Issue 63 Mixing Dance Music

Get your club-bound tracks sounding
bigger and better than ever!
TUTORIALS,
TIPS AND ADVICE
> Mixing in the digital domain MASTERS
> Maximising low-end impact OF THE MIX
> Sidechaining for punch Pro advice from Camo &
> How to give the DJ Krooked, Steve Duda,
what they want Marc Mac, TC and more!
SPECIAL 63 2013
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ADVERTISING
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CIRCULATION & MARKETING simply never been higher. And with that in mind,
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PRINT & PRODUCTION have everything you need to make dance music
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worthy of club play at the highest level.
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COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 3

SPECIAL ISSUE 63
07 THE BEAT
GOES ON
contents 50 LOW END
THEORY
This thing called dance music Once the drums are sorted,
has been with us for a long it’s all about the bass – and
time now, so let’s start our with the help of our
mix-improving odyssey with walkthroughs, there’s no
a journey back through time reason why yours can’t be
tough enough to punch
holes in any dancefloor
58 SIDECHAINING FOR IMPACT

Learn how to use editing, ducking and sidechaining to bring
clarity and separation to your dance music productions
66 MASTERING THE STEREO FIELD

Take full control of the mids and sides and your mixes cant fail
to sound better than ever. We show you the way
72 BACK TO BASICS
The music software market is awash with incredible plugins,
12 KINGS OF THE DANCEFLOOR but you can still make amazing-sounding mixes using nothing
Seven leading lights in the world of dance music production more than the effects built into your DAW
give us their views on the industry and spill the beans on how
they get such great results
80 ANALYSE THIS
Strap a visual analyser on your output and great things can
24 MIXING IN happen. Discover how to see the music with our guide
THE DIGITAL
DOMAIN
Here comes the science bit…
Get your head around the 87 UNIVERSAL TRANSLATION
technical side of mixing digital From laptop speakers to stadium PAs, today’s dance music
audio with our (relatively!) has to sound great on the full array of playback systems.
easy-to-follow guide We’ve got it covered…
31 MIXING AND MASTERING FOR 94 FIX YOUR MIX

CLUB PLAYBACK Rarely does everything go to plan, so we close this Special
Although pretty much anything goes when it comes to with some thoughts on what to do when your track just isn’t
electronic music, there are certain rules that need to be coming together as it should
adhered to if you want your tracks to stand up to the
competition in a club environment
98 CM DOWNLOADS
You can get your hands on all the
38 WHAT DJS WANT tutorial files, samples, software and
Today’s DJ is a busy dancefloor executive with no time to waste videos that accompany this
on sub-par choons. Ensure that yours make it through their filter Special on the disc and at
with our tips and advice vault.computermusic.co.uk
– select ‘Computer Music issue 63’
43 TUNING AND EQING DRUMS

If your drums ain’t happening, you might as well call it a day,
but maximise those frequencies and levels and you’re
already half-way to a great mix

MAG/DVD
Future Music is the mag for the latest gear and how today’s cutting-edge music makers use it.
We’ve been making the future since 1992. Make sure that you’re part of it.
Contemporary club music is certainly
polished, but the quest to create the
perfect dance record is nothing new…
Over the past couple of years, the recording of Paperback Writer in 1966, John appear, with beats, bass and atmospherics
unappealing term ‘electronic dance music’ Lennon felt that the Fab Four’s tracks should taking priority.
has been coined to help convince new have the same loud bass tones as a particular A similar evolutionary step was taken in the
markets – primarily mainstream America Wilson Pickett record. To fulfil this desire, States in the 70s. By this point, R&B, soul and
– that genres like house and techno are fresh producer George Martin’s engineers boosted jazz had spawned funk, an uptempo, rhythmic
and wholesome, rather than the products of the sound of Paul McCartney’s bass using a style that typically revolved around a single
hedonistic nightclubs and sweaty raves in the loudspeaker as a microphone, and the resulting chord and featured tight beats and bass and a
80s. This kind of cultural appropriation is 7-inch single was cut louder than any other groove constructed from the interplay between
nothing new, of course: just as house and Beatles record up to that point, thanks to a new guitar, brass, keys and vocals. The drums were
techno could only be effectively sold to piece of EMI mastering equipment known as the such an important element that many funk
middle America by Europeans rather than the Automatic Transient Overload Control – tracks would feature extended drum solos, or
genres’ actual progenitors, blues required essentially the 60s equivalent of something like ‘drum breaks’. The style would be an important
rebranding as rock ’n’ roll before it could iZotope Ozone 5 or Slate Digital FG-X. influence on Philadelphia soul music, which
become mainstream. would add jazzy vibraphone and sweeping
The idea that dance music is a recent Dub plate style strings to the mix, ultimately providing the
invention or is somehow unconnected to pop Elsewhere, a new sound was developing that foundation for disco.
music is of course nonsense: the roots of would have an enormous influence on dance Combining the euphoric elements of the
practically all contemporary popular music can music. Sound system culture blossomed in Philly sound with Latin touches, uptempo four-
be traced back to blues, the dance music of Jamaica in the 50s, with crews competing to to-the-floor rhythms, prominent basslines and
America’s ‘juke joints’, where workers would build the biggest and loudest rigs with the best synthesised sounds, disco music was all about
carouse after a hard day’s graft. Originally the bass response. Sound system DJs had providing a soundtrack to an extended (and
music would be played by live musicians, but for progressed from playing American R&B to possibly drug-fuelled) dance session. Producer
practical reasons many social venues would cutting their own exclusive acetate records Tom Moulton had a major influence on the style,
switch to using a coin-operated phonograph – or (called dub plates), creating a Jamaican take on using tape machines to add extended
jukebox – to provide music for dancing. the sound: ska. This developed into reggae in percussion sections to tracks in an effort to
Jukeboxes were so popular that by 1945 the 60s, with producers like King Tubby and Lee make them as long as possible and maximise
three quarters of the records produced in ‘Scratch’ Perry taking the genre into more the enjoyment they delivered.
America went into them. In 1950, the first 45rpm abstract territory with ‘dub’ versions of tracks DJs would also begin to get more hands-on
vinyl record was introduced, leading to the that de-emphasised the vocals, brought the with the music in an effort to realise the
format becoming the dominant media for music drums and bass to the forefront, and ran wild uninterrupted dance experience. During this
in the second half of the 20th century. Vinyl with spring reverb and tape delay effects. This is period, the art of the DJ as we know it started to
could handle longer recordings and was less where we first see contemporary dance music’s evolve, with jockeys like Francis Grasso using
noisy than the shellac discs that preceded it, but aesthetic sensibility and approach to production beatmatching and slip-cueing techniques to
sound quality was down to the recording and deliver a seamless sequence of programmed
production of the music as well as the format on music, and DJ Kool Herc using two copies of the
which it was reproduced. You might imagine the
so-called ‘loudness war’ to be a phenomenon
“Motown’s Berry same record to create looping, potentially
endless drum breaks.
associated with digital formats such as CD, but
in reality it’s been going on far longer. Motown’s
Gordy, in particular, Electro shock
Berry Gordy, in particular, was obsessed with In the 80s, the advent of relatively affordable
making loud, clean-sounding records; check out was obsessed with samplers, synths and MIDI sequencers meant
www.collinsaudio.com/Prosound_Workshop/ not only that aspiring musicians could forge
Motown2.pdf for an insight into how his staff
made his fidelity-based fantasies a reality.
making loud, clean- their own productions at home, but also that
they had a wealth of creative possibilities open
Even The Beatles weren’t immune to the
seductive lure of big, bad bass. During the
sounding records” to them that could scarcely have been imagined
by the previous generation. This led to the
Width and depth

It might not do our ears any good, but environment, altering our frame of mind. You
millions of us flock to dingy nightclubs to can read Dr Blesser’s The Seductive (Yet
hear beats blasted out at full volume every Destructive) Appeal of Loud Music at http://
weekend, and mastering engineers are bit.ly/y9Ro4c.
constantly badgered to make mixes as loud As the title of Dr Blesser’s paper suggests,
as possible. So why do people love loud loud music can of course have a negative
music so much? effect on our hearing, so it makes sense to
The culprit is a tiny organ in the inner ear take care of your ears when producing and
known as the sacculus, which is linked to a clubbing. Lemon D, co-owner of the
region of the brain associated with pleasure legendary Valve Sound System, recommends
response. According to research by the that punters use the free earplugs provided
University of Manchester’s Dr Neil Todd, the at Valve shows to protect their hearing: “If
sacculus reacts to low-frequency inner Valve Sound System provide free earplugs to party- you go into any bar and there’s loud music,
vibrations over 90dB – exactly the kind of big goers – and strongly recommend that they use them you’ll need earplugs, but what makes our
bass delivered by club sound systems. system feel louder is the bass and overall
Academic and lecturer Dr Barry Blesser many others. Loud music is a simply a EQing. Bass doesn’t give you tinnitus – high
says that “raising the loudness of music, like stronger stimulant than soft music.” end does. The reason people wear earplugs is
a double shot of whisky, elevates the Another aspect of the appeal of loud that some insist on partying all night in front
intensity of the experience”, and that “music music is that it places us in another ‘aural of the speakers – this is absolutely nuts! It’s
is a stimulant, like caffeine, sugar, alcohol, space’ by masking other sounds and best to move around, then you won’t be
anger, vigorous exercise, sexual activity and removing us from our immediate subjecting yourself to loud music [all night].”
8 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

Easy listening
Back in the pre-internet days, acquiring dance music wasn’t something
that could be done from the comfort of your own home. One had to
endure the now-unimaginable trauma of leaving the house, finding a
specialist dance music shop and dealing with its cheerless staff. Stores
would have limited stock, so tracking down particular releases could
involve a lot of legwork, and after all that you’d come home with a slab of
vinyl that would have to be recorded onto cassette in order to listen to it
anywhere other than the room that contained your record player!
Nowadays the equivalent process is far more civilised. Thanks to the
internet, we all have access to a truly incredible amount of music, and
people are much more likely to consume dance music at home or via
their smartphone. Though some dance music is still created in a very
raw, unpolished way, designed simply to sound banging on a club
system, most producers will want to ensure that their music is enjoyable
whatever system it’s reproduced on.
In Universal Translation (p87), we look at some ways in which we can
craft mixdowns that work on as wide a variety of systems as possible. In
addition to the mechanics of making a mix sound right on smaller
speakers or earphones, you might find it beneficial to consider the home
listener right from the composition stage. Adding small touches that
give your track more depth and listenability doesn’t mean you have to
detract from how it sounds on a big system.
Burial’s album Untrue combines skippy dubstep beats with entrancing, For example, a good way to make a track more radio-friendly and
headphone-friendly sound design enticing for the home listener is to have a brief atmospheric preamble
that precedes the DJ-friendly beats-only intro. Alternatively, simply
including some interesting sounds and textures rather than bare beats
at the start of a track can make it more listenable. To ensure listener
interest throughout, consider varying the pattern or drum fills, or
introducing subtle stereo noises that are audible on headphones but
don’t detract too much from the main elements.
development of new musical styles such as In the early 90s, simple sample-sequencing
house and techno, and helped hip-hop come “The late 90s saw programs for home computers called trackers
into its own. began to find popularity, and it’s here that we
Many early hip-hop records, such as Sugarhill
Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and The Fatback Band’s
computers reach start to see the first dance records made
partially or entirely ‘in the box’, using a
King Tim III (Personality Jock), relied on live
funk backing tracks, while others, like West speeds fast enough to computer as both sequencer and sound
generator. Seminal rave acts such as DJ Red
Street Mob’s Break Dance – Electric Boogie and Alert and Mike Slammer, Urban Shakedown and
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the handle multiple high- Omni Trio began their careers using Amiga
Wheels of Steel by Grandmaster Flash were home computers running tracker software. The
based around turntable performances. Synths
and drum machines made electro tracks like
quality audio streams” humble Amiga was only capable of rudimentary
8-bit sample playback and trackers didn’t have
Afrikaa Bambaataa’s Planet Rock and Hashim’s any real-time effects processing, but over a few
Al-Naafiysh (The Soul) possible. Electro is tracks like Run-D.M.C.’s Run’s House and short years computer-based production
arguably the earliest recognisable form of Mantronix’s King of the Beats demonstrating improved dramatically.
‘electronic dance music’ – beats and bass-driven how powerful the combination of sampling and The late 90s saw computers reach speeds
music made almost exclusively of synthesised synthesis could be. fast enough to handle multiple high-quality
sounds or samples. audio streams, and programs that had once
Hip-hop found a new instrument of choice in Rave generation been purely for MIDI sequencing, such as
the affordable digital samplers released by Akai While hip-hop achieved considerable Steinberg’s Cubase, develop to the stage where
and E-MU in the 80s. These enabled producers mainstream success during the 80s thanks to its they were capable of recording and playing
to recycle the drum breaks employed by Kool comparative accessibility, house and techno back audio and hosting virtual instruments and
Herc and other hip-hop DJs into new musical would take a little longer to become big effects plugins. Now it really was possible to
compositions, giving a new lease of life to the business. Early house music productions such make an entire track using nothing but a Mac or
work of funk artists – particularly James Brown, as Jesse Saunders’ On and On were rather lo-fi, PC, and for it to sound on a par with something
whose productions (including Lyn Collins’ Think with the legendary Trax Records even pressing produced in a high-end studio.
(About It), Bobby Byrd’s Hot Pants – I’m Coming, its releases on recycled vinyl to save money. The Shortly after the introduction of plugin
Coming, I’m Coming and his own Funky DIY approach soon caught on in the UK, and the effects, mastering plugins began to appear. This
Drummer) were sampled time and time again. explosion in popularity of dance music created a development meant that artists could take
The vintage breaks were usually supplemented cottage industry of producers pumping out control of the entire production process, all the
with lows and highs from drum machines like tracks from their bedrooms and project studios. way through to the finished product, and
the Roland TR-808, generating huge, bassy The production values of these releases varied enabled them to develop an understanding of
kicks and pristine hi-hats. The result was beats wildly, as many of the producers had limited kit the sonic characteristics their mixes needed to
unlike any the world had heard before, with and technical know-how. have in order to facilitate a good, loud master. In

Soft options
If you’re new to the world of computer making dance music thanks to its flexible
music, you may well find the sheer effect routing, easy automation and
choice of available software fantastic time-stretching capabilities, and
overwhelming. Thankfully, these days it can even be used to DJ or perform live.
practically all DAW packages are of an Propellerhead Reason (www.
extremely high standard, and it’s possible propellerheads.se, from €120) has an
to make fantastic-sounding music using interface that’s particularly intuitive if
any of them. Some make certain you’re used to working with music-
processes quicker or easier than others, making hardware, and its unique
but as cliché as it sounds, it’s not what selection of included instruments and
you use, it’s how you use it. effects has won it a legion of fans. Cockos’
The tutorials in this Special use Reaper (www.cockos.com, from $60) is
three of the most popular packages extremely cheap and the demo version
(Apple’s Logic Pro X, Steinberg Cubase 7 doesn’t have any kind of expiration date
and Ableton Live 9), but in the vast or session time limits, which makes it a
majority of cases the techniques that tempting choice for those who want to
we’ll be showing you can be applied to take their time and work on a few
any DAW. If you get stuck following a projects before they stump up their cash.
tutorial that’s not specifically written for Most trial versions of Cubase (www.
your DAW, you’ll likely find equivalent steinberg.net, from £82) require a True to its name, Ableton’s Live DAW can
be used for DJing and live performance
functionality by searching your DAW’s hardware eLicenser dongle to run, but as well as music production
accompanying documentation. the entry-level Cubase Elements 7 demo
If you haven’t yet picked a package doesn’t, so give that a go if you don’t
with which to begin your music already have an eLicenser. Currently no
production odyssey, we recommend trial version of the Mac-only Apple Logic
checking out a few demo versions before Pro X is available, but GarageBand is free
you take the plunge. Ableton Live (www. and serves as a great introduction to its
ableton.com, from €79) is ideal for much more powerful big brother.
the 2000s, CD players started to replace vinyl the most out of your tracks using specialised
turntables in clubs, which meant that it was “Having a good mastering plugins, analysis tools and general
possible to test these mastered tracks in a club good practice. Then we’ll launch into a series of
environment by simply burning them to disc.
Producers began pushing the envelope like
understanding of the in-depth tutorials, starting with the processes of
selecting, editing, tuning, processing,
never before, with artists such as Pendulum,
Noisia, Deadmau5 and Skrillex raising the more technical sequencing and layering drum sounds, and
creating synthesised bass sounds to sit perfectly
production bar to previously unimagined levels. with them, before moving on to maximising the
aspects of music stereo image, getting the most out of dynamics
Testing times and equalisation effects, using sidechain
The current scenario in which aspiring dance
music producers find themselves is quite
production is vital” compression-style volume ducking techniques,
creating mixes that translate well, and using
challenging, and not just because standards analyser plugins to ensure your mixdowns are
have become so high. The availability of cheap, engineer, and professional mastering can only on point. Finally, we’ll see how to make
powerful computers has democratised the once enhance a mix so far, so If you want to make arrangements that work well for DJs and look at
specialist field of dance music production, which music that catches people’s attention, you need strategies for fixing mixes that aren’t working
means there’s now more of the stuff about than to build it correctly from the ground up and out. What’s more, we’ve got advice from a line-
ever before: thousands of new tracks are know how to push it to its limits. up of dance music mavens comprising big-name
released on digital stores like Beatport every In this Special, we’ll explain both what you mixing and mastering engineers, scene veterans
week, and standing out from the dross is tough. have to do to achieve a big, contemporary and fast-rising stars.
Having a good understanding of the more dance music mix, and why you need to do it. In As well as all the knowledge and skills you
technical aspects of music production is vital to order to properly exploit the digital medium in need to take your productions to the next level,
the contemporary dance musician. Throwing which we now produce our music, it’s necessary you’ll find a wealth of amazing free samples in
samples together in an ad-hoc manner might to understand its capabilities and limitations. In the Samples folder of your disc or download,
have been an acceptable way to produce a Mixing in the Digital Domain (p24) we’ll explain and a selection of exclusive plugin instruments
white-label 12-inch in the 90s, but taking the how digital audio works from basic principles, and effects for Mac and PC in the CM Plugins
same approach these days won’t cut the giving you insight into what’s going on inside folder. So, without further ado, boot up your
mustard. Most small record labels don’t have the your DAW, while in Mixing and Mastering for DAW and get ready to make your best dance
budget to pay for tracks to be mixed down by an Club Playback (p31) we’ll discuss how we can get music mixdowns yet!

