14 Mixing Tips I Wish I Knew When I Started

The 14 “plateau-smashing” mixing tips that have had the biggest positive impact on the quality of my mixes (and career), allowing me to make a living from music.

Every single one of these mixing tips was a watershed moment for me that markedly “upped my game”, and unlocked a new level of possibilities. I hope you find them equally transformative!

💪 [EDM TIPS COACHING - SPOTS LIMITED]
Learn how to produce chart-topping electronic dance music and make money from it in a matter of weeks not years.

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In this tutorial, we cover…

00:00 - Overview
00:49 - Mixing Tip 1: Good Headphones
01:31 - Mixing Tip 2: Reference Tracks
03:00 - Mixing Tip 3: Mono Switch
05:04 - Mixing Tip 4: Top-Down Mixing Approach
06:15 - Mixing Tip 5: Kick Anchoring
08:21 - Mixing Tip 6: Hi-Pass Almost Everything
09:40 - Mixing Tip 7: Separate Sub Bass
11:51 - Mixing Tip 8: Kick & Bass Buss
14:38 - Mixing Tip 9: Auxiliary Channels for Spatial Effects
16:10 - Mixing Tip 10: Sidechain Compression (Boss Level)
18:07 - Mixing Tip 11: Room Reverb Channel
19:40 - Mixing Tip 12: Saturation Trick
21:17 - Mixing Tip 13: Check Your Mix
23:17 - Mixing Tip 14: Mix for Others

📝…And here’s the blog version of this video: ???

🎧 Headphones I recommend I:

🔉 Monitors I recommend:

Plugins I use in this video:

🎛 Discounted Plugin Deals:

💻 …And some of my Favourite Software…

🎤 Vocal Processing (I use all of these):

….AND SAY HI ON THE SOCIALS, BRUH:

Cheers, and happy producing!
Will

OTHER VIDEOS TO CHECK OUT:

LEARN HOW TO PRODUCE LIKE FAMOUS ARTISTS:

AND…

#ableton #mixingtips #musicproduction

[emiel]

Great tips. I want to add something extra. If you’re not sure the EQ (or other effect) improves the track or not, place your mouse on the bypass button, close your eyes and repeat the on/off until you don’t know when it’s on or off and choose the setting that sounds best (with your eyes closed). Also make sure that if you apply any processing, that the output level is the same as it is without the effect plug-in. Don’t rely too much on the analyzer. Yes it’s good to put one on the master bus but let your ears do most of the job. If it sounds good, it is good. Last tip and probably the most important one: mix at a low volume. Our brain works in such a way that we define louder sound as better, which is not always the case. Another benefit of mixing at low volume is that it’s easier to balance each channel inside your track. It also prevents hearing damage in the long run. Keep in mind that your ears are the most important tools you have as a music producer! So how loud should you be mixing at? A good rule of thumb is between 75 and 85 dB SPL A weighted. You can measure the SPL with a dedicated hardware SPL meter. You can also download a free or paid decibel meter on your smartphone.

[tuxievous]

As a mixing engineer these are the best tips. This person holds no secrets back. Great to see this

[jeremyresplandy]

You don't speak too fast, You speak clearly. You explain things very well. Everything seems simple with your videos. Thanks a lot for your Work 🙏🙂

[dawggonevidz]

Best tip I ever got, from a sound mixer in a TV studio in fact, was a very simple, zero cost one. Turn your volume down so you can barely hear your mix and listen again.
Anything that's too far forward or to far back in the mix will stick out like dog's nuggs. First time you do it and say "hey, where did those high hats go?" you'll see how valuable it is.

[AaronWOfficial]

great tips but I want to add something extra.

Putting reverb on an aux\send\bus isn't just about giving more control, there is a more detailed way to explain it (albeit a bit longer, but its stuff you should know). It also leaves the dry signal completely unaffected.

