Getting your vocals to sit right on top at the front of your mix is desirable for any vocal focused song. Lackluster vocal production is like a glowing neon sign that says, “home studio recording!” This tutorial covers a simple mix recipe for getting your vocals right out there in the front of your mix with clarity and presence. Show me the recipe
There are many approaches to mixing heavy guitar tracks. Striking a balance between clarity and thickness is a constant struggle. There is a general tendency in the recording of heavy music to layer many guitar tracks, but how do you maintain that razor’s edge clarity of a single track? Here is a mix recipe to take a double tracked rhythm guitar, give it the thickness and stereo spread of a quad tracked guitar but the clarity of a single tracked guitar. This technique will also work on guitar styles other than metal.
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A great drum track is at the core of most modern popular music. Other mix recipes have covered the snare drum and kick drum, and now it is time to talk about toms. The toms can be used to add texture to particular drum fills and section transitions or they can drive an entire song. No matter which role they are filling in your track, it is important to get a sound that will allow them to cut through the mix and be noticed. Here are some helpful mix recipes to get you started with EQ and compression on your tom tracks. Get mix recipes for toms
Mixing is certainly a specialized craft but I believe in learning all I can about my craft. Much of my time is occupied by reading about mixing, talking about mixing, thinking about mixing, and actually mixing. This page is intended to serve as a resource for finding some interesting mixing related material to help you hone your own craft. Our home studio is our playground and there are many books available to help us learn the ropes. Show me some mixing books »
The bass guitar is an important element of every contemporary mix even though it rarely plays a prominent role. Sometimes the bass is felt rather than heard while other mixes have the bass in a much more audible sonic space. Your home recording studio is well equipped to shape your bass tracks as long as you have a basic equalizer and compressor. Show me how
A high pass filter is a type of equalizer that eliminates frequencies below a specified cutoff point. Since it is low frequencies that are removed, only high frequencies may pass (thus the name). You might also hear high pass filters (HPF) referred to as low cut filters which is a bit ambiguous. High pass filters have a few very important roles to play in the mixing process. Your home studio recordings can benefit greatly from wise use of the powerful eq techniques outlined below. Teach me about HPF »
We’ve all heard stories of the mystically powerful pro audio engineers who can listen to a mix and happily announce, “the guitars have too much 1k on them.” Or perhaps a nonchalant declaration, “the snare would really come alive with a little boost in the 3k range.” This is great if you have the golden ear or the years of experience to identify specific frequencies by sound. What about the rest of us? If you spend your days at the office and are lucky to get a few hours a week in your home studio then you might never log the hours necessary to develop this skill. Fear not, there is a solution. Sweeping an eq is the process of manipulating a frequency band as a tool to help you identify a sweet spot or problem frequency. All you need is a parametric eq and about thirty seconds of time. Show me how to sweep an eq »
I recently wrote an article covering a method for turning a mono track into a rich stereo track. This effect does not need to be limited to your home studio recording. You can also apply this effect to your live guitar sound and fill the stage. Any reasonable guitar effects unit with a robust stereo delay or dual tone capability should be able to create the effect. Here is how to set it up with the Line 6 POD X3 (technique should also work with POD XT or any Line 6 unit with the Stereo Delay effect). Show me how to make those sweet stereo sounds »
The saxophone is a classic and great sounding instrument that can heat up any rock or jazz arrangement. However, sending your sax through a microphone and leaving the track untouched in a mix can really kill the mood and effectiveness. Throw on a little slapback delay and a bit of eq and that sax will jump right out of your speakers and into your room. Home studio engineers need not fear. The tools for sending your sax over the top are simple and included in nearly every DAW. Tell me more »
A great snare drum sound can really drive a mix. If you start to listen critically to a lot of dance, rock, metal, modern country, pop, funk, and other kinds of popular music you will notice the next loudest thing to the vocals is typically the snare drum. No matter how much is going on in a great mix you will always be able to identify every snare drum hit cutting through the sonic landscape. This article gives you pointers on which frequencies to boost to make that snare drum shine and suggests some common compressor settings to bring your drum to life. There is also some advice for using a dual mic arrangement on the snare drum. Show me the settings »
