Obtaining clearer mixes through Spectral Management | SPLmixing.com

[@musicman25]

Man.. you structured it out for me. Difference was in my thinking, not my doing. You are a good teacher.

[@ForLorNVuLgaR]

You really set the bar higher than most Audio Enthusiast! Rock on

[@djtiii]

It's pretty common in the professional mixing world to bus groups to a mini-bus, then add processing to these mini-buses to help "glue" the mix together. This does not just have to be EQ, but can be compression, reverb, delay, etc. In a sense, if you apply the same process to two different tracks then there is some sort of similarity between the two that help make them sound like they are from the same source. Dave Pensado uses this technique and is someone worth checking out.

[@jafmusicmixcom]

This concept really simplifies the endless "round-robin" EQ that I usually do. Thinking of it in this fashion: individual EQ, Bus EQ (in mono) for competing instruments, then Bus EQ tweaks to taste. Major epiphony! Thanks Soundbooth!

[@gsargen1]

Love these videos, Daniel. The way you combine specific details with over-arching mixing philosophies is extremely effective. I've gained so much knowledge in such a short time by watching these. Keep up the great work, Im looking forward to future videos

[@DubCampbell]

Well, Dan, I've seen all of your tutorials thus far...and that's pretty amazing in and of itself because it's not easy to hold my attention unless the content is of high quality. I won't eat bad food either...same kind of thing, just a different subject. So, please take these comments as compliments...or better yet, HIGH PRAISE! You are an extremely talented teacher/tutor...and I can hardly wait to see what you come up with next. Simply outstanding! I'd like to see more A/B ing examples. Cheers

[@nunoandrade9018]

uau.. in my first real mix I'm going about right now, you might just took the big rock out of the road I was at . My OCD got organized at least! :) - perfect starting point (method) that I have come across on the youtube finally - I found everything else is complex but kind of disperse and you actually separated things up to real good solid steps to act. Thanks a lot mr. ;)

[@AmpsforBuddha]

I'm addicted to your videos. You do such a great job. Keep them coming, broddha!

[@soloj100]

Yes, this was beautiful.... Again I wish that they would have showed us this at school... I really love this... Thanks....so much.

[@daniyalahmed97]

Wow! Im stunned that was a sick mix

[@wilsoncj]

Absolutely fantastic tutorials. I watch a lot of this type of video and for some reason your tutorials just resonate with me. I love ITL as well, but there is something about how you break everything down so simply.

[@onclemack7602]

I have no idea how I found you but I'm glad I did. Very clear explanation. Thank you for your time.

[@Chaselev9]

all of your vids are very professional something you can reference to daily if you forget techniques truly a thanks from this way.

[@AggressiveNapkin123]

Really helpful. Thanks for posting these - keep them coming, please,

[@tristanbougeard922]

Big thank you for this, I've been trying to get my head round spectral management for a while & this video filled quite a few blind spots in my knowledge....I particularly like your emphasis on not overthinking which is exactly what I'd been doing!

[@jpetit126]

Great video. Informative, insightful and helpful. Thanks for the tips.

[@tupacmoc]

Amazing synthesis on the craft of mixing!

[@SPLMixing]

Etiene T Thanks mate

[@AdamSalaah]

Great video! Very informative

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks!

[@SPLMixing]

Hey, thank-you very much Dub. I have been extremely busy recording and mixing in the studio these past few weeks, and now I am about to be married and go on my honeymoon, so I hope to pump out some new videos when I get back. I will include more A/B examples too, thanks! :)

[@FretFrizzler]

These videos are great man! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Earned a subscriber

[@purecountry70]

Hi Dan, I truely enjoyed your videos, you make the subjects so easy to understand, I think you are an amazing teacher , I can't wait to see what you come uup with next if I may ask, would it be possable to make a video on Audomation , both with audio and effects. again thank you for these great videos Bill McDonald

[@DarkBlackReaper]

I really like your videos!Keep going man!

[@SPLMixing]

Lol :) I just can't seem to get the image of the Denny Crane character (Boston Legal) playing it in the New Orleans episode...

[@manpost18]

Thanks dude your mix sound perfect!!

