EQ Training Series Part 3: How to EQ Vocals

Today we're going to loot at the third part of the training series on EQ. We'll be looking at specifically some tips and tricks you can use when using an EQ on a vocal track.

Let's start by talking about vocals. Vocals are probably one of the most important, if not the most important parts of a song. Most mainstream music today has vocals at the forefront of the song and it generally leads the melody. The music tends to act as a carrier for the vocals but the song really shines through the lyrics and vocal line. Obviously this isn't true for everything, but it is true for a lot of music today. Since vocals are so important, we're going to look at using EQ to enhance a vocal track and help it shine through the mix.

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How to Start Recording and Marketeting Your Music

Creativity is the cornerstone of great music. It’s how you leave your signature in a song and how a song remains impactful years after listening. As musicians, we love to create. We love to pour our heart and soul into our music. But how do we share our music with others once we’ve created it? How do we get past the hurdles of going to a studio and getting our song out there?

Today I’m going to share how you can record your own music, get your song on iTunes, and promote your music.

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EQ Training Series Part 2: How To Use EQ

Welcome to part two of the EQ Training Series. Today we're going to discuss how you can get started using EQ and walk you through the process using EQ through a couple different steps:

• How to use a high pass filter
• How to EQ a kick drum

Alright, so let's get started.

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EQ Training Series Part 1 - What Is EQ?

Over the next few weeks I'll be doing a series on how to use EQ. We'll be covering all kinds of topics and questions!

• What is EQ?
• How do I use EQ?
• How do I EQ vocals?
• How many EQ bands do I need?
• How do I use EQ to create balance?

We'll be looking at all of these questions and answering them thoroughly with step by step guides on how you can get better with EQ and have a better understanding of how it works. 

Today we're going to start with the first part of the series.

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The Best Mixing Tip I Ever Got

When I started out with recording and mixing, I felt like a lost puppy. I had no idea what was going on. My professors in college would show me things like EQ and compression and I would just stare into space feeling massively confused. I felt like there were so many rules and so many technical know-hows that I would never learn how to be a good audio engineer. Then I heard the best tip I've ever gotten for mixing.

Don’t be afraid to try things.

I heard this advice while listening to a podcast from Joe Gilder and Graham Cochrane called “Simply Recording Podcast.”

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Mixing In Context Part Two: Don't Solo Your Tracks

Today I want to talk about a very important aspect of mixing in context.

 Putting a track in solo. 

Now, I covered this in a previous post but I think it bears repeating again because people still do this all the time. I used to do this all time. It's a hard habit to break, but when you do you'll be on your way to making better mixes. 

The problem with listening to a track in solo is that no one else will. Nobody listening to your song is going to hear those tracks in solo.

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Three Steps To A Cohesive Mix

This may come off as hypocritical considering that I run a website dedicated to mixing tips, but I don't like "mixing rules." When I started mixing I fell into the trap of thinking that there were special mixing tricks that were going to revolutionize my mixing. I learned the hard way that there are no secret rules. The only "secret" is hard work and drive.

With that said, I'm going to give you some tips today that will help you create a cohesive mix. To do this, we're going to look at a few rules and break a few rules.

So what do I mean by a cohesive mix? I mean that all of the instruments and tracks within your mix need to sit well together and balance each other out. Let's look at a few ways we can do this.

1. Don't solo your tracks.

Nobody listens to your individual tracks in solo. They listen to the entire mix. It won't do you any good to go EQ a vocal or guitar by itself without listening to it in the context in the mix. Remember that your goal is to create a cohesive mix with balance and continuity. The only time you may want to solo a track is to EQ out a weird frequency or for some editing work. However, in general you should mix your tracks in the context of the mix and not by themselves.

2. Do what sounds right, not what looks right.

It's so easy when mixing in a DAW to rely on our eyes more than our eyes. We will look at an EQ curve and think, "Wow, that EQ curve is way too step," and we won't even bother listening to see whether we like it or not. EQ is a tool, use it as such. Break the rules that say you should never boost EQ by so and so amount. Do what sounds right for the mix. Use mixing techniques and rules only as guidelines and as a starting point, but you are going to have to stray away from that depending on each individual song. That's why you don't want to use the same EQ curve on every vocal track. It may work in one song, but need something totally different for another. Experiment and listen to what sounds right!

3. Use EQ to help frequencies sit together.

EQ isn't just a tool to alter the sound of a track or cut out certain frequencies, it's also a great way to get your tracks sitting together in a mix. Let's say you are mixing the bass guitar and kick drum. One great way to get those two sitting together is to boost one frequency at, let's say 60hz, and cut the other one at the same spot. (The frequency that you cut will depend on your individual song. 60hz is just an example.) This will help each one to come through the mix but allow you to hear them individually. Practice the same technique on electric guitars.

Use these tips as guidelines and as a starting point. As I said at the beginning of the post, these are not cure-all's for your mixes. They will however help you to getting a more cohesive mix.

