Clear Mix Cheatsheet
The following tips will add instant clarity and separation to your mixes. Enjoy!
1. Think Of The “Dresser Drawer”
Imagine you have a bunch of clothes and a
3-drawer dresser. How might you fill up the
dresser with the clothes?
The quickest, easiest solution would be to stuff
all the clothes into one drawer. But if you do
this, you’ll find that one drawer quickly fills up.
Suddenly, your clothes will be flying out the
sides of the dresser. Not a great idea...
But what if you decided to distribute your
clothes evenly among the different drawers?
(Socks and boxers in the top drawer, shirts in the middle, and pants in the
bottom.) Suddenly everything fits!
This analogy is a great way to think about mixing. In a mix, the different areas
of the frequency spectrum are like different drawers. The low end might be
the bottom drawer. The midrange could be the middle drawer, and the top end
could be the top drawer. If you take the time to distribute your tracks evenly
among these different drawers, you’ll create more clarity and separation in your
mixes.
In practical terms, this means choosing sounds that have the bulk of their energy
in different areas of the frequency spectrum. For example, if your bass has a lot
of low end, choose a kick that sounds thinner and brighter. If you have a lot of
electric guitars that are bright and aggressive in the upper-midrange, choose a
synth sound that is duller and warmer.
2. Boost Higher On Bass
Many mixers add low end to try to make the bass cut through their mixes. While
this can work, a boost higher up in the frequency spectrum is often more
effective.
On electric bass, 700 Hz – 1 kHz is a great place to start. Boosting here will add
clarity and presence, while keeping the low end lean and clean. This is a great
way to trick listeners into “hearing” more low end than there actually is!
3. Try Spectral Slotting
Let’s say two tracks in your mix are competing. What do you do?
Try spectral slotting.
Spectral slotting uses EQ to carve a space in the frequency spectrum for each
track to sit. This simple but powerful technique can eliminate competition and
instantly add clarity to your mix.
Here’s how to pull it off:
1. Listen to the competing tracks together. Ask yourself—which is more
important? Which carries the groove, or anchors the song?
2. Add an EQ to the least important track.
3. Sweep a hefty boost up the spectrum while listening to both tracks
together. Find a spot where the other track becomes hard to hear. This is
the frequency you want to cut.
4. Dip the frequency out slowly while listening to the other track. Stop when
you can hear both tracks clearly.
Cut as little as possible—a few dB can make a massive difference.
Sweeping a boost up the spectrum to find competing frequencies
4. Check For Tonal Balance
The goal of this tip is to collect information that can help you diagnose potential
problems within your mix.
Plugin needed: Voxengo SPAN (it’s free!)
- First, add SPAN to your mix bus. Click the “Edit” button and copy the settings
below:
- Next, find a part of your song that has a full, dense arrangement (the chorus is
usually a great spot).
- Press play and let SPAN listen to your track for 5 - 10 seconds.
- Press the “Hold” button on SPAN to freeze the display.
- Observe the display. Ideally, it should be smooth, with no big bumps or valleys
(see below).
- If you see a bump, take note of where it is. If your mix sounds muddy or
unclear, you’ll often find a bump in the lower midrange (150 - 400 Hz) or the low
end (150 Hz down). Then you can go back to your mix and fix this problem by
cutting it out with EQ, or by rebalancing your tracks.
5. Try Sidechain Compression
You can use sidechain compression to add clarity and separation to your mixes.
For example, you can set it up to turn the bass down whenever the kick hits. This
will help eliminate competition between these two tracks.
To learn how to use sidechain compression, watch this video.
You can take this technique further using multiband compression or
TrackSpacer. These plugins will apply selective compression to certain areas of
the frequency spectrum, which can often produce more transparent results.
For more mixing tips and tricks, visit BehindTheSpeakers.com.
Mix By Design is an online training course that will teach you
how to mix like a pro. You’ll discover a simple, step-by-step
system you can use to break through overwhelm, sink into
the creative flow, and make your best mixes yet.
Ready to get on the path to pro mixes?
Click Here To Learn More About Mix By Design
