EVERY TIP to make your Mixes Clean and Loud!

Summary

In this insightful audio mixing tutorial, Evan Jaffy from Custom Cut Studios addresses the common query of achieving loud and clear mixes. He emphasizes that clarity comes first, suggesting that a decluttered mix naturally allows for increased loudness. Jaffy explains the importance of arrangement, avoiding low-end frequency clashes, and using parallel compression to enhance loudness without sacrificing dynamics. He also highlights the significance of side chain highpass filters on the mix bus to prevent pumping and maintain a balanced dynamic range. The tutorial is a must for aspiring sound engineers seeking to understand the psychological aspects of mixing beyond mere sound examples.

Takeaways

• 🔊 Clarity over Loudness: Achieving a loud mix comes from decluttering and ensuring clarity, not just pushing levels higher.
• 🎶 Arrangement Matters: A well-arranged song with proper spacing and building prevents frequency clashes and allows for a louder mix.
• 🚫 Avoid Over-Boosting: Boosting low-end on every instrument can create a muddy mix that lacks the clarity needed for loudness.
• 🔧 Parallel Compression: This technique helps in making quieter elements of the mix louder without affecting the louder parts too much.
• 📊 Mid-Range Focus: The mid-range frequencies are crucial for achieving loudness; clarity in this range is key.
• 🛠 Side Chain Highpass Filter: Using this on the mix bus allows the compressor to work on the mid and high frequencies without reacting to the low-end.
• 🔄 Full Bandwidth Processing: A full bandwidth compressor on the mix bus is preferred, with the low-end removed from the detection circuit.
• ⚙️ Multimono Processing: Using multimono for parallel processing treats the left and right channels differently, which can be beneficial.
• 👂 Reference Mixes Wisely: Instead of matching volume, use reference mixes to compare the feeling and clarity of specific elements like vocals or snare.
• 🚫 Avoid Over-Processing: Over-processing, especially on the mix bus, can lead to pumping and a loss of dynamics, which detracts from the mix's loudness and clarity.

Q & A

What is the most commonly asked question about mixing audio?

The most commonly asked question is how to make mixes sound as loud and clear as professional mixes.

What is the analogy used to explain the concept of making a mix loud?

The analogy used is how the sky is blue on a clear day; similarly, a mix can be loud when it is decluttered and everything is clear.

Why is focusing on concepts more important than sound examples when learning to mix?

Focusing on concepts helps the understanding to reach deep within one's psyche, enabling better learning and application of mixing techniques compared to just focusing on sound examples.

What is the term used to describe the situation where boosting the low end on every instrument results in a mix that is not loud?

The term used is 'muddy mush' or 'gobby soup of low end,' which describes a mix that is too dense and cluttered in the low frequencies to be loud.

What is the role of arrangement in achieving a loud mix?

Arrangement plays a crucial role as a good arrangement ensures that elements in the mix do not step on each other in the frequency spectrum, preventing a cluttered and dense mix that would not sound loud.

What is parallel compression and how does it contribute to the loudness of a mix?

Parallel compression is a technique where a signal is compressed to bring up the quieter parts of the mix, allowing the overall mix to be louder without sacrificing dynamics.

What is the significance of the mid-range frequencies in making a mix sound loud?

The mid-range frequencies are significant because they contribute to the perceived volume of a mix. Clear and well-managed mid-range can make a mix sound louder.

What is the purpose of using a side chain highpass filter on the mix bus compressor?

The purpose of using a side chain highpass filter is to prevent the low-end frequencies from triggering the compressor, allowing the mid-range and high-end frequencies to be compressed without the low end affecting the gain reduction.

Why is it not recommended to use multiband processing on the mix bus according to the script?

Multiband processing on the mix bus is not recommended because it can lead to an unnatural balance where raising the level of certain elements can cause the processor to perceive more level and lower them, not achieving the desired result.

What is the importance of maintaining dynamics when mixing to achieve loudness?

Maintaining dynamics is important to avoid a mix that sounds too loud and compressed, where everything has the same volume and there is no dynamic range, which can lead to a less engaging and less pleasing listening experience.

How should one use reference mixes to improve their own mix?