For example, lets say I had a lead sound that cuts through the mix very nice, loud and prominent. If I was to put a reverb straight onto the lead, the more reverb I add the less the lead will cut through the mix, the less loud and prominent it will be because the dry signal becomes lower the more reverb I add. If whoever is reading this ever dj'd before, its similar to how a crossfader works on a mixer. dry/wet is basically a crossfader between the reverb and the dry signal. Most professional dj's don't touch the crossfader at all they just leave it centered, and they instead use the track faders to mix in and out because it gives them more control. The same principle applies with routing send fx to a new channel versus using them as an insert. If I put a reverb on my track, it will make the dry signal lower. If I turn up my track to compensate for the loss in dry volume, it will make the reverb too loud. I may try balancing the wet/dry signal again to be more dry, but then the dry signal will become too loud. And it becomes an infinite loop of trying to get it to sound right but it will never sound as good as using the reverb on a send because I can fine tune how it sounds more accurately this way. Reverbs are send effects, there is a reason why they are listed under this category. They are not supposed to be insert effects, they are supposed to be sent on a bus. Insert effects are for example compressors, limiters, eq and so on. Stuff that doesn't add extra elements to a sound, but instead modifies the signal. Knowing the difference between insert effects and send effects you should consider to be mixing basics. What to send, and what not to send you should already know. If you don't know, you should google around difference between insert and send effects and try to get it stuck into your head which are inserts and which are sends. Anything that is insert put it straight on your channel, anything that is send you route to a new channel (send\aux\bus).

As a general rule of thumb the way to think about an effect you want to add is "how does this effect my sound?"

Anything that has a dry/wet knob, is usually a send effect. Unless there is some bizarre insert plugin that has dry/wet knob that I have not seen (I have tried many, literally never seen it) consider this to be 100% accurate.

Chorus - duplicates the sound into multiple voices, and detunes them to play at different semitones to add width to the sound, has a dry/wet knob. send fx obviously
Reverb - adds reverb to a sound, if you dunno what reverb is the simplest explanation is it simulates what the sound would be like in certain environments. e.g you can have room reverbs, hall reverbs, cathedral reverbs etc. has a dry/wet knob. send fx obviously
Delay - adds delay to a sound, think of delay as you are in a cave and you shout "HEY!" (basically echo, but not exactly since echo can also refer to reverb as well). You hear yourself saying Hey hey hey hey (dipping in volume until you cannot hear it anymore). That is basically what it does. has a dry/wet knob. send fx obviously
Compressor - modifies the sound so that it stays at a consistent level of volume, does not have a dry/wet knob. insert fx obviously
Limiter - modifies the sound so that it never peaks above a certain level of volume, does not have a dry/wet knob. insert fx obviously

If you start thinking about it like this, it becomes very obvious which fx you should have on a send channel and which you shouldn't. But you could go 1 step further and research which are inserts and which are sends, and get that stuck into your head. The majority of you probably know this already, but there is bound to be some beginners here that don't and that is the purpose of this comment

[jt]

Ok the reverb send tip blew me away I never would have thought of throwing an eq and sidechain comp on it. Big like and follow for that one!

[Stadsjaap]

These are gold. Not just the tips, which are all solid, but the delivery. You absolutely nail the why, not just the how. And in a way a child can understand. Top class.

[toddstudio]

THANK YOU! Especially for #6.
I've been Engineering for 25+ years, and I have always tried to teach younger Engineers, "Hi-Pass (almost)EVERYTHING". Explaining it almost verbatim the way you did here.
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've been called stupid, and/or something like a "know nothing wanna-be" for this tip alone.
It's always nice to have solid knowledge reinforced by someone a bit more well known.
Thanks again🙏

[davispool]

i've done mixing in mono a lot, and sometimes i even forget that it's mono and it sounds great until i realise, that i haven't yet tried to listen to stereo mix. it blew my mind how clean and full everything sounds. so yeah, mixing in mono is a great way to relax your ears and balance volumes/frequencies. also it's a good way to check if there are some crazy wide sounds, that lose a lot of punch in mono. also one of the reasons i think mono is important is because people sometimes tend to play songs on mono devices (like a phone speaker for example).

[ManuelRamsaierRecords]