Mixing - Editing - Mastering

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How To Use Parallel Compression (Video Tutorial)

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Adaptable Mixing

Do you still listen to the radio?

I do. But not near as much as I did say, five or ten years ago. I mainly now listen to music on my iPhone or computer at home.

So what does this mean for us as mixing and recording engineers?

Well, one thing it means is that we need to make our mixes more adaptable. Let me explain.

When your audience is primarily listening to the radio, they are more than likely hearing genre specific music. There are rock stations, hip hop stations, country stations, etc that focus their music primarily on a particular genre. So if you were mixing a rock song, you knew that more than likely that song would be played before or after another rock song, or at least a song pretty close to it.

However, today that is no longer the case. With more and more people abandoning radio and listening primarily to their own mixes, the genre continuity is disappearing. What this means is that our mixes need to be able to flow seamlessly from one genre to the next. If they don't, they may stand out in a negative way. This is why we need to make our mixes adaptable.

So how can we make our mixes adaptable?

One way you can make your mixes more adaptable is simply to think ahead when you are mixing. As you are EQ'ing your kick drum, maybe pull in some reference tracks from a few different genres and find a sound that you think fits seamlessly with all of them. Now, obviously you don't want to make it sound like a genre it's not. The goal is to make the transition more seamless and less brunt.

I believe that by doing this we can stay ahead of the curve, or at least with the curve in an ever so fast changing industry.

So next time your mixing, think ahead and try to make your mixes adaptable.

Mixing - Editing - Mastering

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Using Stereo Reverb To Widen A Mix

In today's world of unlimited tracks and digital instruments, it's rare to have a mix with less than four instruments, but, it happens.

So let's say you have a mix that is fairly simple as far as instruments go. Electric guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. You may be wondering how you can get a wide sound with such little instruments. One way you can do this is simply by using a stereo reverb track.

Note: I'd like to say right here that there are plenty of great albums with a primarily mono mix. Don't feel like it has to be wide. 

Okay so let's say you've got your one electric guitar panned dead in the center. If you want to widen it up, simply put a stereo reverb on there. All you do is a create a stereo aux channel, slap a reverb plugin in on there, and put a send on your guitar track to that channel. By finding the right level, you can create a wider sound without getting too spacey, especially if you've got a good reverb plugin. (I recommend RVerb by Waves)

You can use this reverb trick with any track as well. It doesn't have to just be guitar. You could even throw it on a drum buss to give it more of a room sound if it's too dry. You don't want to get too crazy using this trick, but it will definitely help open up your mixes using subtle reverb.

Remember as I noted before, there is nothing wrong with a mono mix. Great bands and great albums have been made with very little instrumentation and a primarily mono mix. This trick is only if you want to widen up your sound a little bit but don't want to throw off the balance of your mix.

Hope that helps!

Mixing and Mastering

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What Is The Best Way To Record Or Mix "X"

One question I hear all the time is, "What is the best way to record or mix x?"

The problem with this question is the word best. 

Anytime you approach recording or mixing with the idea that there is a "best" way to do something, you undercut creativity. Sure there are rules and guidelines that will help you along the way, but you have to be risky and try new things. A ton of what we do in the industry today is because of people trying things that others thought ridiculous.

I think the important question to ask is, "What way can I record or mix that sounds the best to me and adds creativity to the song?" Because this is a subjective field, you are the one who gets to decide where its good or not.

So next time you sit down to record or mix, remember to be creative and try new things. Don't be afraid to break the rules and you just might come up with a great new sound.

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Mixing In Context Part One: Using EQ To Create Balance

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be doing a series on mixing tracks within the context of the mix. This is such a huge aspect of mixing that many people seem to miss. As you learn how to mix in context your mixes will begin to flourish and it well help you get a more cohesive mix.

Today we're going to look at using EQ to create balance within the mix.

EQ is a wonderful tool. I use it probably more than I do anything else, and it has a wide array of applications within a mix. One very important aspect that can often be overlooked, is using EQ to create balance within a mix.

So what do I mean by balance?

I mean that EQ can help certain tracks sit together more comfortably by utilizing control of the frequencies. For instance, if you have two electric guitars in a mix, you can find a particular frequency that you like and do a subtle boost (about 3db) on one and a subtle cut (about 3db) on the other. What this will do is help each one to sit together more properly.

Now these sort of techniques are subtle, but will add up when done to a lot of tracks. Use these sort of tricks on things like multiple backup vocals, dual electric or acoustic parts, etc. You'll start to hear this nice subtle separation of your tracks, but by keeping it subtle you won't be changing the tonality too much.

So remember when you are using EQ on your tracks, keep in mind what frequencies you are boosting and cutting in relation to other instruments and how you can use EQ to help the instruments sit more nicely together.

I'll be posting a video tutorial soon on doing this so be on the look out!

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(Video Tutorial) - EQ Tricks for your Drum Buss

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Where To Pan Your Tracks When Mixing

One of the first questions new mixing and recording engineers have is, "Where do I pan my instruments?"
This may seem like a simple question to someone whose been in the field for a while, but even something like panning and setting levels can be daunting if you don't have any experience or know where to start.

