Mixing down your tracks

[RandomGuy]

Some ppl forget the importance of a well mixed track - a bad mixdown can make a good tune sound weak (but a good mixdown cant polish a turd tho )

so here is a quick n dirty guide to mixing down your track....

1. Set master fader to 0db, do not change this at all

2. Set all channel faders to silent

3. Starting with the kick and snare, raise the volume to a good audible level

4. Bring in the other drum parts

5. Fade in the bass channel(s) to a good level

6. The next stage is to EQ and or PAN the various instruments to separate the sounds so that they can all be heard and no sounds gel or become too muddy

7. Soloing the bass and kick drum parts, work out where in the frequency range you would like the kick and bass sit in comparison to each other.

8. Sweep the bass EQ with a maximum gain, narrow bandwidth Q/resonance to find the point at which the frequencies overlap - then reduce the gain at this frequency point with a wider q to balance out the frequency range of this instrument. This should help the kick drum to sit better in the mix and it should not blend or become as muddy in comparison to the bass. This sweeping technique can be done as many times as required to find harmonic peaks. Reduce eq gain in these ranges to balance the sound.

9. Bring in the other instruments one at a time to a good volume level. EQ and PAN as before to separate the sounds. Remember to cut rather than boost the EQ for a more natural sound. Boost EQ for a specific type of effect rather than for the mastering stage

10. when all instruments have been roughly mixed, solo all drum / bass parts and consider adding compression to various elements, if you think this is required. Bass will usually require some compression in order to increase and balance the volume of the different notes.

11. Send all drum parts to a single drum bus track. In this way an overall drum track EQ and compressor can be added to help gel the elements and balance the volume and dynamic range

12. Do the same for multiple bass channels (place in a single bus)

13. Compress other channels if necessary.

14. Use PAN and EQ to separate instruments such as guitars, strings and vocals, especially if these instruments share frequency ranges and sound muddy or overly blend together

15. If the overall volume level is too low, select all faders, right click and choose link channels and raise them so the peak is near but not over 0db on the master fader. This will keep all levels proportionate to each other, so you won’t have to re-balance everything

16. Mix down to a high quality .wav stereo, 24 bit, 44,000khz file (minimum).

17. Bring this file into a separate cubase file

18. Reset master fader to 0db as before

19. While not essential but helps... Add a good mastering EQ, multiband compressor and volume limiter/maximizer to balance and increase the overall sound to a polished, commercial level. A tool such as Ozone features all 3 of these tools. Alternatively use individual insert effects like the waves mastering plugins if you have access to stuff like that.

20. Finally render/save to a high quality wav file.

hope this helps

[montydj]

Someone make this a sticky and lock it this is very good info,but i do think there only joking tho thanks...Monty...

[chad73]

i can't speak for everyone but back in the good old days....i really didn't give a pig s**t about how good a dj's mixing was, i was on planet zonk for gods sake, it was all about the music, not ''oh he didnt mix that tune into that tune very well did he?'' and all that bollox, i thort that was wot house music was about, or am i out of touch?? maybe its this winging generation we have now, where back then, everyone seemed to just enjoy themselves...which wot it should be about. there you go, ive had my winge

[Buzz]

you would like my style then Chad, haha

[Presuming Ed]

It's more about mixing a track down from a production point of view this chad..but i do agree that the tunes should always do the talking with a dj, with the mixing being a secondary factor

[montydj]

:d:d:d:d:d:d:d:d

[Ste Davies]

Very helpful, thanks

[DJFINK]

this is really good info and has helped me loads nice 1random guy u are a star

[RandomGuy]

glad its been useful to you m8

[jamesinkent]

cheers m8 helpful pointers im a bit new to mixing on decks

[RandomGuy]

Originally Posted by jamesinkent

cheers m8 helpful pointers im a bit new to mixing on decks

this has nothing to do with mixing on decks.

see what happens when you smoke skunk and surf the web at the same time

[DJFINK]

LMAO!!!! @ random guy

[Damage Inc.]

nice lil tips there random!
oh,how i wish i had more time!

[DJ ABSOLUTE]

I agree with everything you say there randomguy.

I personally do it slightly different than than, but the basic principles i use are exactly the same....

I produce several different styles of music from pop (I'm producing tracks for Natasha Hamilton's new album) to scouse (donk like the 2 tracks i've just had on the new Hard Energy album from ministry) i'm also working with Soraya and Jason from Riff's n Rays on some funky house and i've got some original hardcore tracks on the go too.....

so i think it's worth pointing out that different styles require different methods....although the principles you laid out are all the same....the order you do them in can change, depending on your "Dominant Sound" ( eg....hardcore or trance, donk and most club based dance music the kick drum is dominant so should be level'd 1st as you described.......in pop music, the vocal is the dominant sound so they should be level'd 1st)

the best tip i can offer is when you have finished your track......listen to a track that you consider similar to yours (but make sure it's a tune from a reputable producer ) and listen to how loud they have certain sounds.......play the track very very quiet. see which sounds stand out, and which are in the background.......background sounds only appear as you turn the volume up......your mixdown should work the same way.

remember.....my tips are meant to enhance the technique's that randomguy has already laid out.......not replace them as they are the basic fundamentals which must be followed if you want your production to sound professional.

Rave Safe .!!

Mike.