Mixing Low End - Get Cleaner, Tighter, Louder Bass

Tricks and tips to get a more professional low end sound.
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[@zackfallsvideo]

Great video. One thing I would say is that setting the release on the sub compressor to 160ms isn't making it duck for 160ms, it's ducking for the whole time that the kick is over the threshold and then it takes 160ms for the sub to come back to it's original volume.

[@mitchiemasha]

It's very important people realise that.

[@austynnegrete9113]

exactly. I usually set my release time to half of that

[@mitchiemasha]

If we want to get this super tight. Sticking Volume shaper on the master bus purely for the way it displays the wave forms. We can now see the last few cycles of the kick and the first few cycles of the sub, in the same display. One can clearly see when we have bad interactions with certain notes. As the tail of the kick will go through drastic transformations, resulting in unwanted peaks that will cause issues when maximising... and of course, the unwanted cancellations. People say mix with your ears and they're right but this can some times be 1 or 2 cycles, hard to hear unless pushing things hard. With this technique one can trim the kicks tail and the release of the duck on the sub to be cycle perfect. Even shift them both, matched forward and back for flavour or introduce a slight overlap, whilst avoiding the cycle that causes the most destruction.

[@DecoyOfficial1]

@Austyn that's right!

[@cckdex]

this exactly. no idea what the fuck this dude is teaching

[@ianhobson9935]

I've been producing for years, and Haven't watched tutorials in years only If i needed special information. But I must say, I come back to this channel and watch a couple videos a day to brush up on solid knowledge and tips. Love your videos Divine

[@apshinn]

That side chain release time trick is GENIUS!

[@MrMikusha]

Adam Peter Shinn i

[@Frobbl]

I'm not sure how well this works though. I mean, a kick might be 150ms long, but in that case it also probably is really quiet after like 100ms. I think the result might be better to go with 100ms or something like that if your kick is around 150ms long.

[@mitchiemasha]

Not really as the release time has very little relation to the length of the kick. More to do with the last time the sound passed the threshold.

[@Frobbl]

mitchiemasha In sidechaining it passes the threshold at the exact moment the kick plays though lol

[@ONEBEATV1]

i was saying the samething

[@vancenichols9490]

Yep! It's almost 6 years since you've posted this and the methodology remains relevant and VERY helpful. Awesome video indeed! Thanks!!!

[@SeanDivine]

Glad it’s still helpful 😁

[@emmapablo7321]

You definitely a genius...all the magic actually started from your sound selections. It's so powerful. Merging the plucks with the saw etc.. that's just the beginning of the whole tutorial here and I love it... thanks for sharing

[@SeanDivine]

appreciate it Emmanuel, glad it was helpful

[@DialToneTP]

DUDE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!!! I struggle with this over and over again and spent stupid amounts of money and other mixers suck at fixing this problem as well. Grreat video bro!

[@SeanDivine]

🙌

[@causeno1048]

I am pretty sure that this helps a ton! Thank you very much for the great tutorials. I am amazed at how much difference each tip makes. Hadn't expected removing the seemingly neglect-able bass of the other instruments has for the mix would that that effect (perceived loudness). And my mixes suffered extremely from a kick running into a wall of bass that swallows it. Now I know why and how to solve that. I'm so grateful.

[@SeanDivine]

glad to hear it :)

[@troeteimarsch]

Love your vids man. But! ;D Here's my trick: 1) Get fabfilter pro-c 2) Sidechain the kick drum to pro-c on 808 bus 3) attack to shortest, release to 15ms, adjust threshold to your liking. To widen your sound: 1) get fabfilter pro-q 2) highpass side channel at 110-140hz 3) use polyversemusic wider to widen up your sound. If you lose 'sparkle' while doing so use some distorion to bring it back like fabfilter saturn or spectre multiband enhancer. 4) push it to the limit and bring it to -8 db rms, with fabfilter pro-l for instance enjoy high quality sound

[@troeteimarsch]

@Bordiga Armchair these come on top to the entire kick sample, so you want to keep this as short as possible without distorting

[@troeteimarsch]

@Bordiga Armchair i use the threshold to get the bass/ kick blend i likrle. all that the 15ms do is prevent the compressor from snapping off too fast so no clicking occurs

[@Tabzunderground]

Sean you have opened up my eyes.... for so long I didn't get the concept. Your explaining is bawse...