Today I'd like to give you some suggestions on where to pan your instruments in a mix.

Note: This is not a cure-all or an objective rule to panning. The rules change. Music is subjective. Take it for what it is. [end rant]

First off, I'd like to touch on a particular kind of panning that helps to widen your mixes. I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears mentioning again.

LCR Panning

LCR panning refers to left-center-right panning. The idea is that you either pan something hard left, right, or dead in the center. This will help you to widen your mixes and get a huge sound. You certainly don't have to do this, but if you are going for a wide sound and don't have much experience mixing, this is a good place to start.

So, to the question. What do you pan left, center, or right? Well it depends. On a lot. But here are a few rules.

Center Panned

• Kick Drum
• Snare Drum
• Bass Guitar
• Lead Vocals

Those instruments and tracks are almost always going to be panned in the center. So that's a good rule of thumb to start with. Let those tracks cut through the center of the mix. 

Now, the rest of the panning process is going to depend on what instruments you have in your mix. If you have, say, only one electric guitar, you will probably want to keep it in the center. If you have two electric guitars, you'll have to play with it. I like to take two rhythm electric tracks playing the same thing, and pan them hard left and right. This widens the mix lets each guitar track breathe and not fight for attention. Then you can have the lead guitar or solo guitar cut up the middle. 

Whatever you decided to do panning-wise, make sure your mix is balanced. Try not to have 80% of the tracks coming out of the right speaker or your mix will sound unbalanced. Don't be afraid to keep your mix mostly mono if you don't have a lot of tracks. In fact, you should get your mix sounding good in mono no matter what, but that's another blog post. 

So, to recap: Pan your kick, snare, bass, and vocals in the center. The rest will depend on how many of that instrument you have. Also, try LCR mixing to create a wider mix. 

Soon I'm going to do a video tutorial on panning automation that will help you open up your choruses and get creative with your panning. 

As always, remember if you have any questions about mixing send your questions to info@willsterling.net and get your question featured in the Question of the Week. 

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How To Get The Right Reverb Level On Vocals - Video

In this tutorial we show you how to get the right reverb level on a lead vocal track.

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Three Items You Need To Start Home Recording

I get this question a lot and so I think it bears mentioning.

What do I need to start recording my own music? 

Although this answer will vary depending on the person you ask, here are three items that I think are very important when first getting into recording.

1) Recording Interface

When first starting out, it's crucial that you get some sort of recording interface. A recording interface is basically an external sound card with preamps that allows you to plug microphones and other instruments into your computer. You can usually get a USB or firewire version of one of these for around $150 and it will most likely come with some sort of free DAW. Which brings us to our next point...

2) Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

That's just a fancy of way of saying recording software. You will probably want to have some sort of program on your computer that allows you to mix and edit your tracks once you have them recorded. These softwares also allow you to bounce your songs to down to MP3 or WAV files, so you can get them on your iPod or upload them to the internet. If you don't know what software you want to use, try starting out with something free like Studio One. We'll assume for the sake of the post that you aren't planning on going purely analog or bypassing a computer altogether.

3) Microphone

You are going to need a decent microphone, and contrary to popular belief, you don't need to spend a ton of money. Depending on your interface, you'll either want to start out with a dynamic or condenser microphone. If you go with a condenser microphone, make sure the recording interface you have has phantom power. Condenser microphones have a hotter signal than dynamics, but also require extra power. I personally think condenser microphones are a great place to start. You can get the MXL 990/991 package for around $80 and that gets you two microphones off the bat. This will allow you to record things like acoustic and vocals at the same time. If you can't get a condenser, then start out with a Shure SM57 or 58. These mics are great once you learn how to use them and practice mic placement. They will run you around $100.

So there you have it. Three things to get you started with home recording. Total cost of getting these three things shouldn't run you more than $250 to $300 depending on your choice of interface and microphones. Once you have these three things, you'll be on your way to making great recordings and learning the ins and outs of mixing.

Have a Recording but Need Your Song Mixed?

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What's The Next Step After Recording?

Often times as musicians we are perfectionists when it comes to our music. You want your songs to be the best they can be. And so you set out to create great songs, spending tons of time arranging, writing, and composing. Once you've got the ideas laid out, it's time to move on to the next phase:

Recording. 

So you rehearse every day for a week getting your songs perfect, and then you head to the studio. You spend hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months laying down your tracks to get the best possible recording you can. Every day you pour blood, sweat, and tears into your music to get the best sounding tracks you can.

Then the recording phase is done. But, what's next?

You listen to your songs but they still don't sound like you envisioned them in your head. When you listen to them next to other professional songs they sound more quiet, less punchy, less dynamic, and well, just not as good.

So where do you go from here?

You want to sell your songs on iTunes and Amazon and all the other major sites, but you need a professional sounding project to do that. In a market flooded with music, you need your song to stand out. So what's the next step?

