Mixing and Mastering Like a Pro

For those of us that can't afford a big mixing console, there are channel strip plugins. There are many companies and types of channel strip plugins that are on the market. In this video I show you my go-to channel strip, the UAD SSL E Channel Strip.

This is an emulation of a console that I personally like the sound that it creates. There is a certain character to the audio just running through this plugin. Take a look as I work on some vocals by Hugo Monster.

Vocals are very dynamic and sometimes you need to keep them even and under control in the mix. This technique shows you how to use 2 different compressor plugins to limit and compress the vocal right into the pocket of the mix. It's not too complex, but it is very effective for evening out the dynamics of a vocal track. I would suggest that you only use this technique when it is necessary. Sometimes the dynamic performance is what makes the track. Use your best judgement on when to use this approach to control your vocal tracks.

Need a little help with the placement of your vocals? This video is a short and sweet way to get your vocals to sit in a new place in the mix. It doesn't take much and usually works in most mixes.

Create some dynamic power by using different reverbs on different parts of a mix. This can give you more emotion and flow to a mix.

Adding a Side-Chain compressor to your Reverb bus can improve the clarity of your audio and mix. This video tutorial covers how to set up the stock compressor in Pro Tools and set it so that the vocal audio triggers when the compression happens on the Reverb bus. This is a simple technique that will really tighten up your mix.

Put the right amount of shine on your vocal tracks. This is a technique that I use on a regular basis and it has been getting praise from my clients for years. It's not too complicated and once you see what I'm doing, you'll be able to make adjustments and get your mixes to have that professional shine.

Adding some grit or fuzz to a vocal can give it more power and punch in a heavy mix. When you need a boost, distortion could be the answer. This a very simple technique that I'll walk you through. All you need is some sort of distortion plugin. There are so many and once you find one that works, this may become a staple of your workflow.

When you want to have manual control over your delay, there is one way to approach it. Here I show you how to create a delay from the original audio and place it in the mix. This will allow you to apply different plugins and automation without adjusting your main vocal track.

Now this course title may have you thinking we're actually going to add some "non-human vocals" and that's not the case. The idea in this video is to adjust the vocal track so that it can actually sound more than just it's core human tone. We can do this with some simple EQ and delays. Here you'll learn to insert plugins directly on your track to control the wet/dry balance and get vocals that rise above your mix. Then we'll look at adding some delay and adjusting the feedback levels to get long decay times that hold the sustain of the vocal. This will inevitably give us vocals that soar up and away from the mix. This video course is for more advanced engineers, so if you don't quite grasp the concept please send me your questions and I'll help you out.

If you record live drums, you're going to have some bleed on the mics. Gates are a great way to narrow the focus of the track down to the main instrument that the mic was place in front of during recording. You don't need to remove all the sound from the track, but you should tighten the focus so it is easier to mix the track into the song. No need to get the gate as tight as possible. In fact, you should use the bleed to your advantage and help it fill out the body of your mix.

In this video, I'll show you how to use the stock Pro Tools gate to get a tighter grip on the mixing ability you possess.

Getting a kick to sound good in a club setting is important. If there is too much low end information in your mix, the kick will be too boomy and muddy. This can cause your mix to sound gross and get rejected from clubs. Here is a technique that I use on a regular basis when mixing a track to be played in the clubs.

Bass guitar is a big part of a mix. It provides a foundation for the rhythm of the song. It's the sound that gets the hips in motion. Keeping it clean and punchy can sometimes be a daunting task. Here's a technique I like to use on my mixes when I'm looking to keep the mix tight and give it some power in the low end.

Getting a wider bass in your mix is not always easy. I've come up with a solution to get a bass that sits back in the mix and still gives you a bigger sound that makes the low end fatter without stepping on the other tracks. This is a mix that I'm currently working on, so the reference isn't the best, but it is a good example of how to listen to a bass track while you're mixing. The process of hearing the difference that this technique makes in the mix is important to grasp.

Adding distortion to your bass tracks at key points in a mix can give you that extra tone that is needed. This is a very simple and short video on how to start thinking about a new way of crafting your sound.

Tracking drums is never an easy task. When it comes to mixing, the kick drum can sometimes get washed out and loose the body and punch. Setting up your signal chain to get that sound back into your mix can really put some definition back into your kick drum. Here we'll go over the way that I like to set up my signal chain and shape my kick drums with EQ, Compression, and Expanders. This isn't a very complex process, but doing it right can make a big difference in how the sound comes out in the final mix. 

Get control over your toms in the mix. Learn how to route them for uniform compression and EQ. Control the dynamics and remove the proximity effect caused by mic placement.

Synth motion can give your music some new life and create new interesting textures. This is a technique that I use on a regular basis to keep my synth motion in time with the tempo of the song and still have some creative flow. Once you see how I'm setting up this technique, you will be able to use it on virtually any sound that you want that needs some more detail in the mix. 