[@SeanDivine]

glad to hear it Thabiso 👊

[@planpbeats]

Will def try out some of this gems right now, thanx Sean. 💯💎🧨💣⚔️

[@gosatta1]

I know it's not the topic at hand, but the reverb on the snare is sweet as f~~k. Good job.

[@leonvalkass7291]

The compressor time tip made my day, cheers! :D

[@ezekielbarnett5777]

Thank you so much... the way my mix has improved is amazing, i could cry right now.

[@SeanDivine]

glad to hear it Ezekiel :)

[@Jbeatz876]

Thank you for this tutorial. i do struggle with low end, and i always try to not sacrifice kick or bass. To see you accomplishing this is awesome!

[@lordofstringss]

(The Duration of Kick, DOK henceforth..) for the compressor release settings is an excellent trick! Great to see and hear a scientific approach to a good mix! Thank you!

[@SeanDivine]

sure thing! :)

[@Bawamode]

5yrs late but still the sidechain release trick made my day thankyou💯❤️

[@einzigkeit7216]

Best explained tip ever on the subject, thanks a lot!

[@pkfy]

greatest video I've ever seen on this subject. ty

[@SeanDivine]

😁🙏

[@NoName-hp2pe]

Great tutorial Sean. Thanks for sharing your knowledge 😙

[@alexcasian9916]

Brilliant! Didn't know before how to calculate that exact time of a kick sample. Thanks man!

[@j22beatz91]

You really are the god on here for mixing. Thank you so much man

[@SeanDivine]

glad it's helping man! 🙏

[@bishopblade]

Wow..Just found out about your videos man. You explain the best, not to much talking and a good amount of demonstration.

[@SeanDivine]

welcome! 🙏

[@philliplanos]

One of my favorite of your beats by the way.

[@MichaelBLive]

This method is cool. It would only work right if only the transient triggers the compresor. I just do this by ear but planning the release length makes a lot of sense. I was confused by your comment that you don't duck the sub or bass with the kick, but then showed how to do exactly that. Really great info here. I may have just misinterpreted what you meant by the intro comment. Cool.

[@4Bang9Gang]

nice...you learn something new every day.

[@SeanDivine]

:)

[@Thesuproducer]

Man u cold with it, I'm now following u

[@alyasrf8390]

bass is life

[@MB1z]

I learned something new from this tutorial, it will help improve me alot.

[@SeanDivine]

+M BEEZY glad to hear it!

[@saguarmusic]

Great video Sean!! Very useful for this kind of music but I record folk and americana music with all organics sounds and its pretty different. I hope you can help me.. Thks

[@oledahl.]

Nice piece of work. thx for sharing. but can u pls balance the volume of your voiceover with the project playback vol? :)

[@bsteez]

dude you are the freak'n man. keep up the great work.

[@SeanDivine]

:)

[@proverbalizer]

On thing I learned from my last two beats, sometimes you have to be more ruthless when it comes to eq'ing the low end out of you reverbs. Also beware of too much reverb on sounds that are already soft and mushy in the first place, like pad chords You thought you had plenty of space for you

[@djipa6953]

Genius! Good stuff watched the whole video!

[@SeanDivine]

:)

[@Skrenja]

The sngle biggest help in mixing low end for me has been doing the "cloak room check."

