Mixing

Understanding How To Use The 1176 Compressor To Create Great Mixes

, , ,

If you’ve spent any time looking at pictures of pro studios, watching online mix tutorials, going through your plugin list, or following any plugin manufacturers, chances are very high that you’ll be familiar with the famous 1176 compressor (or some variation of it).
1176 compressor

What’s the deal with these things?
Why are there SOOOO many different plugins modeled after this compressor?
Are they really that special?
Do they sound better than other compressors?
And what the heck do people mean when they talk about “all-buttons-in mode”?

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, I’m going to get you the answers you need.

Inside of this new video, I’m going to help you make sense of this famous compressor.

I’ll show exactly why so many engineers use this as their go-to piece of equipment.

The truth is that not all compressors are created equal. The 1176 has some special mojo. You’ll learn all about it inside of this video.

Want to learn more about using compression in your mixes?
Download your FREE copy of the MasterYourMix Compression Cheat Sheet by clicking here

Gain Staging: 4 Tips You Need To Know To Make Great Mixes

, , , ,

Have you ever experienced this before?

You start working on a mix, throw the faders up, add some eq and compression, you’ve got the track feeling good…

…But then you look at your master levels…

… You’re clipping the master buss.

…So you pull all of the channels down to prevent it from going in the red.

…But now everything just sounds… different.  Your compressors aren’t quite reacting to the signal the same way, the mix feels different, your mind feels like it’s playing tricks with you, and it takes you some time to adjust to the new overall level.

Does this sound like something you’ve gone through? We’ve all been there at one point.

It’s frustrating and time consuming to have to reset your mix after putting in so much time.

But what if there was a simple way to prevent this from happening before starting the mix?

There is.  And it all has to do with gain staging

I recently put together a video with 4 simple tips to help you with gain-staging so that you can get the best results out of your tracks and save you tons of time and frustrations as you work.

Check it out here….

Gain-staging doesn’t need to be a super technical, difficult process. A lot of people over-think it. If you follow these 4 tips as you work, you will eliminate a lot of back-and-forth in your workflow. They’ll also help you prevent clipping and ensure that you get the cleanest results out of your mix.

Mike

 

Looking for more tips on how to create better recordings and mixes from your home studio?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

Make Your Own DIY Acoustic Panels

, , , ,

Recently, I moved into a new condo.

As exciting as the move was, one thing that absolutely terrified me was how my new mix room was going to sound.

For years, I had been working out of a small bedroom to do the majority of my mixing and mastering work. Since I listened to/worked on so much music in there, I knew exactly how my mixes were supposed to sound in order to make them translate properly.

With moving all my gear into a new space, I had no idea whether it was going to be a smooth transition.

When I moved into my new condo, the first thing I did was set up my speakers in my new mix room and just listened to music.

(My girlfriend deserves a Girlfriend-Of-The-Year Award because she did the majority of the unpacking while I just listened to music for hours).

My new mix room SUCKED!!!

It sounded nothing like my old one. It was very boxy sounding and with the concrete ceilings, it was SUPER reflective. I felt like I was constantly hearing 30ms delay on everything. It was driving me crazy.

I knew that I needed to take control of the room and get some acoustic panels on the walls ASAP to fix this nightmare.

As I started to look into commercial acoustic products, I quickly realized it was going to cost me a small fortune to treat my room.

Luckily, I had some experience building my own panels in the past; so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

While I was at it, I decided to document the whole process so that you too can learn how easy it is to make your own acoustic panels.

Check out this video to learn how:

Building your own panels is very easy and can save you a ton of money. Rather than spending thousands of dollars to to get my room to sound good, it only cost me about $300 Canadian to build 10 panels.

After hanging them up on my walls, the results were phenomenal. I was able to get rid of the reflections that were driving me mad, and my room sounded so much more even and controlled.

Already, I’ve been making some of my favorite mixes I’ve ever done.

If your mix room is giving you problems, I HIGHLY recommend you look into building your own acoustic panels.

Mike

 

Looking for more tips on how to get better recordings and mixes from your home studio?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

Mixing Bass Guitar – Getting Balanced Low End

, , ,

Getting a balanced low end while mixing bass guitar is one of the biggest challenges most engineers face.

It can be extremely difficult to get your bass  tracks to cut through your mix without overpowering everything else and making your mix sound really muddy.

EQ and compression can be your best friends for correcting this but sometimes you need to take some extra steps to get the results you need.

In this video, I’m going to show you a technique that I frequently use to really gain control of the low end so that you can get it consistent. I’ll show you how to find that sweet spot of having the bass sit right while keeping the dynamics and attitude of the mid-range.

