So you want to know why you can't get your productions as loud

as you want them. Or, maybe your tracks just don't sound as full
as you want them to. I could probably list a thousand issues that
you may be having with your tracks right now, but why do that
when I can just tell you what the problem is? 

You may not want to hear this, but 9 times out of 10, the
problem is in your mix. 

Chances are, if you're reading this, you may already suspect that
this is your problem. When it comes to mixing music there is an
overwhelming amount of information you can learn on the
subject. You find the answer to one question, and it immediately
poses a new one. The more you start to learn, the deeper you fall
down the rabbit hole.

My goal in this guide is to break down the fundamentals of

mixing into 5 simple steps. This is basically a checklist that you
can refer to while you're creating and mixing your next track. In
fact, you may want to print out the next page if this is new
information for you. Plus, I'm going to show you some tools that
can help you out along the way. I want to keep things simple, but
we'll still be going pretty deep. If you're new to these concepts,
this guide is going to help you step up your production game
100%, plus it will help clear up some issues you may be having.
Even if you have an understanding of these concepts I suggest
you still read the material because chances are there's going to
be at least one gold nugget that you can cash in.

One thing I do want to mention is that you shouldn't expect your

productions to just suddenly be as loud, or as clean, or as
perfect as you want them to be overnight. Learning to mix
properly requires a lot of practice just as if you were learning to
play an instrument or learning a new language.
5 SIMPLE STEPS TO GETTING A BETTER MIX

1. Gain Staging: Make sure you're not clipping/going above 0dB.

2. Balance The Mix: Use volume

and other processes such as EQ
and Compression to make sure
that each element has it's own
place in the mix, and that everything sounds good and works
together.
 

3. Stereo Imaging: Add more life to your track by making your

mix wider.

4. Depth: Add more life to your

track by giving your track layers
of sound, or contrast certain
elements within your mix to sound
up close or far away.

5. Automation: The final touch to make your track come to life.

You can automate volume, effects, or any other process to fix
something in the mix, add a cool technique, or do pretty much
anything else you can think of.

 
 GETTING STARTED

Before we dive in, I want to clear up some common

misconceptions about mixing that I often see. Mixing is not the
same as Mastering. Mastering is the final step where we make
sure everything is balanced and optimized for playback on all
systems, and of course, ensure that the track is commercially
loud. Don't expect your tracks to be as loud as your reference
tracks in the mixing process. Generally, a Brickwall Limiter is
added as a last step on the master to make things
commercially loud. You can add a limiter on your mix
bus/master channel in order to better hear how your mix will
sound when it's mastered, and to get an idea of how loud you
want it to be. However, if you're doing this, you must make sure
you're still properly Gain Staging, which I'll explain next. I'd
recommend bypassing (muting) your limiter on a regular basis
throughout your mixing process to make sure you're leaving
plenty of headroom. This technique is especially helpful in
determining how loud your sub bass should be. If you're having
problems getting your tracks as loud as you want them with
this technique, I can almost guarantee you that it's because
you're mix isn't as good as it could be for one reason or
another.
 GAIN STAGING
Gain Staging is the process of making sure that the session
you're working on doesn't clip (go above 0dB). When talking
about recording audio, it's the process of making sure that you
have the perfect balance between the noise floor and clipping
point. It's important to note that these days no Digital Audio
Workstation (DAW) that I know about has a noise floor. (This
doesn't mean you won't have background noise if you're
recording audio into your DAW)

Generally, while you're working on a project you want your

entire track to be peaking below -6dB. This means that when
you start your project, you're going to want to have each
individual instrument peaking much lower than -6dB. This is of
course going to depend on many factors, but I'd suggest you
experiment with it on your next track and find what works best
for you. If you really want to go deep into finding out the perfect
levels for everything, then use a VU Meter.

I know from experience that this crucial step can be

overlooked, and I can't stress enough how important it is to
fully understand and utilize it. You wouldn't believe how long I
produced music before I started doing this correctly, and my
mixes suffered greatly as a result.
 GAIN STAGING TOOLS
So what are some tools that we can use to make sure we have
enough head room? Every DAW should have a peak meter in
their mixer which measures dBFS or Decibels Full Scale.

Earlier, when I mentioned not going above -6dB, this is the

measurement/meter I was referring to. If Gain Staging is a new
concept for you, I'd suggest just sticking to this meter and
making sure you leave plenty of head room.

If you want to go deeper, some other meters you can check out
include Spectrum Analyzers, VU Meters, RMS Meters, and LUFS
Meters. I like to use a spectrum analyzer while I mix. Many
engineers like using VU meters in the Gain Staging process.
The other meters I listed are generally used more in the
mastering process.

Span is a free Spectrum

Analyzer plugin by Voxengo
that I highly recommend
getting if you don't already
have a Spectrum Analyzer.

One more thing I'd like to mention here is that it's important to
stay organized while you work on your projects. Try to always
label and color individual tracks so you can easily find and fix
things in the mix later.
 BALANCING THE MIX
The easiest way to balance your mix is with volume. Believe it
or not, this is often overlooked. Producers often seek tips or
tricks to help their mix sound more professional, but when I
listen to their track, the balance is off because they haven't yet
leveled everything properly. Using meters and reference tracks
can help train your ear to better hear the correct levels and
balance in a mix.

There are several other methods which help us achieve a

balanced mix. The most important is equalization, or EQ for
short. In mixing, we use EQ to reduce or boost various
frequencies in the mix.