[@papagyete]

Simply Genius

[@RogerioValgode]

Great video with great tips, as usual! Love this channel. Just a little comment: I prefer to use a Volume Shaper on the bass with the duration of the kick, because I think using the release time on the compressor as you show us, it will release it 160ms AFTER the Kick is gone from the threshold, not 160ms from the beginning of the kick. But, even so, in this case it works, so I think that is the most important: you get the job done and it in this case it sounds fantastic!

[@SeanDivine]

thanks! Yes, in hindsight, I didn't explain the compressor release in the best way but as you mentioned... if it sounds right, that's what matters most :)

[@maruyama5067]

@@SeanDivine your videos are awesome but it seems like you think the release sets the duration of the ducking, when the duck is the duration of the kick and the release is how long it takes for the sub to stop ducking

[@AntHawk]

I enjoy your tutorials!

[@KemicalKiddMUSIC]

This is true. You want people to "perceive" that the bass is loud (if volume and/or compression doesn't seem to work). One example for this is the song by XXXTentacion - Look at Me. If you listen to it with laptop speakers or headphones the bass seems to be very strong but if you play it on studio monitors you will notice the low end is actually weak and the vocals are very tinny. Mix wise, I think that song is horrible but I guess the producer was aiming for the headphone/laptop speaker users. Just my theory lol.

[@SeanDivine]

it's definitely a real consideration these days but yes, the best result translates to all systems not just the laptop / headphones :)

[@TerenceKearns]

I was wondering why people were calling bass tones "808" when I distinctly remembered the 808 being a drum machine. I thought it was the mandella effect and I was in a parallel universe or something. LOL

[@SeanDivine]

lol

[@Tonemind]

loved this [REQUEST] can you also do one on loudness if we are not using a soundcard

[@Tonemind]

meaning high end external sound card

[@SeanDivine]

+Trigger Beats you can use any plugin that gives you RMS or Peak levels to gauge loudness. LPX has a plugin called Level Meter.

[@abhiramdas]

Thanks a lot, totally works!!!

[@oledahl.]

Just listened to your work on the Trinity- Let 'Em Hate. I really liked the song although R&B and Rap are not what I do best :) That song stood out from many of the other songs on that album (didn't listen to all of them though). What did you do with that song?

[@MichaelHensen]

I feel like your my brother using Logic, and I've been coming up in FL Studio same kind of concepts. :) Love this. I was wondering Sean if you have ever worked in FL STUDIO? I have been using garage band now for about a year, and I am finding that I like certain production elements from GB, like the way vocals are able to record and put together. Also love the lower compressor/eq feature all togther with reverb and ambiance as a single rack piece. I am finding that I may become a Logic guy soon??? If you have used FL Studio, is there a reason you choose Logic over FL Studio?? And wondering, there is something about routing and pre-set rack gear on a channel that gives a certain sound. I know that I can probably come close to achieving the same sound, but again I'm just getting the feeling that internal processing might be better??? Is this something you would agree with??? Anyway, great info and video!!!

[@MichaelHensen]

I should of said my homie. .. I know you do tracks yourself, but would love to present some.music to you and see if yoy would ever like to collab? PS..I liked Off the Wall, could definitely identify with it

[@SeanDivine]

thanks Michael! I have used FL Studio before and it's a great DAW, although very different than Logic. Honestly, FL Studio wasn't available for Mac up until recently and I've been on Mac for almost 10 years now. I was a Cubase user before that and was considering a switch... I went with Logic when I bought my Mac and never looked back. It's come a long way and at this stage, especially with how fast I am with it and the mixing improvements, I don't have any desire to switch again. As for outboard gear, I have the bare mininum (a tube pre / channel strip) as I'd rather be mobile with my sessions. It's all about what works for you though and feels most comfortable!

[@MichaelHensen]

@@SeanDivine Thanks so much for your reply, I really appreciate it. I have been kicking around moving to Logic, I could see from your video that you are super quick in it and super detailed. I definitely need to check out more tracks. I'd love to work with ya on a song at some point, and I will put in a request for quote here soon. Thanks again for all the great videos and keep on killin the mix scene. And the real engineers and producers - Know you know your shit! :)

[@SeanDivine]

Michael Hensen sure thing Michael, appreciate that!!

