Apr 28, 2015

I think for starters everyone should know about parallel compression, ie new york compression. Works great on drums also works good on vocals to make them tighter..


Parallel processing is a mixing technique where you duplicate audio signal, add processing (such as compression) to the other signal and leave the other signal non-processed (dry), mix them together and send them to the master out. This technique is particulary useful with drum compression as with it you can apply heavy compression to the drums while retaining their original dynamics.

The thing is , before learning about mixing you need the proper tools . You need at least a decent pairs of studio monitors . You should spend at least 400$ for decent monitors . I recommend the yamaha hs50m , they will lack a bit in the low end so if you can afford it get the hs80m , otherwise you can upgrade with a subwoofer later on . Also need a good external sound card , i recommend the roland quad capture , this one is very dope but if you cant afford it the scarlett 2i2 is the best one you can get for this price range .

You will also need good studio headphone . The reason why you need studio monitors is because of the flat responce . If you can make a track sound good on your monitors most of the time it will sound good on any other device wich is why you need studio monitors for the accurate sound . Its not recommend to mix with headphone only but its good to have some to use it a reference see how it sound on it . An other very important thing is to work with high quality sound only . Using the right set of monitors with high quality sound and you can make some pretty decent stuff witthout to much adjustment .

As far as mixing tips , i eq some of my instruments and cut the low end before 100-200 hz to open the mix for my other low end like the kick , bass line , 808 etc . You should learn about the frenquencies to know what frenquencies do what and after that mess around with your eq and try to cut some of the frenquencies and boost some see if you able to make a sound sound better . I also like to use compression on my drums and bass to give them more presence . Learning about compression is def a good thing . I recommend to not use compression on your instruments but on drum and bass only . Using reverb on some of your instruments can also help you beats sound fuller but sometime little bit of reverb can do the job . Trying to put to much reverb on your instruments might just mess things up . Learning about dymamis is also a good thing to so i suggest to check some tutorial about it . Also learning about imager vst can help your sound a lot .

That pretty much the tools that i use for mixing , eq , compression , reverb and dymamics and imaging . The complete bundle got some very good mixing tools so i def recommend to check that out and you will have over 120 g of dope sounds and plugins , Its a standard to have in the music industry today imo . An other thing that is very important in mixing is room treatment . Having good monitors and poor room treatment is useless sometime cause your room gonna give you a sound that is not totally accurate so its gonna sound good on your studio but will sound different on other device so i def recommend to learn about room treatment .

Once you got good mixing skills then you can cop the izotope ozone plugin witch is very good for mastering but before using this plugin you have to be sure your mix is decent cause using this plugin over a track that is not mixed properly might just mess things up even more . Izotope ozone take some time to learn but once you know how to use it this plugin can really do wonder and help the overall sound quality of your tracks .

In the end its all about the tools you use for mixing and to know how to use it cause trying to mix a track without having the right tools will most of the time do more damage on your tracks . If you dont have the money for these tools then leave the job to a professional and your tracks will sound very good . Mixing take years to master so be patient . I forgot to say that checking for some tutorial for training your ears can help you a lot so check that out also . Your ears are very important when it come to mixing so training them might help you a lot .

Also check this article I found with some mastering tips
http://askaudiomag.com/articles/10-essential-mixing-tips-for-fl-studio-users


Add your thoughts/knowledge to help this thread expand..
I hope it will help some people starting now..

 

Apr 28, 2015

couldn't read OP, gave me a headache

 

Apr 30, 2015

I feel bad since i've been producing for close to two years now and I still have no idea what compression is

reminded me I still need monitors. been trying to get them for a year but i'm a poor little b----. right now I do everything with skull candy in-ear earbuds

 

Apr 30, 2015

I've been making instrumentals for going on 10 years... and the mixing was always a huge problem for me. I've gotten the hang of it for the most part though, good read.

 

Apr 30, 2015

Μixing is always a problem for me
mostly cause Im too lazy to search for more and get it better..

 

Apr 30, 2015

Yea, in part that was my problem too. I asked some friends if they would mix some stuff for me, but they wanted to charge me..which I can understand I guess. Then I learned on my own recently...it's a pain in the a---, if you have a big project..which is why I stick to 4 track EP's..and if I'm working on an instrumental LP..it has no more than 10-12 tracks. Plus, I like quality over quantity.

 

Apr 30, 2015

Thats the best imo, I mean its music it cant sound trashy or whatever. Thats why Im not releasing many instrumentals
the most of them I keep em for myself to rap over and I give a few to friends..
I just need to give them the right time first to be as good as possible..
And the fact that I dont have professional equipment makes it harder as you know..

 

Apr 30, 2015

I def. agree.. I started out just making them for myself, because I felt like I wasn't good enough..then i got the nerve to post them online, and etc. I have hundreds of cd-r's of old beats that i done in 2005-2011. Those will never be heard though, I'd like to get an MPC before I stop completely.

 

Apr 30, 2015

Interesting. Thanks for that, OP.

 

Apr 30, 2015

I guess I have a lot more work to do considering its been 5 years doing this more serious than before...
Also yeah an MPC is on my wishlist for very long now.. I hope the day will come