EQ is a key ingredient in getting your mixes super clean. If

you're going for loudness, a nice, clean mix is paramount. If
you're using a lot of instruments or synths or just adding a lot
of different sounds in your mix, all those frequencies can start
to build up on each other and really muddy up the mix. One way
around this is to make sure that each instrument or sound has
its own place in the mix by using EQ.

Another common process to help us achieve a clean mix is

compression. In a nutshell, compression is the process of
lessening the dynamic range between the loudest and quietest
parts of an audio signal. So basically, we're making the quieter
parts louder and the louder parts quieter. We can also use
compression to shape and change the way things sound. You
can even use a multi-band compressor in a similar way as EQ
to get rid of unwanted frequencies.
I would highly recommend learning EQ, compression, and other
techniques to help you balance your mix. However, I think the
most important piece of advice I can give you, when it comes to
actually achieving a balanced mix, is using a reference track (a
professional track with a quality mix).

A couple of things to consider while using a reference track:

1. Is your reference track in the same key as your song?

2. Is your reference track the same perceived loudness as the

track you're creating/mixing?

Making sure your reference track is in the same key as the

track you are producing can really help you achieve a similar
balance, especially when looking at meters. Use a LUFS Meter
to make sure your reference track has the same perceived
loudness as the song you're creating or mixing.

YouLean Loudness
Meter is a free Meter
that measures LUFS or
Loudness Units Full
Scale. It measures the
perceived loudness of
sound.

If you want to go more in depth, I recommend getting a

spectrum analyzer to analyze all your favorite tracks. Look
closely at all the frequencies and take note of what sounds are
typically loudest throughout each track. Where do specific
instruments, sounds, or vocals sit in the mix? You'll start to see
some patterns, which will greatly improve your ability to
produce well balanced mixes.
 STEREO IMAGING
The most common technique to make your tracks feel "wider"
is panning. Similar to EQ, this can also allow you to clean up
your mix. However, instead of taking out a frequency to make
room for something, we're moving the sound to a different area
of the stereo field. Keep in mind that when you're doing this, it's
generally a good idea to listen through headphones, or another
type of monitoring system, where you're able to properly hear
what's going on. You don't want to overdo it with panning as
this can really distract your listeners.

In most Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) you will find some

sort of stereo enhancing or shaping plugins. These plugins are
essentially altering the phase to make the audio sound wider.
This can be a cool technique to add some texture to your
mixes. However, you
generally want to avoid using
these types of plugins on Lead
Synths or instruments and
drums that are a focal point of
your mix. The best way to make
sure that you're not messing up
your mix when using these types
of plugins is to listen in mono.
If you do want to use this type
of plugin on a lead synth, make
sure you layer another lead
synth/sound on top and keep that one centered in the mix.
Always double check everything in mono to make sure it
sounds good in both stereo and mono.

I actually prefer using these types of plugins over panning in

most cases. Just be aware of what you're doing. Play with
these techniques, and compare how they sound to your
professionally mixed reference tracks.
 DEPTH
So how do we give some depth to our mix? It can be difficult to
find a balance between creating depth and having a loud "in
your face" sound, which we hear a lot in modern pop music and
EDM.

In my opinion, the best technique to adding more depth in

these scenarios is to add Foley and/or sound FX or other
background noises. These elements aren't always going to be
heard on all systems, though. The average listener may not
even recognize that they are there. But, these subtleties will
really help to create a more enjoyable and more dynamic
listening experience, whether your audience can hear what's
going on or not.

Some other common

ways to create more
depth is by adding
various processes
such as reverb, delay, or even saturation and distortion. I urge
you to just have fun with these plugins and find out what works
and what doesn't. Be careful with reverb, though, as it can end
up muddying things up in a bad way depending on how you use
it and what you use it on.

Generally speaking, as we start to balance our mix by adjusting

the levels of various things, depth will naturally occur. Elements
that are louder are going to sound closer than elements that
are quieter. Sounds that have contrasting moods or tones will
often naturally create depth as well. Just be aware of these
concepts and, again, listen to your reference tracks. How do
the pros use these techniques to create depth?
 AUTOMATION
The final step in this guide to achieving the sound you've been
going for is automation. The beautiful thing about automation
is that you can apply it to pretty much anything. At its most
basic level, you can fix volume issues that your compressors
just can't. For example, let's say you have a vocal that has more
dynamics than you want. You can manually go in and turn down
the parts that are too loud.

You can automate delay so that a synth has a delay tail only in
the space where nothing's playing. You can automate a filter on
a synth so that it swells as things start to build in your track.
You can automate reverb, EQ, distortion, panning, and the list
goes on and on. This is where you can add some final ear
candy to your song/mix and really have fun with it. Automation
helps to make your songs more interesting to listen to.

There's really no limit to what you can do with automation, and I

think it's the key to taking a good, well balanced, and solid mix,
and turning it into a professional track that people want to
listen to.
 SUMMARY
So, we covered Gain Staging. We covered some techniques on
how to achieve a balanced mix. We went over Stereo Imaging
and Depth. And we talked about how automation can really
help bring your mixes to life. I tried to keep this e-book short
and simple, while covering what I think is the most important
and fundamental aspects of mixing. I really hope that you take
what you learned today and implement this stuff in your
productions. I think it's going to make a big difference in your
mixes moving forward.

I wish I could say that's all

there is to mixing, but
there's always more to learn.
However, if you're taking
the time to read this guide,
I know you have what it takes
to keep stepping up your production and mixing game. Just
stay focused, stay motivated, keep learning, keep improving,
and one day aspiring producers will be using your mixes as
reference tracks.