[@satisfaction2009eBay]

With all the rubbish tutorials floating around youtube, this was quite refreshing. Jolly good presentation, sir.

[@clintonpullen4955]

4:29 you mention cutting and boosting in mono. Should the instruments already be panned prior to switching to mono?

[@SPLMixing]

Clinton Pullen It depends and is really up to what works best for you. Sometimes it's better to do a whole mix starting mono and figure out all of your EQ and compression decisions before panning. I have had success with starting stereo and checking in mono too. I think it is probably best to work on a group of instruments at a time in mono like drums or horn sections or guitars et cetera and then pan out the groups as you like - especially if the parts are similar or you have a lot of mic bleed. It's when the arrangement supports the distinction of different instruments apart from one another that you'd probably only need to collapse and check in mono after panning. Hope that answers your question.

[@Aspire85]

That track at the start sounds great. Where can I hear the full version?

[@Alfalfalflv]

Where in the spectrum should i place the kazoo?

[@SPLMixing]

I think a HP filter on it up to 20kHz would sound great!

[@loweche6]

SoundboothTutorials I was thinking "creative use of the mute button" a la Mixerman

[@DustinJJ98]

Pro Tip: The kazoo is fine, mix everything else around it😁

[@maciejdolacki9283]

@@DustinJJ98 im saying wheres the cow bell tho....

[@djedaistandard]

Very useful tutorial! Do You stick to the rule of mixing every group individually , regardless of everything else in the mix and ONLY THEN mix those groups together? Even if it counters the processing applied in individual mixing of the group? EXAMPLE: You mix your 2 guitars... one has -3dB at 5K and other has +3dB at 5K. When You come to the point of mixing different groups together , You realize that You want that 5k region to stand out and that is fighting with strings. What then?

[@MegaMixking]

once again - this is an amazing video - thank you so much - cheers from seattle.

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks Mark - nice to know you are still watching after all this time :-) Cheers!

[@SPLMixing]

Yes, in dense mixes with lots of BVs and strings or guitars, I almost always stick to this rule. In smaller mixes, this isn't always the case. Having learnt more about mixing over the past year, I now tend to blend the entire group/s into the song and only if necessary go change individual instruments within the groups if problematic. Always let your taste guide your decisions - never purely technical reasons for doing things a certain way. There is no right or wrong way, just your way :)

[@mahircankucuk7016]

One of the 4-5 no bullshit youtube mixing videos

[@Nico-cm1rc]

Mahir Can Küçük which are the other 4? Thanks man

[@mahircankucuk7016]

it's not a mixing tutorial, but this is the least bullshit plugin : kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYOQeaVoh89maqs stop wasting money :)

[@alchemyst2000]

Great turorial, thank you! It would be awesome to have some examples of this approach to mixing in real time where we could actually hear and watch you making these mixing decisions.

[@SPLMixing]

Duly noted, thanks. If you like, try this simple experiment: Bring up a session with all audio tracks, find a balance, do your panning, etc, etc... Record the result, set aside. Then, add in aux tracks for each group of instruments (without any additional processing), so a drum aux for all your drums, etc, etc... Record the result again and compare to the non-aux tracked version. I found this made a huge difference to how all the tracks add up together. The individual summing on each aux track alone just seemed to open up the song and give it more clarity without doing anything drastically different.

[@loweche6]

SoundboothTutorials Am i correct in thinking that you mute your master send of the track, and send it solely to the aux, and then the Master Buss? I just want to clarify your thoughts on Parallel Bussing, where the original tracks are summed through the master, as well as being summed by the Aux.

[@SPLMixing]

Draper Carter It's typically a funnel down effect. All the drums can feed an aux, same with other instruments or packs of instruments that belong together, such as BV's, Percussion, etc... Each group is processed individually and then fed to the master fader. That said, if I am deep in a mix and I find the kick is starting to feel a little buried, I have no issue with creating a a direct send to the Master that bypasses the aux or creating a duplicate that feeds the master. Sometimes you just have to choose the most direct path to getting the sound you are after, and so sometimes that means forgetting about aux groups. There are many ways to do it though. I strongly recommend checking out the work of mix engineer Michael Brauer and how he combines audio. Really interesting stuff. I have an eBook currently being written which will cover my own way of mixing that way ITB, which I am very excited to share.

