For tip 3, I prefer changing the octave db slope to 12 or 24 on a high pass filter which does the same thing. It just cuts the bass rumble out exactly where you want.
All tips are good, except tip 3. High-passing unneeded lows is predominantly good (unless they're crucial, like sub or a kick, but that's pretty obvious). The reason being that low freq notes are closer to eachother compared to the rest of the spectrum. One thing to keep in mind though is how steep the curve is and how close to the fundamental it is. Less steep and further away from the fundamental, means less audible change. Shelfing on the other hand can lead to mud if there's something still down there, like the low freqs of a cymbal or a piano. Another thing I wanted to add is that sometimes removing the fundamental of a tonal instro is actually genius, since our ears automatically believe it's there, providing you with more headroom and space for a propper bass for example. Don't be too greedy though!
I have tried high passing kicks and 808 below 30 hz, it results in more punch with less mud or rumblle, even the 30hz-20k filter on drum busses and master
#3 it totally depends on the source and what the purpose of that sound is. A lot of synths benefit from high passing because people use presets and base their own sounds on presets… and presets are often designed to sound full and impressive on their own, without anything you’d have in a mix like bass or drums. Use your ears! Don’t replace dogma “always highpass” with dogma “always low shelf.” Just use your ears, every sound is different every track is different. Don’t “always” do anything. One other thing to think about, can you have less sounds happening which each retain fuller spectra, rather than cut frequencies on a bunch of stuff? The less sounds you have the less overlapping mud you’ll have. Mixing actually starts in arrangement. Also Stock plugins are fine but seriously you can’t beat character EQ & compression in many cases, for getting certain vibes, and stock plugins are almost never character plugins. Character plugins would be for example, EQs or compressors that add harmonic distortion or other more analog-sounding side-effects. Where your goal is reproducing the imperfections which cause analog recording gear to sound wonderful in a characteristically smooth silky or chunky way, rather than to do the most accurate possible job of transparently EQing or compressing/limiting.
Thanks max. Dope video. And meeting you at the beat makers summit changed the way I make music for the better. Thanks for introducing me to Splice back then!
I started as a game developer in audio and didn’t know any of this kind of stuff just starting out. Great advice here! All the stuff in this video can apply to making sound effects too!
What gets me about the "every hour" thing... everyone produces differently, to a degree. Personally, when I'm honed into a project... I'm in the "zone". In my perspective... there is nothing else in the world BUT my project. I have no outside interaction, no influences, I am ONE with the project. This definitely does impact my mixes negatively... but I have no control once I've taken that one single step into this audio dimension. Eventually something breaks the focus and I look at the time... try to remember anything I was supposed to be doing.... go outside, smoke, listen to my latest mixes through the cell phone.... seeing what my muse has been up to in my DAW. Once she has taken the wheel though... the muse is in control... not me. Space/Time has no sanctuary in her ether, while I'm just a passer-by. Which can be very exciting once you return to this physical realm. And hear your tracks... quite a few times... I have to second guess myself... try to figure out why, how, what... "surely I didn't make this, right? o_O WOW?!?!?! I wonder what the world would think once this thing touches them... " And because of this phenomenon... I rarely get up... and sit back down to jump back into a previous project. Once up... and I sit back down... there's already a different energy and place in the universe our planetary body has traversed to. Nothing in this world is ever truly a constant. Everything moves continuously... if your art doesn't... how can it be true art? It can't... it's simply a hologram of someone else and you're just a parasite, not a musician. But like I said, everyone produces differently, to a certain extent.
@@commonsense5188 I haven't. I tried at first but my ref track was so much louder than my mix it was hard to compare and I didnt know if it was a good idea to make it that loud yet
@@atypikul1426 A lot of mix engineers will actually mix INTO a limiter or pseudo master chain. I would suggest looking into mixing into a limiter so you can use references tracks more efficiently and just removing the limiter before sending it off to be mastered if you end doing that. Also TH-cam how to use reference tracks correctly.
My acoustics in my room is SO bad and I have to use that I got. Perfectly square room and a awkward ceiling. I just can’t afford anything. So I’m making due with that I got. Thank good for good headphones.
Very helpful video. One observation and a suggestion. When you are looking at your screen, you seem to be looking way up from your sitting position (almost to the ceiling). That can't be good on your neck and eyes! I would highly recommend dropping your screen but at least 2 feet so that it is more at eye level. I think you will find that is much more comfortable.