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

Great stuff mate !!! If you pause at 1:32 it kind of looks like a Pac-Man game !! Lol

[@SeanDivine]

😁🕹

[@mikerimi3092]

Tnx 4 tips

[@ThisMichaelBrown]

Hey Sean, do you high pass the overall mix? And at what freq if you do? Thx

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

Really great information, thank you so much. Quick question: any chance you could briefly explain how you make your videos. I’m trying to do some Pro tools tutorials but I’m having a crazy time. I’m using QuickTime to capture the screen, but I can’t figure out how to balance the voice and music. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you, Steve

[@SeanDivine]

screenflow :)

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

@@SeanDivine I’ll look it up ! Thanks again, love your channel... it’s divine ! 🤘🤩🤘

[@dreamchin]

Another great tutorial! Besides the multi compressor, do you usually do a overall compression for your mix in the master bus before the limiter?

[@SeanDivine]

it depends but I try to leave compression to be done in the mixing process, rather than on the master bus. Especially in more modern styles, you have to be very carfeul about how it will affect your dynamics and transients at that stage. When I do use it, it's very subtle and used mostly for color and final "glue"

[@alangreen142]

Whats your opinion in side chaining a multi-band compressor, thus meaning only ducking the frequencies clashing? Wouldn't you get a better glued sound then ducking the whole bass out with the kick going through?

[@SeanDivine]

certainly a good option if you're comfortable with MB comps! More flexibility for sure

[@alangreen142]

Sean Divine thanks for the reply mate. I’m getting there with the MB, really has taken me some time to get used but the functionality and options it gives is crazy. Loving the C6 at the minute. Thanks again for the Vids, really informative.

[@ivansunny3487]

Отличное произношение, мне нравится слушать 👂 😊

[@mfarshidfar]

Very helpful tutorial. Can I ask what's your office chair it looks very comftable. Thanks

[@SeanDivine]

not sure what it's called. I bought it from an office store called Staples in the US!

[@mfarshidfar]

Thanks.

[@Ajonra]

Are you using QuickTime Movie recording to screen record? How is your audio so good? How do you even have audio at all?

[@Skreept]

If only one could subscribe twice. Respect

[@SeanDivine]

😁

[@KittyandCelina]

OH MY GAWD WE ARE OBSESS WITH THIS SONG!!!

[@SeanDivine]

:) thanks

[@keywanafkhamitv9302]

i want to give you a thumb up on this video. But i realized that i did it before in the past :-) really great job

[@SeanDivine]

😁🙏

Hey @Sean Divine, great tutorial. I'd like to ask you something about gluing sub and kick together. Why low end compression (

[@spencechicago]

Instant subscribe after watching this tutorial.

[@AshrafElziftawiMusic]

why duck the whole thing, use a multiband compressor to only duck the competing frequencies

[@SeanDivine]

that would be a great choice Ashraf!

[@bernardrichmond2]

Or a dynamic equilizer. TDR has a great free one called NOVA. Excellent plugin. Nice sound.

[@austynnegrete9113]

Sub bass is mostly just low frequencies so its easier to do it that way, and I personally like the pumpy sound it gives

[@lmc48]

Guys! These days you can use the Musking feature in Neutron2 advanced by iZotope.It helps you pin point on the battling frequencies from the respective Instruments, then shows you at which Frequency they are fighting each other at.After you have found the battling frequency, you can the use the ducking effect within the Dynamic Eq of Ozone 8 to bring down the one you choose to be Ducked.Its all time saving.Sean this is a very good Tutorial.

[@bassfacer1357]

Another vote for Neutron2. Way more accurate than regular sidechain or even multiband sidechain.

[@The321shutdown]

Great video man! But what is up with your instrument tracks showing up as audio tracks in the inspector??