[@00bava]

Thanks, good tips! I found very difficult the "notch part". I start to hear a lot of harmonics: when I cut some of them there are new ones that appear and make me mad, at the end remains a very poor sound but at the very end of the mix I still hear some hated harmonics!

[@00bava]

excuse my bad english

[@djedaistandard]

So, You can cut 5k on strings, but lets say you have the same processing for individual strings as for individual guitars. Do YOu consider those things too, would that be overprocessing or You disregard those things and consider only groups as a whole, as new instruments? I hope I explained myself clearly... Thanks in advance

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks man, happy to help :)

[@TheSopk]

Hi very usefull this tutorial, your reakky amazing, I have one question, So whats auxiliary? I use Ableton and whe don't have Aux, it s a bus? I understant that you have a track used like a bus where u send all your eq 'ed drums. In this bus you have another eQ where you eq the whole drum bus while listening the whole mix. I got it?

[@SPLMixing]

@Hal McMillen Additive EQ also adds harmonics from the EQ, which can be great. If the noise is noticeable, then I'd be worried, but I'd be more worried about how the parts fit in the arrangement more than any minor technical issues. Never forget that it is music after all :-)

[@jbandshahayeah1862]

One if the best explanations on the subject

[@SPLMixing]

+J bands Haha yeah Thanks!

[@kishandaramraja]

so glad i found this series

[@credenza1]

Very useful and sensible concepts

[@brenfen]

Great vid, really helpful tips thanks!

[@reiko5150]

thanks for all the helpful info.

[@posse600]

MAAAAN!! you rockkk!!! completly changed my way of mixing! you're a >GOD!!

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks Guido!

[@DANNYFIGDESIGNS]

Thanks for the video. One question. I was wondering if you could explain what you meant when you said to send similar instruments to a "Master Aux." If the instruments are grouped would it not be playing through the group buss? Sorry if I missed something.

[@SPLMixing]

Group Aux / Master Aux / Sub Mix are interchangeable terms for me. As are Master Fader / Master Bus / 2-Bus / Mix Bus. Master Aux is just a term I use to describe a place I send multiple instruments from a group, so like a sub mix group, but I use the word Master because I use small amounts of corrective eq on the group as you would the 2-bus. Sorry for the confusion! 😀

[@robertdeanmusic]

super useful thanks gonna check out your other vids

[@The20101991]

Very well explained. Although your point where there's no need to worry about a A transient and Sustained sound occupying the same spectrum, what about Kick and Bass? Which is a Transient and a fairly sustained sound occupying the same frequency?

[@SPLMixing]

Every Bass and Kick occupy different parts of the frequency spectrum in different mixes, so it's a bit difficult to get specific, but let's just say that one of them has to take the lead. Enhance the transients on the part you wish to have lead.

[@lilikura]

Love your tutorials... Wish you did more. Is it possible to do one on how to identify and get rid of problematic frequencies? Thanks :)

[@danielbooth8722]

Hey there, my "Mixing Philosophy: Understanding EQ - How to EQ any instrument video", covers this aspect of EQ'ing called 'notch filtering'. Your ability to identify these frequencies will depend on your taste, experience, and the quality of your listening environment, i.e. speakers, acoustic treatment. Generally speaking, boost the frequency you don't like to find it before cutting it out. The above video explains it in more detail. Thanks!

[@lilikura]

Hey Daniel, thanks man! Appreciate all the help :)

[@sotosonic413]

Excellent tutorial - thank you!

[@SPLMixing]

You are welcome! 😃 Happy mixing!

[@thedaynos]

thanks, been enjoying your videos. what do you mean towards the end by "Boost adjacent octaves"? thanks

[@SPLMixing]

Good question, okay, so all this means is that you find the ideal spot to boost your featured instrument. This may be 2000kHz (2kHz) as an example. The competing instrument may occupy that same frequency range and also sound best when boosting it at 2kHz (in solo), but obviously, this space is already filled by the instrument you wish to be the feature. The way around this is to boost in an adjacent octave instead. Now to find an octave of 2kHz, you can either double or half the frequency - 1kHz or 4kHz. This tends to help the compromised instrument to still feel like it is boosted in the 2kHz range along with the other featured instrument - but without the overlap that causes harsh build-ups. This octave relationship is true throughout the spectrum - Low E Guitar is 80Hz, the next E is 160Hz. Understand?

