How I MIX and MASTER! (and how you can too!)
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- So now you have a song written... what's next? Time to mix and master! So here's a video showcasing my process of doing so! Of course, there is no one perfect way to mix a song, as it totally depends on what you hear and what you want to hear. But I like to keep it simple!
In this video, I show how I go about adjusting volumes and EQs, as well as a run-down of my mastering chain, sharing my personal experiences and things I've learned in school!
I hope this video can help you out in some way in your own creative process, or at least be entertaining! So I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed making this video~
Thanks for listening!
If you'd like to listen to the full song featured in this video, it's already up on my channel!
czcams.com/video/NygCJaucl8k/video.html
I love how chill you are in your videos, it makes music feel a lot less stressful xD and love the mixing and mastering tips my music always rings my ears and sounds to harsh even when its just a piano and some effects. i think this video will help
YES!! THE COMPOSITION MATTERS MORE!!! (i yell while sobbing due to my lack of knowledge on mastering on my piano as a kid who just composes music ) seriously thank you so much for this video !!!
Haha, thanks so much for watching!
I do mastering a little bit differently (but still, a lot of this will be the same), but I also work in an entirely different genre. no idea if this'll be of any help to anyone:
first it's best to know your gear, know if it has boosts in bass/mids/treble whatever so you have a rough idea of how it will translate on other systems (another good tip, check mixes on more than 1 system)
mixing:
-use volumes to balance everything properly at the end (I normally don't touch track volumes until I mix properly, and I see my master reach the red all the time, also how loud you have different things contributes to the feel of the track more than you think)
-use EQ. ableton's built in EQ is great, but I still find myself reaching for TDR's nova (better than pro-q imo) as much as I do the stock ableton EQ. I'll normally chop off the low end/roll off the high end on individual instruments even if it shows there's nothing there, because there could be and it could make your mix muddy (also some things have random low end that you can cut out that makes no difference to the sound other than muddying your mix) a way I like to think of it is using EQ to isolate each instrument into their own frequencies, or ducking them below what other instruments take up. also, remove frequencies before adding other ones.
mastering: I literally just throw a compressor (one of the presets on TDR's kotelnikov) on my master, and will balance everything again as needed. although you may only just need a limiter. I don't use multiband compression on my master as I usually only have it on the individual tracks, in order to have only 1-2 (mostly only 1) effects on the master chain.
final note (this is probably the nerdiest part): if on ableton, use spectrum (not just in the small window, make sure to expand that shiiii) or whatever visualizer your DAW has. the one in TDR's nova is also pretty nice for something that comes on an EQ. only do this right at the end so you can see the general "tone" of the song throughout (I normally look for a general negative trend, e.g it's loudest in bass and then slopes off in a straight line. my choice for this is that it's the same as a neutral in-room speaker target, although you can figure out whatever curve you like the most)
This is quite the setup. It's similar to what I do, except I don't really use neither OTT nor Saturator (sounds like something that would be used for a real-life recording); I just typically use preset chains, and I don't really see those show up. I'm not sure why but my latest EP project is sounding "harsh", and a music friend recommended I use Reso to de-resonate my songs. It's a fascinating tool, but it feels very time consuming/difficult to understand, despite watching tuts on it multiple times.
Item: when I'm not using a preset chain, I usually have a limiter be the FIRST part of my chain.
Mixing and mastering is always difficult but your videos are really helpful!
Thank you!
Mixing and Mastering is something that has always confused me. I’ve heard people saying that they aren’t super important, but I still like the idea of having a basic understanding of them. This video made it easy to understand what’s really necessary about the process. Thank you so much! :)
I'm glad! 😊 It can definitely be a big hurdle, haha.
I like these tips for mixing I think its really good to mix every track differently, I've never really mixed songs the same way, even songs of the same genre are just going to need different things. The only thing I wasn't sure I agreed with was eqing sibilant highs and rumbly lows off of everything, but this is genre specific. A composition with each layer stacking up the extreme frequencies could be really chaotic, but also sometimes there are characteristics of really "s" y sounds that make high hats feel alive and low bumpy plucks that give a rythmic element more punch. Regardless everyone has their own tastes and nothing is certain or fact in music. As for mastering I think meticulous enough mixing can make it obselete, but thats dependant on how much time you're willing to spend on a track. Very good video I hope you get some more views.
doing this for 10 years I would agree composition is the most important.
Great tut! I think the info is transferable to any DAW.
MM I love having your vids on in the background. Was just drawing and listening :3
Maybe one day when ill be trying to make a song, ill rewatch these to get better at it and make sum amazing music :D
Oh wow i clicked this thinking this was a day or two ago, this was 2 minutes ago lol. hello vro!
