Hey. I’m new to this. I need to get my productions LOUD. I don’t get how these pros get their songs so huge and clear. I’ve tried everything, compression, limiting, EQ, multiband comp… I’ve used reference tracks to get my mixdown right (and I’ve mixed this thing down like a 100 times). I’ve read way too many forums and seen way too many videos on compression, EQ, mixing and mastering and I still can’t seem to get it right. I need someone who really knows how to do this to give me some REAL answers cuz everything I’ve seen and read, I’ve already tried, and it doesn’t work. Please help me out. Here’s the example of what I’m working with.
Please give a listen before posting anything. I really need to target this so I can move on and start making peoples chest cavities shatter with my bass.
Are you at 0db? if not compress it. Are you at 0db? Perhaps a bit less compression… You CAN over compress it and it will just feel flat. Sidechain your kick and perhaps your snare to the bass. That’ll make it sound a lot louder. Another trick is to very slightly turn down the build up… just like .2 dbs and then put it at max once the drop hits… Doesn’t actually make it louder but eh. Really just sounds like the only thing you need to do is sidechain the kick and you should be all good.
I tried sidechaining everything to the kick and snare. it makes it pump but doesn’t make it louder. it makes more room for the kick and snare but then later if I push the limiter on my master any more it just makes the kick start to distort.
I used knife party - boss mode for the reference and I want to get it to be about that level. I don’t think the issue has to do with sidechaining though.
I’m in ableton. if you have ableton I can give you the file so you can take a look at the mix and the master…
You definitely want to side chain it. That “pump” is what makes it feel more impressive. It not only gives the kick and snare more room (which are what imo are the things that will ‘feel’ loud more so than the bass) it also gives the bass more room in the sense that it’s not smooshed while it plays with th e kick and will be always on or always off never ‘smooshed’ don’t put things over 0db or else you’re going to distort it. Be OK on the bass but not on the sub or any part of the drums.
You can’t make anything louder than 0db… You just can’t. You can create more space for the things that are at 0db so it feels louder but that’s just about it.
the pros make loud music because they mix like a boss…sorry to break it to you but you will have to dig in and learn some stuff if you want loud like a pro.
what all should I side chain then? i was gonna try it again and sidechain everything to the kick and snare except for the sub. Should I sidechain the sub as well?
Ignore Volt_Punk, imo. Very useless post.
How long have you been making tunes? I’m assuming it’s been less than a year? Just keep at it, slowly things will start to make sense. When you’re mixing, just go for clarity and give yourself about 6db (don’t go above -6db, and don’t use compressors/limiters to achieve this) of headroom to work with in post-production. If that sounds too quiet, just turn your speakers up. It’s not about loudness, it’s clarity. Once your mix is clear and crisp, any listener can adjust the volume to their heart’s content and the shit will still bang.
Edit, the sub is the most important thing to sidechain with the kick, everything else is just a matter of style/preference. Otherwise your kick won’t have much punch. You need to make room for it to take effect, that’s what sidechaining is for; making space for short sounds.
The extent to which this is feasible depends on your daw, but you could also have a second sidechain on the sub about the kick’s fundamental (usually between 70 and 100hz) for dat pulp.
OK you got me. FK it…the secret is sausage fattener…sausage fatten everything…snares, kicks, hats, synths, master chain…maybe even do a sf bus for good measure.
There is always more to learn–but the basic principles of making a good mix are quite basic. The issue is training one’s ears. Reading about how to make a good drawing and memorizing the words of the techniques is one thing, being able to apply it effectively to the pencil and paper in front of you is something else. By all means, keep reading. But I’d spend more time practicing mixing if you really think you’ve absorbed lots of good info on the subject.
The big game changer for me was thinking about a mix in three dimensions: time, volume, frequency. There can only be so much volume of any frequency at any given time. I think about this principle when I am choosing samples, designing sounds and arranging. If you choose to ignore this principles while writing your music you are already fighting an uphill battle.
I’d also advise trying to mix different kinds of music, especially multi tracks of live musicians, not just all ITB stuff.
I feel like my mixes are very clear before I start to try to master them. once I start puttin limiters and compressors on the master buss they start making the mix sound like shitters. and the mix I posted doesn’t even sound that bad, its still balanced out its just not loud. when I was referencing knife party I level matched everything and my mix sound like theirs did tonally but when its time to crannk it up and put everything back to 0 db mine starts getting crushed and sounding like what you heard in the original post (aka turds).
What’s your limiter doing? Sounds like you’re brickwalling the signal.
You seen the Image Line limiter demo?
It’s a pretty good outline on how to use one, imo.