[@DennisWilliamsDJ]

I've been producing for about two years now but I've been a music fanatic for pretty much all my life, so I don't think I'm anywhere near a level other than 'beginner'. However, I tend to be curious and finding myself wanting to get to know theories behind certain aspects of producing, including the creative side, the mixing and the mastering. Therefore I do consider myself informed maybe a little better than most. Especially because electronic music has been getting so popular these days and kids think all they need to have is a Massive synth and some Vengeance sample packs. But if they love what they do they'll get there eventually. I'm also a careful person, try to find balance and nuance in my way of thinking and approaching techniques. Philosophy is something I appreciate because it helps me to see the bigger picture, to search for questions instead of answers, and to keep in mind that necessity for nuance. I believe that makes you better in things you do, and maybe even better in finding happiness in life. What I'm trying to say is; your combination of a scientific approach whilst maintaning a broader philosophized way of thinking is like porn to me and I thank you for making these video's. Cheers from the Netherlands!

[@hakimmovies4090]

Hi sound booth I have a problem of vocals going at the back with or without reverb

[@SPLMixing]

Please email me, so I can discuss this with you in further detail, thanks! [e-mail]

[@michaellarsen180]

Gonna apply this to a recent mix from scratch and see how much i get out of it! EVerything seems correct in terms of mixing, and I already use the EQ thing to widen guitars that are panned. Så if this works with rest of the stuff I have it's gold! :D Great in depth video, and nice that it for once on youtube isn't about plug-ins ;)

[@SPLMixing]

Wow, thank you so much!

[@giulhanch3891]

question: when you're boosting the sustained voices, before you boost the adjacent frequencies do you you hp/lp both voices to a certain frequency, or do you keep the frequencies of both vocalists and just pan them to x% and y%?

[@SPLMixing]

BV's I usually at least high pass up to 100-150Hz on the group fader. If both sustained voices are singing the same part with the same voice, then I usually barely EQ them, and pan them left and right. I also try record each side using a different mic to the opposite side and just cris-cross the different mics left and right for each new part of the harmony. Only in the case where you have frequency build-ups happening, such as in a duet, would you need look at getting more separation of the two voices so as to make them distinct from one another. Conversely, with BV's, you probably almost always want less separation to keep the voices sounding as though they are one big unit working in...ahem...harmony.

[@josephjwoods66]

Great video!

[@SPLMixing]

+Joseph Woods Thanks Joseph!

[@CapitalPS]

Question: I'm working with a whole lot of virtual midi instruments eg. East west, Halion, Omnispehere etc. Should I be applying EQ and compression as I go, or should I be waiting until I have completed the project and mixed all of these tracks down to seperate audio files?

[@SPLMixing]

I personally would avoid any unnecessary EQ and compression during the writing/recording phase, but if things need a 'nip and tuck' before the final mix phase, then by all means do it.

[@ShiraxProductions]

Awesome !

[@mihajlosinka8443]

Do those annoyning frequencies also occur on directly recorded sounds (synths trough soundcard etc.), or just the sounds recorded trough mics (vocals. acoustic guitars...)???

[@SPLMixing]

Generally, the answer is no, but it depends how well the synths were sampled. Usually they are balanced and free of resonances, but this is not to say that the addition of other effects or instruments within the context of the song, cannot also add to a build up of frequency lumps and bumps that make the entire song feel unbalanced.

[@mihajlosinka8443]

So, basically, i could go with just balancing the sounds and avoiding masking each other with panning and eq?? Sounds to easy... Btw, thanks.. your videos inspired me to continue trying.

[@SPLMixing]

I'd value EQ more over panning as a means to unmask first but panning does help of course. So I'd fix any internal imbalances on individual instruments and then contour the groups with some more global EQ moves to help DE-clutter the mix. As always, it depends on the material...

[@SoundClassDeejays]

YOU ARE THE BOSS.. AMAZING TIPS THANK YOU!!