KINGS OF THE
DANCEFLOOR
Steve Duda
Legendary producer, mixer
and plugin developer
Beau Thomas
Veteran dance producer
and mastering engineer
Camo & Krooked

DnB legends and Hospital
Records in-patients
Electronic Youth
Rising stars of soulful
deep house
TC
Jump-up DnB DJ and big-
name remixer
Marc Mac
Genre-hopping founder
member of 4hero
Frederic Robinson
Innovative live performer
and electronica prodigy

Steve Duda
Multitalented super-producer Steve Duda has
worked with a diverse range of acts, from
Nine Inch Nails to Deadmau5, and is the
brains behind the Xfer Records range of
plugins. He also recently mixed the new
Britney Spears single Work Bitch. You can
keep up with his eclectic sonic adventures at
www.steveduda.com.
: How does creating a dance track from the

ground up compare to mixing down a pop-
EDM track?
SD: “When I’m creating a track, I pretty much
mix it as I go. There may be some mix tweaking
every time a part is added or a new section
comes along, and maybe a couple of tweaks at
the very end. When I’m mixing someone else’s
music – pop or otherwise – my mindset is that

“To the average listener, there are
two instruments: the vocals, and
everything else”
the producer considered this a finished piece of average listener, there are two instruments: the frequencies are unimportant?’ The first thing I
music, in the sense that all the pieces are there. vocals, and everything else. And they don’t want do when given stems is set the BPM and then
Now it’s up to me to show those pieces in the your stupid ‘everything else’ getting in the way carve out all the silence. Then I start removing
best light possible.” of enjoying the vocals.” sonically. The whole thing is removing the junk,
so the important stuff is left. Bad noise goes,
: What do you have on your master output : How do we keep the groove in dance good noise stays.”
during the mixing process? music while also getting super-loud mixes?
SD: “Everyone has their own opinion – some SD: “It’s all about syncopation and having things : Do you have a special technique for
people have a rule of no compression or play off each other. For example, you only need A/B-ing your mixes with reference tracks?
limiting. Those people wouldn’t like me very one prominent swung 16th-note in a bar to give SD: “I never do that. Perhaps I should more! I
much! I always have two to three compressors something a swung-16th feel. I think having think it’s a terrible mistake to expect a song to
and a limiter on my master. First a gentle sparse music being the norm is quite healthy for sound like another.”
compressor on the way in, just to very subtly beginners in particular – it’s not about how
tame peaks, then later in the chain a fast-attack, many notes you have, so learning to do more : Do you have any tips for balancing kick
medium-release one set with a fairly low with less is good. With technology, it’s so easy to drums and bass?
threshold for constant gain reduction, which layer and layer, and this turns into babble. Years SD: “The rule of thumb is that you can’t have
also has some of the dry signal in the mix – ago, every electronic demo I would get was both be big, low-frequency sounds content-wise,
parallel compression. Then, at the end, a limiter, eight stacked loops, all playing 16ths. so the solution is to first make a decision as to
which tends to pull a few dB or more of limiting, “‘Less is more’ is easy to comprehend but which of the two is going to ‘own’ the low end,
depending on the genre. The more pumping hard to believe. I like to say it like this: imagine then make the other ‘sound’ big without actually
type of a tune it is, the more limiting I use.” you talk to two strangers at a bar. The first one being big. For instance, if it’s a dubstep tune and
tells you their life story, about every pet they you decide the bass needs to be big, perhaps
: How do you ensure the vocals come had growing up and a bunch of meaningless put a big reverb on the kick and remove the lows
through clearly? trivia. Then the other walks up to you, says three a bit. This way the kick ‘feels’ large without being
SD: “I mix them loud, first of all. This took me a words and walks away. Which conversation will large. Similarly, if it’s an electro tune with a
while to learn, because traditionally I was always impact you more? buzzy bass and you decide the kick should be
more interested in listening to instruments. As “The same principle in essence applies to the bigger, emphasise the buzz of the bass a bit and
an instrumental musician, it is important to way I approach mixing. I prefer to think about shelf or high-pass it a bit, and maybe add
remember that the vocals aren’t simply another what I can ‘get away’ with turning down, rather something to increase the width like a subtle
instrument to the average listener. To the than what I want to turn up – I ask myself, ‘What chorus or short stereo delay.”

Beau Thomas
Industry veteran Beau Thomas has released
dozens of dance records as a member of
various groups including Intense, Babylon
Timewarp and The Whitehouse Crew, and has
a hand in thousands more in his role as
mastering engineer. Find out more about his
services (and even get a quote!) at
www.teneightsevenmastering.co.uk.
: How did you get into mastering?

BT: “When I was about 16 I started writing
hardcore with some friends that were a little bit
older, who worked in a studio as tape ops and
assistant engineers and stuff. I wrote DnB until
about the age of 23, and then realised I needed a
job as the income wasn’t regular enough. So I
got a job at Heathmans Mastering in 1999, just
copying CDs on eight grand a year. That was
quite an established mastering studio, and I just
slowly worked my way up through the ranks.
The best job at the company was vinyl/digital
mastering, so that’s what I aimed for. I’d sit in the
rooms with the cutting engineers, pestering
them, being annoying, wanting to know what
they were doing.”
: Did being an artist help to give you a

good perspective on the mastering process?
BT: “Absolutely! Sometimes as an artist you’d get
a test press of a record back and it just sounded
awful! You’d be like, ‘What happened there?’
Thankfully that didn’t happen too often. Not
everything translates to vinyl perfectly, so if
someone has a song where there’s a shaker or a
sibilant vocal or something that’s a bit too stereo
in the track, it won’t cut very well. Because I’ve
been a producer, I’m able to talk to the artist
about it on a level that they understand. I can tell
them to put a plugin on it and narrow it down.
Some mastering engineers would just say, ‘That
doesn’t work’, and leave it at that!”
: What should producers look out for in

their tracks to avoid causing problems for stand up to the industry-standard level, it’s have been in 2000. It’s still hitting 0dBFS, so the
mastering engineers? going to be bloody loud. So, if you write your RMS is being lowered heavily, and dynamics are
BT: “Stereo, for one. I love stereo, but you have whole song with no kind of buss limiting or being sacrificed.”
to be careful with it! With vinyl, top-end stereo compression, when you send it to a mastering
distorts before mono, so if you have an open engineer he’ll squash the pants out of it to get it : What advice do you have for producers
hi-hat – which would be prone to distorting a bit up to a commercial level, and it could really who want to make their own master for
anyway – don’t make it too wide if you can help change your mix. So people will say, ‘Wow, that playing out?
it. As a cutting engineer, it’s generally better to reverb has got really loud’, or, ‘That delay tail has BT: “First and foremost, really concentrate on
have something a little duller for vinyl than come right up’, or, ‘I don’t know why my snare is your mix. I say this to a lot of people who ask,
something that’s too bright. Pushing the mix too like this’. So I think it’s a good thing to have on ‘How do I get things louder?’ It’s all down to the
much is a common issue – people will just slam a the end of your chain, so you can understand mix. Get your mix tight, spend time on it, so
limiter on there, and they don’t have any how the song is going to be shaped when it there are no overlaps. Nowadays sidechaining is
metering, so they’re not quite aware of how loud comes to the mastering stage. the big thing – look at things like that, get your
they’re going. They’ll just squash the life out of a mix really tight and don’t rush it.
song, as well as making it too bright. Be careful : How has mastering changed since you “The package that I think is probably the best
of how harsh things are. I always use this kind of started in the business? on the market is iZotope’s Ozone 5. It’s a nice
example: if you turn the song up really loud on BT: “The main difference is level – level has just package: it’s got a fairly decent EQ, a very good
your speakers and any part of it hurts your ear gone crazy, as everyone knows. A lot of people maximiser, multiband, a bit of stereo width if you
or is a bit sharp, then that won’t cut.” blame mastering engineers for that, but we’re want it, a bit of excitement. Just push your track
paid to provide something. I’ve submitted as much as you can without it folding. If you
: A lot of producers now use clipping quieter masters in the past and been asked to don’t feel your track can go as loud as one by
plugins on their master channel. Is that turn them up, because they’re not as loud as the NOISIA or someone of that calibre, don’t make it
acceptable as long as you supply the tracks they’re being referenced with. The need as loud – back off a little bit! Look at your mix
mastering engineer with an unclipped for level has become an overriding force, and and assess it; examine where it’s folding and
version too? whether or not they admit it, people are hear where things aren’t working. So yeah, use
BT: “I get asked this a lot by distributors and prepared to sacrifice quality for loudness. Ozone – just don’t push it too much. That will get
record labels – ‘How do you want the files “Level wasn’t such an important thing ten the track loud enough to DJ with. You might
provided?’ How I see it is if you’re writing years ago. We’re getting masters now that are 6 possibly need a little bit of gain on the mixer to
contemporary dance stuff and you want it to or 7dB louder than a commercial release would give it more level, but you should be alright!”

Camo & Krooked
Viennese DnB stars Camo & Krooked (aka : Any tips for mixing on headphones? : Do you have any other tips for getting
Reinhard Rietsch and Markus Wagner) have RR: “We worked on headphones for Cross the mixes to sound right in the club?
just released their latest album Zeitgeist on Line two years ago, and it still sounds quite RR: “It’s important to use the right elements in
Hospital Records. Check out audio and video strong on speakers and in clubs. You kind of get your tunes and know about frequencies. The
clips and get tour dates at http:// an ear for that. Still, for Zeitgeist we got notes of your sub-bass should be in a certain
camoandkrooked.com. ourselves proper studio equipment: KH O300 range to make sure there’s enough bottom end
monitors, Prism Sound Lyra soundcards and in the raver’s belly. Unfortunately, club tunes
: How do you ensure that your mixes Audeze LCD-3 headphones. They did make a should be mastered quite loud to make sure
sound good in the club? difference, and they helped us to get rid of some they can stand the pressure of the tunes before
RR: “After nine years of experience in DJing and flaws that older productions of ours had. and after, but make sure the loudness isn’t at the
producing you kind of get a feeling of what “Headphones are a very good start, cost of the sound quality – get the balance right.
sounds strong in the club, and you can always especially if you don’t have a good room for A tune that’s made for the dancefloor should
double-check on weekends when testing out speakers or you can’t turn them up as loud as also sound good in mono, so be sure to double-
new material. But for us, it’s way more important you want to. But to put the finishing touches on check your mixes in mono!”
right now that the music not only sounds heavy your mix, you might need a good pair of
in the club, but also sounds good in the ear. It’s monitors to double-check. Headphones can also : How about making mixes that sound
not always about how hard the bass hits – it’s be very tricky in the sub-bass area, since you good both in the club and at home?
about the music and its elements.” can only hear the bass, not feel it. The more RR: “As we say, mono-compatibility is a very
reference speakers and headphones you have, important part of a track sounding good
: Do you have a limiter or anything else on the better, but you have to get to know all of everywhere. Often, it’s not a mix issue if a track
your master buss when you’re writing? their characteristics.” doesn’t sound right in the club or at home – it’s
RR: “We mostly start without any limiter in the more about finding the right elements, whether
beginning, but we use one when the time comes : Do you normally A/B your mixes with it’s drums or synths, and having tunes in the
to check that the mix can be made nice and mastered tracks? right tonal range. Also, just follow your ears, and
loud. Once we have the limiter on the master, all RR: “We always compare with our favourite check on different systems. Even the most
the issues get fixed in the mixdown, as you can mixes, but we don’t let ourselves get confused horrible-sounding mono speakers can help,
isolate the troublesome elements and fix them by them. There is no perfect mix, and different because they reveal flaws in your mix that other
very easily. It’s also easier to adjust transients elements need different mixing. One tune is speakers don’t.”
and remove resonances while layering drum louder but has less bass; the other one you can
elements on top of each other. There is no listen to very loud without grating, but when : What are your favourite plugins?
EQing, exciting or whatsoever on the master, as you’re listening at a low level it lacks high end. RR: “Everything from FabFilter is great – their
we do everything in the mix, trying to get the You have to find the right balance for the products are probably the most used in our
most detailed result. We always play our own elements you’ve been using. A/B-ing too much work. Their EQ is the most intuitive one out
masters in the clubs and as of our last two is like copying, and we try to avoid that. We see it there for us. We also dig all the iZotope stuff;
albums, we use our own masters as well, to as a nice inspiration for our mixes. Mixdowns are there’s much more to Ozone than just a limiter.
make sure they sound exactly like we want them part of creating a unique sound, so we don’t It’s the same with Alloy: the transient shaper is
to be: loud and crispy, not pumping at all.” want to get too hung up on other mixes.” on a lot of our drum elements.”
Electronic Youth
about them and hear some of their tracks at and straight away one of us will go, ‘That vocal’s
www.electronicyouth.co.uk. not loud enough!’, or, ‘The kick drum should
come up.’ It’s annoying because you’re noticing
: What advice do you have to offer to stuff, but you can’t change it! Another way is to
aspiring producers? test it on a standard stereo system. I know a
TK: “First, get good monitor speakers, like sound engineer who has a car stereo system in
Adams. If it’s too loud in your bedroom and the his studio; so he’ll make the track, master it, then
neighbours are complaining, get decent play it on the car stereo to hear how it sounds.”
headphones. You should invest in a proper RR: “Another thing you can do is turn the
soundcard as well – there are a lot of cheap ones volume of your speakers right down, and if you
out there, but if you’re going to pay £70 you’re can still hear the vocal, you know it’s right. The
not going to get the best sound. You need to pay vocal should stand out a bit louder than
good money and get something by MOTU or everything else, so if you can still hear it at a low
Apogee. I skinted myself for months to get my level, that’s a good sign.”
MOTU soundcard!”
RR: “If you haven’t chosen a DAW yet, just pick : Do you use spectral analysers?
one and learn it. I remember [Prodigy producer] TK: “I know someone who actually mixes on a
Liam Howlett said he just locked himself in a spectral analyser and tunes in all the sounds
Trevor King and Rustem Rustem are room for six months to learn Cubase and his with it. I can’t do that – I just do it all by ear. I used
Electronic Youth, a deep house act who hit it Roland W30 keyboard inside out!” to get other people’s tracks and compare them,
big with their soulful Angie Stone cover I TK: “I’ve been on Logic for ten years and I’m still but I think that clouds things because you try
Wish in 2012. Since then, they’re received DJ learning something new to do with it every time and make your music sound like their track. I
support from the likes of Pete Tong and I use it.” think you’ve got to go with what sounds good to
Sander Kleinenberg, and have recorded their you, what sounds good in your ear. If you’ve just
debut album. They’re also the subject of a : How do you test your mixes? started mixing, you won’t get it right from the
Producer Masterclass feature to be published TK: “There are a couple of ways. Because we’re start. I was using an engineer for years before I
in a forthcoming issue of . Find out more DJs, we test our mixes in the clubs. We sit there took the plunge and started doing it myself.”

“We always compare
with our favourite mixes,
but we don’t let ourselves
get confused by them.
There is no perfect mix”

TC
Legendary DnB producer TC has created countless TC: “Only if it’s a free giveaway. If I’m going to sell a
dancefloor anthems and remixed artists as diverse record, I want everyone to have a piece of the pie. Plus,
and Rhianna, Sub Focus and DJ Fresh Vs Diplo. You having a track mastered gives you someone to blame
can hear his music and get info on his label, Don’t if it doesn’t sound good! If you’ve got a really shitty
Play, at http://tcdnb.com. record and you send it to mastering, it’s going to come
back just as shitty as it was. They’re not miracle
: How do you ensure from the start that a project workers, unless you send them something awesome,
is going to work in a club environment? in which case they can make it really awesome.
TC: “I think you never know, and this is why so many “I don’t have a separate process for mastering,
people are DJ/producers: you just have to test it. When though – once a track’s done, it’s done. I’m not going to
I was first starting out I wasn’t a DJ, but I got to know bounce the file out to another project to do a further
the engineer in a club and I’d go down there and play stage of mastering. I did do a track called Tap Ho,
my tracks before the DJs would start. That gave me a where I gave away the parts and had about 300 or 400
lot of insight into what frequencies are going to work entries for a remix competition, and I did master the
or not work in that environment. There’s a lot of stuff to finalist for that. Some of the entries had really funky
do with the chain: when you play your music in a club, stereo imaging that needed to be reigned in a little bit.
you’re not just playing straight out of the speakers – For that I’d just use Waves S1, which is an amazing
there’s usually a mixer, another mixer, then maybe an plugin. Then some of them would be too bright, or the
EQ and compression. You’ve got to think that your balance wouldn’t be right. Mostly, I find with young
mixdown’s going to go through a lot of processing, so producers that they forget about the midrange. They
maybe a little less in terms of limiting or clipping is a get really excited about bass and top end, but they
little bit more for a club mix. Giving it a bit more room forget about the place where all the musical
to breathe, a bit more space, can make it sound louder information is. For example, when you have a
in the club. telephone conversation, your voice is squeezed into a
“It’s a balance, but it’s a balance that’s been very narrow band, but you can still understand every
achieved a lot of times, by many people. That’s your word that’s being said. That’s all in the midrange.
guideline. Find all the tracks you love when you hear There’s always a lot of high mid, but people always
them in a club in as high a quality format as you can, forget about 600Hz down. There’s a lot of stuff going
and stick them all into an arrangement. Then look at on there that can add huge amounts of energy and
them on a spectrum analyser.” loudness to a record. The balance of the frequency
spectrum is just as important as the actual loudness of
: Do you A/B reference your mixes before the sounds you’re putting through to the master buss.”
playing them out?
TC: “Not any more. I used to, but by now I’ve done a lot : Have you made mistakes with your mixes?
of records, so I know what’s going to work. Also, I don’t TC: “In the old days, I did all the time. In fact, I just did a
want to get too influenced, I want to make sure that I’m remix for DJ Fresh, and I made a massive mistake! My
doing original stuff. So making sure the mixdowns are snare drum, for some reason, had sub-sonic
slightly different can give you the edge. I mix into my information that I only saw when I loaded it into Serato
final chain, My final chain will be as loud as a mastering to play it out. I found out that it was actually a plugin
engineer’s chain. I’m not going to say what it is exactly, on my final chain, because I’d changed something
but I’ll mix into four or five plugins, and none of them slightly. Luckily I had time to make changes and
are doing very much. If I was to take that off, I would be resubmit the masters.
mixing really quietly. You’d be surprised how quietly “I’ll still change stuff now after playing it out. If
everything goes to my final buss. The very last thing I you’ve got mates who DJ, if you’ve got any access to
do is clip, and I use the Logic Bitcrusher to do that! It getting your tracks played out, get it done, because it’s
took me a long time to work that out. I’ve tried really important for every genre – even pop nowadays.
everything, every single plugin. I’ve run white noise Your records have got to work in the club.”
through plugins with a spectrum analyser so I can see
what they’re doing in terms of EQ, I’ll run test tones : What advice would you give to new producers
through to see what kind of harmonics they’re giving who don’t play out themselves?
me up the scale. I go really, really deep – If you want to TC: “Make friends with DJs. Just send them your
get that edge, you have to go in deeper than the guy tracks! Don’t do it straight away – make sure that you’re
before you. at a point where your tracks are ready – but don’t be
“It’s all about balance at the end of the day, because too precious. Don’t just be stuck in your bedroom. Try
my mix wouldn’t actually sound that different with the and get your tracks out to all the locals to start off with.
clipping on or off, it’s just a volume thing. As an In a wider sense of club music, it’s all about building
engineer, you need to learn not to be fooled by two relationships with DJs.
things: top end and volume level. Top-end EQ will make “I remember very clearly the first time I heard a
something sound better even if it’s wrong, so you need track of mine being played in a club environment. DJ
to not be fooled into thinking that just because Krust played one of my tracks in the Thekla nightclub
something’s brighter, it’s better. in Bristol. It was one of those moments that I don’t
“There’s a story about the mastering engineer Bob think I’ll ever forget. It was really cool to see everyone
Katz. He bought some new converters; he was trying dancing to my tune. I thought it was amazing – the best
them out, and was like, ‘Wow, these sound amazing – thing ever!”
these are the best converters I’ve ever heard!’ Then he
discovered that they were calibrated slightly : How do you make sure a track works well at
incorrectly, and they gave him just half a dB more than home, too?
the other converters he was A/B-ing them with. So, TC: “When you feel like you’ve finished a track, listen to
volume is like a drug to us humans, unfortunately!” it on everything. When I finish a track, I upload it to my
Dropbox, I play it off my iPhone, I play it off a few
: Do you ever release your own DIY masters as laptops, burn it to CD, play it in the car. It’s all about
finished tracks? referencing it in different places.”

