Musician's World

Bass synth notes can sometimes get a little crazy with the loudness difference between them. It’s almost like certain notes resonate a few decibels louder than others. This can be down to the performance (live or midi) or just the way the synth responds to the notes being played. This can make a bass line sound too jumpy and out of control. If you don’t manage this dynamic it can throw off your mastering compression and limiter at a later stage. In this image we have two notes in a bass line, note 1 and note 2. Note 2 is louder than note 1. We want to reduce the loudness of note 2 without affecting note 1. To do this, find the frequency of note 2 and create an EQ band with a high ‘Q’ so it only affects that note. Then tweak the threshold so the eq is only triggered by the louder note. Source: https://www.masteringthemix.com/

The balance between the channels is SUPER important. Keep this in mind as you begin to add processing and effects. EQ can dramatically alter a channels loudness in the mix, if you’ve already set a great balance be sure to adjust the output level in your plugins.

One of the most challenging aspects of music production is mixing a track to sound well-balanced across the frequency spectrum. __________ Having your high frequencies too loud in the mix will make your track sound harsh. Too much energy in the mid and low frequencies will make your track sound muddy. Having too little energy in these frequency ranges is equally as problematic. __________ Source: https://www.masteringthemix.com/

Producing a song is a super creative process. When you get into the zone and everything starts to flow it feels amazing. In this state of mind, you probably won’t be paying close attention to some of the finer details of the mix. You wake up the next morning and excitedly listen to your song… Now that the dust has settled from your glorious flow, you’re starting to notice a few issues:   “My mix sounds too harsh” “My mix is too muddy” “That lead sound is super resonant” “I thought the track had more energy” etc… If you’ve ever said those statements in a mix session, then this post is for you. I’ll run through some examples of how you can fix sonic issues in your mix with a dynamic EQ.   HOW TO FIX A HARSH SOUNDING MIX The first step is to locate which channel or channels are causing the issue. In most cases, harshness is caused by just a couple of channels, so it’s not always a good idea to try and fix the problem on the master fader.  Try muting a f...

Getting the kick and bass to work well together is one of the largest challenges of any production, mix or master. In a song where the bass is very powerful and has a long tail, you need a kick sample that compliments the sound rather than conflicting with the sound. ⁣ —————⁣ In this example, the kick sample is very short and punchy. These characteristics help it stay out of the way of the bass. If the kick had a long tail or a heavy low-end the two channels would compete for the same space and the sounds would become a confused mess. If you’re making a track with a long and heavy bass channel, chose a short and punchy kick. If you’ve got a long and heavy kick sample, go for a shorter punchier bass.⁣ —————⁣ Source: https://www.masteringthemix.com/

Modulation effects are often used to add motion and depth to your sounds. Modulation involves modifying a source signal by another source. Effects such as chorus, flanger, phaser, ring modulator, and frequency shifter are well-known examples.⁣ —————⁣ Modulation effects typically delay the incoming signal by a few milliseconds and then use an LFO to modulate the delayed signal. The LFO may also be used to modulate the delay time in some effects. There are also modulation effects that involve pitch. The most basic types of pitch modulation effects are vibrato and tremolo. These type of effects use an LFO to modulate the frequency of the sound.⁣ —————⁣ Source: https://www.masteringthemix.com/

This works because the intensity of sound doubles with every incremental increase of 3dB. So the bass matches the average loudness of the kick. You could start with the kick at -10dB on the VU meter and aim to get the VU touching -7dB when both the kick and bass are combined to achieve the same result. This technique will work as long as the VU meter shows a 3dB increase after the bass has been soloed alongside the kick. ⁣ —————⁣ This trick only works to get the kick and bass sounding balanced relative to each other and doesn't define their level compared to the rest of the mix. Bring the other elements of the track back into your mix and adjust the kick and bass (keeping their relative balance) to a level that works with the rest of the mix. ⁣ —————⁣ Its worth remembering that VU meters were built for the analogue world and therefore the numbers don't represent the same information when compared to digital peak meters as found in your digital audio workstation.⁣ —————⁣ ...