With the widespread availability of affordable computers and powerful software for music mixing, the average musician is now able to set up a reasonably decent home studio on a relatively small budget. However, even though the software is extremely powerful and versatile, what seem to be missing are tips on how to create a great mix.

So, without any more fanfare, let us get right down to the 10 mixing tips you can try IMMEDIATELY to improve the quality of your mixes:

1. While mixing, keep a close eye (and ear) on all those plug-ins. Each one of them will distort if the output signal exceeds the acceptable threshold level. Because the output meters are out of sight when the plug-ins are closed, it is fairly easy to be unaware of the distortion, all of which can absolutely ruin your mixes.



2. Make use of the high-pass filter found on many equalizers to cut off the low frequencies on tracks that do not need the presence of low frequencies (e.g. frequencies below 100Hz) in order to sound right in the mix. These include vocals, hi-hats, keyboards, etc. Of course, all this depends on the song itself. For example, if you are mixing a song that is just piano or guitar and voice you might run a high-pass filter much lower down, around 40Hz or so, in order to maintain some of the bottom end in the mix. However, even the bass and kick drum can be improved by rolling off frequencies below 20Hz. Most project studio mixes sound terrible because there are too many sounds competing for space in the lower frequencies. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can use a low-pass filter on instruments like bass and kick drum that do not need the presence of high frequencies.



3. Try using compression to even out volume variations and control the attack of a sound. Using a FAST attack will accentuate the body of a sound, while using a SLOW attack will increase the definition. Bass, kick drums and vocals tend to benefit most from compression, although you should listen to all your tracks with and without compression to see what works best. Keep an eye on the other settings on the compressor (Input, Release, Threshold, Ratio, Output Gain) since these can dramatically affect the results you are trying to achieve. It’s also important to remember that compression can raise the level of background noise in your mix as well as accentuate sibilance (esssssss’s) in the vocals. It may help to place a de-esser after the compressor to take care of excessive sibilance.



4. Listen for tracks that can be cleaned up by scooping out (reducing) the frequencies between 150 – 300 Hz. This is generally where the ‘mud’ tends to be in most tracks. Be careful when you do this however, since this can also be where the meat or warmth resides on some tracks. Listen for the track(s) that can benefit most from this action, and do not scoop out too much of the track or else your mixes will start to sound thin.



5. Always listen to your mixes IN CONTEXT! It doesn’t matter how great that kick drum sounds by itself if it sounds terrible once you turn everything else up. Its okay to solo a track briefly to get a sense of what is happening to the sound as you apply processing, but only do that for a few bars and then listen to it with everything else in context.

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