“People always forget
about 600Hz down.
There’s a lot of stuff going
on there that can add
huge amounts of energy”

Marc Mac
Reinforced Records co-founder Marc Mac
produces in a mind-boggling array of musical
styles, including hip-hop as Visioneers and
techno as Nu Era, but he’s probably best
known for his work as half of revered dance
act 4hero. Marc has just released an album of
90s-style hardcore rave under his Manix!
pseudonym, which you can listen to at http://
manix-reinforced.com.
: You work in a really wide range of dance

music styles. What would you say is your
overall mixing philosophy?
MM: “It’s horses for courses – the process is
different depending on the record you’re
working on. One of the things you have to try
and eliminate when you’re mixing and
producing or mastering is having a set chain of
processing units. The problem when you have a
set chain is that it pushes you to do everything
in a particular way. I prefer to listen to the track,
think about it, and then decide what it needs in
order to sound right.”
: Do you work with a clipper or limiter on

your master buss from the start of a project?
MM: “You know what? It happens somewhere in
between. Not at the very beginning, not at the
end, somewhere in between. Because in the
digital world, when you put those mastering or
limiting plugins on the end, you have to mix to
them as well. If you wait until the end before you
stick them on, sometimes you’ve got to change
the whole mix. So I find that if I put it on midway
through, I’m EQing and mixing toward what I
want the final thing to sound like, as opposed to
waiting until the end, sticking it on and
changing the characteristic.”
: With the Manix! record, how did you

balance achieving a modern production
sound while maintaining an old school feel?
MM: “If anything, doing the Manix! album was
one of the biggest challenges, because I’d A/B
between an old Manix! track and a new one, and
they’d be completely different sonically. The
thing is, I had to make the decision to make the
album for the new generation. So that led to
more loudness, more limiting, more EQ, making
“There are some great
all the kicks and snares cut through a lot more. I
had to join that loudness fight, which guitarists out there, but you
unfortunately is a fight because everyone’s
trying to be louder than everyone else. You can’t tell because they’re
have to join that without destroying the vibe.”
: It’s sad to say, but house music seems to

fighting against a wall of noise”
be losing certain sonic elements in the
pursuit of loud mixdowns…
MM: “I think the only way it’s going to change is
through knowledge. It’s not going to happen by There are some great guitarists out there, but they’re going to force people to make records
accident. It needs to happen by people making you can’t tell because they’re fighting against a that sound great on a pair of headphones as well
an issue of it, including the DJs – they need to wall of noise! as in the club.”
understand what’s happening, too. It’s gonna be “I think that the same thing is happening to
tough; I don’t know how it’s going to happen. dance music in terms of programming. : A lot of people are listening to music on
“The same thing happened to rock music. If I Programming is almost becoming like it’s less their laptops nowadays, where there’s
think about rock music from the 70s – I like needed – producers feel like they don’t need to obviously no bass…
progressive rock – there could be some really put the handclaps in and add the extra MM: “I’ve posted music up on forums and stuff
hard guitar parts, but they were played well percussion and stuff, because it’s not going to be and said, ‘Don’t listen to this through your
enough that you heard every note. Rock music heard in the club. That’s a danger, and I don’t computer; plug your headphones in if you have
now, I just don’t like, because you’re not hearing know how to get around it apart from trying our to’, because otherwise the music won’t make
anything. It’s become so loud and distorted that best not to do it ourselves. Probably the only any sense. It’s almost like there should be some
you’re not going to hear the great musicians. good thing about MP3s and Spotify is that kind of disclaimer on the back of the CD!”

Frederic Robinson
Blurring the lines between dance music and
contemporary classical, genre-blending
electronica wunderkind Frederic Robinson
has wowed all and sundry with his debut
album Mixed Signals. Wrap your ears around
his experimental masterpiece at http://
soundcloud.com/fredericrobinson.
: Do you use any visual referencing tools

like spectral analysers?
FR: “I sometimes do. When I started producing, I
read that you’re not supposed to have too many
instruments playing in the same frequency
range. I got used to looking at the spectrum of
all the sounds I used, and made sure they didn’t
overlap too much. To me, it was a great help for
my ears to learn what a clean mix is supposed to
sound like, and it also made it possible for me to
spot mistakes that were maybe not really
audible on my monitor setup. Over the years I
worked in better and better studio conditions,
and my ears got a lot of training. So now I don’t
really need spectral analysers any more,
because my ears can do the job by themselves.
When I work on cheap speakers or in a noisy
environment, I still use them, though, especially
for sub-bass frequency regions.
“From time to time I also use a goniometer
for measuring the broadness of my stereo
image. That isn’t necessary for basic imaging,
like panning a sound to one side, but it’s very
useful for seeing how broad the reverb of
certain samples is, for example. You can easily
miss if a reverb is mono or stereo if you’re not
working under perfect studio conditions, and
keeping an eye on that definitely helps you
create a beautiful, spacious stereo image.”
: What headphones and monitors are you

using at the moment?
FR: “I have a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50
headphones and Yamaha HS80M monitors. I got
them around three years ago and even though
they’re not the highest possible quality, I know
them quite well, so I don’t feel like I have to
upgrade any time soon. I know that the Yamahas
have a bit more highs than necessary, and the
headphones too few. When I produce, I regularly
switch from one to the other. It’s actually quite
“I don’t really need spectral
amazing how many things you can completely
miss on one monitoring system and analysers any more,
immediately notice on another. I often use the
headphones to work on moving stereo images, because my ears can do the
because they give you a more detailed picture
of where everything is in the mix.
“Working with monitors is more comfortable,
job by themselves”
though. Your ears take longer to get tired, and I
guess the volume is also a lot healthier. That’s
why I make most of my creative decisions while
working with monitors and save the detail work listening environments. On the other hand, “I started developing a live setup a few years
for later, when the melodies, harmonies and many things that are important in listening after I started producing, and the music I create
structure have been worked out.” music are not necessary in club music, so trying in that environment is quite different. I never
to introduce elements of that in dance music is really considered DJing an option for me,
: Your music takes influences from not really worth the effort. because I wanted to have as much control as
electronica and contemporary classical “I guess it all comes down to where you possible over the music I create on stage. I
music. Does this make it harder to get it experience most of the music you listen to. I currently play my live sets with a selection of
sounding right in a club environment? always mainly listened to music at home, so my acoustic sound sources, like electric violin,
FR: “I don’t actively try to make my music work main goal was to make my music interesting to lamellophone and a bunch of MIDI controllers. I
in clubs. It definitely is tricky, and to me it seems listen to and not to dance to. It’s just a better imitate some elements of my studio tracks when
like most attempts at doing that fail. There are a template for me to work in because I like the on stage, but it’s mixed with so much new
few things in music which work very well in feeling of not being restricted by traditional material that I can hardly say I have ‘played a
clubs, but just aren’t that interesting in other dance music structures. track out’. It sounds different at every gig.”

If you want to achieve truly slamming mixdowns, an
understanding of how digital audio works is essential. Let’s
find out exactly what’s going on ‘inside the box’

mixing in the digital domain <
It’s entirely possible to make music on a

computer without having the faintest idea of Fig 1: Quantisation
how digital audio works, but a little
knowledge can go a long way when it comes 15
to pushing the medium to its limits.
For those unfamiliar with the basics of how 14
sound works, let’s start at square one. Some of
the following explanations might seem a little 13
abstract out of the context of actual mixing, but
introducing these ideas now is important, as
12
they’ll be referenced when we get more hands- 11
on later in the issue.
Sound is the oscillation (that is, waves) of 10
pressure through a medium – air, for example.
When these waves hit our tympanic membranes 9
(eardrums), the air vibration is converted to a
vibration in the fluid that fills the channels of the
8
inner ear. These channels also host cells with 7
microscopic ‘hairs’ (called stereocilia) that
release chemical neurotransmitters when 6
pushed hard enough by the vibrations in the
fluid. It’s these neurotransmitters that tell our 5
brain what we’re listening to. 4
The process of recording audio works by
converting the pressure waves in the air into an 3
electrical signal. For example, when we (used to)
record using a microphone feeding into a tape 2
recorder, the transducer in the mic converts the
pressure oscillation in the air into an electrical 1
signal, which is fed to the tape head, which 0
polarises the magnetic particles on the tape
running over it in direct proportion to the signal. The smooth sine curve is the original analogue waveform; the squared version is the quantised digital waveform
The movement of sound through air – and,
indeed, the signal recorded to tape – is what 20,000 oscillations (or cycles) per second. This 3000Hz), we’ll instead get 19,050Hz (22,050Hz
we’d call an analogue signal. That means that it’s is where we encounter the Nyquist–Shannon minus 3000Hz). As frequencies above 20kHz or
continuous – it moves smoothly from one ‘value’ sampling theorem, which deals with how often a so can’t be perceived by the human ear, they’re
to the next without ‘stepping’, even under the sample of a signal needs to be taken for it to be not massively useful anyway.
most microscopic of scrutiny reconstructed accurately. The theorem states In ADC, what’s known as an anti-aliasing filter
that the sampling rate needs to be double the is used to band-limit the sound, stopping any
By the numbers highest frequency, lest what’s known as aliasing frequency higher than half the sampling rate
Computers are, for the most part, digital, which occurs (see Fig 2). Aliasing causes unmusical from getting through. So, that 44.1kHz rate gives
means they read and write information as artefacts in the sound, as frequencies higher us double our 20kHz, plus a bit of extra room for
discrete values – that is, a string of numbers. So, than the sample rate will be “reflected” around the low-pass filter to filter out the unwanted
how do computers turn a smooth waveform of the Nyquist frequency, which is half the sample high-end signal. 44.1kHz was the de facto digital
infinite resolution into a series of numbers that rate. So at 44.1kHz, Nyquist is 22,050Hz, and if playback standard all the way through the CD
they can understand? we try to sample, say, 25,050Hz (22,050Hz plus era, and seems to be maintaining its ubiquity.
The answer is a method called pulse code
modulation (PCM), which is the main system
employed when working with digital audio
information. It starts with the process of
analogue-to-digital conversion (ADC), which
Fig 2: Aliasing
involves measuring the value of the continuous
signal at regular intervals and creating a
facsimile of the original waveform. The higher
the frequency at which the signal is referenced –
or ‘sampled’ – and the greater the precision of
the value that’s recorded, the closer to the A
original waveform the digital recording will be
(see Fig 1).
The number of samples taken per second is
called the sampling rate. CD-quality audio is at a
sampling rate of 44.1kHz, meaning that the
audio signal is sampled a whopping 44,100
times per second! This gives us a pretty smooth
representation of even high frequencies – the
higher the frequency we want to measure B
accurately, the higher the sampling rate
required. That figure – 44.1kHz – is pretty
specific, and there’s a reason for that: the
highest frequency that can be represented by
PCM audio is exactly half of the sample rate, and The grey waveform is the original; the purple is the digital version. The vertical lines represent samples taken from
the human ear can hear frequencies from the waveform. If the sample rate isn’t at least twice the frequency of the highest frequency present in the signal, the
around 20Hz to 20kHz, so at the top end that’s waveform won’t be accurately recreated

> mixing in the digital domain
Once our sample has been taken, it needs to

Fig 3: Bit depths be stored as a number. You probably already
know that CD quality audio is 16-bit – but what,
exactly, is a bit? A bit (short for binary digit) is
the most fundamental unit of information in
computing, and can have one of two values –
usually represented as 1 or 0. If we add another
bit, we double the number of available states:
for two bits, the number of available states
would be four (two to the power of two) – that is,
00, 01, 10 and 11. Four bits would allow for 16
states (two to the power of four), eight bits
would allow for 256 states (two to the power of
eight), and 16 bits a massive 65,536 possible
states (two to the power of 16). So, we’ve gone
from a primitive ‘on or off’ state at 1-bit to having
quite a fine resolution at 16-bit. See Fig 3 for a
visual representation of this.
1-bit (two possible states)
A bit random
When an analogue-to-digital converter samples
an analogue signal and rounds it up or down to
the nearest available level, as dictated by the
number of available bits, we get ‘quantisation
error’ or ‘quantisation distortion’. This is the
difference between the original analogue signal
and its digital facsimile, and can be considered
an additional stochastic signal known as
‘quantisation noise’. A stochastic signal is non-
deterministic, exhibiting different behaviour
“A stochastic signal is
non-deterministic,
2-bit (four possible states)
exhibiting different
behaviour every time
it’s observed”
every time it’s observed – a random signal, in
other words.
So, in a digital recording, we get our ‘noise
floor’ (the smallest measurement we can take
with any certainty) from the number of bits
we’re using. This is known as ‘word size’ or ‘word
length’. For every bit we add to the word length,
we get twice the number of possible states for
each sample, doubling the dynamic range with
another 6dB or so of headroom over the noise
4-bit (16 possible states) floor. For example, a 16-bit digital recording at
CD quality gives us a hypothetical 96dB of
dynamic range. It might surprise you to learn
that this is actually higher than the dynamic
range of vinyl, which is more like 80dB. If you’re
unfamiliar with decibels and dynamic range,
don’t worry – we’ll come back to them shortly.
As you can see by looking at the same sample
at different bit depths, changing bit depth
doesn’t affect how loud a sample can go; it just
affects the volume resolution of the waveform.
A common misconception is that increasing bit
depth only improves the resolution at lower
volume levels, but this clearly illustrates that the
increase in resolution improves the accuracy of
the signal across the entire amplitude.
If you’re new to music production and this all
seems very abstract, perhaps a practical
8-bit (256 possible states) example will bring things into focus. Install the
free audio editor Audacity (download it at http://

audacity.sourceforge.net), launch it and set

the input to your computer’s built-in
microphone. Click the record button, and
repeatedly speak the word “test” into the
microphone, quietly at first, then getting louder
each time. You should see something like Fig 4:
a series of similar waveforms that increase in
size on the vertical axis. If your computer
doesn’t have a built-in mic and you’re unable to
connect a microphone to it, you can find a pre-
recorded audio file (Test.wav) in the Tutorial
Files/Mixing in the digital domain folder.
Fig 4: As the recording of the voice gets louder, the waveform increases in amplitude
Testing, testing
Let’s take a look at our recording up close. Click
the first “test”, then hold the Cmd key on Mac or
Ctrl on PC and press 1 to zoom in on the
waveform. The waveform will look continuous,
but once you’ve zoomed in close enough, you’ll
see discrete points representing the levels of
individual samples – see Fig 5.
Hold Cmd/Ctrl again and press 3 to zoom out
and see the entire waveform. The increase in
vertical size represents the words increasing in
volume, or amplitude. Now click the loudest
“test” and zoom in on it. At the loudest points,
the waveform will approach or even reach the
+1.0/-1.0 points of the vertical axis. No matter Fig 5: By zooming into the waveform horizontally in Audacity, you can see the positions of individual samples
what bit depth you use, +/-1 is the loudest level
your recorded signal can be.
“Having a broad
dynamic range is
important in film
soundtracks, as well
as classical music”
However, the greater the bit depth, the more
accurate the waveform, and this is particularly
important when dealing with signals that
contain both loud and quiet elements –
percussive sounds, for example. This is because
more bits give us more dynamic range. Dynamic
range is the ratio of the largest and smallest
possible values of a variable such as amplitude,
and it can be expressed in terms of decibels
(dB), which we’ll get into in more detail later. In Fig 6: The top waveform is the original drum beat. The second is the compressed version with less dynamic range,
simple terms, it’s the difference in dB between but an overall louder level. The final waveform has been compressed too much, and sounds weak
the loudest and softest parts of the signal.
Here’s an example of dynamic range in action
that most of us will be familiar with: you’re
watching a movie late at night, trying to keep
the volume at a level that isn’t going to disturb
anyone. The trouble is, the scenes in which the
characters talk to each other are too quiet, while
the scenes with guns and explosions are too
loud! Wouldn’t it be better if the movie’s
soundtrack was at a consistent volume level?
Well, for late-night home viewing, maybe; but
in a cinema, it’s the difference in amplitude
between the characters’ dialogue and the
explosions that gives the latter their impact. As
such, having a broad dynamic range is
important in film soundtracks, as well as
classical music, where you’ll get much quieter
sections than you ever would in a dance track. Fig 7: The top waveform is the original version. The lower one has been reduced in amplitude by about 6dB, and
For example, take a listen to the fourth peaks at half the amplitude of the original

> mixing in the digital domain
Fig 8: Inter-sample peaks
Inter-sample peak
0dBFS
-1nf
movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony, clipped waveform and produces erroneous average amplitude. RMS (the square root of the
which features very delicate, restrained sections higher frequencies. Although clipping can have mean of the squares of the original values)
and intense crescendos. Dynamic range is its uses – which we’ll look at later in the issue – works better because it always gives a positive
important in club music too, though, because it it’s generally undesirable and is the reason why value by negating any negatives – it’s a measure
helps keep the percussive sounds punchy. we can’t just keep boosting the level of our of the magnitude of a set of numbers. So, a
mixes to get them as loud as we want. signal that has been compressed may have the
Range ﬁnder As a music connoisseur, you’ve probably same peak level as the uncompressed version,
The importance of dynamic range becomes already noticed that some mixes actually sound but its RMS level will be higher, making RMS a
very apparent when compressing drum sounds. a lot louder than others. Sometimes this is better indicator of perceived volume.
For the uninitiated, compression is a process because their waveforms simply peak at a
whereby the dynamic range of a signal is higher level, but not always – you might load up Talkin’ loud
reduced to get a sound with a louder average two tracks in your DAW and see that they look When we talk about signal levels, we use a
level. Once the level of the signal exceeds a similar in terms of amplitude, but hear that one logarithmic unit known as the decibel, or dB for
certain volume, the amount it goes over that sounds a lot louder than the other. This is where short. Decibels represent the ratio between two
threshold is reduced by a ratio set by the user. perceived volume comes into play. The human different values, so we use them to describe
To compensate for the overall drop in volume amplitude relatively. For example, in digital
that this introduces, the compressor’s output is audio, a signal at 0dBFS (0 decibels full scale)
then boosted so that it peaks at the same level “Decibels represent reaches the maximum possible peak level (+/-
as the uncompressed signal. As the average 1.0) on the vertical axis. Putting it simply, +6dB
level is now higher, thanks to the reduction in
dynamic range, it sounds louder – see Fig 6.
the ratio between two doubles the amplitude of a signal, and -6dB
halves it. If you want to get technical, it’s actually
However, too much compression can suck the
life out of a sound, making it feel flabby and different values, so we approximately +/-6.02dB (derived from 20 log
2). So, If we had a sine wave that peaked at
weak. You can hear some examples of this in the 0dBFS, and amplified it by -6.02dB, it would
Tutorial files folder: Original beat.wav, use them to describe peak at about +/-0.5. Each time we amplify the
Compressed beat.wav and Over-compressed signal by -6.02dB, the peak level will fall by
beat.wav. Getting the right balance between
sounds with punch, but also maintaining high
amplitude relatively” approximately half again. In terms of RMS,
amplifying a signal by +/-6.02dB will give us four
average volume, is one of the most important times the power or a quarter of the power
aspects of mixing for club play. mind’s perception of loudness is based not just respectively (see Fig 7).
Generally speaking – and up to a point – the on the amplitude level at which a waveform We calculate a period’s crest factor (the
louder music gets, the better it sounds. Sadly, as peaks, but also on how long it remains that loud. extremity of peaks in a waveform) by dividing its
we’ve seen, our waveform can only get so loud: Consequently, a better way to quantify the peak value by its RMS value. The resulting dB
once all the bits have been set to 1 and we’ve perceived volume of a sound is by measuring value will give us some idea of how dynamic a
reached the 65,536th step, there’s nowhere else not its peak volume, but its RMS level. signal is. You can measure peak, RMS and crest
for the audio information to go! So, what RMS stands for ‘root mean square’, and is a factor dB using metering software such as Blue
happens if we’re recording a signal that’s too method of calculating the average amplitude of Cat Audio DP Meter Pro (www.bluecataudio.
‘hot’ (that is, too loud) for our system? In this a waveform over time. Say, for example, we try com). Simply put it on your master channel, and
situation we get what’s known as digital to calculate the mean amplitude of a sine wave. as your track plays it’ll update the peak and RMS
clipping. When a signal exceeds the maximum The result is going to be zero, no matter what its averages (the time settings of which can be
capacity of the system, the top of the waveform peak amplitude, because a sine wave rises and adjusted) and resulting crest factor in real time.
is simply cut off, or ‘clipped’. This loss of falls symmetrically around its centre origin. So, part of the reason why two tracks can
information misrepresents the amplitude of the Clearly, then, this isn’t a useful way to measure have such different perceived volume levels