[@The321shutdown]

I mean it looks like there is no instrument on the instrument tracks...

[@SeanDivine]

I like to bounce midi tracks to audio in many cases to free up CPU and commit to sounds

[@TommyLate]

Dude, awesome Work, do U have any Tut for how to make this Kind of SUB? When i Deal with Fab Filter Saturn etc. On the high freq of 808 IT Always become a kind of messy/ Not a Sharp Overtone. Your overtone/harmonic on the SUB is Sharp and tight af :D

[@treztracks]

cool video I noticed your levels are very high is that for KZbin

[@Rolanoid]

Sounds great. I just bought TrackSpacer but will try this out for sure. The C4 was slamming into the red. Is that not something to avoid?

[@ThaSound]

I wonder bout that as well.

[@jcr1time]

Thank you as always. Just wondering Sean how do you tune 808's in logic pro x? Do you use esx24 or battery?

[@SeanDivine]

+jceelos 07 I have a few custom 808 patches I go back to in Battery but I'm mostly using EXS24 now

[@goatmane1266]

Great tutorial 🔥

[@SeanDivine]

thanks!

[@DrDeese]

I’m looking at your cpu usage and trying to figure out what processor you have. What are your specs? I just got a new iMac with i7 is Logic really that low in CPU usage?

[@SeanDivine]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJjWpHqlgK6kj7M

[@jppp952]

Hello, thx for the tips Just wanted to know if it's necessary to sidechain the snare as well as the kick & put another compressor on the bass (or an other channel) to make the snare pop out ?

[@mattpaul5389]

"send to bus, set to no output"

[@SeanDivine]

🙌

[@92mjoubm]

Great!!

[@jamesjohnson5143]

What's the song? It's really, really nice. Love the synths and ambience

[@jamesjohnson5143]

Never mind, found it!

[@SeanDivine]

🙏

[@oledahl.]

and just a question: when you play back f.ex. your kick the channel meter is clipping (but I can't hear anything digital clipping). I Have always learned too NOT let ANYTHING clip. (ref. Waves.com) What's your thought on this? and again. thx for sharing. I subbed after 1 minute because you had a nice voice to listen to and it sounds like you know what you are talking about. :)

[@SeanDivine]

Hi Ole, clipping is not always a serious issue in the digital realm, especially if you can't hear it distorting. It becomes more of a problem if there's audible distortion and/or if you're exporting with clipping for mastering processing later on. The important thing is to use your ears rather than your eyes, but of course being aware that clipping without any consideration is not good practice :)

[@oledahl.]

thx for answering so fast. Yes, I also learned to trust my ears as best I can. I guess the clipping issue I was concerned about is more a plugin problem. :) Looking forward to following you ;) sinc. kindest reg. ole/ Oslo

[@qjmusic2000]

Great vid! Can't seem to find the view in milliseconds option for my kicks though. Any ideas?

[@killervacuum]

wouldn't the release time of the compressor start after the kick is done making sound, creating a gap? or does the release begin at the beginning of the kick and ignore the length of the kick?

[@SeanDivine]

the release time starts once the signal drops below the compressor threshold

[@davecatalyst]

Sean Divine yes so wouldn’t the compressor still be triggered after the kick has dropped below the threshold, meaning you get an addition 160ms of silence after the kick stops?

[@SeanDivine]

yes, you get an additional 160ms of compression before the compressed sound returns to normal. With a longer kick sample, the effect will be much different

[@epic1beatz634]

One question about using the Vitamin. If you make the low frequency band fully mono, is this bad? I've always kind of thought it should be fairly drastic on that band to give the 808 it's best shape. What are your thought? I remember seeing on another vid you put it around 33% or so.

[@SeanDivine]

nothing wrong with making the low end completely mono, that would actually be best in most cases. I would just make sure to be careful not to cut it too much (above 100hz). I like to retain some of the width on the low mids for the 808, especially if it's distorted.

