▶︎▶︎ Free 5-Step Mix Guide here: www.5stepmix.com 💾 Check out Studio One here: www.homestudiocorner.com/s1 Looking for how to make your mix sound fuller? This video will show you how.
Thank you Joe, tips like this are priceless for de-mystifying how to detect anomolies in the mix. I learn at least one new thing every time I watch your vids.
Normally I use a BUS with a pink-noise generator to level all tracks in MONO. NOTE: First I switch the master track to MONO and then I low the Master track main volume, down to -20dB, else the pink-noise may hurt your hearing and becomes very annoying. Then, I raise each track (instrument /voice) volume (soloed - one at a time) above the pink-noise threshold to then low it back to the point when that track instrument /voice volume becomes blended (almost faded away) in the pink-noise threshold and if needed I review my EQ decisions (A/B) for each track at that time. By the way, the pink-noise have that same slant dB curve along the freq spectrum (the one you are showing). Thanks for sharing. Stay safe.
I think the other warning here is the sub frequencies. If you examine other pro mixes on a spectrum meter, the sub below 30-50Hz will typically slope back down a bit, not in a perfectly diagonal line as this meter shows. A handy tool for learning can also be IZotope’s Tonal balance control, which is the same idea as Studio One’s, except you’ve got some more genre-specific curves you can look at, very educational.
Yep, IZotope’s Tonal balance control is very good, Sonible's true:level is also excellent, and there's also Reference from MTM . . . as a meter addict I have all three (and more!) I'd say true:level is the best of them all.
Finally! This NEEDS to be taught but rarely is. It's not mixing with your eyes, it's a visual representation of what you're hearing. MORE accurate than our ears, VALUABLE tool.
Great video . . . that white line for a balanced mix is simply a 3db/Oct falloff, it drops 3dB for every octave it goes up, it's basically a tidied up version of pink noise, it's useful for the mid ranges, but less useful for extreme highs and subs, where ideally at the subs this line would drop down rapidly (and not continue its upward trajectory), and similarly - but to a lesser extent - drop down a little more steeply when it gets above ~12kHz. If you want an even more accurate version of this 3dB/Oct white line guide, try Sonible's true:level.
Your chanel is a gold mine Joe, thank you for sharing these incredibly valuable knowledge! ❤ I've been a bedroom producer for 6-7 years learning nearly everything from youtube. I never liked my mixes until I started following your words. Which has been only a month. You might as well change my life. ✌️
Analyzing spectrum and waveforms together give a tons of infos about any tracks. Can tell by waveform if it's gonna be a dynamic mix or a bass oriented one or full, etc. Also spectral analyzers (the ones that shows differences in intensity like Flux:: Analyzer does) are so handy to get ideas of so many things. Waveforms can also helps a lot to understand consequences of some effects, seeing what's going after compression or clipping, even on eq. I often tell some of my students to make some bounces of small audio clips to analyse the consequences of a compressor (for exemple) and help them with visualization regarding the different parameters, like longer attack or short release how it will affect the track they're compressing.
Only 30 seconds in, but I'd like to point out that in my case, I am often 'mixing with my eyes', as I'm often recording and/or mixing late at night with my wife sleeping in one adjoining room, and my daughter sleeping in another, so I'm mixing very quietly. Of course, everything is checked at volume the next day, in my mixing position, and on a variety of other sound systems, but meters and waveform* views will get you in the general vicinity of where you want to be, more so than headphones in my experience. My room is treated, so it sounds quiet in there, and I can hear details at a very low volume, but it's by no means soundproof. I'm sure others have a similar situation, mixing in a bedroom while the rest of the family sleeps must be a common scenario. Edit - *spectral views.
Hi Joe I have a question. I want to get a nice full sound on my podcasts like you get . I have a Rode NT 1A mic, Studio One 5 , a webcam, what else do I need?
Nice video. I've learned alot of that stuff doing live sound for decades using a real time analyzer. Very handy. Oh yeah, the spectrum meter IS a really good tool as opposed to a standard RTA. I really like using mine. 👧
Great educational vid as always Joe. My way to make a mix sound full, big, loud and wide. Is by doing the static mix at pretty low volumes. If you can make it sound huge - then it will sound even bigger when turning up the speakers. Make sure to know your speakers behavior at low volumes, so that the low end for example doesn't blow up when cranking them again 😀And be careful not to ruin that big, wide mix when using EQ and Compression later on. Less is more (Not always) but often 🙂
Joe - Great vid. I've used Studio One for years and never used this plug-in. Quick question: In this instance you've identified that the bass frequencies are dominating the mix. Would you go into the master eq and fix this, or take a more surgical approach with identifying issues with bass and drums?