when they peak at the same level is that they

likely have a higher RMS value. That’s not the Fig 9: Visually represented dithering
whole story, though. There are many
psychoacoustic factors that affect how loud
something sounds to our ears, including its
frequency content, how long it lasts and,
crucially, its context in a track.
In the mix
This is where we actually get into the realms of
arrangement and – finally! – mixing. At the most
fundamental level, mixing two waveforms
together is a really simple process: all your CPU
has to do is add the level of each sample state
together to calculate the total. This happens in
exactly the same way in all DAWs, and if
someone tells you that a particular DAW’s
summing engine has a certain ‘sound’ to it,
they’re sadly misinformed. In fact, there’s a very
simple test you can do to see for yourself how all
DAWs sum signals in exactly the same way:
simply load two or more audio tracks into the
DAWs you want to test and bounce out a
mixdown. As long as you use the same settings
(including any automatic fades, panning law and
dithering) and haven’t done anything to alter
the audio (such as apply timestretching), you’ll
find that each DAW produces an identical file.
Then load the exported files into a DAW and 8-BIT GRADIENT 8-BIT GRADIENT 24-BIT GRADIENT
apply some polarity (often erroneously called DITHERED
phase) inversion – as long as all the files have
been imported correctly and no effects have
been applied by the DAW, they will cancel each producing any audible distortion, you won’t audio editing applications. Compressed audio
other out perfectly, leaving nothing but silence. really be able to trust what you’re hearing any formats such as MP3 and M4A have the
Another thing worth bearing in mind about more; this is due to the fact that different digital- advantage of much smaller file sizes, but use
DAW mixers is that they use 32- or even 64-bit to-analogue converters handle signals psychoacoustic tricks to remove data from the
exceeding 0dBFS differently. Distortion can signal that the human ear finds hard to perceive.
“Compressed audio even be caused by signals that don’t clip! This is
known as inter-sample modulation, and it
As such, these ‘lossy’ formats still sound great
under normal consumer listening conditions,
doesn’t occur within your DAW – it only happens but they don’t behave exactly like their
formats such as MP3 once the signal has been converted from digital uncompressed counterparts when subjected to
to analogue by your audio interface, specifically processing. While using an MP3 file as a source
and M4A have the the digital-to-analogue converter’s
reconstruction filter. It’s what turns a stepped
for, say, a CD master isn’t necessarily going to
sound bad, the results will really depend on the
advantage of much digital signal into a smooth analogue one, and
as Fig 8 shows, this process can cause problems
material, the context it’s used in, and the
encoding algorithm that’s been used to
when used with especially loud digital signals. compress the sound. To be sure that the finished
smaller file sizes” Whenever audio leaves your DAW – be it as product sounds as good as possible, it pays to
sound or an audio file export – it’s converted ensure that you use the highest-quality source
‘floating point’ summing to calculate what the from a 32- or 64-bit signal to a 16- or 24-bit one. material you can.
mix should sound like before it’s either delivered When this happens, resolution is lost as less bits
to your ears via your audio interface and are used. This is where an oft-misunderstood Moving on
speakers or bounced to an audio file. Floating process known as dithering comes into play, The human ear and mind are surprisingly
point means that some of the bits are devoted to whereby a very low level of noise is added to the sensitive listening devices, and as a result of this
describing the exponent, which in layman’s signal to increase its perceived dynamic range. it’s easy for someone who knows nothing about
terms means that it can be used to store a much It works a little like this: imagine you want to digital audio or production to identify a bad or
wider array of values. Whereas fixed-point 16-bit paint a grey picture, but only have white and weak mix – it will simply sound less ‘good’ than
has a range of 96dB, 32-bit floating point has a black paint. By painting very small squares of other tracks. This is especially important in a
range of more than 1500dB! This is clearly more alternating white and black, you can create a club environment, where the music is usually
headroom than we’d ever have any practical use third colour: grey. Dithering uses the same delivered in a non-stop stream, mixed together
for, and is the reason why pushing the level principle of rapidly alternating a bit’s state to by a DJ. When the DJ uses the crossfader to
faders extremely high or low in your DAW’s create a seemingly wider range of values than quickly cut between channels on the mixer, it’s
mixer doesn’t really have a negative effect on would otherwise be available. See Fig 9 for a just like A/B-ing tracks in a studio environment:
the sound unless it’s passing through a plugin visual example of dithering in action. any deficiencies in the mixdown of either track
that doesn’t cope well with extremely high or Dithering should be applied when lowering compared to the other will be glaringly obvious!
low values, or is clipping the master channel. In the bit rate, so it’s sensible to apply dither to To get your mixes sounding as good as the
fact, you could run every channel on your mixer your 32- or 64-bit mix when exporting it as a competition it’s necessary to push your digital
well into the red, but as long as the master 16-bit WAV file for burning to CD to play in a club, audio to its very limits, and it’s only through
channel isn’t clipping, no distortion of the signal or when supplying a 24-bit WAV file to a understanding what those limits are that you
would occur: 32-bit float can handle practically mastering engineer. can achieve this. In the following tutorials, we’ll
anything you can throw at it. WAV and AIFF are uncompressed audio take the digital medium to the edges of what it’s
Running your DAW’s master channel into the formats, which means that they’re suitable for capable of, and show you the negative
red is a bad idea, because even if it’s not using to transfer audio data between DAWs and consequences of exceeding those limits.

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Traditionally, mixing and mastering have been
performed by specialists. Nowadays you might find
you have to deal with them yourself, so how do you
ensure the finished product sounds professional?

Before the advent of the internet, record they do still have their own considerations – the particular genre in question) will do an
labels had no trouble at all selling physical consider, for example, the inter-sample peaks amazing job of creating a slick, loud yet punchy
product, and there was a lot of money in the discussed on p29. Mastering engineers will use version of the track for every intended medium.
music business. Labels could afford to pay equalisation, dynamics processing, stereo Of course, this isn’t always possible. You
songwriters, artists, backing singers, session balance adjustment and even saturation, among might not have the budget to recruit the
musicians, arrangers, engineers, producers, other techniques, to get tracks sounding as services of a reputable mastering house, or you
mix engineers, mastering engineers – even good as they possibly can prior to release. If the might need to make a loud version of your track
quality assurance people! – in the quest to engineer is working on a multitrack project, like to test out in a club environment at short notice.
create potential hits. Nowadays, particularly a two-tracker, EP or album, they’ll also need to In these situations, you’ll have to resort to
in electronic music, musicians usually have to ensure that the tracks have a consistent feel and creating your own DIY master. This isn’t the ideal
do everything apart from mastering volume level. Getting a sensible balance scenario for many reasons: pro mastering
themselves. Indeed, some digital labels even between volume level and dynamic range is engineers will have superior monitoring, tons of
release their artists’ own masters without another responsibility of the mastering specialised equipment and, most importantly,
batting an eyelid! engineer, and increasingly over the years, experience and skill in this area. It’s easy for an
Mastering is the process of creating a version they’ve been encouraged to make tracks louder amateur to do more harm than good to their
of a track suitable for duplication on its intended and louder – see The Loudness War, below. music with overzealous limiting or excitement,
final medium. Mastering engineers typically especially if their monitoring setup isn’t ideal.
work in purpose-built rooms with lots of That said, this state of affairs isn’t without its
acoustic treatment, tons of specialised hardware
and software, and ultra-high-end monitors the
“It’s easy for an upside. In the past, its been possible for
producers who don’t really know what they’re
sound and character of which they know inside
out. A mastering engineer’s job is to know how amateur to do more doing to deliver less than stellar mixdowns,
which have then been knocked into shape by
any given piece of music should sound on those mastering engineers. This has resulted in
monitors, and what it takes to get it there. harm than good to producers who never take their tunes to the
next level, because they know the mastering
Historically speaking, mastering has been
particularly important when it comes to making
vinyl records, because vinyl has certain
their music with engineer will be there to make their efforts
sound acceptable. Now, however, when every
limitations that must be adhered to in order for
the final product to sound any good – or even overzealous limiting” part of the process is performed by a single
musician, they experience each stage of the
function properly. For example, extreme high- transformation from unmastered mix to
frequency signals can cause havoc with the mastered track. They get to really interact with
cutting lathe, and excess stereo information in Master minds the production and hopefully more fully
the low end can actually cause the needle to In an ideal scenario, then, once an artist or understand how changes to the mixdown affect
jump out of the groove on playback! producer has finished a piece of music, they’ll how the mastered version will sound.
Naturally, then, it makes sense to employ a send a version that hasn’t been subjected to The most effective way to make club music is
specialist audio engineer who can anticipate master buss processing of any kind (limiting, to build it properly, from the ground up. These
and correct these problems, creating a version most pertinently) and still retains decent days, the lines between sound design,
of the recording that will sound great when dynamic range to a mastering house. This composition, mixing and mastering are fuzzy, to
pressed to vinyl. Digital formats such as CD and version will usually sound rather quiet say the least, and learning how they work
MP3 are a lot more forgiving because there are compared to a commercial release, but the together is essential if you’re going to make
no cutting lathes or needles to worry about, but engineer (who ideally specialises in mastering tracks that sound good wherever they’re played.
The loudness war

Attempting to one-up the last release with immediately tangible terms, anyway.
one that sounds louder and thus bigger is By its very nature, electronic music
something that’s been going on since the responds much better to a reduction
days of the 7-inch single. Reducing dynamic in dynamic range than the more
range might make music instantly more organic feel of rock, allowing dance
gratifying, but many would argue that it producers and mastering engineers
also reduces its impact and makes it more to process their productions more
fatiguing on the ear. It’s something that severely without such an obvious
provokes strong opinions from audio reduction in sound quality.
industry professionals and fans alike – On the other hand, the loudness
indeed, after the release of Metallica’s 2008 war has actually had a far more
album Death Magnetic, fans noticed that the dramatic effect on dance music in
version of the album used in musical that it’s changed the way it’s written
videogame Guitar Hero actually sounded from the ground up. As legendary
much better than the squashed CD release producer and remixer StoneBridge
(http://bit.ly/bHxvpv) – visual evidence of noted in Special 61: “Sequences
this can be seen at http://bit.ly/TjWizz. A are doing the job that hi-hats used
petition was organised to release a less to: you have little bubbly sequences that cleaner, you can master it louder, and it will
heavily compressed version of the album sort of play the hi-hat pattern. It’s a musical sound more devastating in the club. So we
on CD, though it didn’t amount to anything. element, so it will carry the tune, and don’t have any personality left in the
Although the same ratcheting up of producers have discovered that they can records.” In other words, it is possible to
volume levels has occured in dance music, it make a cleaner production by avoiding all make very loud mixes, but be warned – it
doesn’t seem to have had such an adverse those treble elements like hats and snares – can come at the expense of making
effect on the genre – certainly not in such if you remove that shit, the mix will be a lot interesting music.

Level best
One criticism sometimes leveled metering and clipping detection
at the graphical metering in DAW amongst its many features. It can
software is that it doesn’t really be downloaded from www.
tell the whole story: most meters voxengo.com.
only show peak rather than peak If you’re after something a
and RMS levels, don’t show inter- little more retro, PSP Audioware’s
sample peak level, don’t have 2Meters bundle could be right up
adjustable ballistics (the way the your alley. It consists of two
meter responds to the audio meters with old-fashioned
input), and don’t have great VU-style displays and overload
labelling. Thankfully, this indicators, and boasts adjustable
situation can be rectified parameters such as integration
somewhat using plugins: there times (set by default to emulate
are plenty of metering plugins on standard hardware VU meter
the market, including some ballistics) and reference levels.
excellent freebies. 2Meters costs a very reasonable
Starting at the cheapest end of $15 and can be bought at www.
the scale, Sonalksis’ FreeG (www. pspaudioware.com.
sonalksis.com) is a must for If you’re really serious about
those after improved metering, your metering, Blue Cat Audio’s
featuring peak and RMS DP Meter Pro (€59, www.
readouts, multiple metering bluecataudio.com) offers
Metering plugins
ballistic types, and a huge gain practically every kind of
like Sonalksis
fader that’s great for making fine metering possible including FreeG, Voxengo
adjustments to a track’s level. It customisable peak, RMS and Span and Blue
also includes a polarity inversion crest factor, five different scales Cat Audio DP
switch that could come in handy including Bob Katz’s K-System Meter Pro can
(plus the ability to make your be a useful
for comparing tracks and more
alternative to
advanced tracking. own), graphs that show the the lacklustre
Another essential freebie, development of audio envelopes metering found
Voxengo’s SPAN is a spectral over time, a mid/side switch for in most DAWs
analyser at heart, but also offers checking mono compatibility,
level metering, stereo correlation and tons more.
What many novice producers fail to grasp is certainly not mandatory, but getting the drums are a couple of things that can help with this, the
that different sizes of sound delivery system sounding right is half the battle when it comes first of which involves using parametric EQ to
work in completely different ways. For example, to making an effective club track. boost specific frequencies in a signal in order to
it’s possible to create a dubstep track packed Understanding how drum sounds work makes exaggerate them, or remove them so that the
with big, full-frequency noises that sounds this easier, and is something we look at in Low other parts of the signal can be heard more
impressive when played through a laptop’s built- End Theory on p50. clearly. The second method is to use a spectral
in speakers, but if the low frequencies aren’t Other instruments will be subjected to high- analyser such as Voxengo SPAN (free from
present and the beats don’t have punch – pass filtering so that their low frequencies don’t www.voxengo.com) to visualise the frequency
characteristics that are much harder to discern clash with these fundamental elements. This is content of the audio signal.
or appraise on laptop speakers – it’ll sound important for two reasons. The first is avoidance Both of these methods are particularly useful
terrible on a big club rig. of the phenomenon known as frequency when working in a listening environment that’s
masking, which occurs when sounds occupy the less than perfect. While low- or mid-range
On the down low same space in the frequency spectrum. For monitors are in a totally different league to
Without getting too sidetracked by the science example, say the fundamental frequency of laptop speakers for referencing mixes, they still
of how sound works, it’s the lowest frequencies your synth pad conflicts too much with the colour the sound to a certain extent, depending
that give a sound its overall pitch and weight harmonics of your bass – by high-passing the on their build quality. The sound will also be
characteristics. Typically, the lowest frequencies pad, you’ll reveal the bass harmonics that share coloured by the environment in which they’re
in a piece of dance music will be the those frequencies. The second reason is that it placed, which is why high-end studios are
fundamental frequencies of the kick drum, helps to free up headroom. You can only put so usually purpose-built and acoustically treated.
snare drum and bassline. We can’t overstate much energy, or amplitude, into each part of the For example, if your room’s acoustic properties
how important this is: in the same way that any frequency spectrum – if you just keep adding mean that the frequencies around 100Hz
individual sound’s pitch is determined by its low-frequency sounds to the mix you’ll end up appear louder or those around 80Hz appear
fundamental frequency, so is the fundamental clipping the master output, forcing you to turn quieter than they actually are, you’ll naturally
frequency of a combination of sounds. The everything down. By keeping a good balance of ‘correct’ these frequencies without realising that
lowest frequencies of a track define its overall sounds through the frequency spectrum, it’s the room causing the problem, not the mix
pitch, and a track’s rhythm is defined by the everything can be kept relatively loud, giving itself. When you play your mix in another
sounds with the widest dynamic range – again, you a more impressive-sounding mix. environment, these ‘corrections’ will result in a
that’s typically the drums. So, these elements of This means that being able to identify the mix with an uneven frequency response – the
the music are what give it its weight, solidity, frequency range that a sound occupies is 100Hz area will likely sound too quiet, while the
overall pitch and rhythm. extremely beneficial to the producer. Our ears 80Hz region will be too loud!
As these low-frequency drum sounds are are sensitive listening devices, but only those
so important, it makes sense to start your with extremely well-trained ears can pick out In the club
writing process with them. This might not be specific frequency peaks or accurately judge the Another important goal with any mix is that it
how you’re most comfortable working, and it’s frequency content of a sound. Thankfully, there should translate well, and this is particularly

important when mixing for club play – a loud laden trap banger. Also, aim for a fairly wide are much, much louder than your work in
club system will emphasise poor mixing, and range of mixdowns – for example, a track with progress! This is thanks to the magic of
piercing frequencies could become particularly glossy high-end sheen, a track that really mastering and, naturally, makes it extremely
unpleasant, and even dangerous! A good way to punches satisfyingly in the lows, and so forth. tricky to make a comparison: realistically, it’s
avoid this sort of problem it to check your mixes Get the highest-quality versions of these tracks very hard to make an accurate judgement on
on a variety of systems – friends’ hi-fis, your car that you can – you can buy music in what you need to do to make your tracks sound
stereo, your laptop speakers and anywhere else uncompressed WAV format from Beatport, or better when your references are so much
you can think of. It’s also worth referencing your rip WAVs from audio CDs. louder. The obvious solution is to turn the tracks
mixes on headphones as well as monitors. Next, add some extra audio tracks to your you’re using to A/B down so that they’re in the
Headphones won’t give you as accurate a project, route them directly to your monitors so same ballpark level-wise as your track.
representation of dynamics as monitors, but that they bypass any processing on your master
they can be useful for getting a better idea of buss, then mute them. Now you can place a To the limit
bass level (which can be particularly tricky to reference track on each one. When you play Another technique favoured by dance music
get right when working in small, untreated your project back you can quickly swap producers is using processing on the master
rooms) and fine details. between your mix and the reference tracks by buss during the composition stage to get an
A highly recommended way of establishing soloing them. This should quickly give you a idea of how hard a mix can be pushed.
the sort of mix you should be aiming for is to A/B very clear idea of how your music compares to Let’s look at an example of how this might
reference your work with that of other the competition. It can also really help to use work. Say you’ve got a mix that doesn’t have any
producers. The first stage of this process is to spectral analysis on the tracks you’re A/B-ing – processing on the master channel and peaks at
find several pieces of music that you think are you’ll almost certainly notice that each part of about -6dB. This is a very sensible level for a
well produced and sound good on a variety of the frequency spectrum peaks at a similar mixdown that ensures plenty of headroom,
systems. Try to go for tracks that fit closely with volume level, and this is generally something giving the mastering engineer plenty of
the style of music you’re making: you’re never you’ll want to emulate in your own mixes. dynamic range to play with. So far, so good – but
going to get your delicate, electric piano laden If you’re a new producer, the first thing you’ll unless you’re a very experienced producer
hip-hop grooves to sound as loud as a sawtooth- probably discover is that the commercial mixes you’re probably going to find it hard to judge
Don’t (always) believe your ears

The human ear is an extremely sensitive
listening tool, but it has its limits and can’t 130
always be completely trusted. If you’ve been
120 (Estimated)
producing for a while, you’ll almost certainly
have noticed the phenomenon of music you’ve 110
made late at night sounding dreadful the next 100phon
day once you’ve listened to it with fresh ears! 100
Sound pressure level (dB SPL)
This can be down to several factors, including

what’s known as ‘ear fatigue’. This is what 90
happens when you’ve been listening to loud 80
sounds for an extended period and your ears 80
become less sensitive to subtle changes in tone
and volume, and it’s just one of the reasons why 70
it makes sense not to send off your tracks the
60
second you finish making them.
60
Another important phenomena to be aware 50
of is how the ear responds to frequencies at 40
different levels. The human ear doesn’t have a 40
‘flat’ response of perceived volume (the
scientific unit of which is known as a ‘phon’) at a 30
particular sound pressure level (or dB SPL). The 20
first research on this topic was conducted by 20
Bell Labs engineers Fletcher and Munson, who
created the first equal-loudness curve. This 10
visual aid show us how the ear perceives
(Threshold)
frequencies at various volume levels over the 0
range of hearing, though it has since been
superseded by more accurate curves. You can
-10
check out some annoatated examples of equal- 10 100 1000 10k 100k
loudness curves at http://bit.ly/16IJZ0Z, but the
main thing you need to know is that at lower
levels you need proportionally more bass and Equal-loudness contours
treble to get a sounds that’s perveices as ‘flat’ –
hence the ‘loudness’ EQ curve modes on some
hi-fis that are designed to boost these
Fletcher-Munson curves
frequencies. If you’re mixing at really quiet
levels, you might find yourself artificially
boosting the lows and highs, which will result in
an unbalanced mix when played on a loud
system. If it’s not possible to monitor at a
reasonable level, use headphones, spectral
analysis plugins and A/B comparison to check
your work.