[@grannypotproduction]

great stuff bro thank you

[@SPLMixing]

No worries. I have a lot of cool vid ideas in the pipeline, it's just a matter of finding the time. Will move the Automation video I had planned further up the order to get it out sooner. Cheers mate :)

[@josephdi-lenardo6637]

i love your tutorials. your very good at explaining mixing. im waiting for you to do one about how to get more loudness in a mix without just slapping limiters on the master channel or the instrument my problem with mixing is that everything sounds good when its loud and when i turn it down to compromise the mix it completely kills the instrument/sound. but it makes my mix sound chaotic when everything is loud when im just using limiters. so id like some of your insights about that please or a way around it thanks mate

[@SPLMixing]

Hey buddy, Firstly I recommend to always constrain your mix monitoring levels to around 82 to 85 dB SPL in the room you are mixing in. This gives us the flattest response as far as human hearing is concerned. How you determine that is by an SPL meter in the room at or around the mixing position C weighted and Slow response or failing that an SPL meter app on your phone. I usually keep my phone on the desk as I work and adjust my mixing volume on my interface to keep it in this range of SPL. You need good disapline to stay at these levels, but it forces you to become aware of how much you rely on volume to hear things in a mix. Secondly, it's ok to monitor louder to get a sense of the weight your bass is carrying, but for 80-90% of the mix, I'd stick closely to the above listening levels. Thirdly, small speakers are great for crafting tone and midrange content, such as Auratones. Fourth, experiment with light amounts of harmonic saturation or distortion at the channel, group and mix bus level. Use it to tone shape and compress the sounds without using compression or limiting. Use this in combo with compression and limiting to get loud. Lastly, put a temporary gate on your mix bus, setting the threshold at the intended bottom of your dynamic range - eg 8db DR, set gate threshold at 8dbFS. Use a fast attack and release, no range, and a 100 mshold. Set a temporary limiter at 0dbFS. You now have an 8db window to mix into. If you cannot hear a track it means it needs more level, but if it hits the limiter and distorts and/or dips below occasionally - after you push it up, it's telling you it needs dynamic range treatment. It's a technique I use to set false boundaries when mixing. When you take them off you realise you would probably have never compressed something that hard in the first place. I usually set the limiter at -10dbFS and the gate at -20dbFS thresholds (10db DR). In Pro Tools I can watch the gain reduction meter on the mix bus from the mix window without going in to watch the limiter, so can see and hear how hard I am hitting the false ceiling. Of course, mixing into this range, I make up the last 10db with a limiter at the end after I remove the temporary gate and limiter. Give those methods a try for a week or two. Happy mixing!

[@josephdi-lenardo6637]

mate, thanks so much for that reply. its like my very own mixing tutorial by you. your my favorite mixing engineer on this. ill get down to practicing these methods. if you get bored check out some of my music . im not dealing with much live recording i make hip hop instrumentals using sounds ive brought for midi keyboard. gonna watch all your other videos again tonight. thanks

[@josephdi-lenardo6637]

so far as speakers i use Mackie MR5's. just realized how much awesome information and advanced mixing techniques are in your last message. can wait to get around to practicing them.

[@SPLMixing]

These will do fine, but try to source some smaller speakers or a boom box, some alternate point of reference so you can check translation of the mid frequencies. Failing that, reference other mixes on those speakers using a HP filter at 200Hz and a LP filter at 2kHz on the mix bus, flick back and forth between the two to see what jumps out. Be sure to pick a reference that you know sounds good everywhere.

[@ExiledMango]

this is some really good stuff.

[@JordanDinstrumentals]

hey man sorry if you covered this but i hope you can help, all the Spectrum Analysers i download show the sound peaking at a different db level than FL Studio meter shows the sound peaking at, for example i made a quick drum loop and the FL Studio meter shows the sound peak at -8db but on the spectrum analysers its about -11.5, however the built in spectrum Analyser (Fruity wave candy) agrees with its meter that its -8db, could you answer this?

