Audio Mixing Tutorials

An SSL vocal strip is an effective all-in-one solution for doing the heavy lifting on the majority of your basic vocal production. Dialing in the right settings can significantly improve your vocal all within a single plugin between EQ and compression, so let’s cover the best SSL vocal strip settings to use in mixing. SSL… Read more: The Best SSL Vocal Strip Settings to Use in Mixing

The singing voice is an instrument like any other which has unique characteristics in each frequency section from bottom to top. When you hear something you either like or don’t like on your vocal, it obviously helps to be able to quickly identify what frequency range it’s coming from. With that in mind and like… Read more: Vocal EQ Frequency Chart – Every Cut and Boost to Make

Managing the dynamics of the guitars in your mix is like anything else. You want to keep the level consistent and instrument visible but without eating into the initial punch which helps to maintain that visibility. With that in mind I thought I’d share a one-two punch – the best compression on guitar settings for… Read more: The Best Compression on Guitar Settings – Electric and Acoustic

I recently talked about how to use an SSL strip to EQ your vocals, now let’s take a look at the other half of the strip and other half of processing audio in general – compression. This SSL vocal compression guide will cover the best settings to dial in to compressing your vocal using an… Read more: SSL Vocal Compression – Compressing Your Vocal With An SSL Strip

Compression is all about managing the dynamics of your audio to provide a more consistent sound which sits better in the mix without sacrificing transients. While the acoustic guitar isn’t typically one of the more dynamic instruments, it still can benefit from the right settings. With that in mind, let’s talk the best acoustic guitar… Read more: The Best Acoustic Guitar Compression Settings to Use

I’ve worn a lot of hats over the last roughly two decades when it comes to audio production. I’ve been an artist working with a producer for the first time, I’ve produced for artists who were working with their first producer, recorded, mixing, mastered, performed, etc. You pick up a lot of lessons in that… Read more: 4 Tips On How to Be a Better Producer in Music

A Solid State Logic or “SSL vocal strip is a relatively streamlined way to EQ your vocals while also imparting a little analog sound to them. Let’s talk how to use an SSL to EQ your vocals with the best SSL vocal EQ settings to use in your next mix. SSL Vocal EQ Settings For… Read more: The Best SSL Vocal EQ Settings to Use

A big room kick is all about the body but doesn’t sacrifice its transient punch to draw the ear to the roundness of the rest of the tone. Let’s talk how to make a big room kick in your next mix, all in the box. How to Make a Big Room Kick There are a… Read more: How to Make a Big Room Kick – 3 Tips

Live sound is an especially tough nut to crack because you’re working in the moment without the luxury of the relaxed no pressure environment of the studio. You’ve also got reflections and other resonances being introduced in real time, all things which need to be accounted for. With all of that in mind, here are… Read more: The Best Graphic Equalizer Settings For Live Sound

Along with equalizers, audio compressors are the bread and butter of plugins which mixing engineers use to control their audio. Whereas equalizers concern themselves with the frequencies of your audio, an audio compressor is all about the dynamics. Let’s identify what does an audio compressor do and why it’s amongst the most important audio “effects”… Read more: What Does an Audio Compressor Do In Your Mix

Whenever you mic and record two different instruments/sources at the same time, you open the door for bleed between the microphones. This can introduce phase issues, but just as annoyingly it can muddy up your mix. The drum kit is arguably the most common culprit for audio bleed because even if you’re not recording the… Read more: How to Fix Drum Bleed in the Mix

Normally when I talk about reverb on this site, it’s rarely in the context of low frequency instruments. That said, I find that reverb on bass guitar can work in the mix when used effectively and just as importantly, when used responsibly. Let’s talk how to use reverb on bass guitar including the settings I… Read more: How to Use Reverb on Bass Guitar (With Best Settings)

When it comes to audio mixing, a big part of the battle is attenuating unwanted noise in all forms which it can take. This can be removing vocal breaths, bleed from other instruments like in the case of recording then mixing a drum kit, etc. In the case of string instruments, the infamous “finger sound”… Read more: How to Fix “Finger Sound” on Bass Guitar in the Mix

A limiter is essentially a compressor with a maxed out ratio and is designed to create a hard ceiling the peaks of your audio cannot permeate. While limiters are often used to maximize the level of a completed mix to make it commercially competitive with its peers, another practical application of a limiter is to… Read more: How to Use a Bass Limiter (With Best Settings)

A limiter is a useful tool for a number of different applications across both audio mixing and mastering. Essentially a compressor with extreme settings, let’s talk how to set up a compressor limiter in some common situations. How to Set Up a Compressor Limiter What differentiates a normal compressor from a compressor limiter is its… Read more: How to Set Up a Compressor Limiter

The cymbals of your drum kit and mix are useful for driving energy and marking the peaks of the mix in terms of energy. You also walk a tightrope when it comes to how to EQ cymbals in particular as one side leaves them dull while the other side leaves them harsh and grating to… Read more: How to EQ Cymbals – Cymbal EQ Cheat Sheet

Arguably the most important tool at any mixing engineer’s disposal is EQ. This plugin allows you to sculpt your audio, carving out the frequencies which are detracting from the sound or even accentuating the ones which aren’t. While there are many types of EQ, the most versatile type is undoubtedly parametric EQ. Let’s talk how… Read more: How to Use Parametric EQ to Improve Your Mix

I recently talked about mid side compression and how you can use it to correct issues on different levels of a mix or master, or even create some interesting aesthetic effects. Mid side EQ is another effect which exclusively targets one or the other, so let’s talk about what is mid side EQ and when… Read more: What is Mid Side EQ (And When to Use It)?

We always want the cleanest audio in the recording stage. This applies equally to laying down some vocal tracks or recording speech for a podcast, video, etc. One of simplest keys to attaining clean audio is to mitigate the plosive sounds, meaning those spikes in the 150Hz range on a voice when it enunciates a… Read more: How to Use a Pop Filter (Singing or Speaking)

There are a number of different types of equalizers you can use to sculpt the audio of your mix, and some are better suited for certain niche tasks than others. Let’s cover the different types of equalizers in mixing. Types of Equalizers Most equalizers fall into three categories: Parametric, Semi Parametric, and Graphic. There’s some… Read more: Types of Equalizers in Mixing – When to Use Each