Today I’ll be answering one of the most frequently asked questions by most musicians, which is; should you mix your own music?I believe that since you’re the one who knows exactly what the final mix and master should sound like then you’re the best person for the job. This way you’ll get the music to … Read more
One of the blog readers asked if I have a go-to distortion plugin for mixing bass.So, in today’s post, I want to share a list of some of my favorite bass distortion plugins.Using distortion on a bass sound will help it to cut through the mix.Distortion adds rich harmonics that will help the bass to … Read more
You bought the beat, it came as a single loud WAV, and now you are trying to fit your vocal on top of it. The problem is obvious the moment you hit play. The beat is already slammed to commercial loudness, there is no headroom left, and your vocal either sits buried behind it or … Read more
Your rap vocal is all over the place. One bar it disappears under the beat, the next it jumps out and clips. You need it locked in, upfront, and aggressive on every single word. Compression is what does that, but the compressor you choose matters as much as the settings. A slow, smooth unit will … Read more
You finish balancing the kit. The kick lands. The snare cracks. Then you reach for the pan knobs and freeze. The kick is obviously center. But what about the snare? The hats? The toms? Should the overheads spread hard left and right or sit narrower? And what about the drum bus itself, mono or stereo? … Read more
The best places to download free multitracks for mixing practice, including libraries covering rock, hip-hop, folk, gospel, and live sessions. Also covers how to get maximum value from each practice session.
You recorded the vocal, dropped it in the mix, and it just sits there, sounding small. Thin. A little brittle. Next to a thick, warm reference track, it feels like a demo, like the singer is two rooms away from a great microphone. So you reach for a low-mid boost, then a chorus, then a … Read more
You read that saturation is the secret weapon of modern drum mixes. You open a forum thread. Six different people recommend six different plugins, and every one is “the best.” You demo three of them. They all sound vaguely warm. You cannot tell which one is right for your kick, your snare, or your drum … Read more
Mixing music is not as hard as it seems, but the speed of improvement depends on how you practice. This post covers how to learn, how long it takes, and what separates engineers who improve fast from those who plateau.
You spent an afternoon stacking harmonies. Thirds, fifths, a high part on the chorus, the works. In your head it was going to sound like a choir wrapping around the lead. Instead, the mix turned into a cluttered mush. You can hear every singer as a separate, slightly out-of-tune person, the midrange is a swamp, … Read more