[@SPLMixing]

It sounds like the spectrum analysers are possibly sampling the reading from a different part of the signal chain. I'm not familiar enough with FL Studio to give you an accurate answer. One might be metering in RMS (average level) the other in dB FS (peak level). I'm sorry I cannot be more help than that. Maybe try running pink noise through both or a 1kHz tone to see how the levels differ, otherwise I'd try some FL Studio forums, as most people would have experienced the same thing at some point. Good luck!

[@JordanDinstrumentals]

SoundboothTutorials ok thanks alot man, ill give that a try, iv done a fair bit of asking on the internet and not alot of people seem to have an accurate awnser so your awnser seems as good as any, i might just not fully understand spectrum analyzers and how they work yet, i thought they were just a simple reading of the sounds frequency's but now it seems more complicated.

[@SPLMixing]

Also...struggling to find where in the video I said "add a delay"??

[@IamTheBeatMan]

Thank you for the insight

[@chuccbornstar2012]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@SPLMixing]

You're welcome buddy. Happy mixing!

[@hmac66]

Excellent video. I am a relative newbie, so forgive my confusion, but I read a lot about subtractive eq. This school of thought says that boosting frequencies invariably adds noise (although I do it all the time in my mixes!). Could you comment on this? Thx hal mcmillen on soundcloud.

[@Larrythebassman]

Multiple aux ____ indeed good one

[@newyork698]

AMAZING! thanks!!!

[@ANJAYYY111]

mehn..I love how detailed you are about mixing n eqing each sound.. not too many people care as much..I appreciate that.. but like.. I'm not too sure I'm in support ov transferring to master auxes cuz like I feel wen eq'ing each.. u have already blended it to ur taste n eqing every drum or guitar as one again wud be messing up the detailed eqing..also wen u said "add a delay".. I don't get why..

[@0rican]

!!! THANX . Great Advices

[@mikeleza]

Awesome

[@ANJAYYY111]

Yeh i get it now.. thanks.. already a fan of dave btw...

[@SPLMixing]

I'll do whatever it takes to get the sound/vibe I am after, so long as it does not degrade the signal too much, i.e. phase issues as a result of over EQ'ing. If that means over processing, I'll do it, so long as it just sounds the way I want. It has to sound good and it has to sound better than the raw tracks, or I have wasted the last few hours making the wrong decisions. So yes, in dense mixes, the group is treated like a single instrument.

[@SPLMixing]

This is a 'take it or leave it' philosophical approach. It's pointless discussing the pros & cons - try it out 1st, and if it works that's great, if it doesn't - then move on. There are many ways to achieve the sounds you want and this is just one method I have used that worked for me. The thing I have noticed with working this way on complex instrument groups (such as drums), is that the EQ I place on the aux track that controls the group, is usually very minimal or sometimes even left blank.

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks Christopher :)

[@jamesgrey13]

I now know how to fit my kazoo perfectly into the mix.

[@LucasMaffazioli]

Thank you!

[@diegogutierrez3143]

only tutorials that i like thanks

[@SPLMixing]

Thank-you sir :)

[@shawnlawson698]

It's the mad cow!

[@czechmex88]

Does this apply to EDM?

[@SPLMixing]

This applies to most musical styles, EDM especially. Thanks for watching and happy mixing!

[@EdwardLammBass]

6:44-7:00 YES! I've completely given up using sidechain compression on kick and bass and the results have been eargasmic so far.

[@SPLMixing]

Awesome man, that's great! :-) Happy mixing!

[@user-2Hteyasizyc]

After 18 years of toiling, if its my OWN project? i still suck at mixing. Endless notes i write etc. My room is the issue 100% as if the low end is off it affects every part of the mix especially the chronic high mid overdose. Im angry i wasted major money bass trapping a 10 x 12 room and while it sounds nice in here, there is no ideal listening position i have tried it all. 18 years is ridiculous. Do you have any suggestions? You have to be a madman to endure 18 years of shitty rooms where treatment helps but the low end becomes impossible. I have mixed others rock and metal bands with excellent results. im not close to their project other than making it closest to their referenced tracks (im still obsessive though as i want people to be more than happy) so i find it easy and im able to distance myself as its not what i would go for so i just am able to zone right in and do it) It gets me suicidal to sit for so long and be like "really, i still cant get this right?" for my own project. Any suggestions? i still look to your vids to this day as i find your mixes very clean even though its a different genre.