Labels and mastering
When prospectively sending mastered, and whether it’s
music to record labels, a DIY- going to be possible for you to
mastered 320kbps MP3 should review the master before the
be high enough quality – it’s release date – you might find
practically impossible to hear (especially with label self-
the difference between that and masters) that you’re unhappy
a 44.1kHz/24-bit WAV under with the job they’ve done or
normal listening circumstances. have suggestions to make. If
If a label decides to release this is the case, try to be as
your music, what happens from tactful as possible!
there is down to them. Ideally, An increasingly common
they’ll ask you for a WAV version trend is for labels to simply
with no compression or clipping request a WAV version of your
on the master channel, peaking DIY master, which will be given
at around -6 to -4dB so that they directly to the digital
can give it to a mastering distributor. Obviously this isn’t
engineer who will create an ideal situation, but for low- Thanks to software like iZotope’s Ozone mastering suite, you really can make your
masters for digital and/or vinyl income labels it makes financial own high-quality masters these days – as long as you know what you’re doing!
distribution. Sometimes, small sense. When this is the case,
labels (often staffed by just one there’s not a lot you can do aside using clipping on the master is almost always a better
person running the whole thing from either doing the best job channel of the mixer, rather solution than applying, say,
in their spare time) that only on your DIY master as possible, than working from a single corrective EQ or compression
release digitally will create or paying to have it mastered rendered audio file, is that you after the fact, and will at least
masters themselves. Try to find yourself. The advantage of can make changes to the sound give you total control over the
out how the release will be creating your own DIY masters of the master as you see fit. This final sound of the release.
how loud it can go when it’s limited, or what it sound depends on the kit used to play them
will sound like. The solution it to have a crack at “If the dynamic range back, potentially affecting the mix when it’s
reducing the dynamic range yourself. You can converted to a compressed audio format.
do this simply by putting a limiter plugin on the
master channel and listening to how it sounds
has been reduced too Severe limiting and clipping can make these
even more likely to occur, but there is a way
when you boost the track’s gain.
The definition of ‘limiting’ is broader than you
much, the mix will lack around the problem.
Some limiters, such as FabFilter Pro-L and
might think. Compression of more than a certain iZotope Ozone 5, have inter-sample peak
ratio – let’s say 10:1, with the output signal only punch even though detection algorithms built in, but if yours
rising by 1dB for every 10dB by which the input doesn’t, download SSL’s freeware X-ISM inter-
exceeds the threshold – could certainly be
considered limiting, but with what’s known as
it’s loud” sample peak detector (www.solid-state-logic.
com). This clever metering software simulates a
‘brickwall’ limiting, the output signal never digital-to-analogue converter with
exceeds the threshold – useful in situations Once the mix is finished, you can export a oversampling, and has indicators that light up
where you’re up against a hard limit like 0dBFS. loud, clipped and dithered version for your own when the audio signal appears likely to cause
Then there’s clipping, which we discussed on use, or get rid of the clipper and gain boost and problems. So, if you want to be sure that your
p28. Clipping is useful because, rather than export an undithered version that peaks the clipped signal isn’t in danger of containing inter-
taking time to get the volume level down to the master channel at -6dB or so for submission to a sample peaks, place it after the clipper. If the
desired level as compression does, the top of mastering engineer. This is a solution that signal appears to be at risk, turn down the pre-
the waveform is simply lopped off. The upside of satisfies everyone: mastering engineers get a clipper gain or the clipper’s output itself to
this is that it can make the signal very loud and version with plenty of dynamic range that they hopefully remedy the situation.
is better at preserving transients (the can work with, and the artist can create a loud That said, it’s not worth getting too worked
characteristic attack stages at the start of drum DIY master for DJing. up over inter-sample peaks, as lots of
sounds) than limiting. The downside is that With this method, it’s up to the artist to commercially released music appears to contain
prolonged periods of clipping result in an ensure that their clipped version isn’t too them when run through X-ISM anyway. In
unpleasantly distorted signal audibly distorted and that it still retains a decent summary, if you’re absolutely hell-bent on
So, by using a clipper on the master channel level of dynamic range. If the dynamic range has maximising the playback integrity of your music
and increasing the gain level, we can get an been reduced too much, the mix will lack punch then they’re to be avoided, which can be
extremely loud signal with well-preserved even though it’s loud. When played in a club the achieved by exporting with a ceiling of -0.3dB
transients. When we hear the signal begin to mix will just sound loud in an unpleasant way, or rather than 0dBFS. However, if you’ve got
distort, we can back the gain off a little. If the the DJ will end up turning it down to a level decent monitoring and aren’t getting any
signal isn’t loud enough for our liking, we can where its perceived volume is the same as that audible distortion when you convert your music
listen to which parts are distorting (say, the sub- of the preceding track, reducing the punch even to MP3 or another compressed format, you
bass when the kick plays) to work out which of further! Clearly, this isn’t how you want your should be fine.
the elements in the mix needs to be changed so track to sound on its dancefloor debut.
that we can turn the gain up a little more. Of Hey, Mister DJ
course, there’s always going to be a limit to how Peak practice If you’re interested in producing mixdowns that
loud a track can go, but this method gives us the Another digital recording phenomenon to be work well in a club environment, it’s likely that
best perspective on creating a mix that can be aware of is inter-sample peaking, which we also you’ll either want to play your tracks out
pushed as hard as possible without making the looked at on p29. As discussed, signals can yourself or send them to DJs in the hope that
listener’s ears bleed. generate inter-sample peaks, and how these they might be dropped into a set. There’s more

Life in mono
Practically all modern music is elements of the mix (that is, the
delivered as a stereo mix, which ones with the most bass)
means we’re working with two narrowly occupying the central
channels of information rather mid channel of the mix, with the
than just one. This makes our ‘floatier’ elements (pads, reverb
lives a fair bit more complicated and so on) largely occupying the
than they’d have been back in the sides signal. This works well in a
days of mono, but it also gives us club environment, where often
the opportunity to get a lot more the signal from the DJ’s mixing
sound into our mixes. desk is summed to mono before
If you listen to a mix from the it reaches the speakers. While the
dawn of the stereo era, you’ll stereo information is lost in this
hear some rather extreme situation, the main beef of the
panning of the sort that doesn’t track – such as the kick, snare and
happen too often today: drum bass – will remain intact. Use Voxengo’s free MSED plugin to convert stereo elements to mono – simply
kits panned hard right, vocals You can make stereo elements insert it into their mixer channel and turn down the sides mix
panned hard left and so on. This mono by inserting a mid/side
was fashionable at the time processor such as Voxengo’s flanger or reverb, or by delaying turning down the side signal.
because it really showed off the excellent free MSED (www. either the left or right channel While it’s OK for less important
capabilities of the new voxengo.com) on their channel, slightly – the Haas technique. elements to dip in volume or
technology, but obviously it and turning down the sides mix, This last effect sounds great in change timbre, you don’t really
doesn’t give you the most leaving you with just the mid a stereo mix, but can cause issues want anything to disappear. If it
powerful sound possible. signal. Making mono parts stereo when the signal is summed to does, you should consider
The current trend in mixing is can be done by adding stereo mono. You can check the mono adjusting the stereo processing
to have all the solid, weighty effects such as chorus, phaser, compatibility of your music by on the affected parts.
to prospectively sending music to labels and DJs to-mix intro, it’s sensible to go with the trend lest promised to someone else. So, for example, a
than you might think, though, so let’s run your tracks give the DJs a headache. You can sensible file name for a tune would be:
through a few rules of thumb for those who are innovate and break the rules when you’re [email protected]_Wicked_Tune-29-10-
new to the game. established! See What DJs Want on p38 for a 13-unsigned.mp3. This instantly gives the DJ all
First of all, you need to make sure that the guide to making dance music that’s easy and the required information in an easy-to-digest
music you intend to send is of a high enough fun to mix. format, and if they need more they’ve got your
standard to be played out. Determining this can contact details.
be really tricky if you’re a newcomer to Get connected
production – some people underestimate the Once you feel your music is of a high enough Social networking
quality of their work, while others drastically standard, you should get the contact details for Most DJs like to receive tracks as maximum
overestimate it. What’s more, feedback from DJs who play out the particular type of music quality (320kbps) MP3 files, so if you can’t find
friends and members of online communities can you make. Realistically, unless the DJ is already out specifically how a DJ likes to receive music,
be misleading. It’s helpful to find people who turned on to the kind of music you produce, get a Dropbox account, upload your 320kbps
offer useful and impartial feedback, but they’re not going to have time to give your track MP3s to a folder, and send a polite, personalised
ultimately, being able to objectively judge the a proper listen anyway, so don’t waste anyone’s message to their email or social network
quality of your own output is one of the most time by sending them music they won’t have mailbox. Tell them you think that your music is
important skills you can learn as a producer. any interest in. The best DJs to target aren’t of a style they might be interested in and that
Compare your work with a wide range of necessarily the big names, but smaller ones with you’d appreciate any feedback if they have time.
releases in the same genre by A/B-ing with them a following and a particular sound, and who are Some DJs are approachable via Twitter, so if
and mixing them together in a DJing application. ideally making music that you respect yourself. you can’t find a way to send them music, fire
Ideally, you should get to know a local If you already have a connection on a musical them off a polite tweet to test the water. Other
promoter or member of staff at your local club – level with a DJ, you’re much more likely to pique DJs will have an AIM (www.aim.com) account
you might be able to persuade them to let you their interest with your tracks. logged on constantly in order to receive new
test your tracks on the club’s system before they Many DJs will have a SoundCloud or other music, so look out for AIM buddy names on their
open, which can be extremely informative! Bear social networking page that will specify how social media pages, or try to find them out
in mind that if you listen to your music on the they like to receive new music. The last thing through word of mouth. Above all, be polite and
monitor in a DJ booth, it’s likely to have a limited you want to do is antagonise your prospective respectful! Developing a thick skin is sensible –
frequency response in the low end. And, again, audience, so follow these rules carefully. you’ll have to learn to deal with rejection and
take some commercial tracks along to A/B your Behaviour that upsets DJs – for example, blunt criticism, and bug people that you don’t
tunes with in a club environment. emailing them uncompressed WAV files – is know – but this really is the best way to get your
Remember that sending DJs poor-quality likely to prejudice them against your tunes! foot in the door of most dance music genres,
music is only going to put them off listening to Usually DJs will want a loud version of your especially if there isn’t a scene in your area.
your material in the future, so even if you’re an track to play out, so send them your DIY master, As well as being a route to getting exposure
experienced producer, try to avoid sending making sure there aren’t any long stretches of for your music, sending music to DJs is also an
music you’ve just rendered out: your ears will silence or other garbage at the start and/or end important way to get feedback on your
probably be fatigued, so give yourself a few of the file. Label it with your contact email productions. It’s reasonable to send a polite
days to forget about the project, then go take address, the name of the track, the date you request for feedback with your music, but don’t
another listen and make sure that it sounds as finished it, and information on whether it’s be offended if you don’t hear back, or if what
good as it did when you finished it! signed to a label or not – this latter point is you hear is negative. If you think the criticisms
A good way to ensure your music is particularly useful for DJs looking for material to are valid, try to address them in your next
DJ-friendly is to follow the conventions of the sign to their own label, and can save a time- productions – you’ll get more useful feedback
genre. If everyone else in your genre is making consuming conversation when they contact you from DJs if your productions are of a half-decent
tracks that are eight minutes long with an easy- and attempt to sign a tune you’ve already standard to begin with.

Stunna can be heard every Wednesday at
www.bassdrive.com. Check out his
music at http://soundcloud.com/stunna
Tony Blitz’s Local Talk EP is out now. Hear

it at http://soundcloud.com/djtonyblitz
DJs today have more music to pick from than going to be a gift for a DJ because it makes the
ever before. Thousands – yes, thousands! – of tempo of the track extremely easy to discern
new tracks are released every week, and enables them to bring the track in without
thousands more are given away for free on having to worry too much about clashing
blogs and via SoundCloud, and popular DJs musical elements. Even if the two tracks are in
will receive dozens or even hundreds via the same key or sympathetic keys, there can
their email and instant messaging accounts always be musical parts that just don’t sound
alone. Consequently, your music has to stand
out if it’s going to be noticed amongst the
good when played together. By bringing these
in later, you give the DJ time to create a
Keep them
competition – but creating an innovative,
unpredictable arrangement isn’t the way to a
smoother segue between the two pieces of
music – this is part of the reason why dance
guessing
DJ’s heart. tracks don’t start on the ‘drop’, the point where
For better or worse, the reality is that the vast the full-on beats and bassline kick in. There’s a fine line between an
majority of dance music genres very strictly The DJ needs to be able to identify the inventive arrangement that keeps
adhere to the conventions that have developed downbeat, too, and while this will be obvious if the audience’s interest and a by-the-
over the years in terms of how they should be the track begins with drums, it helps to drop numbers production that comes
structured. Subverting these conventions in clues throughout the track, in case the DJ starts across like an exercise in box-
inventive ways will impress much more than from a point in the track other than the ticking. Ultimately, we want to stick
simply disregarding them out of hand, so it beginning. This is part of the reason why so to the fundamental conventions of
makes sense to understand what they are and much dance music has a cymbal crash every our chosen genre, but we also need
why they’re important. four, eight or 16 bars – not only do these to give our music some originality
If you don’t have any experience of DJing ‘episodic markers’ sound good and keep the and personality, so that it’s exciting
yourself, it’ll certainly be harder to appreciate listener grounded in the progression of the to listen to.
the things that make a track DJ-friendly or a track, they also help the DJ identify the The most effective way to fulfill
chore to incorporate into a set – but not beginning of each section. See Deep Structure, both of these requirements is to
impossible. Let’s begin, then, by examining how overleaf, for more on this. play with the rules of arrangement.
DJs actually go about mixing a track. A common trick in bass music
genres is to use what’s sometimes
called a ‘switch-up’, where at the
end of each, say, 16-bar section the
main musical idea is changed in
If you want to get your track played in the some way, typically by altering the
rhythm and melody of the bassline,
clubs, it has to be DJ-friendy. Let’s look at the or introducing a new hook sound.
This will often happen at the same
unwritten rules of arranging a dance time as a rhythmic change in the
beats, and such changes make it all
track to give it decks appeal the more satisfying when the
original version of the beat and
bassline come back in. A good
The traditional way example of this can be heard in Bad
to ‘beat-match’ two tracks is to get them playing Company’s Planet Dust (http://bit.
at exactly the same tempo, synchronised so that Swing time ly/NwX3Q5).
the first beat of the bar on each lands at exactly As well as the issue of tracks being musically A variation on this trick is to use a
the same point. If this is done correctly (and incompatible – not being in compatible keys, for false breakdown or switch-up at the
depending on the source material, as we’ll see example – it’s also possible for tracks that are start of a section rather than the
later), the DJ can raise the volume of one track synchronised correctly and musically end. This gives the listener the
while lowering the volume of the other, creating compatible to sound bad when mixed. This is impression that the music has
a seamless transition between the two pieces, usually down to the two tracks having subtle moved on to a different section,
facilitating a continuous stream of music and timing differences. then subverts their expectations
allowing the audience to keep dancing Known as shuffle, swing or groove, having when the familiar pattern returns.
indefinitely without a break in the music. every other eighth- or 16th-note play slightly This technique is used to good
after the beat gives a track a funky, human feel. effect in Rusko’s Cockney Thug
Give the DJ a break This is an integral part of practically all pop (http://bit.ly/3XXKpt), where the
Although most modern DJing software can music, from blues all the way up to house and switch-ups occur at the start rather
automatically identify the tempo of a track and hip-hop. Swing only becomes a problem when than end of sections, and more
locate the first downbeat – enabling the DJ to DJs try to mix two tracks with different grooves radically in John B’s Rinse It Out
automatically synchronise tracks – DJing with that sound bad together. Sync buttons won’t Propa (http://bit.ly/19IoPlV), in
vinyl and turntables requires the DJ to locate the help in this scenario – the tracks can be mixed which the drop itself plays for a
downbeat and correct the tempo themselves. perfectly, but thanks to their clashing grooves mere two bars before changing up
This is why much dance music begins with they’ll always sound messy together. The to a different bass and beat!
what’s often described as a ‘DJ-friendly’ intro, solution to this is to lead in with elements that Another way to surprise the
with obvious clues as to the tempo of the track give the DJ the feel of the swing without fully listener is to do the opposite of what
and the location of the downbeat. committing to it – bringing in swung 16th-note the cues in the music suggest is
While it’s possible to do this subtly using hi-hats during the intro, for example. This allows going to happen. For example,
implied rhythm, that isn’t much use to a DJ the DJ to find out in advance if the track isn’t Camo & Krooked’s All Night (http://
because they need to be able to accurately hear going to work when beat-matched with the bit.ly/19kxksA) features the typical
on their cue channel that the track they’re going currently playing tune. breakdown and build-up you’d
to drop into the mix is indeed synchronised It can also be useful to feature a sound that expect from a DnB track, but the
correctly with the track that’s currently playing. occurs later in the track in the intro – an easily drop isn’t the usual cue for all hell to
This is much easier with shorter, percussive identifiable sound effect, melodic hook or vocal break loose – instead, it’s actually a
sounds like drums than it is with pads. An intro sample, say. This doesn’t actually help the DJ rather minimal affair that radically
comprising just a drumbeat, therefore, is always with the technicalities of mixing, but it does let changes the feel of the track.

them get more creative with the mix by ‘teasing’ Sometimes a bassline can continue until the the track is actually ‘mixable’ at specific points,
your track, cutting in brief previews as another track has finished (DJs can fade this out using or they’ll completely bypass playing the tune,”
track plays. This adds atmosphere to the mix EQ to make room for the low end of the next says Chicago DJ and producer Stunna. “I always
and makes the listener feel like the DJ is taking track), but many tracks feature a purely beats- like the challenge when someone tells me a
them on a musical journey. only outro that’s designed to make mixing out track is ‘unmixable’, but there are definitely
as easy as possible. some tunes that need to go back to the drawing
The drop board and be worked on further. I structure my
The drop is of the utmost importance in the vast Experience preferred tracks by keeping in mind the ‘formula’ so that
majority of contemporary dance music styles. Of course, dance music would be pretty boring if other DJs will be able to mix them with other
Most will feature a section in which the track it all stuck to exactly the same structure, which tunes if desired. Some curveballs in
switches from being in its intro or build-up is why you need to put thought and effort into arrangement are often thrown in for variety and
phase to firing on most if not all cylinders. In your arrangements rather than recycling the originality, but as long as a DJ is able to
many styles this is preceded by a breakdown – a same old formula. While not all dance music recognise where major sections in the track
section where the beats drop out, often to make begin and end, my job is mostly done.”
way for a ‘musical’ section and also providing a You can get a better understanding of how
contrast to when the beats and bass kick in. “The drop is of the track structure works in the context of a mix by
The breakdown/drop structure is common in listening to DJ sets and hearing where and how
many contemporary styles of dance music,
particularly house, dubstep, DnB and pretty
utmost importance in they use EQ and volume manipulation to swap
between tracks, as well as by studying unmixed
much all forms of bass music. A track in any of
these genres will feature at least one the vast majority of tracks in the styles of music you produce to hear
how they’re structured.
breakdown, with two being pretty much the To fully appreciate how the subtleties of a
norm. These give the audience a breather from contemporary dance track’s structure can work for or against the DJ,
the generally uptempo vibe, and the producer it’s necessary to gain some experience DJing
an opportunity to make a second drop that
potentially varies from the first. It’s also
music styles” yourself. Getting into DJing can be a hefty
investment in terms of both time and money,
common practice to vary the progression of the but if you just want to get a taste, download the
track by adding and removing elements, or follows these rules absolutely, the vast majority free DJing application Mixxx from www.mixxx.
switching into ‘middle eight’-type sections of it is tailored so that even if it’s not designed org. This open-source freeware DJing tool is
where an alternative set of musical ideas is just to be easy to mix – an epic intro, say – it’ll compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux, and
temporarily introduced. feature subtler tempo cues such as hi-hats, and works along the same lines as professional
DJ-friendly outros work much like DJ-friendly sections that are particularly conducive to software like Native Instruments’ Traktor. Even if
intros in reverse. Keeping a solid beat going blending into or out of another track. you’re just mixing a relatively small selection of
helps the DJ bring in the next track gradually if “If the arrangement is ‘bad’ or difficult for a DJ tracks in the style in which you produce, you’ll
they want to, and the exiting one can be wound to follow when trying to mix the track with other quickly gain valuable insight into what makes
down by removing elements gradually. tunes, either the DJ will try and figure out where music easy or difficult to work with.
Deep structure
Most dance music tracks are divided up into work. Admittedly, there are some examples and a nice long break halfway in to allow the
sections that are eight, 16 or 32 bars long. of (usually older) dance music that add in the DJ to get the next track ready to mix. If I’m
This might sound formulaic, but the human occasional extra bar or even extra beat, but sent a demo and the intro is a bit too ‘out
brain finds this regularity satisfying. It also these are definitely the exception to the rule. there’, and I find it the slightest bit difficult to
makes it much easier for the DJ to make “There’s nothing worse than having a identify which part of the bar a track is at, I’ll
tracks work together. An extremely basic great track that kicks in off-beat and messes most probably not risk mixing it out. I spend
example of this would be that if the DJ starts up the mix,” says Tony Blitz from Welsh most of my time making music, not listening
the beginning of a track’s 32-bar intro at the garage heros C.R.S.T. “We’ve all been there, to demos, so it needs to grab me straight
same time as another track’s 32-bar outro, mixing a track for the first time and it away, and it needs to be DJ-friendly.
the first track will drop as the second ends. As dropping too early while you’re mixing, then Occasionally I’ll be sent something that’s a bit
such, it makes sense to stick to the template, cringing whilst frantically trying to sort it out, all over the place, but I’ll play it because it’s
because it allows the DJ to use your music hoping that nobody noticed! I like tracks that too good to ignore. But those times are few
more effectively as a dynamic part of a larger have a long intro with plenty of percussion, and far between.”