Mixing.

This is where the mixing phase comes in. Mixing takes your recorded tracks that you've poured so much time into, and enhances them, bringing out the vision you had in your head for the song. Mixing uses creative processes and technical know-how's to take your song to the next level. Mixing makes your song more clear, punchy, dynamic, and louder.

But how do you begin the mixing process?

This is where we come in.

We run an online mixing and mastering company dedicated to helping musicians get professional sounding projects that they are proud of and can't wait to share with their fans. We use all sorts of mixing and mastering techniques to take your songs to the next level.

If you're at this stage a musician, and you're ready to get your songs mixed and mastered, visit our site and see if we are the right fit for you. We have samples of work we've done before so you can get an idea of the difference mixing can make for your projects. We also have multiple mix packages to suit whatever needs you may have whether it be mixing, editing, mastering, or all of the above.

If you have any questions you can email us at info@willsterling.net. We'd love to help you get started on the next step toward a better sounding project.

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Why You Shouldn't Spend Too Much Time On A Mix

Have you ever started working on mix and spent the whole day mixing, only to go back later and realize it doesn't sound good? If so, you're not alone. This happens all the time. It can happen as a result of spending too much time on a mix. Yes, there is such a thing.

Today I'd like to share a couple reasons why you shouldn't spend too long on any mix. 

Fatigue

The first and probably most important reason why you shouldn't spend too long on a mix, is simply that you will get fatigued. After hours upon hours of mixing, your ears will start to protect themselves and you won't be doing any good anymore. You can keep on and on, but there is a point of diminishing returns. You are going to get ear fatigue and not hear accurately. That's why when you go back later and listen, you say, "What in the world was I thinking?" This is a common result of fatigue when mixing. So set yourself deadlines and give yourself breaks. This will help to increase your endurance and keep your listening as accurate as possible. 

Priorities

The second reason you shouldn't spend too long on a mix, is so you prioritize your time on what is most important. If you don't, what will happen is that you will spend way too much time on things that aren't that important, only to be fatigued by the time you get to the important parts. If you haven't yet, try this: Make yourself do a one hour mix. You would be surprised at how much you can get done, and it will help you figure out what parts of the mixing process are the most important. If you don't give yourself any barriers, you'll often spend far too much time on the less important tasks. For instance, instead of spending an hour EQ'ing a snare drum, maybe you should spend an hour adding width and depth by simply setting levels and panning. Over time you will figure out what you need to prioritize the most, and what you are most skilled at. 

Anytime you start mixing a project remember to set barriers to prevent fatigue, and prioritize what you think is most important. 

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Creative Mixing

I love the technical side of mixing. I love turning all the knobs, setting EQ's, messing with compression, and pretty much anything technical in your DAW or on your console. However, over time I've learned that it's important to try risky mixing. What I mean by this is be creative. 

Far too often we get wrapped up in the technicalities and what we are supposed to do. We forget that mixing and music is an art. It's all subjective. No one gets to set a bar and say, "This is what you have to do to get a good sounding mix." Sure, there are great tips and suggestions out there that we would be foolish not to use. But we need to be creative. We need to take risks!

So how do you start being creative?

Break the rules. 

One of the first things you can do to start being creative with your mixes is to break the rules. Don't be afraid to try new things. Focus on the sound of the song, not just the technicalities. Don't be so overly concerned with what your EQ curve looks like that you aren't even paying attention to what it sounds like!

Use creative editing.

Another thing you can do to help you get creative, is to use creative editing. I'm talking about things like automating plugins and panning. For instance, maybe you want the reverb to kick in louder on a vocal when it hits the chorus. Most DAW's let you automate that. Or you want a mono acoustic guitar during the verse but then on the chorus you open it up hard left and right to make it sound huge. There are so many possibilities. Don't be afraid to try things.

Be creative with plugins. 

There is no end to the possibilities of creative effects you can do with plugins. Using things like delay, reverb, and other creative effects will help you add a whole new aspect to your song. You could, for instance, take a vocal and add a ping pong delay that trails off. Or you could use a stereo reverb on a mono track to widen it up. There are so many different combinations you can do, so try new things!

The whole point here is to get creative. It will help you mentally when mixing too. It'll get you out of that technical rut and into the creative mentality, which is really where you want to be. So next time you sit down at your DAW, get in the mindset of creativity, and try something new.

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Getting Vocals to Sit Right in the Mix

In most songs today, vocals are probably the most important part of a song. If you listen to the majority of pop songs, the vocals are loud, upfront, and clear. Even in rock and other genres the vocals are what drive the melody and catch peoples ear. So, with vocals being such an important part of the mix, how do you get it to sound right? Today I want to mention three things you can do that will help your vocals sit right in the mix.

Save the vocals for last.

On nearly all mixes I work on, I save the vocals for last. This is just the easiest way for me to make sure they are sitting right in the mix. If I can get the rest of my mix sitting well together, then when I get to vocals, I know right where they need to be. So when you are mixing a session, just mute the vocals and get everything else sounding right first. Once you've got that done, move on to the vocals.