[@epic1beatz634]

Good point. Vitamin's Low Band is always default at 100Hz. Sometimes I pull it down to 90Hz just to be safe. Thanks! 🙏🏼

[@cal3bsbeats342]

Thanks for the side chaining time trick! Does anyone know if he made that mid side chain distortion video??

[@SeanDivine]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZbFqmaVrtKdd9k

[@mitchiemasha]

Wouldn't the release time be from the last point the sound passed the threshold not the length of the kick? SUPER TIP!!! A better way to trim it as tight as poss would be to use a waveform display that can zoom to 2 beats. Now you will physically see the tail of the kick interacting with the bass. Yes we shouldn't mix with our eyes but those last few cycles are impossible to hear unless playing it real loud. One really has to see it to believe it. Stick Shaperbox Volume Shaper on the master or group. Not to use the shaper but for the wave display. Now we can push our kicks to the last ms, retaining as much of it as possible, trimming the comp release time before destructive interaction. The crazy random spikes and nulls it reveals, instantly opens up a huge level of OMG, now i understand. Disclaimer: My mixes still suck, I've only just discovering this trick. Feel free to use this for a video. It is the ultimate mixing cheat, especially for low volume, untreated room, mixing. I'm hoping izotope are going to add a zoomed in option on the view in Ozone. Request is in. Seeing the kick hit in the same place on the screen in all it's cycle glory, with each note flashing into view, how those curves interact, you're seeing your music naked for the first time, like the hottest girl dropping her gown.

[@TKDotDaDon]

Did you go in and cut out all the spaces between your talking in post or is that something else I'm hearing?

[@SeanDivine]

noise gate :)

[@TKDotDaDon]

Interesting. So that means you mix all the audio for your videos?

[@SeanDivine]

no, it's set on the gate / expander section for the input of my audio interface

[@earljohnson8851]

Where do you get your 808 samples? Also, could you do a video explaining Mid/Side?

[@SeanDivine]

I've collected a lot of different samples over the years. I have an 808 preset pack available -seandivine.com/downloads/8oh8-serum-presets-collection/ will see what I can do on mid/side!

[@carsonstewart2761]

2:14 the new gersploosh album

[@TorontoPopulistConservative]

Hey I don't use Logic but why do you put the kick on a muted bus instead of selecting the kick itself as the sidechain trigger?

[@dassonntagskind]

I have a question and maybe someone has an answer: I'm wondering why he is making a bus channel to send the kick there to use as a source for the side-chain compressor? Why not just using the kick as a source??

[@SeanDivine]

Old habit :) logic pro x didn’t use to have the ability to sidechain from any audio track

[@vinnypelhambay9831]

1k and

[@SeanDivine]

🙌

[@ify105]

do you turn off RMS and turn on peak in sidechain tab inside the compressor if you're limiting like this? Ive seen this technique but some ppl leave it on and some switch it to Peak. some even use softclip but only if dealing with kicks. LMK sean or someone else aha.

[@FerdowsMusic]

In the end you use a multiband to compress the low end for the glue, I always send the bass + kick to an aux and glue them there with a SSL. Is that basically the same thing? Or is there a reason you use a multiband on your master?

[@SeanDivine]

Yes, I'm not crazy about the sound of the SSL on the kick transients but that would be okay. I prefer to use the multi band on the master so that I can control any other instruments that may be sitting in the same freq area as the kick / bass

[@giapada]

I honestly think that the Release Time trick is a bit falsy, since the compressor will duck for the length of the kick either way plus the release time.

[@SeanDivine]

depends on the effect you're looking for - longer release time will give you more of a "pumping" effect, less will give you a more glued sound. The human ear has a hard time hearing times in the miniscule milliseconds, so something to keep in mind :)

[@craigtracy94]

What do I do when I am using a drum loop and can't side chain directly to the kick??