I made a short summary if anyone is interested :)
Thanks for the video, I will definitely apply your tips
00:49 - Mixing Tip 1: Good Headphones / Studio Monitors and listen to a lot of music on them to get used to them
01:31 - Mixing Tip 2: Reference Tracks (set to -12 db to compensate mastering on the reference track)
03:00 - Mixing Tip 3: Mono Switch (balanced in mono = great in stereo, easier for ears to mix in mono)
05:04 - Mixing Tip 4: Top-Down Mixing Approach (from most important element to less important elements (order: kick, bass, snare, lead))
06:15 - Mixing Tip 5: Kick Anchoring (set it to a level (somwhere around -12db) and don't touch it for the mixing stage, everything has to work around the kick
08:21 - Mixing Tip 6: Hi-Pass Almost Everything (apart from kick and bass)
09:40 - Mixing Tip 7: Separate Sub Bass (Sub= < 120 Hz, Reason: If the sub freq. are not working, you can just increase the sub)
11:51 - Mixing Tip 8: Kick & Bass Buss/ Group (why: compression, saturation, pretty nice)
14:38 - Mixing Tip 9: Auxiliary Channels for Spatial Effects (why: control, e.g. eq the reverb seperately, not just the dry signal)
16:10 - Mixing Tip 10: Sidechain Compression (Boss Level: Source: main elemet (e.g. vocals) and duck the Reverb Aux Channel for this element)
18:07 - Mixing Tip 11: Room Reverb Channel (Tiny amount helps already. It will sound like it comes from the same room / space (=Glue))
19:40 - Mixing Tip 12: Saturation Trick (for groups, very slightly adding - listen if the group does come out more (don't overdo it!))
21:17 - Mixing Tip 13: Check Your Mix (multiple systems: car, smartphone, different headphones, Plugins help (e.g. Mixchecker Pro), also check that with your reference Track and compare your Track to it)
23:17 - Mixing Tip 14: Mix for Others (Practice, practice, practice, different music styles and genres)

[Musicore]

Just going to say what everyone else is saying: this is hands down one of the best tutorials on this platform. Your way of explaining things is so simple while still explaining "why" you're making the decisions.

One of my favorite uploaders 💪

[framzoid]

This is hands down the BEST tutorial I've ever seen and I've been mixing and mastering since the 70's. It not only reveals the usually secreted tips of the giants in the biz, but you explain and demonstrate the "how to" and "whys" AND make it understandable to even the newest of nubies. Kudos and Well Done !

[sleepisoptional]

mixing in mono: helps to monitor on a single point speaker with no crossover, and therefore no holes. 2-way speakers all have a soft spot around the crossover where sounds can hide. i’m thinking of trying to hear snappy compression on genelec 1031s… but on an auratone 5c its no problem.

headphones: sony mdr-7506 seem to be popular still.

reverb/delay send/returns: good idea to filter BEFORE the reverb. subtract before multiply. can of course eq after to your heart’s content. just a good practice to filter before multiplying the potential problem freqs with spatial fx. can also use mid-side eq to take some 600 out of the mid channel on fx returns to carve space for bass clarity

[ricardorenteria]

I like reading some of the comments. For those of you suggesting your own ways of doing some of this, shut up. We’re not here for your EDM tips. Sorry Will. I love your work.

Thanks.

[djjuno]

One of the best tips I ever got was from My mate who was one of the main engineers who did loads of the biggest rave tracks..
He said when I’m doubt turn your computer monitor off, restart your arrangement and you’ll feel the flow of the track better .. he used too have a note pad and write which parts needed changing and at what time..he also taught me that you know if a tracks working if listening back the track sounds like it doesn’t sound like it drags, if it sounds like it’s ended quick yet it’s been on 4 minutes you know your onto a winner.

[mikemeengs]

I'm happy to say I'd incorporated all these tips into my productions many years ago and can say you nailed it. The tips in this one video could save any newbie years of frustration!
Excellent presentation too! 👍👍

[j.t.]

I think reference tracks and high-quality monitoring are absolutely key. I remember being at music college and referencing my deep house track in 2013 against a Skrillex track at the time on Genelecs. It made me change so many aspects of the track and then quite amazingly the track went to BBC 1Xtra track of the week.

[iamdwsm]

Extremely usable advice. I applied a handful of the tips that were new to me to a melodic techno track I''m working on and it's night and day, multiple level ups in a 24 hour period. 1) A little saturation everywhere is a game changer 2) Use those effects busses! All of a sudden it sounds like you're in one space with all the instruments, immediately glues the track together a bit, especially a touch of reverb on everything, subtle, even the kick, and 3) mix more quietly for later mastering, throw a Utility on the master channel and give it +6db of gain, mix to 0 db and then turn the utility off for mastering to give me 6db of headroom. Great stuff, thank you!

[musikausdemosten]

Sidechain to the reverb on vocals is really a good thing. I was wondering for years why my vocals so lost and not in front.
This technique with low cutting reverb is hugh. Saturation on vocals great as well. That's are information that beginners not know and come up with frustration by joining the own music.
Thank you for sharing ❤️❤️

[caincade]

Dude oh my goodness. He is not kidding about the difference mixing in mono makes. Wow. Same with the kick anchoring. Love it man thank you so much