Don't solo the vocals.

You know who listens to solo'd vocal tracks? Nobody. All that matters is what they sound like in the context of the mix. I listened to Chris Lord Alge talk about this recently. He said he didn't understand why people would solo a vocal only to get it sounding right, then throw it in the mix and it's completely lost its context. I honestly think this is a good rule of thumb for any track. What ultimately matters is the context of the mix. If you need to solo something to EQ out a weird frequency, do it. In general though, you should mix vocals and most tracks within the context of the mix.

Use compression.

Compression is an extremely handy tool, and in my experience it works wonders on vocals. Using the right kind of compression on vocals can make your track punch through the mix and sit right where you want it. Especially if you are dealing in a rock mix. You want your vocals to be punchy, loud, and clear. This is the perfect time to use compression. Keep in mind thought that compression can be a tricky tool and try not to over do it. If you can get good with a particular compressor or find one that you think works good with vocals, stick with that.

So there you have it. Three tips to help get your vocals sitting right in the mix. If you have any questions feel free to email us at info@willsterling.net and get your question featured in the Question of the Week. Thanks for reading!

Mixing, Editing, and Mastering Services

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Video Tutorial (How to Clean Up A Muddy Mix)

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Video Tutorials Coming Soon!

I'm very excited to announce that we will be offering video tutorials for mixing and recording within the next couple of weeks. We will be covering topics from EQ and Compression to automating plugins and more! You can look for these video tutorials here on the site, on YouTube, or at http://willsterling.net/blog. We can't wait to share these videos with you and help you become a better mix engineer!

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Thoughts from an Insecure Audio Engineer

Over the past couple years I had this crazy idea to start a business. I wanted to start a mixing and mastering service for small musicians trying to get a great sounding demo or EP. So I set out on the journey hoping it would work. I began by learning as much as possible. I already knew a decent bit, but I really wanted to excel at the art. So every day I would practice mixing. On the way to school and home I would listen to podcasts. I would read books and learn about business and marketing. I set aside some amount of time every day to invest in my idea. Over time, I noticed my idea start to grow.

Here recently I took a couple huge steps forward. I built a professional website and a mixing portfolio. Those are two very important things to have if you are going to run an online or local business that involves creativity. People want to know you are a professional and want to hear what you have done before they throw money your way. So at this point I was all pumped up and excited to really get the business going. I had the foundation laid and the plans were coming together. But then I got hit by something that I wasn't sure how to deal with. Fear. 

I began to be afraid. I hadn't charged anyone yet, and I was afraid to. I didn't think I was good enough and I wasn't sure if people would even want to pay for my service. So many questions started popping in my head. How much should I charge? Where do I find clients? How do I keep clients? What if people hate my service? I was just plagued by all these thoughts and the fear began to cripple me. But then I started to think back to these books I had read on leadership and running a business. All of them talked about the fear of failure and how you have to push through even when you are afraid. Failure is just an opportunity to learn and failure is the way to success. Success is not some straight line from point A to point B. It's a crooked line full of turns, ups, downs, failures, wins, and unpredictability. So I pressed on. I decided to charge.

Once I put a price on my site I thought, "Just great. Who in the world is going to spend money on my service? I'm worthless!" But I just did it anyways. My first week of having the website I received three emails and got three paid mixing gigs. You can imagine how ecstatic I was. I couldn't believe that someone had gone to my website, listened to my portfolio, and decided it was worth buying. I was so encouraged by this but once again, the fear came. What if I can't deliver the mix they expect? What if they find out I'm not the greatest mix engineer in the world? I remembered again that failure is a part of the path to success. So I did it anyway. All three clients loved their mixes. I was successful because I pushed through my fears.

I'm still pursuing this business and this idea. I'm still learning how to market and how to grow. I'm still learning how to be a better engineer and how to gain new clients. I'm still learning. And I'll always be learning.

The point in all this is to say, take a step forward. Don't be afraid to have some initiative and step out there. Don't feel like you have to be perfect. Don't be afraid to fail. Through willpower, hard work, and endurance, you will be successful. Learn everything you can in the process! Learn how to run a business and how to market. Learn how to keep clients and how to grow. Learn, learn, learn. It will pay off.

Every day I still fear failure. Some days I want to quit and go back to a more secure path. Some days I don't know how in the world it could possibly succeed. But this is just all part of the process. I continue to make myself take initiative and move forward in spite of my fears.

We're all afraid of taking initiative. We're all a little insecure about our abilities and our value. Don't let fear hold you back from accomplishing your dreams. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be willing.

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Question of the Week

I'm excited to announce a new post series called Question of the Week! Basically every week I will be answering a question on the blog, that you submit. Hopefully this will help to give you relevant information to the type of issues and barriers you may be having when mixing or recording. Remember to submit your questions to info@willsterling.net. Anyways...let's get started!