Reference mixes should be used to compare specific elements, such as the snare sound or vocals, and to ensure that these elements give the same feeling as in the reference mix. The goal is not to match the volume but to achieve clarity and a balanced mix.

Outlines

00:00

🔊 Achieving Loud and Clear Mixes

The speaker addresses the common question of how to make mixes sound as loud and clear as professional ones. They emphasize that it's not about boosting volume directly, but rather about decluttering the mix to allow clarity, which in turn enables the mix to sound louder. They compare it to the concept of the sky being blue on a clear day, not because of direct action, but due to the absence of clouds. The importance of understanding concepts over relying on sound examples is highlighted, as well as the psychological aspect of mixing. The speaker introduces the idea of parallel compression as a technique to increase loudness by making quieter elements louder without affecting the louder ones, which is a concept attributed to Andrew Sheps.

05:00

🎛️ Mix Clarity Through Sidechain Highpass Filters

The speaker clarifies the use of sidechain highpass filters in mix bus processing. They explain that these filters remove low-end frequencies from the detection circuit of a compressor, allowing it to work on mid and high-end frequencies without being triggered by the low-end content, which is typically the loudest part of a mix. This results in a mix that can be louder without the low-end frequencies dominating and causing the mix to sound muddy. The speaker advises against using multiband processing on the mix bus, as it can lead to an unnatural balance and unwanted pumping effects. They recommend using a full bandwidth compressor with a sidechain highpass filter set at around 125 Hz or 90 Hz, depending on the plugin, to maintain a balance that allows the mix to sound louder.

10:02

📈 Enhancing Mix Loudness with Parallel Compression

The speaker discusses the concept of parallel compression as a method to enhance the loudness of a mix. They suggest using multiple instances of parallel compression, each with different compressors, to bring up the quieter elements in the mix. The speaker advises sending mid-range elements like keyboards, vocals, and guitars to the parallel processing, while leaving drums and bass out to maintain their impact. They explain that by reducing the transients in the parallel processing, the quieter elements can be raised in volume, contributing to the overall loudness of the mix. The speaker also touches on the importance of maintaining dynamics and not over-compressing to the point where the mix loses its natural dynamic range.

15:03

👂 Focusing on Clarity and Loudness in Mixing

The speaker stresses the importance of focusing on clarity over loudness when mixing. They argue that once a mix is clear and not muddy, it will naturally sound louder. The speaker identifies a specific frequency range, from approximately 150 Hz to 4 kHz, as crucial for achieving loudness and suggests that clarity in this range is key. They also mention the importance of managing low-end frequencies so they do not dominate the mix and prevent it from sounding loud. The speaker advises against setting the low-end too high on the mix, as it should only peak at its fundamental frequency and slope downwards from there. They also discuss the use of reference tracks to understand the feeling of a mix element rather than trying to match volume levels.

20:03

🚫 Avoiding Stereo Effects and Automation in Parallel Processing

The speaker shares their personal mixing philosophy, which includes avoiding stereo effects in parallel processing and focusing on multimono processing to treat the left and right channels differently. They emphasize the importance of using parallel compression in multimono to bring up quiet elements in the mix and to avoid over-compression that can lead to a loss of dynamics. The speaker also criticizes automated mixing tools that suggest generic processing curves, arguing that they do not consider the unique dynamics and interactions of different instruments in a mix. They conclude by encouraging mixers to focus on clarity and the concepts discussed, rather than trying to match the volume of reference tracks.

Keywords

💡Loudness

Loudness refers to the perceived volume or intensity of a sound. In the context of the video, it is the end goal of the mixing process, where the creator aims to achieve a mix that is both loud and clear without sacrificing the dynamic range or clarity. The script emphasizes that loudness is not achieved by simply increasing volume, but rather by decluttering the mix and ensuring that each element has its own space in the frequency spectrum.

💡Clarity

Clarity in audio mixing is the quality of a sound being distinct, intelligible, and free from distortion or muddiness. The script explains that clarity is essential for a mix to sound loud and great. It is achieved by ensuring that no frequency ranges are overcrowded and that each instrument and vocal track has its own space, contributing to the overall loudness of the mix.