[@SPLMixing]

Send me an email [e-mail] and we'll talk in detail

[@maciejdolacki9283]

thanks! every couple of years i get on here and see what innovations i missed, relearn what i forgot and find new things to worry about. this time it was gain staging and rms, lufs and limiting ect and ill tell you, all of these are mental pitfalls, little industry traps and humps to get past, all leading to the same conclusion: trust your ears or get out. its nice to verify things, but like lufs...crept up and had me terrified i had spent the last 20 years mixing wrong?! nope, it turns out i was finishing mixes to a "feels right" and "the consoles not on fire yet" standard that was just right for the world im in. that ability, to maintain a type of certainty while in the face of something as abstract and untouchable as sound, thats what will make or break you in this game. so, i hope you slowly forget about this necessary phase in your growth as you discover the benefits of masking and phase cancellation in legitimate mixing techniques. also, even tho mixing fast and to the point is an asset, before you begin, experiment! most of the greatest most alluring songs have magical elements which frequency clash created and, if you think about it, we start every mix in a muddy hell hole we slowly work into a balance....a balance made possible by standing on things that happend on thier own, before you got there. also something to think about: copies and copies and copies of tracks, some filtered and used as triggers, others time delayed, stereo tricks, all that jazzy 80s game. Or consider live mixing a show, or having to make a record from a consert recording. isolation-less mixing, man handling buses and auxes, throwing stuff out rather then tuning. being a bad mfer....good luck out there, you sound like youll go far. bye.

[@SPLMixing]

I consider myself a life long learner and this is simply a snapshot of where I was at, at that point in time.

[@maciejdolacki9283]

​@@SPLMixing i know, wouldnt of said anything if i didnt know you were...alive and wanting to live... hehe, thats what it comes down to i suppose: either people struggle and sufffer and learn and survive, or they avoid growth assuming everyones perfect and its thier biggest secret that they somehow arent. might as well be dead cause its not moving. theres way more of them than us, most modern cultures are self absorbed and condone the free exchange of thought. although i recently lost my humility, and just stomp up on people. im one of those, "youre not depressed, youre lazy" types now, i pity the fool wasting life on his or her comfortable, familiar self loathing. the only thing out here is the struggle. every second is a gamble and usually the outcome is not too favorable..BUT, thats what makes authentic joy so precious...its rare and is not sold anywhere. you have to give to much for it to be a viable business haha sry for the write up, trying to make it up in ideas. which is another under rated commodity life can not progress without. good ideas, well thats another story, a very personal one because without execution, its juist a bunch of synapses. oh you know what, and i guess youve thought about most of these things but heres another important thing: only you can see your potential. AND, you owe it to yourself to realize that vision. which might be just a glimmer, but honestly, that is the ultimate survival tool. as long as youre honest with yourself and learn from your failures, nothing will stop you and eventually, it comes back with everything you gave away, lost or forgot and completes you in ways you could never forsee. anyway, my inner child somehow saw himself in you today so im feeling like if i tell you everything im seeing, itll save you the time. it doesnt matter what you believe, it matters that you believe. same with mixing and what not: if you know its good, its good. your mixes any good? ;D

[@OfficialAceAura]

KAZOO

[@adastra123]

Kazoo !!! LMFAO , I subscribed after that.

[@rishabjaju7950]

feeling guilty i found this channel so late anyway grt stuff

[@SPLMixing]

Thanks rishab

[@raphael8966]

What do u meant by this session ?

[@SPLMixing]

What do I mean by "this session" or what do I mean by "session"? I cannot find in the video where I said that, but "a session" just refers to a 'mixing session'. Hope that answers your question!

[@raphael8966]

@@SPLMixing u didn't say anything about a session, I asked for what do you meant in the video ? Is this techniques which you shown are relevant in sound mixing ?

[@rajkoschlee]

Tanks!!

[@sleeppyami]

Tnx for the vedio it helps to much

[@SPLMixing]

That's awesome, happy to help.

[@guidosc3470]

Could you rebuild the Synth of Lady Gagas Swine ? The Woody-Bass-Dubstepalike-One?