@@i_jetlagThanks! I probably already have it, but just haven't looked at it yet. I recently got a new computer, so no doubt I downloaded it along with the rest of their free stuff. I think I might have something similar from Isotope too. I just fell into the habit of using Nova I guess, I'll often use it for the HP filter and a bit of light compression too, so it ends up on most of my tracks at some point! 🙂
Got your videos playing on auto and I’ve noticed a theme that I see in the coding/programming and a lot other communities too: philosophies and approaches are great, but when they become dogma or hard rules, they can become more harmful than helpful. Someone not doing something that works because it doesn’t fit the philosophy is silly. And someone swearing the philosophy can fix everything can make the philosophy seem less useful than it is because they refuse to address the edge cases. Like if I don’t hear a problem, searching for one on a spectrograph is a waste of time… so that must mean spectrographs are useless right? No of course not! We humans use visuals for good reason! And in music especially, we use inconsistent and silly adjectives to describe things that can be measured and shown in other ways. If you and a friend are listening to a mix and he says it sounds “brittle,” but that word means something different to you, a spectrum is essential for you two to get on the same page. Also, I like to think that if it can’t be measured, it isn’t there. Understanding what you’re hearing and figuring out how to measure and use your other senses to grasp it is essential. Thanks for your insights, looking forward to seeing and hearing more!
▶︎▶︎ Free 5-Step Mix Guide here: www.5stepmix.com
💾 Check out Studio One here: www.homestudiocorner.com/s1
Looking for how to make your mix sound fuller? This video will show you how.
Thank you Joe, tips like this are priceless for de-mystifying how to detect anomolies in the mix. I learn at least one new thing every time I watch your vids.
Normally I use a BUS with a pink-noise generator to level all tracks in MONO.
NOTE: First I switch the master track to MONO and then I low the Master track main volume, down to -20dB, else the pink-noise may hurt your hearing and becomes very annoying.
Then, I raise each track (instrument /voice) volume (soloed - one at a time) above the pink-noise threshold to then low it back to the point when that track instrument /voice volume becomes blended (almost faded away) in the pink-noise threshold and if needed I review my EQ decisions (A/B) for each track at that time. By the way, the pink-noise have that same slant dB curve along the freq spectrum (the one you are showing). Thanks for sharing. Stay safe.
I think the other warning here is the sub frequencies. If you examine other pro mixes on a spectrum meter, the sub below 30-50Hz will typically slope back down a bit, not in a perfectly diagonal line as this meter shows. A handy tool for learning can also be IZotope’s Tonal balance control, which is the same idea as Studio One’s, except you’ve got some more genre-specific curves you can look at, very educational.
Yep, IZotope’s Tonal balance control is very good, Sonible's true:level is also excellent, and there's also Reference from MTM . . . as a meter addict I have all three (and more!) I'd say true:level is the best of them all.
Finally! This NEEDS to be taught but rarely is. It's not mixing with your eyes, it's a visual representation of what you're hearing. MORE accurate than our ears, VALUABLE tool.
How is it more accurate? Have you heard older music. Notice how much better it tends to sound.
Great video . . . that white line for a balanced mix is simply a 3db/Oct falloff, it drops 3dB for every octave it goes up, it's basically a tidied up version of pink noise, it's useful for the mid ranges, but less useful for extreme highs and subs, where ideally at the subs this line would drop down rapidly (and not continue its upward trajectory), and similarly - but to a lesser extent - drop down a little more steeply when it gets above ~12kHz.
If you want an even more accurate version of this 3dB/Oct white line guide, try Sonible's true:level.
Your chanel is a gold mine Joe, thank you for sharing these incredibly valuable knowledge! ❤
I've been a bedroom producer for 6-7 years learning nearly everything from youtube. I never liked my mixes until I started following your words. Which has been only a month. You might as well change my life. ✌️
thank you joe your videos have made my home studio production sound 🔥
This was so helpful. I love Joe’s videos.
Analyzing spectrum and waveforms together give a tons of infos about any tracks.
Can tell by waveform if it's gonna be a dynamic mix or a bass oriented one or full, etc. Also spectral analyzers (the ones that shows differences in intensity like Flux:: Analyzer does) are so handy to get ideas of so many things.
Waveforms can also helps a lot to understand consequences of some effects, seeing what's going after compression or clipping, even on eq. I often tell some of my students to make some bounces of small audio clips to analyse the consequences of a compressor (for exemple) and help them with visualization regarding the different parameters, like longer attack or short release how it will affect the track they're compressing.
Your videos are so helpful right when I need em. Thank you!