[@martinezmcpasche92]

You can automate the volume of the elements you’re sidechaining, draw a curve that’s the same size as the kick drum in the loop. Look up “volume automation sjidechaining” but it’s a good practice to pick a kick that is not a part of a loop that way it can be processed to fit the context of the mix, Hope this helps!

[@eelam_hiphops]

need upgrade version of this tutorial using waves plugin please bro

[@HindiRapGuru]

Can someone please help me out here? I have tried and seen everything to make the bass and kicks separate and loud but when I mix the whole song it is never as much loud as the commercial songs out there. Is there a big difference in mixing at home and in studio? Why the commercial track sound louder compare to my mixed track at home when I see the RMS or LUF is the same in both the songs? Also, my mixed track sounds way lower than the commercial tracks in my car stereo? What am I doing wrong here? I use WAVES plugins, Ozone, T-Racks to name a few in Cubase. Anyone please?

[@daydreamr5230]

That's only why we are asked to master our tracks

[@drefussbeats3067]

Yeah man its definitely the mastering, that's how you achieve loudness

[@chike1866]

@@daydreamr5230 I understand the plight. Truth is if your mix is not loud you won't be able to get a loud master.

[@chike1866]

I had these issues too. A few tips have helped me. 1) if your room isn't treated, try get sonarworks reference 4 to help you rebalance your speakers. You will be surprised how much phase issues your untreated room has been causing. Most times you will not hear the low end accurately because of exaggerated frequencies. This can mask your mid ranges causing you to make wrong decisions. Probably why the mix sounds weak in the car. 2) Do not let your kick, 808 and bass get in each others way. I use trackspacer plugin to dynamically create spaces for the low end sounds. Do not steriorise your low end. 3) Mix in mono. It works. If you need to get the punch and focus on your mix don't let all the synths and stereo distract you. If your mono mix is way off compared to your stereo mix, then you need to rebalance your track volumes. 4) yes balance your tracks properly before mixing. Your drums, bass and vocals should be the loudest (depending on the genre). 5) for now avoid mixbuss compression, just focus on balancing the tracks. 6) if you need to boost your low end, it's almost always necessary that you will cut the nearest upper frequencies a bit to make the mix clearer 7). The secret is in saturation. Experiment with saturation plugins, especially on your precursive instruments. 8) allow your mix to breathe, especially your vocals. Use slow attack and fast release mostly for your track compressions. 9) Use a dynamic EQ to create space for your vocals when they are fighting for space with instruments. I use trackspacer here and it's 👌 10) Listen on head phones when you want to EQ your mixbus high end frequencies. The trick is to apply dynamic EQ on the frequency ranges between 2k and 5k if the mix sounds harsh in high volume on earphones. Apply a mild ratio of 2db or 3db and then bring down the threshold until the mix stops sounding harsh. You can take up the EQ at 20k for air These my friend, and some more... Will help you get better louder mixes and your lufs won't go over the roof. By the way, the magic is in the midrange. 😉

[@HindiRapGuru]

@@chike1866 Thank you so much! I will try all of these methods you described and check the result. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this comment. No one does that. Thank you again! If you have a channel here, I will subscribe to you. Cheers! :)

[@ACOMPA]

quel vst instrument vous utilisez?? svp vst ??

[@epic1beatz634]

When you side chain, does it matter if you send at 0db vs. 6db? I would think it makes the signal stronger going to the compressor but have always wondered because I've seen people do it both ways.

[@SeanDivine]

it does make the signal stronger going into the compressor. It's useful if you're sending a quiet signal but 0db usually works just fine for me.

[@LOLImAriel]

Do you have any advice on mixing a bass guitar? Can't seem to get a professional tight sounding bass in my mix - its always coming out muddy.

[@SeanDivine]

Hi Ari, try getting rid of the extreme lows and low "mud" - I would cut below 30hz and also take out some from 200 - 400hz to clean it up. It's also a matter of getting the balance right with your kick or any other bassy elements in the mix. I try to keep the kick the loudest in terms of RMS, depending on the genre.