This week our question is as follows:

"How do I make each instrument stand out from each other, but also blend? I've tried to mix well but the end product always seems to mush together in an undesirable way. I use Ableton if that helps. Thanks a bunch!"

Great question. Let's start off by tackling a couple of the issues you seem to be having.

The first issue you seem to be having is depth. Depth in a song describes how close and far away a sound seems to you. This is really just determined by how loud or quite a track is. So when you mix, you want to create a good bit of depth. In other words, don't have every track at the same volume level. Allow some instruments to sit in the back and act as layers, while other ones shine through. For instance, if you have a keyboard synth track, those are usually get to have in the background just sort of filling the gaps. But something like a lead vocal needs to sit on top of the mix and really punch through. By spending time adjusting levels and creating depth, it will help each instrument to sit together nicely and not fight for attention.

The second issue you may be having is width. Width is just what it sounds like. It describes how wide your mix is and how you have your instruments panned. If your tracks are starting to sound mushed together than there's a chance you aren't giving them a lot of separation. Try using LCR mixing to create a nice, wide, stereo sound that will help alleviate some of those crowded track problems. But don't forget to check your mix in mono and make sure that it sounds good. Often times panning can make you unaware of a problem that would otherwise be noticeable in mono. So be sure to check every now and again.

By creating width and depth you will give your tracks room to breathe and help them sit better with each other in the mix. Hope this helps!

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How to Clean Up a Muddy Mix

Today I want to share two tips on how you can clean up a muddy mix.

1. High Pass Filters

The first tip I want to share with you is using a high pass filter. If you aren't familiar with a high pass filter, I'll briefly explain it. A high pass filter essentially rolls off the low end and allows the highs to pass through. Hence the name. This can do wonders to a muddy mix, and it's very simple to implement. To get started using a high pass filter, all you need to do is put some sort of EQ plugin on your track. It can be a one band, three band, seven band, it doesn't matter. Then when you have the EQ plugin up, look for high pass filter (sometimes known as a low-cut or lc) section to enable. What this was allow you to do is roll off all of the frequencies below a certain point. A good starting point is about a 100hz. Put this filter on most of your tracks except for kick drum and bass guitar. These are the instruments we want to sit at the bottom of the mix. You won't notice the high pass filter change your tone drastically, but when you have them across most of your tracks, it will really clean up a lot of low end in your mix.

2. Apply a High Shelf

The second tip involves boosting certain frequencies on your tracks. Before you do this, make sure you've done any sort of subtractive EQ that you can do. I believe that most of the time it is better to cut than to boost. But let's assume that you've done some subtractive EQ, you've put your high pass filters on, and you are still having a muddy mix. At this point, you will want to try and pinpoint what instruments are muddying up the mix, and apply a high shelf. Essentially you will be boosting the EQ from about 6khz up by about 3 to 6db to add high end to the track. For instance, if your drums sound too muddy, create a drum bus and then apply the boost to the bus. This will apply it across all drums and help them punch through the mix. Also, remember that what frequencies you need to boost will depend on the track. You don't want your mix to sound harsh, so don't get too crazy boosting the high end. However, with subtle boosts where it needs it, this should also help to clean up your mix.


Remember to practice getting it right at the source as well. If you are getting a muddy vocal take, try using a condenser mic that picks up a hotter signal and higher frequencies. This will make your job easier as a mix engineer and help clean up the mix.

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Do You Mix With Your Eyes Or Your Ears?

I love being in the digital age of music. It's great being able to sit in your bedroom and record an entire album with hardly any gear. Limitless possibilities are opened up with the addition of plugins and unlimited tracks. We can record at lower volume levels without worrying about losing sound. We can edit tracks with the click of the mouse. The list of benefits in digital recording goes on and on. But I fear we are missing out on a very important aspect of recording. Use your ears. 

If you do most of your mixing in a DAW, then you probably use your eyes quite a lot. Most EQ plugins are graphical EQ's with multiple bands that you can control and change curvature of the lines on the screen. Compressor plugins show you how much a sound is being cut in db levels. The point is, you are probably using your eyes to make most of these adjustments. Is this a bad thing? Well, not necessarily. But what is a bad thing is if you quit using your ears. Sometimes it is tempting to look at an EQ curve and think, "Wait a second, that curve is way too steep." But have you really listened to the sound? So what if it's a 12 db cut. Does it sound good? That's the point I'm driving at. 

Next time you are mixing, try this. Open up your plugins, and when you make adjustments, close your eyes. Most likely your plugin has nobs that you can control so use those without looking at the screen. Only use your ears. This goes for EQ, compression, and whatever other plugins you may be using. Get in the habit of mixing with your ears and not your eyes. 

Ultimately, what matters is what your tracks sound like. Don't fall into the trap of mixing everything with your eyes but make sure to use your ears as well. 

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Mixing in the Mix Box

I saw a great post today from Graham Cochrane over at The Recording Revolution. (Great and informative site) Graham was talking about mixing in the mix box, and I felt this was such an important concept that I needed to share it. The idea is that there is a box that your mix falls in. It's basically the depth and width of your song. How wide does your song go and how dynamic are the instruments?

