produce beats



    -Some Mixing Tips

 Two approaches to try when mixing a track, in terms of the order
 
1.Drums
2.Bass
3.Percussion.
4.Rhythm Parts
5.Guitar / Keys, (Stereo Spread)
6.Sound Effects / Incidental Parts (Stereo Spread)
7.Vocals

1.Stereo Spread (Keys, Guitars)
2.Stereo Spread (Sound Effects)
3.Vocals
4.Percussion
5.Drums
6.Bass 

Vocal Mixing

        If you’ve double tracked, experiment with panning
        Main vox in the middle and double tracks hard left and right
        Usually you’ll want sections i.e verse / pre-chorus / chorus to have a different sound to each other
        Try different reverbs / delays, EQ for each section
        For example try a telephone effect on a backing vocal
        Parrellel compression works well in modern music (see below)
        Sibliance in vocals around 6-8kHZ
        1500kHz is where you'll get nasal vocals and honk
 
Drums
 
        A little distortion will add character to your drums sounds
        Parallel compression is great for fat drums
        Try rolling off around 450 HZ on your kick
        Split your kick in two parts (high and low) and EQ them separately
        Some hi hat / percussion parts can work well with an auto-panner
        A EQ cut and 240-250 Hz can do wonders for a snare
        So attack fast release compression on snares gives you that ‘snap’ sound

 
Setting up a Cool Delay

        Pan stereo delays hard L/R
        Try 1/4 note on the left & 1/8 note on the right
        Add a doubler effect to your delay return
        Roll off some bottom end EQ on your delay return
        Setup vst delays and reverbs as sends for better control than inserts (also uses less CPU)



Parallel compression
 
       Mix a dry or lightly compressed signal with a heavily compressed identical signal 

       Set the  attack and release settings of the compressor to help the signal to "pump" or "breathe" in sync            with the track
       This should add some good character to your sound 

 
EQ
 

        Space for everything is critical in a good mix

        250 Hz is where the muddiness occurs, chill it out here and there

        Bottom end can get very cluttered, remove bass from stuff that doesn't need it

        Host apps like Cubase have preset EQs in them that are always worth trying

        Smiley face  EQs can sound great across a whole mix and is good for loudness:     

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_face_curve

        The free Pushtec EQ is great for mixing (based on the classic Pultec)

        http://www.wavosaur.com/vst/eq-plugins.php

 
 
Check your mixes in mono
 
To ensure they will translate well on mono sound systems

There are some good VSTs for this such as Redline Monitor  http://www.112db.com/redline/monitor/
 
 
As a general rule
 
    Vocals are the most important part of a song 

    Reverbs and Delays are great but dont over do it 

    Avoid the temptation to push drums to loud 

    Don't be afraid to lose a part all together if it won't slot in 

    Sometimes you can undo good work and make a mix worse so save multiple versions of it

    Check your mix in different environments, i.e car, ipod, home stereo, even tv

    Referencing against commercial material is helpful 

    It;s important to take breaks as you can easily lose perspective on a mix 
 
    Check out my specialist mix engineers article for interviews with pros.