Sometimes it's fun to add an effect to another effect. It's just another layer of sound that you can use to craft the right balance for your mix. The order of your effects really does make a difference in the texture of a mix. This is just one idea for adding another layer to a drum track. You can always apply this technique to any track and get something new out of your mixes. 

Midi tracks can be hard to edit if you're not familiar with them. This video shows you how to take your Midi tracks and turn them into audio tracks through a stem process. I'm hoping at some point soon that Avid will make a key command feature to just render Midi tracks into audio files in and instant. However, this technique shows you how to add your effects and have more manual control over how the audio files are created. This may not be something new for many students, but by adding effects to the stems, you can create your own textures and that is what will set your mixes apart from the stock sounds that seem to be in every mix these days.

A little bit of delay can really glue your synth or keys into a mix. By sending them to an aux track, you can control the blend and tone of the delay and help it sit right where you want it in the mix. This is a short video and the concept is quite simple.

There are many ways to use and incorporate samples into a mix. You can download samples from a website or you can create your own samples. Let's look at a few ways that this can be done.

Getting guitars to play nice can be a challenge. Here are some tips and ideas that I like to use when I start working on guitars in a mix. This is a heavy metal band that has some double tracked guitars that need some filters and a little bit of effects to help them sit in the spot I want them in the mix.

Artist: Fortress United

Setting up your DAW can give you more flexibility with your mix. You have lots of internal routing to give yourself more control over your mix. Using the internal routing will allow you to make some global changes to your mix with ease. This is an instructional video that discusses the benefits of using sub-groups to take control of the mix. Not a lot of demonstration in this video, but more verbal information to get you in the right mindset for improving the layers and textures that you can put into your mixes.

Some mixes can get a bit out of control with fader levels. It can be a good idea to print your level changes to a trim or gain plugin so that you have more flexibility as the mix progresses. I like to have the option to make minor adjustments in the final stage of a mix and it can be tough when the faders are almost all the way down or up. This video goes over the technique of adding a plugin to your tracks to print the fader levels to a plugin so that you can reset your faders to unity. Trust me, this will make a huge difference when you get further down the line with your production skills.

Adding reverb to your entire mix can give you the glue you need to pull everything together. When this is done right, you get a mix that sounds professionally polished and has more presence. This isn't a very difficult technique, but it will take some time to refine. Once you have trained your ear to dial in the right amount of reverb on your mixes, you will notice that there is an element that was always missing from your mixes before you started adding reverb to the whole mix. Trust me, this has elevated my production workflow and clients will notice the improved quality and sound of your mixes.

Growing your knowledge is the best way to keep up with trends in the industry. I want to let you know that you can always reach out to me. Here are some options for you to consider as you advance your skills in audio production. Be sure to connect with me through my site: https://shineon.studio/education

Setting up a mastering session is simple, but it's important to make sure you have the proper signal routing to monitor and process your mastering signal properly. This setup is for a Pro Tools session, but the concept should be easily translated to other DAWs.

Make sure you are storing your files properly. Always have a backup drive.

EQ is typically the first place you want to start with your mastering processing. Making sure that your tonal balance is in the spot you want it will also help in any processing that you will want to add afterwards. The stock EQ plugin is an EQ that gives you the ability to make subtle adjustments and this will make your mastering process more streamlined. You may not think that the stock plugins are good for mastering, but I'm going to make some very subtle adjustments to this mix with the stock EQ and get a result that I'm looking to achieve.

All EQ plugins are not made the same. The FabFilter Pro-Q3 is a great example of how you really only need 1 EQ plugin to do all the work for you. This is easily my favorite EQ plugin and I highly recommend that you consider adding it to your plugin toolbox.

This time we look at an EQ option that is useful in mastering. The Kush Clariphonic. A top end EQ plugin that can really help your tracks open up and shine. Typically used in mastering, but this EQ can also be a very handy tool during the mixing process. I'm going to show you how I would use this plugin during mastering.

Before we get stared with discussing compression in mastering, you should take a moment to look over this document to get familiar with the free and paid digital compressors that you can use. I also recommend some analog hardware versions that you can add when you feel that you need to go the extra step in your mastering.

You don't need a fancy compressor to master your tracks. The stock compressor in your DAW has all the features you need to get the job done. The stock compressor isn't always going to be the right choice, but it is the one you have available right now. As you grow, you can add compressors from the list that I've provided you. Here I want to show you the basics of compression in mastering so that you have a fundamental knowledge of how to compress a track for mastering.

Remember that compressors reduce  volume. Their main function is to control loud sources of audio. When you compress an audio signal, you are reducing the dynamic range.

Limiting is the last step in the audio process. It's not an extremely complicated step, but it is one of the most important. Making sure your audio has power and volume that is needed comes mostly from this last step of mastering. I'll show you a few different limiters that I like using and we'll discuss some of the things that you need to keep in mind.

Let's take a moment to look over the levels that we're getting from the processing that we're adding here in the mastering stage of this production. Meters are more than pretty lights. They show us a lot of information about our audio, so let's just refresh our perspective through a few different meters that are available on the market.