Today I want to share some ideas that can help make your mix sound wider and have more depth. This will help you to create a huge song without everything being stuck inside the mix box.

The first thing I want to talk about is LCR mixing. LCR mixing refers to panning. The idea is that you either pan hard left, hard right, or dead in the center. I'm a huge fan of LCR mixing and in my opinion it does wonders to widen your mix. I've talked about it before and I'll probably talk about it again. If you're not at least trying LCR mixing, what do you have to lose?

Secondly, you need to create depth to your song using volume. Basically you don't want to have every instrument in your tracks sitting at the exact same level. This will make your song sound crowded and as if the instruments are all fighting for attention. Try to let certain tracks shine through like lead vocals or lead guitar. Create dynamics and by default, you will create depth.

Lastly, I want to talk about adding EQ to your tracks. Not every track needs low end and not every track needs high end. This is what high pass and low pass filters are for. They allow you to clean up the frequencies that aren't being used by certain instruments so that the instruments that actually are in those tracks can really punch through. I generally put high pass filters on almost everything except bass guitar and the kick drum. What you want to achieve here is better dynamics between your frequencies. You allow your tracks that have a lot of information in the mid range to sit comfortably inside the box, while pushing your tracks with high end information up and tracks with low end information down. This adds vertical dynamics to your song.

So to recap, there are three things you can do to help your tracks not fight in the mix box.

1. LCR Mixing
2. Volume Dynamics
3. EQ, High Pass, and Low Pass Filters

Hope this helps you take another step to a bigger and better mix! 

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New Website!

I'm happy to announce that I've got my new website up and running. If you need more information on how to get stuff mixed, mastered, or you just want to hear some sample work of what I've done, check it out!

Will Sterling Productions

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The Number One Secret to a Great Sounding Mix

So you want to know what the secret is to having a great sounding mix? You want your mix to sound like the top professional mixing engineers? Then listen up because here is the secret... You ready?

There is no secret. 

I'll say it again in case the italics didn't drive the point home, there is no secret! If you want to be a better mixing engineer and you are looking for a cure-all secret to great sounding mixes, I've got bad news for you: there isn't one. The top mixing engineers in the world do not have some super secret technique that makes all of their mixes sound great. The truth of it is to get great sounding mixes, it takes hard work and lots of time. Even then, there is no secret. You just keep working at honing your skills and learning new techniques. Also, be creative! Don't just look for some rule or technique that others do, but come up with your own! I'm not saying don't learn from others, because that is hugely important. But don't be afraid to try new ideas and get creative with music. In my opinion, that's really what it's all about.

Okay, so there is no secret. But there's still got to be things you can do to make your mix sound better. What are some of those things? Well, there's literally hundreds, but I'll list off a few that have made a huge difference in my mixes.

• Trust your ears
• Finish projects
• Put in a ton of time
• Use reference mixes
• Be creative
• Learn from others

The list goes on and on. The point is, there is no one big secret. It takes time, work, education, experience, and creativity to get a great mix. The beauty of it is, you are responsible for your own success. Because there is no secret, you can be just as good as the rest of the mixing engineers out there. The only thing standing between you and your goal is yourself. You have the ability to work hard, learn a lot, and devote a ton of time into your dream. If you are willing to focus on it and keep at it, there's nothing that can stop you. 

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How to Make Your Chorus Bigger

When you are a mixing or producing a song, you want there to be some dynamics. This means that you want there to be dynamic differences between verses, choruses, bridges, and so forth. If you don't have any dynamic change, say when you get to the chorus, then your song will sound  flat and have no parts that stand out.

Today I'm going to talk about two things that will help you have a bigger chorus in your songs.

Tip One:

Automate Panning

Automating panning is a nifty little technique to widen up your choruses. Basically, the idea is that you have your panning automated to widen or narrow at particular parts of the song. Since we are trying to make a bigger chorus, we want to widen the sound when we hit the chorus. You can do this to multiple instruments but I recommend drums or guitars. Try having the drums panned in the center during the verses, and then have them pan hard left and right when it hits the chorus. This will help to widen your chorus and make it sound much bigger. You could also do this to acoustic guitars. If you doubled acoustic guitars, just have one play in the center during the verses, then bring both in panned left and right on the chorus.

Tip Two:

Record Dynamically

This tip is all about getting it right at the source. When a song is being performed and recorded, make sure the parts are dynamically written and then recorded that way. Have the guitarist hang back during the verse and let the drums and bass carry it. Then when you hit the chorus, open it up with all the instruments. This is basic songwriting dynamics, but if you don't have this right, it's going to be a lot harder to make your song dynamic in the mixing process.

These are just two tips to hopefully help you make a better dynamic mix. As always, don't be afraid to get creative with it! Try things and remember to break the rules every once in a while.

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The Free Mixing Session is Over!