A classic arrangement: Double 99, Ripgroove
3 4 5
1 9
6
8 10
7 12 13 14
11
Double 99’s 1997 track Ripgroove is a bass part, where we hear the pad and the R&B before we reach the outro 13 , which consists
music classic that helped define the speed vocal begins to fade in 4 , and a build-up, of another 16 bars of beats and stabs,
garage template: uptempo swung house where the vocal continues to fade in, along followed by 24 bars of just beats and a final
beats, looped R&B vocal samples (from Tina with a kick drum roll and a reggae vocal 5 . soundbite at the end of the track to round
Moore’s Never Let You Go), timestretched Just before the drop, everything apart from things off 14 .
reggae soundbites (from Top Cat’s Request the R&B vocal cuts out and a spinback sample What’s perhaps surprising about
the Style) and ‘reversed’ bass sounds inspired plays 6 , clearing the low end for a moment to Ripgroove’s structure is that the intro and
by jungle classics such as Dead Dred’s Dred give the beats and bass extra impact when outro add up to a total of a whopping 88 bars,
Bass. The arrangement serves as a perfect they drop 7 . compared to only 72 bars of the beats and
example of a simple but effective DJ-friendly Each eight-bar section after the drop bassline playing! This demonstrates that the
structure that makes the most of all the changes things up slightly, adding more track comes from an era in which tunes were
elements in the track and, more importantly reggae soundbites, for example 8 , and aimed first and foremost at DJs – we have to
for our purposes, facilitates easy, fun mixing. there’s a switch-up at the end of each 16-bar wait a minute and a half until the breakdown,
The track begins with a DJ’s delight: a section 9 . In fact, the only remotely and we only get to hear the bassline after a
straightforward, solid, drums-only intro in unpredictable thing is that this drop and roll- total of two minutes. By way of comparison,
which it’s easy to hear the shuffle in the out don’t last for a multiple of 16 bars, most contemporary tear-out dubstep tracks
hi-hats 1 . From the very start, there’s a vocal arriving at another breakdown after just 40 would drop after 32 bars (about 55 seconds at
sample or fill every eight bars, giving the DJ bars 10 . This actually makes it fairly difficult 140bpm). So, while Ripgroove’s extended
something with which to tease the track right for the DJ to mix out of the track before the intro and outro mean that it isn’t perhaps the
from the off 2 . After the first 32-bar section, a second breakdown, but – on the plus side – it most immediately YouTube-friendly track,
rhythmic, one-note stab sample is brought in makes it more likely that the DJ will end up it’s worth remembering that thanks to its
3 , introducing the key of the track and playing both drops! elegant production and structure, it’s still a
increasing the tension before the breakdown The second breakdown and drop offer a firm favourite with DJs more than 15 years
at bar 49. minor variation on the first – the bass is after it was released.
The 16-bar breakdown can be thought of teased in the second breakdown 11 – and we
as two eight-bar sections: an atmospheric get another 32 bars of drop and roll-out 12 Web http://bit.ly/15ten5E

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Correctly tuning and tightening your drums will
get your club-bound mix off to a flying start
As we saw in Mixing and Mastering for samples so that they sit together perfectly and loudness and dynamic range without having to
Club Playback on p32, the kick and snare provide a solid jumping-off point for your resorting to dynamics processing, and prove
drums in a track not only help provide its project. We’ll pay particular attention to the that something as simple as adjusting the start
fundamental frequency and weight but are frequency content of our drum sounds, as it’s and end points of your samples can dramatically
typically the most dynamic sounds in the mix, the movement of the kick and snare through the alter their sounds.
and therefore define its rhythm too. Along frequency spectrum that gives them their Finally, we’ll show you that if your beats have
with the bassline, they’re the most important impact. Tuning drum samples is a process that’s been sensibly prepared as we’ve suggested, it’s
sounds in the mix by far, and are usually the questioned by some producers, who regard it as possible to boost them up to the level of a
base for everything else in the track. This a waste of time. We believe that nothing could current, commercial dance track with ease.
makes getting them right from the very start be further from the truth, however – by tuning Accompanying this tutorial is a library of
extremely important – do a sub-par job here our drum sounds we can quickly and easily versatile one-shot drum samples (in the
and you’ll waste a huge amount of time make them sit correctly together, and avoid Samples folder), created by none other than
making tweaks and adjustments to solve hours spent searching for the magical Welsh future garage legends CRST. Combined
problems that could have been avoided. combination of samples that ‘just work’. with the guidance in this tutorial, this should
In this tutorial we’ll show you how to select, We’ll also show you how to adjust amplitude constitute enough material for dozens of
tune, edit and process your kick and snare envelope settings to get just the right balance or banging beats!

> Step by step Selecting and tightening up a kick drum
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
Start by copying the CRST Drum Hits folder from the Samples Load up Live. Leave the tempo at the default 120bpm and draw in
folder onto your hard drive. We’re going to use Ableton Live for a standard four-to-the-floor kick drum pattern. In Live’s browser,
this tutorial because its straightforward built-in sampler and browser open the CRST Drum Hits/CRST Kicks folder, and click the first
make it quick and easy for this kind of beat-building, but you can of sample, Kick 2 Real.wav, to audition it. To cycle through the rest of the
course follow along with any DAW or sampler you like. kicks, press the down arrow.
3 4
Choosing the right drum sounds is vitally important to creating a This makes an ideal kick for creating a standard dance beat that
successful dance music mix, and if you pick inappropriate ones, can be customised to a specific style later. Select a MIDI track and
you’re going to make life difficult for yourself from the off – see Natural drag Kick Basix.wav onto its device chain. A Simpler instrument will
Selection, p48, for more. Kick Basix.wav has a very natural-sounding automatically be created. We know how this kick sounds already, but
balance of attack and body, and a fairly neutral character. let’s take a closer look at it.
5 6
Put Voxengo SPAN (a free download from www.voxengo.com) on If you move your cursor over the spectral analyser’s graphical
your master buss Now when we play the kick back, we can see display, you’ll see that the frequency in Hz and key at its position
where its low end peaks. This gives us an accurate impression of are displayed along top edge of the window. Play the kick back on C3
what’s going on in the low end, which is especially helpful when (its original pitch) and move the cursor over where it peaks – this is
working with less than ideal monitoring. Use the horizontal scrollbar to round about E2, or 82Hz. This information will help us make informed
zoom in on the low end of the frequency spectrum. mixing decisions as we go forward.

7 8
Create a one-bar MIDI part on the MIDI track and sequence an A kick drum sound moves from high to low frequency quickly, so
eighth-note C3 on each beat. The length of the note is extremely we can dramatically affect the frequency content of the sound
important, as we’ll soon see. Set Live to loop around the MIDI part, and simply by changing the sample start or end points. Zoom in on the
play it back with SPAN’s interface visible. Click the MIDI track again so start of the kick drum waveform and drag the start point over to the
you can see Simpler’s interface too. (Audio: Original kick loop.wav) mid-point of the first cycle, as shown. (Audio: Shifted kick loop.wav)
9 10
Because we’re now missing part of the high-frequency content at A drum’s solidity is dependent on a consistent volume level as it
the start of the kick, we have a different sound – still solid, but with moves from high pitch to low. EQ can detract from this, so moving
a less aggressive character. Move the start point to the start of the next sample start and end points to alter the sound is a much more elegant
cycle, as shown above, and you’ll get a more muted sound still. (Audio: solution. Return the start point to the beginning of the sample and
Muted kick loop.wav) drag the end point to the left as you play back the loop.
11 12
You’ll notice that the sample still peaks at around 80Hz until the Move the end point back to the end of the sample and set the
end point reaches almost the very start of the sample. Practically Sustain to -124dB. Turn the Decay knob down and the kick will
all the energy and character of the kick is created by the first few fade out rather than simply stopping dead. This gives us a smoother
cycles, with the rest of the sample providing the weight and body. We sound. Set the Decay to 1.3s for a snappier feel. We can demonstrate
can get more detailed control over the tail using Simpler’s ADSR the power of the volume envelope even more clearly with other drum
volume envelope. and percussion sounds – such as a snare, which we’ll look at in the next
walkthrough. (Audio: Decay kick.wav)

> Step by step Tuning a snare drum sample
1 2
Next we need a snare drum to complement our kick, so let’s take a Typically we wouldn’t use a big snare sound like this in a house
look through the CRST Snares & Claps folder. Snare Classic 2.wav beat, so let’s change our pattern to a DnB one. Set Live’s tempo to
has a plain but solid quality to it that will work well with the kick, so 174bpm, and change the kick pattern so that the kick plays on the first
select the next MIDI track and drag the sample into its device chain. and seventh eighth-notes. Create a MIDI part on the snare track, and
have the snare play C3 eighth-notes on the second and fourth beats.
(Audio: 2-step DnB.wav)
3 4
Thanks to our sensible sound selection, the snare works well Set the snare Simpler’s Trans(pose) parameter to -2. Now both
immediately, but it can still be improved. Start by soloing the snare samples are in the same key and sounding more natural. This
track and opening SPAN again. We can see that the snare’s low end tuning does take some of the shine off the snare, but we can fix that
peaks at F3, almost an octave above the kick. By tuning it to the same with some EQ. Insert an EQ Eight on the snare track. (Audio: Tuned
key as the kick, we can make the two sit better together. 2-step DnB.wav)
5 6
We can see from looking at SPAN that the snare’s fundamental Turn the Gain up to 3.5dB to give the snare a more weighty DnB
frequency is now around 168Hz. Set the second band of the EQ feel. We still need to bring the sparkle back into the highs, which
Eight to the bell shape and tune its frequency to 168Hz. We can now we can do using band 4, set to the high-shelf filter by default. Set its
use the Gain control to adjust the weight of the snare. Make the bell frequency to 500Hz and use the Gain knob to control the brightness
curve tighter by raising its Q to 2.80. of the snare’s highs. Set it to 2.5dB. (Audio: EQed 2-step DnB.wav)

7 8
The snare is quite loose and flabby, so let’s tighten it up. This time Now we can fine-tune the length of the MIDI notes. Set the length
we’re going to use a combination of amplitude ADSR adjustment of the snare to about a 16th-note. This makes it stop very abruptly,
and shortening the MIDI notes to get as much control as possible over but only because the Simpler’s Release time is extremely short. Turn
the decay of the sound. Start by opening the snare’s MIDI clip and the Release knob up to 500ms to loosen up the tail of the snare
turning Live’s snap-to-grid mode off (Alt+4). slightly. (Audio: Snare release.wav)
9 10
With the tail sorted, we can use the Decay time and Sustain level The Decay knob allows us to set the timing of the drop in volume.
to control the body of the sound. Set the Sustain to -34dB. This Lower values give a snappier, punchier sound; longer settings give
makes the snare sound less loud because it isn’t audible for as long as us a loud but less defined one. For a good balance of loudness and
it used to be, but also adds punch by increasing the dynamic range. punch, let’s go with a Decay time of 600ms. (Audio: Snare decay.wav)
(Audio: Snare sustain.wav)
11 12
Now our kick and snare are both punchy and tight, but the kick is a This snare is quite bright, which could work if you’re not planning
little loud. Set the kick Simpler’s Volume to -13.3dB. The kick and on using many other high-frequency elements in your track, but is
snare should sound well-balanced now, and a look at SPAN should otherwise going to clog up the mix. Let’s preemptively dull it a little.
confirm it – the fundamental frequencies of the kick and snare peak at Set EQ band 3 to 7kHz and -2dB. This reduces the perceived volume of
approximately the same level, and the snare’s bright high end is at the snare, so turn the Simpler’s Volume up to -11.5dB. (Audio: Dulled
about the same level, too. (Audio: Balanced 2-step DnB.wav) 2-step DnB.wav)

> Step by step Preparing the kick and snare to work in context
1 2
We’ve controlled the low end of our drums to some extent with We can see from SPAN’s level meter that the mix is peaking at
their amplitude envelopes, but we can do even more by filtering about -7.5dB RMS, which is sensible. If we were to A/B our kick and
them. Let’s scoop out some low end with a high-pass filter, which can snare with a mastered commercial track at this stage, we’d find that
always be adjusted to fit with the bassline once that’s added. Set the they were much quieter, so let’s give them more oomph. Insert Ozone
filter cutoff on the kick to 70Hz and the snare to 140Hz. (Audio: 5 (the demo of which can be downloaded from www.izotope.com)
Hi-passed 2-step DnB.wav) onto the master track before SPAN.
3 4
Activate the Maximizer and bring the Character fader down to You can turn the Gain up to +12dB before you begin to hear any
0dB to put the module into clipping mode. We’re using Ozone 5, detrimental distortion of the signal. It’s important to bear in mind
but any clipper plugin will do. We can now boost the signal into the that these sounds only really give the track its punch and weight – the
Maximizer, which will stop it exceeding 0dBFS. Add Live’s Utility effect highs and character will have to come from other elements. (Audio:
before Ozone 5 and turn up the Gain knob. Clipped 2-step DnB.wav)
Natural selection
Being able to select the right finely honed appreciation for the the character of a kick that’s been
drum sounds for your mix is an genre of music you’re making. A processed to within an inch of its
important skill for any producer. common mistake made by life already. By selecting sounds
If you pick inappropriate drums novices is to simply listen out for that are easy to work with, we
you’ll probably end up spending the most aggressive, heaviest- give ourselves maximum scope
a great deal of time tweaking and sounding kick or snare, and go for customisation and
processing them in order to get with it. While these type of experimentation, and thus more
them sounding right – and even sounds might be perfect for a chance of creating an effective,
then, they won’t sound as good tear-out dubstep banger, they’d satisfying mix.
as if you had chosen appropriate be difficult to fit into a deep With thousands of sample
sounds from the off. So how do house or liquid DnB mixdown. packs already available, and
you know which sounds are In this tutorial, we’ve dozens more released each
going to work in a given project? deliberately chosen sounds that month, it can be hard to know
Naturally, experience plays a aren’t particularly aggressive or Be sure to check out to as many free which to spend your hard-earned
huge part in this – the more characterful but rather are solid demos as possible before deciding which cash on. We suggest listening to
projects you work on, the more and clean. This is because these sample packs to splash out on demos of as wide a variety of
you’ll begin to understand the kinds of sounds are far easier to packs as possible, and, of course,
characteristics you need to look work with than sounds that have add character to a solid-sounding checking out the latest
for in a kick or snare sample. A already been pushed to the limit. kick by layering it with, say, a ride soundware reviews in every
big part of this is developing a For example, it’s much easier to cymbal, than it is to tone down issue of .

Once you’ve got your drums working it’s time to beef
things up with some bass. Here’s how it’s done…
Adding bass to any track can be tricky, and high-pass filter their bassline, cutting out the vital sub-
sometimes even experienced producers can 100Hz frequencies. Others will only use a low sine
struggle when it comes to unleashing those all- wave and will miss out on the extra energy potential in
important low-end frequencies. Part of the reason the harmonics above the fundamental frequency.
for this is that lower frequencies are generally These days, bass parts can take in a wide range of
harder to monitor than higher ones. Smaller frequencies from the lowest octave up. Take, for
speakers struggle to reproduce bass (you’ll find it example, the full-range fury of something like Skrillex’s
impossible to hear sub-bass on laptop or cheap Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. Layered lead and
multimedia speakers, for example), and even if bass noises can appear to be the same sound, but in
you’ve got great monitors, unless your room has reality you’ll usually need to employ multiple
been acoustically treated you’ll find that sub-bass instruments to get the full-frequency effect heard in so
notes of different frequencies can appear to have much modern dance music.
wildly different volumes levels. Clearly, this can In the following walkthroughs we’ll show you how
make mixing bass parts tricky, but we can combat to flesh out your beats and create a solid sub-bass
these issues by taking a methodical approach to foundation that will sit with them perfectly. Then we’ll
our bass and using spectral analysis to check that demonstrate how to make the mix sound bigger and
its pitch and volume level are right. more energetic by adding a bass layer to complement
Making a bassline that sits with your beats correctly the sub. We’ll also look at pitch modulating subs to
is an art in itself. Many novice producers have provide extra energy in the low end, and synthesise a
misconceptions about what bass actually is: some will bass noise that combines both subs and mids.

> Step by step 1. Adding highs to the drums
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
This walkthrough follows directly on from Tuning and EQing Create a new MIDI track, open the CRST Hats & Crashes folder in
Drums, so carry on with that session or load the Ableton Live the CRST Drum Hits folder and drag Hat Classic Delay.wav into
project Tuned Drums.als from the Tutorial Files folder. We’ve got a the device chain to load a sampler. Create a new MIDI part on the track
solid kick and snare, but the beat doesn’t have any high-frequency and sequence repeated C3 eighth-notes. The sample is so short that
sounds yet. It could also do with some character, so let’s add some the length of the note we use to trigger it doesn’t matter too much
more drums before we get started on the bass. – we’ll go for a 16th-note to keep things simple.
3 4
The pitch of the hi-hats is a little low, so turn Simpler’s Transp(ose) For the final touch, add an EQ Eight and set the high-pass filter to
parameter up to +2. Turn the Sustain down to 0dB, and set the 625Hz. This isn’t mandatory as there isn’t that much low-end
Decay to 267ms for a really tight feel. Set the Volume to -25.7dB so energy in the sample, but 625Hz won’t negatively affect the hi-hat’s
that it sits better with the kick and snare. (Audio: Beat with hats.wav) mids, and removing unnecessary lows is good practice. Next we need
to add some high-end and character to the snare.
5 6
Create another MIDI track, open the CRST Snares & Claps folder, The pitch of the clap is a little low, so set Simpler’s Transp
and drag Clap Crunch.wav into the device chain. Again, this parameter to +2 and turn its Volume down to -17.2dB. Set the
sample is very short, so we’ll just sequence 16th-notes on C3 on the Sustain to 0dB and the Decay to 908ms. This gives us a tight clap
second and fourth beats. that sits neatly on top of the snare. High-pass the clap at 625Hz to cut
out the lows. (Audio: Beat with clap.wav)

> Step by step 2. Adding character with a drum loop
1 2
Now our beat has some highs to accompany its lows and mids, but Gentle.wav is a nicely understated loop that we can work into our
it still sounds too much like a drum machine. It’s certainly possible mix without too much effort. Drag it onto a new audio track; Live
to create a funky, human-sounding beat using one-shot drum hits, but automatically timestretches the beat to fit the project tempo. The
let’s layer our hits with a drum loop. Open the Samples/RackNRuin drum loop’s tuning will work fine with the beats we’ve got already, but
Jungle Breaks folder in Live’s browser, then play the project back and its kick and snare rhythm doesn’t quite fit. (Audio: Layered break.wav)
click through the loops to audition them alongside our beat.
3 4
Currently, a kick drum plays on the third beat, but we want a hi-hat Turn the break’s channel down to -10dB. If a drum loop needs
to play instead. Highlight the hi-hat on the fourth eighth-note and tightening up, you can use envelope processing to make it
press Cmd/Ctrl+D to duplicate it over the kick. Now highlight the kick snappier (see EQ and Dynamics Processing on p72), or if it’s
at the start of the beat, and copy and paste it onto the sixth eighth- overwhelming the main hits, you can use sidechaining to suppress it
note. Copy the snare and hi-hat on the second beat onto the fourth (see Sidechaining for Impact on p60). Thankfully, this break sits well,
beat, as shown above. (Audio: 2-step break) so we don’t need to do either. (Audio: DnB beat with break.wav)
Skip to my loop
The use of sampled drum loops has been However, in most situations you’ll find that at to New MIDI Track feature in Ableton Live.
common in many styles of dance music since least light tweaking is required. Both of these solutions also create MIDI parts
the arrival of affordable samplers in the 80s. Like one-shot drum hits, drum loops for triggering the resulting sampler patches,
In the early days of hip-hop and drum ’n’ bass, contain pitch information, so you can and these are handy for rearranging the
most tracks were based around chopped-up improve their position in the context of the beats or just examining their timing.
and repitched breakbeats from 60s and 70s rest of your beats by tuning them correctly. Most DAWs feature sophisticated groove
funk records. Sampled breaks are Most DAWs and samplers enable you to detection algorithms that can be used to
particularly convenient in that they boast pitchshift loops using granular processing, analyse the swing timing of a piece of audio
both ‘vintage’ sonic character and a funky but this isn’t always the ideal solution, or MIDI. They can then use this information to
groove played by a real drummer. especially if your DAW’s pitchshifting adjust the timing of other audio or MIDI parts
These days the producer’s palette is much algorithm isn’t great at dealing with so that they all play with the same swing. If
wider, and most sample libraries include transients (the fast attack at the start of your beats sound messy when they play
drum loops created with sequenced samples, percussive sounds). together, this is well worth investigating.
studio recordings of session drummers, or One solution is to chop the loop up into a EQ is also a useful when working with
drum machines. In this tutorial we’ve seen series of hits and retune them without sampled loops: try putting a high-pass filter
that by selecting a beat that already fits well pitchshifting. This potentially long-winded on a troublesome loop and tuning the cutoff
with the other elements in your mix, you can process can be done for you automatically by until the lows of the kick and snare don’t
get away without having to do too much to it. NI Kontakt’s Beat Machine mode or the Slice clash with your one-shots.