I'm also early lmao
One of the most cursed pieces of mixing advice a pro composer friend gave me was to turn off every single reverb on all tracks to see if the instruments would still hold up at the end. At first it felt like a personal sniper attack, but boy do I cherish that tactic as I've composed through the years now. It finally made me learn how to spot for a muddy or empty piece!
Ooh, that is actually an extremely good hack!! Can't live without reverb, so I'll definitely try it in my next project, thanks!
ANOTHER TUT YAAH
Also 1 away from 1k so ill finish it
YEEESSSSS! 1K LESSS GOOOO!!
Woo another tutorial! Love every second of your knowledges! And congrats for your 1k subscribers!
Thank you so much! 1k heck yeah!!
God, your music craft is just so freakin' GOOD! Even BEFORE you mix it, you have an impeccable ear for music that I envy.
Also, I had an idea for a story and I want your thoughts on it and if your music could somehow match up with it. I mostly wanna see what we can create together using my story writing abilities and your incredible talent for music...also I would just love your general thoughts on this premise because I really think it's a cool spin on the all too familiar idea. Would you like to hear it?
I'd love to hear it!
@@AuroraCompositions
By the year 2150: Humanity had devastated and destroyed its world...what we assumed was going to be an apocalypse, ended up turning into a Genesis. In place of the Human race are animal people, Cats, Foxes, Wolves, Dogs, Etc. All living amongst each other as they tell legend after legend of the preceding creatures that roamed this world before.
"Bahx", a young Dog that hails from a small village nestled within the gardens of an abandoned city in the state of Wyoming, dreams of adventure and to explore the ruined metropolises of the long since gone Humans and their long since absent empires and to create his own legend like they...but after finding a project that had been left behind by the Humans, Bahx finds more than just some ruined relic or monolithic device...he finds a Human, a full fledged, in the Flesh Human named Hank Foster, a former US Marines soldier...After waking him up and triggering a chain of events that will forever shape the lands of Wyoming, Bahx and his friends go through an incredible experience where they uncover what happened to the Human Race...and what threats rise from the ashes of the old world.
I call the story "Anima" and it's a little like Kipo, but it's a bit more on the mature side and has got a very different view of the world and Humanity's role in it as well as its relation to the rest of the Animal Kingdom. What do you think of the concept so far?
@connerthewubbzler1062 Sounds really cool!! I always love stories with a dystopia-future and good mystery!
I think if you have a really unique cast of characters, (because they are different animal species and a human) you have a lot of neat opportunities for establishing musical motifs to further enhance the plot! I also totally see those big "bwaaa" horns go ham whenever they make an epic revelation!
Always awesome to hear about cool creative stuff!
@@AuroraCompositions Thank you, I'm very glad to hear you like it! I will try and create a general theme music of it, but I'm mostly banking on characters, their relationship developments, world building and funny moments. And don't worry, despite it being more mature and graphic, it's 100% going to be wholesome and fun loving!
Thanks again for the feedback!...oh, and you better believe there's gonna be plenty of major plot twists and revelations followed by a chorus of horns!
I think i mix & master at the _same_ time as im composing the music. dont know if thats a good way of doing it however it seems decent enough!😁😁
I do too sometimes! Nice because it all just gets done fast!
Modern world internet chat: Always start with "So", esp if you're an American
For real tho.
(Even if I'm not American, ahaha.)
I really hope no one watches the beginning of this video and leaves thinking that mixing and mastering are NOT important. I work with a lot of composers, and I can't tell you how often bad mixing and bad production value completely ruin a tracks chance at making an impact on clients. Aurora made the point to say that a badly written song with a great mix is still a badly written song. Let me tell you with absolute confidence that a really great written composition still sounds terrible with bad production value and mixing.
Mixing take awhile to learn and get good at, but it is part of the process of being a good producer and composer in 2024. Take it slow and learn things. Go to engineers and other producers and get feedback and keep working at it. I want everyone to succeed, and make the best music you can. Please don't neglect mixing and mastering.
Very well said!
Great video per usual! Pretty nice to follow and I certainly have learned a few things from this!
Also, I'd say your voice-over audio is easier to hear than last time, I think you turned off that compression you were testing out?
I don't think I have much to say without repeating what I usually say haha, overall, your tutorials have been very easy to follow without complicated terms, focus on writing something cool, it's all great!
9:59 I'm sorry but I'm also contacting NASA to let them know you're hacking them with your template, you can't just sneak one of the penguins into space! Jokes aside, good job, congrats on 1 thousand subscribers! it's only up from here! Try and not forget us when you're super famous!
Haha, thank you!! 🐧 🐧