and I just completely missed it, haha). It seems like a great way to keep things organized, and with the option of collapsing the tracks to keep everything concise.

[@NealJohnson]

100% As I recall, they've had stacks for a while but they recently got an upgrade to work with the functionality mentioned. @@sageaudio

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

Great video as always! Thanks so much. One change I've made is I no longer adjust levels with the faders; I use the gain plugin in each channel to get them to sit in the mix. Not sure if this makes a real difference but, for me, it seems to come out cleaner, especially in keeping each channel gain staged properly.

[@sageaudio]

I'll have to try that! I wonder how the output gain of processors varies from the faders - I'd imagine some analog emulations use some non-linearities to make it more interesting. Thanks for watching!

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

@sageaudio Good point, I find that after each plugin I have to adjust the initial gain setting to keep it at the original level (-18db or whatever), even the ones with auto gain turned on.

[@user_eviparamoogson]

People say of the effects “less is more” So I’m curious how you decide which effect you will use at the moment

[@geebashiri3315]

It’s all about listening and then knowing what you want to achieve. Before you mix you need a mix concept, a direction you’re going in. Maybe even a reference track. So once you have the concept in your mind then when you listen you will know what you need unless you’re very new to mixing and it’s trial and error then.

[@sageaudio]

Sometimes less is more! This is especially true if you're introducing multiple processors that accomplish what 1 processor could or if the multiple effects you're using conflict with one another (an obvious example being adding an EQ with a 3dB boost to 2kHz, then adding another with a 2dB cut to 2kHz). Of course, most mixers wouldn't do something like this, but sometimes, our processors interact in unexpected ways that make them redundant or go against what we're trying to accomplish. Anyway, the point is, use your ears and try to accomplish as much as you can with 1 processor before incorporating another.

[@therealonetherealone]

u do great work

[@sageaudio]

Thank you!

[@Quant-Beat]

Organizing is crucial, and thus routing. Signal routing is necessary for being able to make fast changes rationally with absolute and full control.

[@sageaudio]

I agree! I've noticed if I organize I can create a better mix, and whenever a revision is needed, it makes it a lot easier to fix something.

[@Quant-Beat]

Yes, I can do radical changes within second/s, thanks to structuring and routing.

[@oleksandrpotylko8054]

I "love" guys who cut low end by ProQ in zero latency mode😂😂😂

[@horndread100]

😂😂

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Are you concerned about phase rotation when introducing these filters?

[@mtsugarcan]

Linear phase is not always the best due to pre-ringing. Sometimes, no latency or natural phase mode could be better. It absolutely depends on how it sounds. Likewise, out-of-phase could also make better sounding. Anyway, I don’t like ProQ3 that much because it makes sound a bit flat and unclean. But it could not be a big issue depending on a situation.

[@nunyabizfam106]

I was watching an “ill gates” video right before this, and he showed (with an oscilloscope) how using a HPF can actually push the fundamental frequency up a little bit. Between that and the phase rotation, wouldn’t it be better to use a shelf cut? Or maybe a shelf cut at the fundamental paired with a HPF down an octave?

[@sageaudio]

That's very true! That's why I recommend avoiding an HP filter when the fundamental is lower than roughly 70Hz since it's going to cause more issues than it solves. If you start with 12dB/Octave, you'll avoid some of the issues with phase rotation (although not entirely). It's when you use 18dB/Octave slopes and higher that strong resonances start to form above the cut-off. That said, I may want to boost the fundamental slightly - in that case, an 18dB/octave HP before the fundamental will work well. It depends on what you're trying to achieve.

[@nunyabizfam106]

@@sageaudio Thank you very much for the reply, may I ask you for your opinion about my suggestion of “starting with a shelf cut at the fundamental and then using a HPF down an octave”?

[@alessiotasco1289]

What about return tracks? When exporting stems, should they be rendered separately? Or should i include them through the main busses?

[@vycashh]

bus output or track stack? what is the difference?

[@valakuba]

I am thinking about membership, but one year is too much without trying. Any way to trial 1 on 1 consultation / track mastering? I have already other theoretical courses, so these dont matter that much.

[@OpalBerries]

Are there any mixing engineers you recommend?

[@dwisdoms]

Awesome video, just need to clarify if membership only qualifies for analog mastering of songs? what if some of the songs will be better of with digital masters how will that go?

[@sageaudio]

I believe it's only analog at the moment, but I'll have to double check to see if the lead engineer's chain has changed at all.

[@thaonly1gr8]

Hi Sage plz I have a song that I really want you to help me mix. I’ve given a few producers but they not giving me the sound I want

[@DishankMusic]

No MixBus processing covered?

[@sageaudio]

I avoid using mix bus processing, and leave that for the mastering stage

[@Groove81TV]

Is this also your proces for electronic music ?

[@sageaudio]

If there are multiple tracks, then yeah, if it's more of a vocal and a beat situation, I'd have to approach things differently. That said, the concepts here about HP filters, compression, and the general routing all still apply.

[@djerikfox]

..is it ok to use track stacks instead of busses..is it the same in logic? regards

[@sageaudio]

The summing stack option will work similarly! It'll look a little different, but the general idea is the same.

[@BeatsByEndless]

It is okay. At times, if you don’t like to be forced to have the track stacks in the project view all the time you can send all the tracks you want to a single bus, then add that bus to the project(right click the track), and then IF you want the same trackstack-look, you can just make a ‘Folder Stavk’ instead of ‘Summing Stack’. But it’s all up to you what you think is most comfortable. The result is the same 🙏

[@djerikfox]

thanks for your amazing tutorials!!!@@sageaudio

[@newguy6935]

Kind of surprised you don't just use Track Stacks for your grouping.

[@sageaudio]

I'm going to try this out! Didn't know it was an option until today haha. I've just been doing it this way for a while, so it's cool to know there are additional ways to accomplish the same thing.

[@TheWaveFiles]

Mitch Murder found the answer 😎

[@sageaudio]

The artist? Thanks for watching!

[@mightbefire]

Saturation is such a mystery to me. I bought Saturn but can't figure out where to even start with it.

[@sageaudio]

We made a video on it if you're interested! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fF6YonhsacdqrLM&ab_channel=SageAudio

[@mightbefire]

@@sageaudio Thanks so much, I'll check it out.

[@alavmusicc]

Just set your sampling rate to 192khz

[@sageaudio]

That'll help with reducing aliasing! But won't make the mix sound much cleaner

[@anxhelohudhra9234]

Your voice need some fresh air bro 😂😂😂😂

[@SuperElmundo]

unfortunately you don't answer any questions (e-mailed you a couple of times) so it's a no no from me used to like the YT videos though

[@You-ud2fp]

Why would he when he can reply here

[@SuperElmundo]

they've been sending mails every day over the last two weeks or so and in each of one those it's said 'if you have any questions send me a mail' (or so), I sent at least four mails and never got an answer, not the best of impressions you can have

[@sageaudio]

Hey Elmundo! I'm sorry to hear that - I personally don't handle incoming emails (only KZbin comments and making videos). That said, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Sorry again about the lack of communication, things have been a little hectic recently with all the new changes.