> Step by step 3. Adding a sub-bass line
1 2
Depending on your workflow, you might add some musical Click the Bank B button to get the initialised preset. Now we have a
elements to your beat before you compose the bassline, but it’s simple sawtooth tone that we can use to play along with the beat.
possible to get straight into the bass as long as you’re sure you’ve In Tuning and EQing Drums, we established that the kick was in E, and
correctly identified the key that your drums are tuned to fit with. We tuned the snare to the same note an octave higher. Now we can check
can use pretty much any soft synth to do this. Drag Dune CM (part of our tuning by using Dune CM to play along with the beat. This confirms
the CM Plugins suite) onto a new MIDI track. that E is the best fit, so let’s use that as the root note of our bassline.
3 4
Let’s turn our sawtooth-based patch into a weighty sub-bass. Start The level of a sine wave sub can be hard to gauge, especially if
by renaming the MIDI track ‘Sub’. Change the Osc 1 waveshape to you’re working in an uncorrected acoustic environment or with
sine, set the amplitude envelope’s Attack to 8% and Release to 12%, speakers that don’t have a great low-end response. Let’s use Voxengo
and activate the Mono button in the Output panel. Sequence an E0 Span to make sure we’ve got our level right. We can see that the sub is
note so that the bass plays for the duration of the bar. (Audio: Beat a lot louder than everything else – bring its level down to -2dB to rein it
with sub.wav) in a bit. (Audio: Quieter sub.wav)
5 6
Depending on the acoustics of your room, the particular note the Bring up the new Dune CM’s interface and change the Osc 1
sub is playing could sound too quiet or loud, but if you take a listen waveform from a sine wave to a square. Square waves are full of
on headphones it should be about right. The problem with just using a odd harmonics, which will help us fill out the low end of the mix. Both
sine tone for the bass is that it only gives us energy in the very lowest Dune CMs are playing in the same octave, which means that both the
octave. Let’s layer it with another synth to fill out the sound. Duplicate sine oscillator on the Sub track and the square oscillator on the Bass
the Dune CM track, and call the new version ‘Bass Layer’. Layer track will be at the same fundamental frequency.

> Step by step 3. Adding a sub-bass line (continued)
7 8
Set Osc 1’s Semi parameter to +12 to transpose it up an octave. The In the Filter panel, click the filter type, and select BP12 -> LP12 from
square wave certainly fills out the harmonics above our sub-bass, the list that appears to get a band-pass filter. We can sweep this
but it doesn’t sound very pleasant or have a lot of movement. That’s filter using an LFO to get a rhythmic effect. Click the Mod Matrix 1>12
partially down to that fact that our bassline only plays a single note, button to bring up the Modulation Matrix.
but we can make it a bit funkier with some filter movement.
9 10
Set the second row of the Modulation Matrix to Source: LFO 1, Turn the synth’s track down from -2dB to -8dB. The problem now is
Destination: Filter Cutoff and Amount: +20. Now turn the Cutoff that the mix is starting to sound both hot and muddy. Here we
knob in the Filter panel down to 44%. This gives us a heavy rhythmic have a few options: we could turn down the bassline, but that would
bass sound with a lot of weight and movement, despite the extremely spoil the balance we’ve achieved, or we could stop running the track
simple sequence we’ve used. (Audio: LFO bass.wav) so hard into the clipper on the master, but that would make it quieter.
11 12
There’s an alternative that allows us to maintain both the balance Set Audio From to the kick drum track, and bring the Threshold
and the loudness. By sidechain compressing the bass with the kick down to -30dB. Now the LFO bass ducks when the kick plays.
and snare, we can make both sound louder. Add Live’s Compressor Duplicate the Compressor and set the copy’s Audio From to the snare
effect to the LFO bass track, and click the triangle at the top of its track. Now the LFO bass will duck when the kick or snare plays, helping
interface to bring up the sidechain section. Click the Sidechain button. our one-shots punch through the mix. We’ll look at sidechain
compression techniques more thoroughly in Sidechaining for Impact
on p60. (Audio: Sidechained bass.wav)

> Step by step 4. Adding weight to the bass with pitch modulation
1 2
Layering bass sounds and using filter cutoff modulation is a good Bring up the sub-bass Dune CM’s interface and click the Mod
way to create weight in your low end, but these techniques might Matrix 1>12 button. We’re going to use modulation to sweep the
not suit the type of music you’re making. Another way to fill out the pitch of the sub automatically every time we play a note. Set the
bass frequencies is to use pitch modulation to sweep the sub. Let’s look second row of the Matrix’s Source to Mod Env, Destination to Osc 1
at an extreme example of this technique. Mute the LFO bass patch, or Semi and Amount to +24. (Audio: Bass pitch mod.wav)
load up the Sine bass.als project if you’re starting from scratch here.
3 4
This gives us an approximation of a Roland TR-808 kick drum, a Let’s incorporate another type of pitch modulation into the sound.
sound that’s used for punchy sub-bass in countless dance tracks. Set the third row of the Modulation Matrix to Source: LFO 1,
The pitch drops from two octaves up to the root note very quickly at Destination: Osc 1 Semi and Amount: +2. Now both the LFO and the
the start of the sound, giving the bass a kick drum-like punch. We can envelope affect the pitch of the sub. Set the Rate of LFO 1 to 7.5Hz to
control the time the pitch takes to drop with the Modulation Envelope’s make the bass wobble more quickly. This gives us a sub that, although
Decay knob. Set it to 67%. (Audio: Long decay bass.wav) simple, has a lot of movement and character. (Audio: Wobble sub.wav)
Music is moving
As we’ve seen in this tutorial, adding a higher- Domain tutorial back on p24. We know that a content (for example, the filter LFO
pitched sound on top of a sub-bass gives us a loud sound that comes out of nowhere has movement that we created in the previous
fuller-sounding, more satisfying bassline. much more impact on the listener than one tutorial). An obvious example of these
Taking this to its logical conclusion, that that is preceded by a similarly loud noise. The techniques in action is using rapid changes in
would mean that to get the biggest, best- human ear gets used to sounds pretty pitch or frequency content to create the sort
sounding bass ever, all we need is a noise in quickly, and this is the reason that much high- of ‘wobble’ sounds that have become a
which every odd and even harmonic is energy dance music is complex in terms of mainstay of dubstep.
present! Sadly, life isn’t so simple, as that rhythm and sound design – it keeps the There’s plenty of scope for creativity and
would just give us a sawtooth tone – not a listener on their toes and is exciting to adaptation in this area, and indeed, many of
very interesting sound. What’s important to experience as the track progresses. the more ‘tear-out’ styles of dance have
understand, then, is that it’s not just the There are essentially three ways in which evolved to essentially become little more
frequency content present in sounds that we can give our bass sounds more than sequences of extreme ‘wobs’, ‘wubs’
gives them their impact, but how they move – movement: these are volume (perhaps and ‘yois’. Even if you’re not making this kind
and this is true both on the micro (individual tremolo, but more often the silences, or at of music yourself, it’s always worth bearing in
drum and bass sounds) and macro (an entire least reduction in volume, between notes), mind that you can make your own basslines
track) level. pitch (either playing different notes, or using more exciting by incorporating that sort of
Let’s return to the idea of dynamic range the kind of pitch modulation that we’ve movement, whatever genre you happen to
that we explored in our Mixing in the Digital looked at in this tutorial), and frequency be working in.

> Step by step 5. Making a punchy house bass
1 2
So far we’ve looked at bass sounds that use sine tones for their This takes us back to a 4/4 kick drum pattern at 120bpm with a
sub-bass elements. While these are useful in many styles of dance clap and hi-hat. We’re not going to worry so much about keeping
music – especially DnB and dubstep – they’re not perfect for all genres. the low end free in this mix, so bypass the high-pass EQ on the kick,
Let’s see how we can make a punchy, deep house bass that doesn’t rely and turn the kick’s Decay up to 2.10s. Create a new MIDI track, and
on a sub. Start by opening the House beat.als project. drag FM8 (demo available at www.native-instruments.com) onto it.
3 4
Click FM8’s Expert tab to bring up the FM Matrix. By default, we Drag upwards on the box below Operator E until it reads 100. This
just get a single unmodulated operator that outputs a sine wave tells FM8 that we want to modulate Operator F using Operator E by
tone. To get that classic deep house sound, we simply need to the maximum amount possible. At first this just gives us a rather
modulate it with another operator at a higher pitch. Right-click unsophisticated honking sound, which isn’t what we’re after at all.
Operator E in the FM Matrix to activate it. (Audio: FM honk.wav)
5 6
First we need to deal with the undesirable click at the end of the There’s still a bit of a click at the start of the sound, but this gives it
sound. To do this, click Operator F in the FM Matrix and drag the a bit of percussive character, so removing it isn’t strictly necessary.
square at the bottom left of its envelope over to the right, as shown If you do want to remove it, simply select Operator F again, and this
above. Do the same with Operator E. This gets rid of the click at the time drag the top left-hand corner over to the right very slightly.
release stage. (Audio: FM honk no click.wav) (Audio: Smooth honk.wav)

7 8
Now we need to turn our honk into something that sounds more This gives us a familiar, percussive FM bass sound, but its timbre
like a bass. First we’ll turn down the Sustain level of Operator E to isn’t quite right. We can change the character of the FM
change the way it affects Operator F’s timbre over time. Click Operator modulation by adjusting the frequency relationship between
E, and drag the square at the top right-hand corner of the envelope all Operators F and E. This is done by adjusting Operator E’s Ratio
the way down. (Audio: FM bass.wav) parameter. Turn it up to 2.0000. (Audio: Pitched FM bass.wav)
9 10
That’s the right kind of character, but the effect is too much Drag the Deep house.mid MIDI bassline from the Tutorial Files
because we’ve used the maximum possible modulation amount. folder onto FM8’s MIDI track. If you double-click the part and
Turn the Operator E to Operator F modulation amount in the FM examine the timing of the notes, you’ll notice that, rather than being of
Matrix down to 64. This gives us a good balance of punchy character uniform length, the end position of each note has been fine-tuned to
and deep sub-bass. (Audio: Deep house bass.wav) give a particular feel. (Audio: MIDI bass line.wav)
11 12
The bass is clashing with our subby kick, so let’s use some targeted Activate the EQ button and click the monitor (headphones) button.
sidechain compression to get the slickest sound we can. Drag a We can now hear what the filter on the sidechain input is doing.
Compressor onto the FM8 track and bring up the sidechain settings by Solo the track and set the sidechain filter to Band-pass mode. Tune the
clicking the disclosure triangle at the top of its interface. Activate filter to the low thud of the kick – a Freq of 76Hz and a Q of 2.00
Sidechain mode and set the input to the kick drum track. should do the job. Now deactivate the monitor button and un-solo the
track. The bass is a little loud, so turn the channel down to -3dB.
(Audio: Sidechained bass.wav)

Using ducking, editing and sidechain
compression to temporarily lower the
volume of certain noises can help your
mixes sound louder and clearer than ever
Sidechain compression is the process of using an
external signal to trigger the threshold of a
compressor. The rise in the popularity of French house in
the noughties thrust the technique into the spotlight, and We can use the same idea to prioritise sounds within our
you can clearly hear the effect being used in tracks such mixes, and this is especially important when we have sounds
as Eric Prydz’s Call On Me: the music and vocal drop in that occupy the same region of the frequency spectrum. By
volume when the keying signal (in Prydz’s case, the kick deciding which of the sounds is less important, we can
drum) plays, creating a pumping effect that not only gives temporarily lower or ‘duck’ its volume, allowing the more
the kick more room to be heard but psychoacoustically important noise to be heard clearly.
tricks us into thinking it’s louder than it actually is. It’s possible to achieve this ducking effect in a number of
Sidechain compression is actually quite an old sound ways, of which sidechain compression is just one. We can
engineering technique, and one not generally used to quite lower the volume of elements by automating their gain,
such extreme effect as in Call On Me. For example, it’s used in using dedicated volume modulation effects, or even cutting
radio to lower the volume of the music when the DJ speaks, and fading the audio manually for maximum precision. This
helping to maintain a consistent volume level and making the might sound extreme, but if done properly, the effect can be
DJ easier to hear. completely transparent while yielding several extra dB of
headroom to play with.
In the following walkthroughs we’ll examine the
possibilities of sidechain compression in depth, and show
you a variety of other ducking techniques.

> Step by step 1. Tempo-synced ducking with Ableton Live’s Auto-Pan
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
With a little trickery, it’s possible to turn Ableton Live’s Auto-Panner The effect won’t actually make any difference to the audio until we
into a sort of tempo-synced tremolo that’s useful for stuttery turn the Amount up. Set it to 100% and you’ll hear the panning
‘trance gate’ effects and rhythmic ducking. Let’s try it out. Drag Euro kick in. Auto-panning can be just the thing for keeping sounds out of
chord.wav onto an audio track in Live, and insert an Auto Pan effect the centre of the mix, making it a useful mixing tool in its own right.
onto the track’s device chain. (Audio: Panned chord.wav)
3 4
We don’t want to apply stereo movement to this sound, so turn the Now we need to sync the LFO rates to Live’s tempo. Click the note
Phase knob down to 0%. This zeros the offset of the left and right button to change the LFO rate type from Hz to Tempo. Now the
channel’s volume modulation LFOs, putting them perfectly in sync. LFO is in sync with our project. The default LFO shape is a sine wave,
Hey presto – we’ve turned our panner into to a tremolo! (Audio: which doesn’t make for the best ducking effect. (Audio: Synced
Tremolo chord.wav) tremolo chord.wav)
5 6
Click the sawtooth LFO waveform button. This downward The limitation of this technique is that there’s no way to apply
sawtooth movement gives us a more percussive sound, but it’s swing, but the effect is perfect for rigid 4/4 kick drum patterns. Set
going the wrong way for a ducking effect. To switch it to an upward the Rate knob to 1/4 and you’ve got a classic pumping sidechain
sawtooth movement, click the Normal/Invert button. This creates the effect, the strength of which can be controlled with the Amount knob.
smooth ducking we’ve been looking for. (Audio: Ducking chord.wav) You can also adjust the shape of the sawtooth with the Shape
parameter. (Audio: Pumping chord.wav)

> Step by step 2. Flexible ducking with TAL-Filter II
1 2
If you like the simplicity of automatic ducking but need more Put TAL-Filter II on the audio track as an insert effect. Click the
control, Togu Audio Line’s TAL-Filter II is the plugin for you. A free Modulation Type field to bring up a list of the available
filter for Mac and PC (download from http://kunz.corrupt.ch), TAL- modulation destinations. Select Volume. Now the flexible envelope in
Filter II can modulate volume as well as filter cutoff frequency. Start by the graphical display controls the level of the audio signal. Currently its
putting Euro chord.wav on an audio track in your DAW. resolution is set to four bars, which is a bit long for our needs.
3 4
Click the BPM Factor parameter and select 4x. This sets the timing Next, click a quarter of the way through the bar (use the lines in the
to a resolution of one bar. Now we can program our ducking curve background as a visual guide) to create a new node. Drag this to
much more easily. Drag the node at the top left-hand corner of the the top of the panel, then click again to create another node and move
panel down to the bottom to set the whole bar to silence. the second node to the bottom of the panel. This will create a rising
movement on the first beat.
5 6
Click the node at the top of the panel and you’ll see two curve Click the first node, then drag the curve point to the right of it up to
points appear. These can be used to adjust the shape of the get a more slinky shape. Because we can position each node
envelope on each side of the node. Drag the curve on the left-hand manually, we can use this to duck the track with rhythms that are more
side of the node downwards to make it more concave. complex than single repeating cycles, like the 2-step pattern illustrated
above. The Depth knob controls the strength of the effect. (Audio:
2-step ducking)

> Step by step 3. Fine-tuning sidechain compression in Ableton Live
1 2
We’ve already looked briefly at Live’s sidechain compression in Click the triangular disclosure button to open the Compressor’s
Low End Theory on p50, but now let’s see how adjusting sidechain section, then click the Sidechain button to activate it.
parameters other than the Threshold affects things. Drag Kick.wav Set the source to the kick track and bring the Threshold down to -9dB.
and Euro chord.wav onto separate audio tracks in Live. Set both their You’ll hear the pumping effect kick in. (Audio: Pumping chord.wav)
levels to -3dB and add a Compressor device to the Euro chord track.
3 4
Click the RMS button to change the detection mode. In RMS mode Return the mode to Peak, and turn the Ratio up to Inf: 1. As you
the compressor is less sensitive to short peaks, which gives us a can hear, this makes the effect much stronger and allows us to
gentler, less obvious effect. Next, try Expander mode. In this mode the hear the effect of the Release knob more easily. Gradually turn the
signal actually gets louder when the Threshold is exceeded – not that Release up and you’ll hear the chord become more and more
useful for ducking effects, but worth knowing nonetheless! suppressed as its level takes longer and longer to return to normal
after each kick. (Audio: Long release.wav)
Four sweet sidechain compressor plugins
FABFILTER PRO-C £124 VENGEANCE PRODUCER SUITE: CYTOMIC THE GLUE $99 WAVES H-COMP HYBRID
FabFilter have garnered a reputation MULTIBAND SIDECHAIN 2 £85 With its SSL-style interface and sound, COMPRESSOR $150
as one of the best effects developers Multiband Sidechain 2 splits the audio The Glue is a great tool for those in This funky vintage-style compressor
around, and Pro-C lives up to that signal into two bands, each of which need of some classic analogue-style is packed with useful bits and pieces,
reputation with three great-sounding has its own settings. This is helpful buss compression. It features a wet/ including tempo-synced release,
compression modes and a ton of when working with big, full-frequency dry Mix control for parallel transient pass-through punch control,
flexibility. Its program-dependant sounds, as the low end can be kept compression and a dedicated high- analogue character modes and an
attack and release curves and soft/ relatively clean, say, while the highs pass filter for tweaking the sidechain output clipper/limiter. Despite the
hard knee options make it one of the are pushed harder. The plugin can input. Ableton Live 9 includes its own wealth of features, however, its
most comprehensive dynamics also be triggered by MIDI note input version of this effect in the shape of straightforward interface makes it
processors money can buy. and synced to the host tempo. Glue Compressor, rather helpfully. easy to use and ideal for beginners.
www.fabfilter.com www.vengeance-sound.com www.cytomic.com www.waves.com