💡Decluttering

Decluttering in the context of audio mixing means reducing the amount of competing elements within a mix to avoid a congested sound. The script uses the analogy of a clear sky to explain that just as a sky is blue on a clear day, a mix can be loud when it is decluttered and everything is clear and well-defined.

💡Frequency Spectrum

The frequency spectrum is the range of frequencies that can be heard in an audio mix. The script discusses the importance of managing the frequency spectrum to avoid muddiness, particularly in the low end. A balanced frequency spectrum contributes to the overall clarity and loudness of a mix.

💡Arrangement

Arrangement in music production refers to the structure and organization of the various elements within a song. The script mentions that a good arrangement, where instruments and sounds are carefully placed and do not overlap in the frequency spectrum, is crucial for achieving a mix that sounds both loud and clear.

💡Parallel Compression

Parallel compression is a mixing technique where a copy of the original audio signal is heavily compressed and then blended back with the original to increase the overall level of quieter parts without affecting the louder parts too much. The script highlights this technique as a way to make a mix louder by bringing up the quieter elements without compromising the dynamics.

💡Sidechain Highpass Filter

A sidechain highpass filter is used in compression to prevent low-frequency signals from triggering the compressor. In the script, it is explained as a critical tool for managing the low end in mix bus processing, allowing the mid-range and high-end frequencies to be compressed without the low end causing excessive gain reduction or pumping.

💡Dynamic Range

Dynamic range is the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of an audio signal. The script emphasizes maintaining the dynamic range as an important aspect of achieving a balanced mix. Over-compression can reduce dynamic range, leading to a mix that sounds too loud and lacks the natural ebb and flow of sound.

💡Multimono

Multimono is a technique used in parallel processing where the signal is treated differently in each channel (left and right) to create a wider and more spacious sound. The script recommends using multimono for parallel processing to avoid a mono-like, phase-coherent sound and to enhance the clarity and loudness of the mix.

💡Reference Mixes

Reference mixes are tracks or songs used by audio engineers to compare and evaluate their own mixes. The script advises against using reference mixes for volume matching, but rather for understanding the feeling and impact of individual elements within a mix, such as the snare sound or vocal presence.

Highlights

Critical things for making mixes loud and clear: decluttering the mix for clarity to achieve loudness.

Understanding the concept of mixing is more important than sound examples.

Avoiding a 'muddy mush' of low end by not boosting it excessively on every instrument.

The importance of a balanced mix with clear and defined elements for loudness.

Arrangement plays a key role in mix loudness by avoiding frequency clashes.

Great pop songs sound loud because they are less dense with sparse instruments.

Parallel compression is a technique to increase loudness by bringing up quiet elements.

Using a side chain highpass filter on the mix bus to prevent low end from triggering compression.

Disliking multiband processing on the mix bus due to its dynamic range issues.

The significance of managing the low end in mix bus processing for clarity and loudness.

Setting the side chain highpass filter appropriately to manage low end detection.

The role of full bandwidth processing on the mix bus with side chain highpass filter.

Combining parallel processing with mix bus processing to achieve a louder mix.

Using multi mono for parallel processing to treat stereo sides differently.

The importance of clarity over loudness when mixing, as loudness follows clarity.

The concept of maintaining dynamics while achieving a clear and loud mix.

The ineffectiveness of matching reference mixes for volume and the focus on individual elements.

Disapproval of AI mastering tools for their lack of dynamic consideration in processing.