[@LOLImAriel]

Thanks Sean, gonna try this out today. Really appreciate the help!

[@kickassTV-yh1tj]

is it the same when you have a low ratio like 2:1 and have a threshold of -25. Instead of like having a super maxed out ratio and a low threshold...Whats the difference???

[@SeanDivine]

there would be less gain reduction, try it :)

[@Gymae]

My person is interested in... In two ways of production from u. Say a beginning project video. From scratch In logic. Where u get your sounds. If stock logic. Even with plugins And another project.... Where u take a mix from anywhere and from the beginning eqing the mix better for a mastering project. With stock plugins. Why??? Its harder to use logic if not stock. Thanx for considering.

[@noirh]

Lets suppose i have a kick 60ms long and I have put a compressor to sidechain with the exact same release as kick length(60ms) on my bass... And my compressor ducks as long my kick remains (60ms) then after that my bass comes up after 60ms more so here the problem is I am getting my bass ducked for 60+60=120ms.

[@SeanDivine]

The top comment covers this ;) Adjust to taste as the compressor release time is actually in addition to the length of the kick signal above the threshold.

[@EngeniusBeatz]

Hey Sean i understand you used to use cubase how could i find the release time of a drum in that DAW?

[@SeanDivine]

Go to project settings and change the display format to seconds. Then open the sample editor (double click the audio file), make selection and the number on the left is milliseconds.

[@EngeniusBeatz]

thanks alot sean!!

[@johnnyb5984]

Hi there, im currently mixing a record and i put a soft clipper ( T racks soft slipper to be exact with gain at 3.0 and slope -8.0) on my master bus and the mix sounds clean and loud apart from when i add my 808 into the mix. The 808 distorts really bad and causes my hit hat to sound muffled. Any tips. Thanks

[@SeanDivine]

hey Johnny, the soft clipper should be set to just below 0db (True Peak), so say -.1 that will give you as much headroom as possible without clipping

[@johnnyb5984]

ok do you mean the output knob on the tracks classic clipper ??. threes just mild unwanted distortion and the 808 is not sounding as loud as i want it without distortion.i tried using a multi band compressor such as waves C4 but that just lowers the volume of the 808 low end which i dont want. is there anyway to have low end with loud frequency such as the 808 im using without there being unwanted distortion after applying a soft clipper or a maximizer. Thanks

[@johnnyb5984]

PS. I dont want to sidechain as the the rest of the mix is fine and loud. The 808 distorts by itself when soloing the channel with the soft clipper on the master bus. if i lower its volume i can barely hear it as the other tracks are all being sent to the master bus with the soft clipper on it. Thanks

[@ify105]

what techniques do you use to widen certain instruments up on the stereo spectrum.

[@SeanDivine]

mathewlane.com

[@iamvj]

Grocery Stick he uses vitamin probably

[@triplebeam23]

Have you ever had a bass signal that takes up alot of volume but it isnt strong and loud? I'm working on a track and I like the tone of this bass it's kinda like a 808 and it already has distortion so I dont wanna add more... I'm guessing some compression would help with that... but it still doesnt translate like I want on anything other then my studio monitors

[@chike1866]

When I had that kind of issue with a bass, I did something counter intuitive. Instead of boosting the low end some more, which complicates the problem I did a band pass, cutting the low frequencies with a gradual slop up to 200hz, this should be done with a parametric EQ. The filter should cause a phase shift which will surprisenly bring out the bass. You can then apply another EQ to boost the low end.

[@triplebeam23]

@@chike1866 cool thanks man I'll give it a try

[@AdGameRr]

Noob question! Why is it called an 808? And what it really is?

[@SeanDivine]

the 808 was an early Roland drum machine. The "808" refers to a low sub kick sample with typically longer tail or sustain.

[@AdGameRr]

okey thanks!

[@j2musicstar]

whats your eq look like on the kick

[@FoevaLazy]

great we on the same page