Mixing Advice From A Pro

Let’s talk about loudness and low end…

by Alec Durand (find him on FB)

…and why your mixes and masters don’t sound as loud (or as clear) as your favorite artists.

To cover everything that goes into getting a loud yet clear mix and master would be impossible in just one facebook post. So, I’m just going to focus on one element today which is your low end. More specifically your sub bass or bass instruments.

Go into your DAW and look at your favorite EQ plugin. Notice how the frequencies from 0 Hz to 100hz take up 25% of the entire spectrum. If you extend your low end a little further to 200 Hz, notice how from 0 – 200 Hz takes up 1/3 of the entire spectrum. The other 2/3 goes from 200 all the way up to 20,000 Hz!

So, what does this mean practically speaking? It means that low end frequencies have a ton of energy and can easily eat up your headroom and overcrowd your mix. If you’re struggling to get loud mixes and masters, chances are your low end is too muddy and too loud which is choking up your compressors and limiter as well as drowning out all your mid to high frequency sounds, making them seem quieter and duller.

Basically, too much sub frequencies in your mix will overwork your compressors and limiters which will keep you from getting maximum loudness out of your track.

So how do we fix it?

1) In the production phase, make sure you only have one sub bass or bass instrument playing at a time. For most genres this is your kick drum and your sub bass or bass instrument (bass guitar, cello, etc.). Anytime your kick and your bass play at the same time, their bass frequencies (~100 hz and below) fight with each other and cause muddiness and too much low end. The best fix for this is to sidechain your kick to your bass sounds. There are many ways to set this up, but the main idea is every time your kick drum hits, your sub bass ducks in volume to allow the kick drum to be heard clearly while avoiding any conflicting frequencies

2) In the mixing phase, you need to get obsessive about controlling your low frequencies. This means putting an EQ on every single track, and using a high pass filter to cut out everything below 100 hz on EVERY sound that doesn’t need low end. This means basically EQ 100 hz out of any sound that isn’t a sub bass or a kick drum. If sounds that don’t need any low end have frequencies below 100 hz, they’re just going to muddy up the bass and cause unnecessary clutter. This tip alone will make a huge difference in the clarity of your mixes.

3) Another mixing tip. Reference heavily. This means download a reference track of the artist you are trying to sound like and bring it into your DAW. Put an EQ or spectrum analyzer on it and look at their low end. Are the frequencies around 100 the loudest part? Quietest? Is the sub louder than the high end or vice versa? Assuming this track has the sound you want, mix your song to have a similar EQ curve to the one you are referencing.

4) Final tip for mastering phase. There’s no need for low end in the “sides” of your mix. Several things you can do here. In most DAW’s you can use a utility plugin to make certain frequencies Mono. So everything below 100 Hz or even 150 Hz can be put into mono. Another way is to use a mid-side EQ. Go to the EQ curve for the sides and cut out everything below about 150 Hz. Stereo Imaging plugins such as Izotope Ozone’s Imager module can do this. You can set your low end to the frequencies you want, and then mono those frequencies to get the low end out of the sides.

If you employ all these techniques in your next mix, I guarantee your mix will be clearer, have more punch, and have the potential to be much louder when mastered. If you have any questions shoot me a DM!

Till next time,

Alec Durand

Nembus Music