Transcripts

by far the most commonly asked question

that I've ever heard in my life from

everyone trying to learn how to make

their mixes sound great is how do I make

my mixes as loud and as clear as yada

yada whoever right so let me tell you

how there's a few critical things here

number one you need an

analogy how do you make the sky blue you

can't there's no way to make the sky

blue but on a clear day

the sky is blue translate this to your

mix how do you make your mix loud you

can't but if you declutter the mix where

everything is clear you can now make

your mix loud that's the answer it's

never the answer you're looking for like

you just oh this is the key you raise

that there and then boom show you on an

audio example it's never that way you

got to realize the reason it's hard to

learn how to do this is because you're

probably too focused on sound examples

too focused on other things focus on

Concepts once the concept reaches you

deep within your psyche you will learn

how to do things well that's why I'm so

focused on the psychological aspect of

mixing I'm so focused on that because

that's all it took for me to really get

it sound examples didn't do anything for

me the concept understanding that is

everything so let me give you the

example here ready other than making

sure it's not cloudy and what I I mean

by cloudy I mean if you boost low end on

every instrument in your mix you're

talking you take low end up on the bass

low end up on the kick low end up on the

keyboards low what you've now created is

a muddy mush a gobbly g muddy soup of

low end that can't possibly exist in a

loud mix you've made it where there's so

much frequency H so much stuff happening

in the frequency spectrum in the low end

that it's impossible to make it loud

picture a seesaw like this your low end

is up here everything else is down here

and as a result you can't hear nothing

at a a volume comparable to what mixes

are that you love the mixes you love

that come out by these guys that are

Pros are balanced there therefor there's

nothing that's cloudy and

cluttered everything is clear and

defined and that is why they appear loud

all right this comes from a lot of

things Arrangement is one in other words

if you're designing the song and you

know you're putting all this stuff in it

if the things that you're putting in it

are stepping on each other in the

frequency spectrum if the arrangement is

not good in terms of where things come

in and come out and how the song builds

if the arrangements cluttered it will

always be a far too dense amount of

audio you know instruments in one

section to make it feel loud the reason

so many of these great pop songs like

you know anybody post Malone Chief Keef

any of these guys the reason these songs

sound loud is because they aren't very

dense the mixes are there's less

instruments in them doing anything and

the ones that are there are sparse so

like because there's less in it you can

make it louder because things aren't

stepping on each other so there's less

mud there's less clutter therefore you

can push into things like compression in

the mix bus and for things like that you

know Clippers whatever you can push into

these things and the whole thing doesn't

just get clomped it actually sounds

great so this is the concept okay

there's so many other there's like

specifics I'm about to give you also

like number one the trick for loudness

in my opinion is an Andrew Shep's thing

that he specializes in it's called

parallel compression what parallel

compression is is the low information

the stuff that exists that is quiet

gets to come up that's the point of it

all right the like I'm G to get I'm

getting to the points the real points

when you're using parallel compression

what you're really doing is you're

squashing a signal down you're taking

transients off the top you're making it

where that lowlevel stuff can now come

up in volume significantly compared to

the stuff that was at the top and that

allows you to raise all the stuff that

was quiet in the mix gets louder so use

one two three channels of parallel

compression if you want and send

everything to it that's in the mid-range

because the mid-range is where your

volume is the mid-range is what's going

to make things sound loud all right I'm

talking and I'm going to take it down a

little but like roughly this is how I

look at where mid-range is right we have

to go before I get there right it's you

got to also make sure you manage the low

end into in your mix bus processing now

a guy named FAS dropped a great comment

which allowed me to really consider that

something I maybe haven't explained yet

in detail and that's why I have to um

I've only gone over it quickly and I may

have even said something like the you

know it takes the low end out of it in a

video when you're using a side chain

highpass filter it doesn't take the

low-end out of it it takes the low end

out of the detector now I may have gone

way too fast in that video cuz that

wasn't the point of that video so I

didn't focus on it and that point is a

critical one to understand because by

taking the low end out of the detection

circuit on a compressor what you're

really doing right is the compressor can

now work on the mid-range and the high

end without reacting to the low end so

even though it is a full bandwidth

processing like in other words it's

compressing the full bandwidth but it's

not reacting to the stuff that hits it

first which is always lowend because

your Kick Your Bass that stuff's always

going to be like the the loudest stuff

in your mix so that low-end information

