Ultimate Mixdowns

So you know how to balance a mix, how to use EQ and compression to get the sound you want… but how can you take it further? We’ll take your skills to the next level!

The first lesson you learn on the nursery slopes of sound engineering is how to create a basic mix balance. The volume fader is the most fundamental mixing tool we have, but even learning how to set up relative levels takes a bit of time.

As you progress, you learn to use equalisation (EQ) to carve out space in your mixes, and thereby create a better overall balance across tracks. You learn to use compression to control front-to back depth, and create the upfront vocals and punchy drums expected from modern pop productions. Manipulating dynamics can change the colour of a part, or the groove, in an almost infinite variety of ways, and this gives us huge scope to add character to a mix – whether we’re making it better or making it worse.

But both EQ and compression aren’t techniques you learn once and move on from: there’s always another type of EQ or compressor to try, which will always behave differently to all your others; and there are always new ways to use your existing plugins that you haven’t tried yet. Likewise with reverb or similar effects: there are a million correct ways, and a million incorrect ones. So, again, this gives us many options to add texture, or light and shade, in order to enhance the emotional impact of the music, and the space within which everything sits.

It’s these subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) details that can separate an adequate, competent mix where you can hear everything clearly, from an exceptional mix that grabs your attention and compels you to listen to the end. Over the next pages, we’re going to push things further, giving you the techniques and knowledge you need to get your mixes to this next stage. From top-secret sidechaining tricks to confidential compression tweaks, we’ll get you out of your comfort zone.