Thanks again for all your videos! So helpful!
Great vid. Thanks for
Thanks Joe👌💯
Only 30 seconds in, but I'd like to point out that in my case, I am often 'mixing with my eyes', as I'm often recording and/or mixing late at night with my wife sleeping in one adjoining room, and my daughter sleeping in another, so I'm mixing very quietly. Of course, everything is checked at volume the next day, in my mixing position, and on a variety of other sound systems, but meters and waveform* views will get you in the general vicinity of where you want to be, more so than headphones in my experience. My room is treated, so it sounds quiet in there, and I can hear details at a very low volume, but it's by no means soundproof.
I'm sure others have a similar situation, mixing in a bedroom while the rest of the family sleeps must be a common scenario.
Edit - *spectral views.
Hi Joe I have a question. I want to get a nice full sound on my podcasts like you get . I have a Rode NT 1A mic, Studio One 5 , a webcam, what else do I need?
G-string will ALWAYS get you in trouble... 😂🤣😂
Hello Q: What would be the name of the plugin are you using? Is it free? What do you think about the Voxengo SPAN plugin? Thank you for your videos 👍🏼
Nice video. I've learned alot of that stuff doing live sound for decades using a real time analyzer. Very handy. Oh yeah, the spectrum meter IS a really good tool as opposed to a standard RTA. I really like using mine. 👧
Great educational vid as always Joe. My way to make a mix sound full, big, loud and wide. Is by doing the static mix at pretty low volumes. If you can make it sound huge - then it will sound even bigger when turning up the speakers. Make sure to know your speakers behavior at low volumes, so that the low end for example doesn't blow up when cranking them again 😀And be careful not to ruin that big, wide mix when using EQ and Compression later on. Less is more (Not always) but often 🙂
Joe - Great vid. I've used Studio One for years and never used this plug-in.
Quick question: In this instance you've identified that the bass frequencies are dominating the mix. Would you go into the master eq and fix this, or take a more surgical approach with identifying issues with bass and drums?
I use Cubase…I’ll have to see if they have a spectrum meter….looks like it would be helpful. Thanks, Joe!
I use TDR Nova for this.
It's free, and one of the most useful plugins out there imo. 🙂👍
Check out their new plugin Prism. It's specifically made for such use cases.
@@i_jetlagThanks! I probably already have it, but just haven't looked at it yet. I recently got a new computer, so no doubt I downloaded it along with the rest of their free stuff. I think I might have something similar from Isotope too. I just fell into the habit of using Nova I guess, I'll often use it for the HP filter and a bit of light compression too, so it ends up on most of my tracks at some point! 🙂
Could you please show us how to get to the spectrometer? I immediately opened studio 16 and did a search and couldn't find it.
It's a plugin called Spectrum meter. Might only be in S1 Professional.
Thoughts on Voxengo SPAN anyone?
It’s always the damn G string….
hint: its always the g string. even if it isn't the g string, its the g string.
😂 so true
Got your videos playing on auto and I’ve noticed a theme that I see in the coding/programming and a lot other communities too: philosophies and approaches are great, but when they become dogma or hard rules, they can become more harmful than helpful. Someone not doing something that works because it doesn’t fit the philosophy is silly. And someone swearing the philosophy can fix everything can make the philosophy seem less useful than it is because they refuse to address the edge cases.
Like if I don’t hear a problem, searching for one on a spectrograph is a waste of time… so that must mean spectrographs are useless right? No of course not!
We humans use visuals for good reason! And in music especially, we use inconsistent and silly adjectives to describe things that can be measured and shown in other ways. If you and a friend are listening to a mix and he says it sounds “brittle,” but that word means something different to you, a spectrum is essential for you two to get on the same page.
Also, I like to think that if it can’t be measured, it isn’t there. Understanding what you’re hearing and figuring out how to measure and use your other senses to grasp it is essential.
Thanks for your insights, looking forward to seeing and hearing more!
It’s always the G string… always… on every guitar… for-eee-verrr… forrr-eee-ver.😂
It's a pink Noise guideline dude. 😊
You save my mix thank you so much Joe
It´s mostly always the G string. ;-)
So basically mix to have the same basic slope as pink noise. -3db per octave...
Sometimes space creates a full sound without being full. Just saying.
As an expierenced guitar player I will tell you a secret: its ever the g-string 😂
Four seconds into the video I was allready taking it the wrong way.
😂 that's fair
I'd adjust the slightly clickbaiting title... this is "THIS is how to check if your mix possibly doesn't sound full"... anyway...
accompany with audios and would be a great video.
I want to buy your mixing course
its always G on any guitar