hitting your multi your mix bus

processing soon as it hits your mix bus

processing you're it's going to start

working on it and you don't want that to

happen so you got to use a side chain

high pass filter on your mix bus now I

don't like multiband processing on my

mix bus multiband processing is

basically where you would you could have

the ability to not compress the low end

at all and only compress the mid-range

and the high end for example but I don't

like that I don't like multiband

processing on my mix bus and I don't

like Dynamics processing on my mix bus

cuz what that basically is is your

raising the level of let's say some

guitars and now your multiband processor

is perceiving more level and lowering

them so you're raising it gets lowered

you never get the result you're looking

for whereas at least if you have the

full bandwidth processing happening on

your mix bus but you take the low-end

part out of the detection circuit at

least if you're doing that then you

actually get a result when you raise the

guitars here they will appear louder

after the mix bus processing it's not

going to be lowered by like the same

amount that you set so like that's why I

don't love it's just it's a reason in my

opinion to never use multiband

processing or Dynamics processing on

multiband Dynamics processing on the mix

bus so I use you know a full bandwidth

processor on my mix bus and there and I

take the low end out of it from 125 HZ

down it's out of the detection circuit

okay it's not out of the compressor I

take the low end out of the detection

circuit which means really let's say we

have it set where it's doing two DB of

gain reduction okay let's say it's doing

two decb of gain reduction from the

highest point all the way down to the

lowest point of the frequency spectrum

it's two DCB of gain reduction

throughout the entire thing now by

taking the low end out of the detection

circuit it's allowing it to do that in a

way that actually does compress the

mid-range and does compress the highend

because if you didn't take the low end

out of the compression circuit and you

wanted 2db of gain reduction that two

that low end would eat up the compressor

so quick that you'd be getting

significantly more than 2db of gain

reduction in order to affect the

mid-range and highend at all and if you

wanted to affect the mid-range and

high-end it would be ducking like crazy

because the low end would be eating up

every CU they take up the lowend

frequencies take up a ton of room so

once you understand this you got to use

something I like I use the side chain

highpass filter set at 125 Hertz because

that's how it comes on the piece of gear

that I use but if I'm doing it in the

Box I may set it at 125 cuz I like that

number I may set it at 90 which is the

high pass filter on the Mark Daniel

Nelson plugin that he came out with not

long ago which is also sounds great it's

it's you set it where you want but if

you know if he's doing it at 90 and I'm

doing it at 125 either of those work and

anything in between works so you set

that how you want that's the side chain

high pass filter on your mix bus

compressor all right and I want a full

bandwidth one in other words I don't

want multiband okay I don't want it to

just do mid-range and high-end and not

low end I want it to compress the low

end too I just don't want it to see the

lowend first and then react to the low

end that's the critical element to

understand okay now once you get that

what you've basically done is you've

made your mixbox processing work for you

now because now you can actually get

your mix louder just by understanding

that so you make sure you do that okay

now once you combine that with parallel

processing meaning the lowlevel

information that's quieter gets to be

brought up as much as you want you could

create three different tracks of

parallel processing one of them has the

ne you know 2254 on it another one has a

33609 another one has a API 2500 I'm

just I'm naming compressors it doesn't

matter the point is you could one has a

fair child just whatever you want but

the point is send things to that that

live in your mid-range like keyboards

vocals guitars even bass if you want but

I will generally leave the bass out of

it it's just the way I usually roll I'll

leave kicks snares like all drums stay

out of the parallel processing for me

that's on like I have several sets of

parallel processing and the drums have

their own the bass has their own and

everything else in the mix goes to this

other section because that generally is

where a lot of volume lives so in other

words I want to get my base right on its

own set of parallel processing I don't

really want a lot of interaction but you

could also you don't have to listen to

this and you could send base to your

parallel processing also like if it's a

synthy base that has a lot of mid-range

or whatever you sort of have to decide

what goes to your parallel process in

and then when you raise that you will

bring up the volume as much as you want

on this whole track because you're

bringing up the quiet stuff in other

words by Smashing the transients down on

your parallel processing that allows you

to bring up the quiet stuff as much as

you want and get as loud as you want and

it's all just about when is it too loud

when are you starting to kill the

Dynamics that's the you don't want to

kill Dynamics so that's your ceiling of

uhoh it's starting to get destroyed too

much you bring it down by working in

this way your super processed stuff

that's the the quietest stuff in the mix

