One harsh “s” can pull a listener right out of an otherwise beautiful vocal. You have EQ’d it, compressed it, added air, and now the sibilance is sharper than ever, hissing on every chorus. A good de-esser fixes that in seconds, but a bad one leaves the singer sounding like they have a lisp. The … Read more
You print the vocal, drop a reverb on the send, and reach for a preset called something like “Lush Vocal Hall.” It sounds gorgeous in solo. Then you unmute the track, and the vocal slides three feet behind the snare, the words turn into mush, and the whole mix goes foggy. So you pull the … Read more
You have a vocal that turns into an ice pick on every loud note. Or a fizzy electric guitar, or cymbals that stab through the mix and never sit right. So you reach for a static EQ cut, but it dulls the whole track, because the harshness only shows up on certain notes. Notch it … Read more
You loaded up the Waves CLA bundle, and now you are staring at three compressors that all promise the same Chris Lord-Alge magic. CLA-2A, CLA-3A, CLA-76. They look similar, they are named almost identically, and nothing on the interface tells you which one belongs on your vocal versus your drum bus. So you pick one … Read more
You wanted a bigger low end, so you grabbed a clean digital EQ and boosted 80 Hz. The bass got louder, sure, but it also got muddy and boomy, and now it is fighting the kick for the same blurry space at the bottom of the mix. You try cutting some mud back out, and … Read more
Every aspiring audio engineer needs to build a bookshelf. Just like how a story without pictures is a sad one, the same can be said about audio engineering. What you need to get started is not just the software but also the techniques and inspiration from others who have done it before you. Even if … Read more
Your mix is balanced and clean, but it still sounds like a folder of separate tracks instead of one finished record. You know a bus compressor is the tool that fixes this. The problem is that every forum thread, every YouTube video, and every plugin sale points you at a different one, and they range … 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
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 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