I’m a Live user as well I use Stock Audio Effects 🔥 but Stock Instruments I don’t not because Ableton Live Sounds/Instruments are not good they’re good but they take too much CPU and Memory soo that’s a Red flag for me my system is decent 16GB Ram intel i5 5th generation but is not enough for Ableton Live Stock Instruments 🙃
When showing the example of drum buss use on your bass it doesnt look like you are compensating for the volume gain so the comparison would not be accurate. Volume gain will always sound stronger.
Great question. No, room acoustics dont affect headphone frequency response. But there might be other stuff in your room that could affect your listening environment even if you're using headphones. For example, my loud-ass air conditioner which I have to turn off whenever I'm mixing
Hello! Thank you for the video. At the same time I started listening to PETER GABRIEL - "Digging In The Dirt" (Instrumental) and watching this video. Put on playback, you will be pleasantly surprised. Have you tried rap? :-)
“Don’t listen in solo, context matters” “High pass in solo, no context” …. Globally saying don’t high pass without nuance is reckless for a big company to put out as official mixing tips. Depending on what the instrument is and the rest of the mix you may indeed need to cut that high. Keyboards, like this example, in modern dense and bassy mixes are notorious for taking up low end. You may not need any of its sub-fundamental “character” and may need to indeed cut that high depending on the role of the part within the context of the arrangement. If that was an rnb song with a slower tempo where the keys were a bigger part then yes that much filtering would more likely damage the sound if it needed to sound warm or needed to be louder. Very reckless to not explain this (same problem with people who say high pass everything lol)
It's funny like a few years ago you would have been cancled for not EQing everything below the fundamental - now everybody's telling you not to do it. I guess the Pros didn't even start doing it in the first place lmao
There are a lot of products out there both hardware and software called SOLO. Can't you be more specific about which SOLO product you are talking about?
@@jamesbtex58 Good question, I wasnt talking about a specific product called "solo". I meant the "solo" function in ableton, which allows you to listen to one track at a time without having to mute each other channel individually. It's the button with a little S on it next to the yellow box with the track number in it!
1. don't listen to youtube producers 2. don't cut the lowend of anything otherwise your song will sound thin, harsh and shit 3. don't care about vu meters
What's one other mixing tip you wish you knew earlier?
Kick boost and bass cut, Really makes the kick audible and punchy in the mix.
Layer foley with percussion
For most vst sounds / drum sounds you don’t need a compressor, it’s mostly for vocals and real guitar. (saturation is a different story though)
Soft Clipping, especially stage by stage from individual tracks to busses/sub-groups.
Fix everything in audio before using any effects.
The end is 10/10
truly timeless tips - many stock plugins are HIGHLY underrated!
For tip 3, I prefer changing the octave db slope to 12 or 24 on a high pass filter which does the same thing. It just cuts the bass rumble out exactly where you want.
That's nifty
All tips are good, except tip 3. High-passing unneeded lows is predominantly good (unless they're crucial, like sub or a kick, but that's pretty obvious). The reason being that low freq notes are closer to eachother compared to the rest of the spectrum. One thing to keep in mind though is how steep the curve is and how close to the fundamental it is. Less steep and further away from the fundamental, means less audible change. Shelfing on the other hand can lead to mud if there's something still down there, like the low freqs of a cymbal or a piano. Another thing I wanted to add is that sometimes removing the fundamental of a tonal instro is actually genius, since our ears automatically believe it's there, providing you with more headroom and space for a propper bass for example. Don't be too greedy though!
Agree on that one .
Yup
That's true, HPF can sometimes be a necessary tool. I basically just meant don't use it on every single sound
I have tried high passing kicks and 808 below 30 hz, it results in more punch with less mud or rumblle, even the 30hz-20k filter on drum busses and master
@@AlasMusic-in Yh bro, spectral eqs don't always show you the information you can't here.
'get up and go touch grass"... Got it... rolls up...🔥🔥
Yea u get me
#3 it totally depends on the source and what the purpose of that sound is. A lot of synths benefit from high passing because people use presets and base their own sounds on presets… and presets are often designed to sound full and impressive on their own, without anything you’d have in a mix like bass or drums. Use your ears! Don’t replace dogma “always highpass” with dogma “always low shelf.” Just use your ears, every sound is different every track is different. Don’t “always” do anything. One other thing to think about, can you have less sounds happening which each retain fuller spectra, rather than cut frequencies on a bunch of stuff? The less sounds you have the less overlapping mud you’ll have. Mixing actually starts in arrangement.