can come up and then the stuff that go

like I always have so those parallel

processing buses right that's bringing

up the quiet stuff every instrument in

your mix like let's say you got

keyboards they're going to a keyboard

bus that for me most of the time is

relatively dry in other words the

parallel processing bus is able to come

up with the smooshed version and then

the keyboard bus that's relatively dry

not smooshed it maintains all the

transients it maintains this Clarity

that's coming up when I need more

transient more of the the attack of

whatever it is so in other words that's

the loudest stuff the Peaks will shine

through on your clean bus of that

instrument so your clean keyboard bus is

got all the spiky parts of the keyboard

or guitar or violins or whatever that

has the spike stuff and then the smoosh

stuff can come up to thicken it up even

more so you work it like that okay I I

don't I need more attack on on these

instruments I'm not hearing enough of

the initial hits raise the clean side if

you want to hear more of the stuff

that's quiet and you don't hear enough

of it raise the parallel compression

side you get it and by using parallel

compression in this way it's it it helps

a lot because if the vocals are quiet

then the other stuff that's with the

vocals actually is like comes through

more like in other words if you think

about you're sending vocals to the

parallel compression you're sending

violins guitars keyboards to the all the

parallel compression when the vocals Get

Loud those other things that are in the

parallel compression appear lower they

get lowered because the vocals are now

taking up more space in the parallel

compression so it's sort of like doing

automation for you so when the vocals

are quieter the guitars are now a little

bit louder and they come up so it's

making it where it it's sort of doing

this automation thing for you it's the

only way to describe it and it works so

well that's why Andrew sheps never

worries about volume he's said many

times what he tries to do is actually

make things not loud anymore he's he

realizes that he's making stuff too loud

sometimes and tries to not make it so

loud this is the problem you will have

when you understand these Concepts

parallel compression is your friend to

make mixes louder also that side chain

highpass filter is your friend to make

mixes louder because you'll be able to

have more base in your mix before the

compression on the mix bus starts

pumping which is a bad thing as soon as

you start hearing the compression on

your mix bus it's not good in my opinion

you don't want to hear it and if you

have lowend in it you will hear it so

that's why you need the side chain high

pass filter okay and you need parallel

compression to bring up the quiet stuff

because you will hear just by raising

your parallel compression channels and I

usually have three of them three of them

that get like most of the mix by

bringing those up you'll actually bring

up the volume of the mix so much because

it's bringing up the mid-range now let

me say this this is where I abandoned

ship before when I was talking ready the

mid-range I like to look at it like

everything above where the side chain

high pass filter is is technically

mid-range to me I know some of those are

like you know lows still but it doesn't

matter like for the purposes of

understanding if my side chain high pass

filter set at 25 I look at it like the

most important aspects of the mix the

stuff that makes you think the mix is

loud is going to be from just above that

so let's just say like 150 HZ up to like

3 and 1/2k let's just say okay you could

even take it up to like 4K if you want

but the point is that zone is the most

important Zone to get clear and right

within your mix the low end especially

get clear and right what I'm saying is

loudness comes from that zone I just

described like 150 htz all and

mids like low mids and stuff around 300

400 500 so helpful in if your mix isn't

right look there clear that up make that

sound great there you'll start to get a

lot of low-end power there also all the

way up to 3 and 1 12K super important

for your mix to sound good above that

stuff is the airiness quality if you

want stuff to sound Airy and expensive

you may have to add some air into it

above that zone you know that's why like

the Neeve 1073 is really cool because

when you turn the highs up it's set at

12K so just by turning the highs up you

get this like Airy brightness expensive

shininess that comes out of it just by

raising the highs it's permanently set

at 12K on their high band so think about

it like this you raise up 12K and up it

brings up this beautiful high airiness

right now it's the low-end below the the

the side chain high pass filter below

that is your Su lows and stuff that

doesn't doesn't make the mix seem loud

you just need that for the you know the

the the chest Rumble you need it for the

body shaking but if that stuff's eating

up everything first you're all over so

you need to set that the high the side

chain highp pass filter and you also

need that stuff to not be living at the

as at the zero line on your P that can't

be living there watch my car test you

know video I made on how to pass the car

test super helpful to just understanding

that it could Peak at the low-end

fundamental that could be the highest

thing close to the zero line and then it

should slope relatively downwards the

like behind it in other words if it

Peaks at 50 HZ 40 HZ should be a little

lower 30 HZ should be a little lower 20

HZ should be a little lower it should