[@SPLMixing]

Hey, it's not my area of expertise, but I can hit up my network connections in the EDM world for you

[@guidosc3470]

Would be great!

[@SPLMixing]

Guido S. So I heard back from a bit of a synthesis whiz... He says: "You can make something very similar compiling sawtooth waves with additive synthesis, though my guess (considering the 'yaoi' 'yaoi' sounds behind it in the breaks/fills) is that it is made with FM synthesis using sawtooth wave modulated by some other sines in half values...perhaps some other little things to control its pulse speed and pitch. It's very typical of Complextro as a genre, which I'm guessing is because she enlisted the producer Madeon to work on her tunes for her some time ago." Hope that helps!

[@guidosc3470]

Thanks a lot! I'll check it out..

[@CAMOAH1]

I expected u illustrate ur points with samples from the track u started with....gr8 video anyway

[@CAMOAH1]

Thanks u r a gr8 teacher.

[@TheComposer1979]

it ll cool if there is paractic video tutorial

[@SPLMixing]

Paractic??

[@TheComposer1979]

SoundboothTutorials pratic sorry ;)

[@SPLMixing]

TheComposer1979 Do you mean you'd like to see this in 'practice'? If so, I will have some pay videos coming out in a few months that will cover this and much more.

[@Temynutempo]

very true

[@DavidNaOfficialVEVO]

Thanks alot man

[@cortster12]

The funny thing is my 'before' sounds even farther away than yours.

[@SPLMixing]

cortster12 Is that a good or bad thing? :-)

[@cortster12]

SoundboothTutorials A bad thing for me. All my older songs songs sound far away, yet not. Its weird. Even my 'newer' songs sound distant. I say newer in quotes because my newest finished song is from a year ago. An example of what I mean is this; db.tt/Ci1DrnQA First song I ever made in a DAW, I used Studio One, when I just turned 16 around three years ago. Compare to my 'newest' song, made in FL studio, I made a year ago; db.tt/2LWmVRZr My favorite song of mine, melody wise, is this; db.tt/zWMCP8KX It is also one of my oldest. I have tried to make either of these sound... full, but I just can't. Even with tutorials, I still struggle. Yours are great, but it is hard to apply because I am in essence tone death when it comes to making subtle differences add up. It takes me a dozen hours just to make a sound with barely any mastering or mixing, and then countless hours just going in circles. I also don't make music that much, I only try like once every few weeks, and only ever get anywhere once every few months. I did have a thing going when I first started though, but that was before I cared about mixing and mastering. Now I try to make them perfect, so I can't ever get anywhere. I also have a Soundcloud with about 30% of my finished songs on there. I don't like most of them, though. soundcloud.com/cortster12 (The songs are not necessarily published in the order they were made)

[@SPLMixing]

cortster12 So I finally listened to your tracks. I could boil down this 'distance' issue you have to a few things... Firstly, I feel that everything tends to have a similar amount of top end frequency content in your mixes - by extending some instruments, this would create the depth you are looking for. Secondly, adding the right amount & type of reverb to some instruments would help in further extending the depth of the entire mix. Thirdly, enhancing transients or the attacks of some instruments would also help further create the perception of depth. If you do all of the above to every instrument in your mixes then you will have no depth. Contrast is key, so be very selective...keep in touch over at my Facebook page - I think you would benefit from reading my eBook (currently being written) which will cover how to do this in more depth (pun intended!) :-)

[@cortster12]

SoundboothTutorials I may just do that. I also might read your book some time, when you finish it of course. Thanks for the tips!

[@tradehut2782]

This is possible if the instruments have a good timbre. Otherwise you can hardly boost anything because the harmonic content just isnt musicaly pleasing.

[@SPLMixing]

Absolutely

[@TimmyP1955]

Intro: Before sounds much more natural (it needs less work than the After).

[@SPLMixing]

+TimmyP1955 All that matters is your personal perspective. The sound has been recorded in a dead room, travelled through frequency restricted tiny diaphragms, been converted to voltage, mangled through a console, then into 1's and 0's, then back out the D to A converters, then reproduced through the movement to two bits of cardboard controlled by the movements of magnetic coils. We kinda passed natural when we hit record IMO.

[@anubhav4590]

After is definitely better