Also
Stock plugins are fine but seriously you can’t beat character EQ & compression in many cases, for getting certain vibes, and stock plugins are almost never character plugins. Character plugins would be for example, EQs or compressors that add harmonic distortion or other more analog-sounding side-effects. Where your goal is reproducing the imperfections which cause analog recording gear to sound wonderful in a characteristically smooth silky or chunky way, rather than to do the most accurate possible job of transparently EQing or compressing/limiting.
Thanks max. Dope video. And meeting you at the beat makers summit changed the way I make music for the better. Thanks for introducing me to Splice back then!
Hey thanks so much for this my friend glad you enjoyed the video and was a pleasure meeting you as well :)
These are things I NEEDED to hear.
Reason does have some super fkn sick stock plug-ins 🔥
ily Splice
put some bass traps in the corners of your room, looks like there's enough space. that should help with the low end build up
unfortunately it doesn't fit with where the door is... still working on solutions. ur totally right though
I started as a game developer in audio and didn’t know any of this kind of stuff just starting out. Great advice here! All the stuff in this video can apply to making sound effects too!
Where can I learn about sound design and effects?
Some very helpful tips for an upcoming artist getting into muzak
Sampling that Kiss of life bass
I absolutely loved this video!
Omg this video is so lit!
Gems!
Yo, thank you so much for these!
Dope tip. Fux with this video
Ableton stock plugins 🔥
What gets me about the "every hour" thing... everyone produces differently, to a degree. Personally, when I'm honed into a project... I'm in the "zone". In my perspective... there is nothing else in the world BUT my project. I have no outside interaction, no influences, I am ONE with the project. This definitely does impact my mixes negatively... but I have no control once I've taken that one single step into this audio dimension. Eventually something breaks the focus and I look at the time... try to remember anything I was supposed to be doing.... go outside, smoke, listen to my latest mixes through the cell phone.... seeing what my muse has been up to in my DAW. Once she has taken the wheel though... the muse is in control... not me. Space/Time has no sanctuary in her ether, while I'm just a passer-by. Which can be very exciting once you return to this physical realm. And hear your tracks... quite a few times... I have to second guess myself... try to figure out why, how, what... "surely I didn't make this, right? o_O WOW?!?!?! I wonder what the world would think once this thing touches them... "
And because of this phenomenon... I rarely get up... and sit back down to jump back into a previous project. Once up... and I sit back down... there's already a different energy and place in the universe our planetary body has traversed to. Nothing in this world is ever truly a constant. Everything moves continuously... if your art doesn't... how can it be true art? It can't... it's simply a hologram of someone else and you're just a parasite, not a musician.
But like I said, everyone produces differently, to a certain extent.
For tip no 3 why not just use your ears dammit!!😎
Fire 🔥🔥🔥🌠🌠🌠🌈🌈🌈
THANK YOU 🌊🌊🌊
Man i really needed this. Im having one HELL of a time trying to get the right vocal mix on the mixtape im recording
Are you also using reference tracks while mixing?
@@commonsense5188 I haven't. I tried at first but my ref track was so much louder than my mix it was hard to compare and I didnt know if it was a good idea to make it that loud yet
@@atypikul1426 A lot of mix engineers will actually mix INTO a limiter or pseudo master chain. I would suggest looking into mixing into a limiter so you can use references tracks more efficiently and just removing the limiter before sending it off to be mastered if you end doing that. Also TH-cam how to use reference tracks correctly.
@@commonsense5188 thank you bro I really appreciate it
@@commonsense5188 hey man when you say mix into a limiter you mean on the master track right?
All wise stuff ❤
would be nice to see the SoundID Reference room measurements before and after acoustic treatment
Ah good point i forgot to measure it before though. will remember this for next time
My acoustics in my room is SO bad and I have to use that I got. Perfectly square room and a awkward ceiling. I just can’t afford anything. So I’m making due with that I got. Thank good for good headphones.
it's nice that a business that sells third-party plugins doesn't encourage their customers to spend money for quality
Wicked tips
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great video! Thank you guys!
Man that 130 hz is a major issue for my room.
Nice one
🖤
I want to know where you got those plants on the wall behind you?