sort of have a slope or in your case I

guess this way right sloping down from

there towards as low as it gets 10 Hertz

should not be at zero it should be only

at zero at whatever the fundamental is

of your low the lowest thing in your mix

that is the loudest thing in your mix

whatever the loudest thing in your mix

should be the closest to zero and it

should be sloping slightly downward from

there beyond that watch that car test

video trust me it'll help a lot if you

haven't seen it already just these

Concepts is the reason your stuff isn't

loud also reference mixes the right way

to use reference mixes in my opinion is

listen to stuff you like and then notate

one instrument from that mix that gives

you a feeling you like you should use

that when you're referencing don't

reference for volume like I said about

about that clear sky analogy your mix is

going to be loud once you understand

these Concepts and you make it where

it's not muddy as soon as you get the

mix to be clear Clarity in the mix is

your focus not loudness it will be loud

naturally soon as you clear out the

clouds now you can see the blue sky and

it's the same with your mix clear out

the Clutter now you'll be able to hear

the mix very loud and clear that's your

problem it's not how to get it loud okay

because once you get the clarity part

right what'll happen is that slope on

your P will be right your mid-range

won't be so much lower than your lowend

and as a result you'll be able to push

in more on your mix bus processing

without hearing the pumping and it will

sound better so in other words you can

make it even louder once you get the mix

balance right and the goal here is not

to just make it louder it's to maintain

Dynamics so as soon as I'm making

something too loud where I'm sacrificing

Dynamics it sounds like everything now

is the same volume and there's no

dynamic range anymore in it I know I've

pushed it too hard that's the ceiling

for me I try to maintain as much

Dynamics as I can while also making it

clear and loud you understand and though

clear and Loud comes naturally just by

making the balance right so once you get

your head around all this stuff on how

to parallel process correctly also

parallel processing like when you're

doing your parallel compression that I

just explained before multimo most of my

effects in my mix multim mono I've said

this so many times rarely will I use

stereo effects in general when I'm

parallel doing anything in parallel I

want multim mono because I want it to

treat the two sides differently I don't

want it to treat the two sides the same

all right so I hope this makes sense to

you guys stick with these Concepts and

you won't ever worry about needing to

reference other songs in order to get

volume right I never do that I never

reference a full mix to make my mix

sound like it I'll reference oh I love

the way the snare sounds in this song

and I want mine to be similar so is it

giving me the same feeling from mine to

that and if it's not then you know I

I'll try to make it give me the same

feeling on a vocal on a whatever but the

point is I'll pick different songs for

different elements because it's it's not

really relevant once you have these

interaction of different instruments in

a different you know some are playing

these notes some are playing these notes

the key is different it it's the

Dynamics in this part are not the same

is this part once you realize that every

song is so different you can't look at a

curve and match a curve you can't look

at a reference mix and match the sound

to yours and have it mean anything this

just how I look at it it's never helped

me to do that ever it's never ever

helped me to do anything like that all

right so like that's why the ozone AI

like you know where it tells you with

the a master assistant or whatever like

this is the genra and this is the curve

it recommends I I think those things are

terrible I never ever use it and I don't

recommend anybody use it because it

sounds terrible it sounds terrible

because it's just taking into account

the loudest point it's it's doing it's

applying certain processing and then not

dealing with the processing after that

in other words like it hears what it

what it's it it does a detection and

says okay it needs this this this and

this but the second step and the third

step and the fourth step in the

processing don't need to be what it is

once they do so much of the first step

it's like re oddly disconnected the way

the it adds C things in other words if

you take off one step of that processing

it sounds terrible and if you leave it

on it sounds terrible so you're just

painting yourself in this corner where

no matter what you're doing by using

that you're not helping your music so

focus on only the clarity and focus on

the concepts of if you want to bring up

stuff that's quiet you do it using

parallel compression in multimo and

focus on stuff like side chain highpass

filter is essential on your mix bus to

use a full bandwidth processor full

bandwidth compression let's say and then

side chain highpass filter to get the

lowend to be out of the detector once

you get this stuff happening you'll be

able to get way way more volume all

right balance your mix the volume will

come naturally and don't be afraid to

use these tools all right you guys got

this do me a favor if you got it throw a

balanced comment write down in the

comment section it helps me more than

you know and also hit the like button if

you liked it subscribe if you haven't

already my name's Evan jaffy custom cut

Studios you guys seriously got this take

it easy