Check it out:

Gaining control of your low end doesn’t need to be so difficult. Sometimes it just requires a little outside-of-the-box thinking.

What techniques do you frequently use when mixing bass guitar?  I’d love to know.  Make sure to leave a comment below.

Until next time,

Mike

 

Looking for more tips on how to get the low-end in your mixes sounding big and polished?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

How To EQ Vocals To Sit Right

, ,

Vocals are the most important element in your mix. They’re the thing that listeners will pay the closest attention to. Because of that, you need your vocals to be nice and present so that your listeners can learn every single word and sing along.

It’s very easy for vocals to get swallowed up amongst the other instruments in your mixes. Sometimes you may only have one vocal that is surrounded by 30 tracks of instruments.

In order to make your vocals stand above the rest, you need to pay special attention to how you EQ them.

So I’ve created a video to show you the 6 frequency ranges that you need to always pay attention to when mixing vocals.

Check it out here:

As always, I love learning what you found helpful in this video and what other topics you’d like me to cover next.

Do me a favour… Leave me a comment below

Thanks!

– Mike

 

Looking for more mixing tips on how to get your vocals to sound polished?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

Mixing Vocals: How To Add Energy To A Dull Performance

, , ,

Have you ever had to mix a vocal performance that just sounded dull?

Maybe the singer didn’t put enough energy or attitude into it and now you’re left with a mediocre take that doesn’t quite match the excitement of the music.

Ideally, you’d get the singer to redo the take; but sometimes, it’s too late and it’s up to you to figure out how to make it sound better in the mix.

Luckily, you’re not completely screwed and there are some techniques to use that can help.

I’ve made a video to show you one of my favourite tricks for adding some aggression and energy back into a poor performance. It’s something that every time I add into a session, my clients think I’m crazy for trying. But it really does work wonders…

Check it out:

Mixing Vocals – Why Reverb Is The Wrong Choice

, , ,

Do you find that your vocals often sound buried in your tracks?

Do you have trouble getting them to stand out so that every word is heard?

Vocals are THE most important element of every mix. Every detail needs to be carefully considered so that they are heard clearly.

Most engineers will spend the bulk of their time carefully carving out EQ and dialling in compression settings; however, so many amateur engineers seem to rush through one last very important step:

Adding effects

For a lot amateur engineers, it seems like reverb is a default effect to put on vocals. Sure, it can sound nice and lush, and it can even be quick way to make vocals sound “better”; but while reverb has it’s place, it is often the wrong choice for vocals.

I’ve created a video to show you an alternative effect that can be much more efficient to use.

In this video, I’ll show you my go-to effects settings for vocals and how you can avoid creating muddy mixes simply by choosing not to use reverb

Are you mixing with too much reverb?

 

Looking for more mixing tips on how to get your vocals to sound polished?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

Making Your Own Drum Samples

, , ,

If you were to turn on the radio and listen to the top 20 songs right now, I’d guarantee that 19 out of 20 of them are loaded with drum samples that were used to enhance the overall size and tone of the drums.

Are you using samples in your mixes? If not, why?

There are tons of sample libraries in the market that are full of great samples; however, one of the easiest ways to grow your sample library is to make your own.

In fact, there are many advantages to using your own samples.

I’ve made a video to show you exactly how create your own and when/how to use them in your mixes.

Check It out…

Do you make your own samples? What are some of your favorite sample libraries?

– Mike

 

Looking for more tips on how to create pro-sounding mixes from your home studio?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

The Secret Weapon For Mixing Snare

, ,

Do you struggle with getting your snares to sound big and punchy in dense mixes?

Maybe you’re constantly fighting to get enough volume out of your snares to make them sound like they’re right in your face.

If so, you have to check out this new video I made on mixing snare for rock music.

In the video, I’m not only going to show you how to use EQ and compression on your tracks; but I’ll also let you in on a plugin that many pros consider to be their secret weapon for getting big, loud snares.

 

Looking for more mixing tips on how to create big, polished sounding drums?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

Create Separation Between Kick And Bass

, ,

One question I often get asked is:

“How do you create separation between the kick and bass?”

I’ve decided to make a video to show one technique that I often use to create a tighter pocket for my kicks.

In this video, I’m going to show you how to use sidechain compression in order to make your kick and bass parts work with each other so that you can:

  • Create more energy/movement in the low end
  • Make your drums stand out more
  • Prevent your kick and bass parts from masking each other

Whether you’re working with rock, pop, dance, or metal, this technique is really useful.

Check it out, give it a like, and feel free to comment on it.

– Mike

 

Looking for more tips on how to get the low-end right in your mixes?

Check out The Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: A free guide on how to use EQ and compression across a variety of instruments so that you can create great mixes quickly.

1 2