Nice vid
best af
For drum bus you process all the beats with a comp or just the low end
Sometimes I use the comp, sometimes dont. Basically i click the comp button and if it sounds good I use it, if it doesnt I leave it off
Can you put the tracks' link? I loved it
Thanks Marwan, It's not out yet but dropping sept 8th, I'll post it here after
Try to see soft design , composing and setuping as three seperate tNice tutorialngs to focus on and it might will make more sense
From where are these grass panels on the back wall? :)
not a sponsor but hey ShopWildthings if you're reading this... can i have some more wall panels
Very helpful video. One observation and a suggestion. When you are looking at your screen, you seem to be looking way up from your sitting position (almost to the ceiling). That can't be good on your neck and eyes! I would highly recommend dropping your screen but at least 2 feet so that it is more at eye level. I think you will find that is much more comfortable.
Thanks James this is a good idea
I would add smoke less weed and microdose shrooms more often ;)
I agree with half of this statement
🙋🏻♂️🇲🇽
I’m a Live user as well I use Stock Audio Effects 🔥 but Stock Instruments I don’t not because Ableton Live Sounds/Instruments are not good they’re good but they take too much CPU and Memory soo that’s a Red flag for me my system is decent 16GB Ram intel i5 5th generation but is not enough for Ableton Live Stock Instruments 🙃
When showing the example of drum buss use on your bass it doesnt look like you are compensating for the volume gain so the comparison would not be accurate. Volume gain will always sound stronger.
For the first tip, would in-ear headphones or monitors really be affected by room acoustics in your environment? That sounds crazy to me
Great question. No, room acoustics dont affect headphone frequency response. But there might be other stuff in your room that could affect your listening environment even if you're using headphones. For example, my loud-ass air conditioner which I have to turn off whenever I'm mixing
@@maxneparewak Makes sense, thank you!
Thank you so much for saying don't hi-pass everything. Toxic producer tips on TikTok are telling everyone to hipass everything and it's idiotic.
Hi pass is your friend, I couldn’t do a mix without it..... only the bass and kick needs low end in a mix
Hello! Thank you for the video. At the same time I started listening to PETER GABRIEL - "Digging In The Dirt" (Instrumental) and watching this video. Put on playback, you will be pleasantly surprised. Have you tried rap? :-)
Lmao no i have not but I do love peter gabriel
WHO STUDIO VOCALS IS IT I COULD USE THEM
whats the name of the song hes making
What about Grovebox software
Its pretty good not my fav ever but use it once in a while
12:18 I know what you’re trying to say 😉😅
“Don’t listen in solo, context matters”
“High pass in solo, no context”
…. Globally saying don’t high pass without nuance is reckless for a big company to put out as official mixing tips. Depending on what the instrument is and the rest of the mix you may indeed need to cut that high. Keyboards, like this example, in modern dense and bassy mixes are notorious for taking up low end. You may not need any of its sub-fundamental “character” and may need to indeed cut that high depending on the role of the part within the context of the arrangement. If that was an rnb song with a slower tempo where the keys were a bigger part then yes that much filtering would more likely damage the sound if it needed to sound warm or needed to be louder.
Very reckless to not explain this (same problem with people who say high pass everything lol)
Agree, maybe I wasnt clear enough about this. HPF is useful and sometimes necessary, I didn't mean to imply that you should never HPF
Hi pass is good as long as you dont set the cut-off freq. Too high as you did ;)
It's funny like a few years ago you would have been cancled for not EQing everything below the fundamental - now everybody's telling you not to do it. I guess the Pros didn't even start doing it in the first place lmao
From what ive seen, the "pros" don't have rules they just do what is best for the song. We could all learn from that idea Imo
There are a lot of products out there both hardware and software called SOLO. Can't you be more specific about which SOLO product you are talking about?
he's talking about the track in solo
You are joking ain’t ya ?
@@prodbydramatic still not sure what you mean? I’m new to Ableton. He made it sound like it was a plug-in called solo
@@jamesbtex58 Good question, I wasnt talking about a specific product called "solo". I meant the "solo" function in ableton, which allows you to listen to one track at a time without having to mute each other channel individually. It's the button with a little S on it next to the yellow box with the track number in it!
1. don't listen to youtube producers
2. don't cut the lowend of anything otherwise your song will sound thin, harsh and shit
3. don't care about vu meters
Does every daw has a drum bus
Yes you make one by routing your drums to a track then processing them together.
only ableton has the specific effect that I was talking about, called "drum buss". but you can do pretty much everything that effect does in any DAW
Tip 7 : don't overuse Drum Buss
respectfully disagree 😅
@@maxneparewak I’m new to all this ,,please explain why ? What’s your take on it ? Very interested to hear your opinion. Thanks.
First learn youtself before giving tips. Not so useful new trick. They are the same points 100 other youtube producers talk about.
you don't understand filtering well body