Music production, and by extension, mixing, is a creative art form, and so it’s perfectly reasonable that there are multiple strategies to go about mixing. Two fairly opposite strategies, from a processing standpoint, are top-down and bottom-up mixing, and if you’re unsure of what they are and whether you should use either, this article is…
If you’ve ever struggled to balance two (or more) similar-sounding tracks together in your mixes, chances are you’ve had difficulty dealing with frequency masking. If your mixes aren’t as clean, clear and punchy as you’d like them to be, you could have an issue with frequency masking. Let’s discuss what this is and what we…
The phase coherence of individual channels in a mix is vital to a strong mix, but it’s an often overlooked aspect of mixing. If you’ve landed on this article, you’re likely wondering how and why phase is such an important part of mixing. I’m here to tell you. In this article, we’ll discuss phase in…
A common question posed within the music production community is whether headphones or studio monitors are better for monitoring, producing, mixing and mastering music. If you’ve ever asked that, you’ve come to the right place to find your answer. While we’ll be focusing on mixing, I also want to discuss monitoring in a variety of…
Subgroups are an important routing tool in our mixers, allowing us to simplify the mixing process and get more out of fewer processors and effects. Whether you’re mixing a record, recording, or mixing live, using subgroups can help enhance your workflow and get you better results. If you’re unsure about what subgroups are or want…
Have you ever mixed a track to sound great in your studio space (whatever that may be), playing through your monitors or headphones, only to have it fall apart in the car, home studio, earbuds, PA system, etc.? If you have, you inherently know the importance of proper mix translatability. Mix translatability, as the name…
If you’re interested in producing and mixing music, then you’re surely aware of stereo and mono signals. With stereo still reigning as the standard for modern music production, it’s important to understand both stereo and mono signals and how they interact. That’s the short answer. In this article, I’ll dive deeper into what really goes…
Oh, the elusive phenomenon of ear fatigue. While not technically a clinical diagnosis, it’s an ailment that nearly everyone has experienced after being subjected to adequate sound levels for enough time. As musicians, producers and audio engineers, it’s important to understand more about the qualitative and quantitative aspects of ear fatigue (and how to avoid…
Copyright in music can be an intimidating subject, and while the laws are written vaguely, developing a solid understanding doesn’t have to be difficult. You may have heard that copyright will automatically protect your work as soon as you come up with a song while, at the same time, hearing about lawsuits between major label…
As music producers, it’s important to understand the overarching goal that drives us forward with our work. The simple goal of music production is, as the name would suggest, to produce a piece of music (to record it and store it for later playback). Having a music “product” is having something that can be listened…
While stereo audio is certainly the most common for modern mixes, some playback systems still only produce sound from mono signals. So, if you want your stereo mixes to translate to as many systems as possible, ensuring proper mono compatibility is essential. In this article, we’ll discuss mono and stereo audio and dive deep into…
When we’re first starting to learn how to mix, we can be overwhelmed with different concepts, strategies, tips and techniques. Even learning the fundamentals can be a bit confusing when we try to think about mixing holistically. So, then, it’s important to periodically consider when the main overarching goal of mixing music is so that…
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