First off, a big thanks to everyone who submitted your songs for free mixing! I had a blast working with you all and got to mix some great (and hilariously awesome) tracks. If you still need mixing done, contact me at willsterling23@gmail.com. Currently rates are $25 per song. Below is a link to my mixing portfolio if you'd like to hear some samples of my work. Cheers!

https://soundcloud.com/willsterling/sets/mixing-samples

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Free Mixes!

I will mix one song of your choice from either your EP, Album, or single!

What you will get: Strategic EQ, compression, setting levels, widening your mix, automation, proper gain staging, the addition of creative effects such as reverb, delay, etc, and EQ and limiting on the master bus to bring up the volume and clarity of your mix.

You will get three files back when I am done: Original WAV File, Master WAV File, and a Master MP3 file.

Also, be sure to tell me if you intend to send your song off to get mastered, and I will leave EQ and Limiting off the master bus as well as giving you 3 to 6db of head room.

What I need from you: Individual WAV stems of the audio tracks you would like mixed. Preferably upload them in a compressed folder to either Google Drive or Dropbox and link the file to me.

My email is willsterling23@gmail.com. You may also send me your file there or feel free to ask me any questions. Please allow up to five days to get your mix back to you.

Thank you everyone for your interest!

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How Do I Get My Mixes to Sound Huge?

Today I'd like to share a couple tips for how you can widen your mix. Often times when we are mixing or recording we end up with a song that just doesn't sound as big as we want it to. It feels like we are listening to it in a narrow hallway, instead of a big, wide open sound. There are a lot of things you can do to alleviate this problem, but today I'd like to just share two.

Number One: 

Do an LCR mix.

So what do I mean by LCR mix? An LCR mix is a Left-Center-Right mix. It is the idea that when you pan something, you pan it either hard left, dead center, or hard right. Now, keep in mind that this is not a cure-all for your mixes. In fact, there is no cure-all for your mixes. The techniques you use to mix and make your tracks sound better will vary from song to song just depending on the project. However, an LCR mix is a great place to start if you want to widen up your mix.

There are some obvious instruments that should be panned in the center, but in case you don't know, here is a quick rule of thumb:

• Pan the kick drum and the snare in the center
• Pan bass guitar in the center
• Pan vocals in the center

In most circumstances all of those tracks will go in the center. Most everything else, you will pan off to the side. This will most certainly depend on the type of song and how many instruments you have, so don't necessarily apply this to everything. But as a general rule of thumb, this will help widen your mixes. 

Number Two:

Double your instruments. 

In case you don't know, what I mean when I say, "double your instruments," is to do two recordings of the same instrument, and then pan the two tacks hard left and right. This will work very well to widen your tracks, especially on certain instruments. This is a good trick for acoustic guitars and rhythm electric guitars. It not only widens your mix, but lets the tracks you have in the center really shine through. Make sure you don't just do one take and copy it, as you will need two takes with varying frequencies for this to work.

These tips should help you widen your mixes and get your song to sounding a little bit bigger. Again, this is not a cure-all trick and there are times where you will only want to pan something 50% in one speaker or keep an acoustic guitar in the center and so forth. However, on most songs this should help your mixes and take you one step closer to achieving a professional and good quality mix.

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Just Tell Me What Gear to Buy!

The other day I was browsing a forum on recording, and one post was a guy asking questions about beginner recording. He started off by saying that he wanted to get into recording, but didn't know all the gear that he needed. His father would apparently buy him any gear he wanted, as he supported his son's endeavors. So he began his post by naming off all of the gear that he already had, and then went on to ask what other gear he should get. He just knew that if he had the right gear, that he'd be ready to start recording.

This, unfortunately, is a trap that we all fall into as recording engineers and producers. We think that the gear that we have directly correlates to the sound we get out of our recordings. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that just isn't true. Your gear is only as good as you are. Just like the guy in the forum, we fall into the trap that better gear will make us better producers.

Now I am not saying that gear isn't important. There are certainly differences between low end dynamic microphones and high end condensers. There are differences between high end studio monitors and low end monitors. But what I believe to be the most important aspect, is learning your gear. I would suggest to this guy starting out, to go out there and buy an SM 58 and an Mbox, and just start recording. Raw effort and hard work ethic is what will make you a better recording engineer. The guy who has done a hundred recordings with his SM58 will probably get a better sound than the guy whose done five recordings with his high end condenser microphone.

Another important reason to not fall into the trap of always trying to get better gear, is you'll do one of two things, if not both.

• Spend all of your money on continuously getting better gear 
• Never getting better at what gear you actually have

If you are at the point as an engineer where you feel like you have the knowledge and the experience to take your recordings a step further, but your gear is holding you back, then go ahead and buy nicer equipment. There is nothing wrong with that! Hopefully if you are at that point you will actually be able to utilize the gear that you have. 

Above all, remember that gear is only part of the equation. A good producer and engineer knows that getting a good mix is about hard work, experience, knowledge, and creativity before anything else. 

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