> Step by step 4. Swung ducking with Xfer Records LFOTool
1 2
Xfer Records’ LFOTool ($50, demo at www.xferrecords.com) is an Insert LFOTool into the channel. At first the plugin won’t make any
incredibly powerful rhythmic modulation plugin, and its Swing difference to the audio output, because all of the LFO routings on
parameter makes it particularly useful for creating pumping sidechain the right hand side of the interface are set to 0. To apply the LFO to the
compression-style effects that go nicely with shuffly house rhythms. output level of the audio, turn the Vol fader up to 100.
Create an audio track in your DAW and drag Euro chord.wav onto it.
3 4
This gives us a fast tremolo effect. Normally for this kind of effect This changes the shape of the LFO from triangle to sawtooth. Now,
we’d want the Rate to be set to 1/4 rather than the default 1/8 we as you turn up the Swing parameter below the central window,
have here, but this resolution is actually perfect for getting the swing you’ll hear that every other cycle of the LFO is delayed more and more,
feel we’re after. We do, however, need to change the shape of the LFO. giving the pad a swung rhythm. This technique can used to give a track
Drag the node at the bottom of the central panel to the bottom left an implied shuffly groove without clogging the mix up with additional
hand corner as shown above. (Audio: Straight pump.wav) sounds. (Audio: Swung pump.wav)
5 6
You can control the shape of the LFO with the PWM parameter. Create a new audio track and drag Beat.wav onto it. Gradually turn
Higher settings make the curve increasingly concave, which – up the Phase parameter. This offsets the start of the LFO and can
along with the Vol modulation amount – can be used to fine-tune how be used at low settings to alter how the LFO movement interacts with
the ducking effect sits with your drum sounds. the transient of the beat, or with higher values to create syncopated
rhythms. (Audio: Increasing Phase value.wav)

> Step by step 5. Manual ducking in Apple Logic Pro
1 2
Some producers prefer to create their own ducking effects We could just automate the track’s volume fader, but this might
manually, which can be achieved by simply automating a plugin’s become inconvenient down the line if we want to change the
gain parameter. Let’s see how this is done in Logic Pro. Create an audio overall level of the track. Let’s use a dedicated plugin instead. Click the
track, set the tempo to 140bpm, and drag Noisy break.wav onto it Audio FX button in the Inspector and select Utility»Gain»Stereo from
from the Tutorial Files folder. the list of effects.
3 4
We can automate the Gain fader on this effect to take the track The Automation Parameter is currently set to Volume. Click it
down to -96dB, which is plenty for our purposes. Let’s use this to and select 1 Gain»Gain – the track will display the automation
duck out the kick on the first and sixth eighth-notes. Click the Show/ curve for the Gain effect’s Gain parameter. We can add adjustable
Hide Automation button, or press the A key to bring up the ‘handles’ to the curve by clicking on it. Create two handles at the start
automation track. of the curve.
5 6
Move the first handle to -96dB at the start of the first beat, and the You can tailor the effect by adjusting the depth and shape of the
second to 0dB at the start of the second eighth-note. On playback Gain parameter envelope. Logic’s Automation Curve Tool makes
you’ll hear that this gives us a sidechain compression-style effect, with this easy. Select it from the Tool Menu, then drag the ramps down to
the kick fading in. Use the same process to duck out the kick on the curve them, as shown in the screenshot above. This makes the
sixth eighth-note, too. (Audio: Ducked kicks.wav) ducking effect sound more like a high-Ratio sidechain compression
effect. (Audio: Curved automation.wav)

> Step by step 6. Ducking with audio edits in Cubase
1 2
Using plugins is all very well, but there’s nothing quite as satisfying By checking the peak level on Cubase’s master fader, we can see
as getting hands-on with audio start points and fade curves. This that when the sounds are played simultaneously they peak at
enables us to really fine-tune the interaction between two sounds and -7.6dB. Let’s see if we can get this peak level down while maintaining
helps us squeeze every last drop of potential loudness out of our mix. the solidity of the sound. At the start of the sound, we only really need
Start by dragging DnB kick.wav and LFO bass.wav onto separate to hear the kick drum’s attack transient, and we can do without the
audio tracks in Cubase at the start of bar 1. bass until that has passed. (Audio: Kick and bass.wav)
3 4
Press the J key to turn Cubase’s snap to grid function off, and drag We can smooth this out by fading the bass in. Drag the triangle at
the left-hand edge of the bass sample to start at 34ms. On the top left-hand corner of the kick to the right so that the fade
playback it’s not obvious that the start of the bass has been delayed, lasts until about 86ms. Play it back again and you’ll hear that the click
but there is an audible click caused by the audio starting at a non-zero has gone. (Audio: Bass without click.wav)
value. (Audio: Bass click.wav)
5 6
While we’re at it, let’s fade the kick out as the bass comes up. Move Click the master channel’s Meter Peak Level to reset it. Play the
the end of the kick to the point at which the bass has faded in, and project back and you’ll see that the master now peaks at -11dB.
drag the kick’s fade so that is starts at the same time as the bass. This means that we can turn the kick and snare up 3.4dB and the
(Audio: Faded kick.wav) master will still only peak at the same level as it was in Step 1. For yet
more control over the sound, change the shape of the fades with
Audio»Open Fade Editor(s).

> Step by step 7. Cleaning up send effects with sidechain compression in Cubase
1 2
Reverb and delay effects sound great, but they can also clog up a Right-click the track list and select Add FX Channel Track. Set the
mix and prevent your beats from having as much impact as they effect to REVerance from the Reverb folder and click the Add
should. Let’s see how we can use sidechain compression to alleviate button. Click the empty patch name slot at the top of REVerance’s
this problem in Cubase. Load Pluck.wav and Kick.wav onto separate interface to bring up the list of available presets, and select Far Away.
audio tracks.
3 4
Click the Pluck track, then click Sends in the Inspector. Click the Click the FX track, and add a Compressor from the Dynamics
triangle in the first slot and a list of possible destinations will menu to the Inserts strip. Click the Activate Side-Chain button at
appear. Select FX1, then click the power button to activate the routing. the top centre of the interface, then select the Kick track and bring up
This reverb sounds impressive, but it gets in the way of the kick. its Sends strip.
(Audio: Reverb.wav)
5 6
Click the triangle on the first slot in the strip and this time select The reverb’s lows are still detracting from the kick a little, so let’s
Side-Chains»FX 1» Ins. 2 – Compressor. Click the power button to subdue them with some EQ. On the FX track’s insert chain, add
activate the routing. Now the kick drum is feeding the sidechain on the StudioEQ from the EQ folder, then click Band 1’s power button, turn its
reverb send, and the kick punches through the mix more. (Audio: Gain down to -20dB and set its Freq(uency) to 560Hz. This gives us a
Sidechain reverb.wav) much cleaner sound. (Audio: EQed reverb.wav)

Mastering
the stereo ﬁeld
Stereo isn’t just about panning and special effects:
use the panorama cleverly and you can get your
mixes sounding bigger and louder than ever
Since its commercial debut in the late channels together to create a mono signal, as kicks and bass) in the centre of the mix, with
1950s, stereo has become by far the most which can lead to problems with phase – see extraneous sounds like leads and percussion
common format for recorded music, and it’s Phase Action on p71 for more on this. out to the sides. By thinking about our stereo
hard to imagine its popularity diminishing As discussed in Mixing and Mastering for signal in terms of middle and side signals in this
any time soon because it’s such a practical Club Playback on p31, a good mixdown should way (see Mid/Side Explained on p69 for more
one. Unlike surround sound, it’s easy to put translate well between systems, and the way we details), we can give both types of sound their
the required number of speakers for stereo in use the stereo field is a big part of that. Failure to own space in the mix and create mixes that
a single device, and it’s a natural fit for consider the stereo aspect can cause various sound great on both mono and stereo systems.
headphones and earbuds. problems down the line, so it’s important to In these walkthroughs, as well as explaining
The problem, though, is that sometimes a check for mono compatibility. how phase and mid/side processing work, we’ll
stereo recording will need to be played back on On the plus side, stereo makes it possible for take a look at some practical examples of effects
a mono system. Many mobile devices are mono, producers to get a great balance of punchy that you can use to turn mono signals into
and perhaps more importantly for dance music, impact and heavy bass with more atmospheric stereo ones, tighten up a stereo signal’s low end,
a lot of club systems are too. Usually, mono touches. This can be achieved by keeping the automatically pan audio in interesting ways, and
reproduction involves adding the left and right fundamental, weighty elements of a track (such make stereo signals mono.

> Step by step 1. Removing low-frequency stereo information with Pro-Q
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
Contemporary dance music mixes won’t usually require much This pad sound has a lot of stereo width over its full frequency
stereo width in the lows. One way to ensure that your sounds don’t range. Let’s see how we can make the low end mono but retain
have a wide bottom end is to use a mid/side EQ to remove low that high-end width. Add FabFilter Pro-Q to the audio track and click
frequencies from the sides signal. Start by creating a new audio track the Channel Mode parameter, which is currently set to Left/Right.
on your DAW and adding Thick pad.wav.
3 4
Select Mid/Side from the list of modes that appears. Now hover By default, the band will be set to a bell shape and will be effective
your mouse pointer over the orange line in the centre of the in both the mid and side channels, as indicated by the yellow spot
display and a node will appear. Drag this downwards and an EQ band next to the interlinked-circles symbol in the bottom left-hand corner.
will be created. Click the S button to set the band to affect the side signal only.
5 6
Click Bell and select Low Cut from the list of available filter types. With the Low Cut filter set up on the side signal, you’ll hear that the
Set the filter cutoff frequency to 300Hz with the Freq knob. You sub-300Hz information sits in the centre of the mix. If the pad’s
can control how aggressive the filter is with the Q knob, but the default lows now feel too quiet, consider adding a low-shelf band on the mid
setting of 1.000 is acceptable for this sound. channel at 300Hz, and boosting by a few dB. (Audio: EQed pad.wav)

> Step by step 2. Making mono signals stereo with freeware effects
1 2
There are plenty of ways to move mono sounds out to the sides of Click the sine button in the Osc 1 panel to load the most basic
a mix in order to make room for mono elements to sit in the centre. waveform possible. Add Flux Stereo Tool (free from www.
Let’s start by loading DuneCM (included in the CM Plugins folder) onto fluxhome.com) to the channel to check its stereo width. When you
a MIDI track in your DAW. Click the Bank B button to initialise the patch. play a note with DuneCM you’ll see that its output sits in the middle of
the mix without spilling out to the sides. (Audio: Mono synth.wav)
3 4
Even though DuneCM doesn’t feature any built-in effects, we can Stereo Tool will show that the signal is now stereo, and you’ll see
still get it to generate a stereo sound by using multiple voices. Turn that it isn’t confined to the centre of the display any more. If you
the Voices knob in the Unison panel up to 2 and set the Spread to raise the Detune parameter in DuneCM’s Unison panel, the display
100%. Now when you play a note you’ll hear a stereo signal. (Audio: begins to oscillate at increasing speed as the detuned voices ‘beat’
Stereo synth.wav) together more quickly. (Audio: Detuned synth.wav)
5 6
Adjusting the stereo width of a part directly from the source like Most modulation effects (like phasers, choruses and flangers) can
this is ideal because it gives you complete control over the sound. be used to make a mono signal stereo. A great source of these
But what if you’re stuck with a mono synth or sample? In that case, we kinds of effects is Blue Cat’s Freeware Plug-ins Pack II, a free download
can achieve similar results through effects processing. Return the from www.bluecataudio.com. Add the stereo version of BC Chorus 4
Voices, Detune and Spread parameters in the Unison section to their after DuneCM but before Stereo Tool.
minimum possible settings, giving us a mono signal again.

7 8
Adding the chorus imparts a stereo effect on our sine wave that You can get a variation on this effect using flanging instead. Delete
has a very obvious rhythm. This is visualised clearly on Stereo BC Chorus 4 and replace it with BC Flanger 3. You can alter the
Tool’s display. You can change the rhythmic quality of the effect by rhythm of the movement with the Shape and Rate controls as before,
switching BC Chorus 4’s waveform Shape from Sine to Triangle. The and also make the stereo movement more obvious in the highs by
speed of the rhythm is controlled by the Rate parameter. (Audio: turning the Feedback knob up, or more obvious in the lows by turning
Chorus synth.wav) it down. (Audio: Flanged synth.wav)
9 10
We can emulate the stereo width enhancement of detuned unison It’s good practice to check the mono compatibility of your mixes,
voices most closely with Melda Production MHarmonizerCM, from especially when using effects that enhance stereo width or make
the CM Plugins folder. Delete BC Chorus 4 and replace it with mono signals stereo. To do this, simply put Voxengo MSED (download
MHarmonizerCM. Now slowly turn up the Width fader. This works just for free from www.voxengo.com) on your master buss and click the
like the Detune knob in DuneCM. (Audio: Width synth.wav) Side Mute button. You can now hear what your mix sounds like once
it’s been summed to mono. (Audio: Side mute.wav)
Mid/side explained
Mid/side processing is a technique that DAW, add Voxengo MSED to the track, then vital elements (drums and bass, for example)
involves working with stereo in a slightly try muting the sides and mid channels one in the centre, mid position, with your more
different way to how you would with the after another. You’ll hear that the mid signal musical and atmospheric sounds spilling into
traditional left/right channel arrangement. sits purely in the centre of the mix, while the the sides signal.
The process works by ‘decoding’ the left and sides signal is located at just the left and right Try running a track you like through MSED
right channels into mid (middle) and sides extremes of the stereo panorama. and you’ll hear what we mean. You’ll
signals instead of left and right. Understanding mid/side is useful because probably notice that the drums and bass
The mid signal comprises everything it enables you to create really solid-sounding aren’t too affected when you mute the sides
that’s common to both the left and right mixes. Back when stereo was new, producers signal, though they probably all but
channels, and it’s calculated by adding the would experiment with all kinds of funky disappear when you mute the mid. By
left and right signals together: L+R. The sides stereo placements, hard-panning elements keeping the most important elements, like
signal is the difference between the left and to either side of the stereo panorama so that the bass and drums, in the mid signal, we can
right channels: L-R. The easiest way to hear they appeared to come from different parts be sure that they’re mono-compatible and
how this works in practice is to load up a of the room. However, the current trend – thus transfer to mono sound systems well.
stereo audio file on an audio track in your especially in dance music – is to have all the See Phase Action on p71 for more on this.

> Step by step 3. ‘Stereoising’ a riser using automatic panning in Cubase
1 2
Risers are a good example of peripheral sounds that don’t In the Cubase Inspector, click the Inserts tab to bring the Inserts
particularly need to occupy the mid channel. Let’s see how it’s strip up. Click the disclosure button in the first slot and select
possible to share their energy between the mid and sides channels Modulation»AutoPan from the list of effects. By default, you’ll hear
with an auto-panner effect. We’re going to use Cubase for this, but that the riser now moves slowly between the left and right speakers.
most DAWs have a comparable plugin. Create an audio track and drag
Noise riser.wav onto it.
3 4
Click the Sync button to sync the rate of movement to the project We can make the effect more intense by automating the Rate
tempo. The default Rate is 1/1, which means the signal meanders parameter. Turn Sync off, right-click the track and select Show
from the left speaker to the right over the course of a bar. Set it to 1/4 Automation. In the automation track, click the parameter that
instead to get a brisker movement. (Audio: Synced pan.wav) currently reads Volume and set it to Ins.:1:AutoPan – Rate.
5 6
Select the Line tool from Cubase’s Tool Buttons menu and draw a We can make the effect more impressive by adding a delay after
line from the minimum to the maximum value over the course of the AutoPan. In the Inserts strip, click the disclosure triangle in the
the sample’s four bars. This gives us a panning motion that starts second slot and add Delay»PingPongDelay. Click the empty patch
slowly and becomes more and more intense as the pitch of the sound name slot at the top of the effect and select Shuffle Delay. Turn the
rises. (Audio: Automated rate.wav) Feedback up to 90 to get a longer delay tail. (Audio: Pan delay.wav)

> Step by step 4. Making drum loops mono with Live’s Utility effect
1 2
Some drum loops and breaks have wide stereo imaging, which can As you can hear, this is a wide drum loop with some funky bongos
be a useful quality even if you want to make a drum part that’s that sit toward the right-hand side of the stereo panorama. We’ll
mostly mono. Create an audio track in Ableton Live and drag Stereo begin by making the loop mono. To do this, add Live’s Utility effect to
break.wav from the Tutorial Files folder onto it. the audio track and turn its Width parameter down to 0%. (Audio:
Mono break.wav)
3 4
This has the effect of putting both the left- and right-hand channels By changing the Pan parameter on this instance of the effect, we
in the centre of the mix. The signal still contains all of the can adjust the balance of how much left and right signal enters the
information in both channels, but it’s all coming out of both speakers, second Utility. If we set it to 50L we can’t properly hear the bongo part,
resulting in a mono signal. Add another Utility effect before the but if we set it to 50R the bongos are relatively loud. By picking a value
existing one in the device chain. between these two extremes we can use the Pan parameter to mix in
precisely the amount of hard-panned bongos that we require. (Audio:
Bongo break.wav)
Phase action
One technical issue that every producer speakers systems. Some stereo processing
should have a handle on is phase, and it’s affects the phase relationship of the left and
particularly important when working with right signals, particularly effects that rely on
stereo signals. Phase describes the relative the Haas technique, whereby the left or right
position of waves. For example, say we have channel of a signal is delayed by several
two identical waveforms. If we add them milliseconds, increasing the sound’s
together, we get a waveform with twice the perceived stereo width. However, when
amplitude, but if we move the position of one summed to mono, undesirable effects such as
of the waveforms so that it reaches its comb filtering and cancellation can occur. Use Voxengo MSED to check that your mix is fully mono-
minimum value at the same point that the The Haas technique and plugins that affect compatible, as it needs to be for playback in many clubs
other reaches its maximum, when we add the phase relationship of the left and right
them together they cancel each other out. In channels are still useful, but it makes sense to It’s up to you how close your mono mix
this scenario, we’d say the two waveforms check that your mixes are mono-compatible needs to sound to the stereo one to be
were ‘out of phase’ with each other. by running Voxengo MSED or a similar acceptable. Often you’ll end up having to
This can cause problems when stereo analyser on your master buss. Simply mute compromise between a super-wide stereo
signals are summed together to create a the sides signal and take a listen to check that mix and one that retains the information in
mono, mid signal, which can happen on club the summed mono signal still sounds OK. the sides signal when summed to mono.

Back to basics
You don’t need the latest and greatest plugins to get a
polished-sounding mix. We show you how to get the
most from standard EQ and dynamics processors
It’s a common misconception among new producers what types of sounds and features you require if and when
that anyone making decent-sounding dance music you do decide to upgrade.
must be using hundreds if not thousands of pounds’ In these walkthroughs, we’ll show you how it’s possible to
worth of high-end plugins. The reality is that many artists get the most out of the most basic EQ and dynamics
simply use their DAW’s stock mixing effects. The producer processors. We’ll reveal how some plugins can be used for
who knows how to get the results they want from basic more tasks than you might imagine: for example, EQ can
equalisers, compressors and gates is much more likely to make it possible to boost the overall level of a signal by
make quality mixes than the producer with a ton of attenuating peaks in its frequency spectrum, a compressor
expensive plugins but only a shallow understanding of can be used to control and enhance transients by turning up
how to use them. In fact, having too many plugins in your its attack time, and a gate can be used to tighten up
arsenal can be counterproductive: those who only have percussion samples.
access to limited tools tend to learn to use those tools far By following these guides you’ll increase your
more comprehensively. understanding of these simple but powerful effects, and
So, rather than spending a fortune on new effects, we improve your ability to mould sounds into the shapes you
recommend mastering the ones you already have to hand desire. With this knowledge you’ll be able to achieve a far
first. Not only will this help you to make better mixes now, but greater variety of results than you would relying purely on
it’ll also enable you to make more informed decisions as to presets, and you’ll get better overall mixdowns as a result.

> Step by step 1. Shaping drums with a gate in Cubase
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
Noise gates were originally invented to reduce the overall level of This clap has a lot of reverb on it – in fact, it’s so long that the
noise in multitrack analogue recordings, but they’re still useful in sample ends before the reverb tail has finished! This clearly won’t
the digital age for, amongst other things, shaping drum sounds. Create do. To fix the issue, click the Insert tab in the Inspector, then the
an audio track in Cubase and drag Clap.wav onto it. triangular disclosure button on the first slot. Select the Gate effect
from the Dynamics folder.
3 4
Even at its default settings, the Gate gives us a much more natural You can make the sound even shorter by turning up the Threshold
sound, fading the tail of the reverb to silence. Let’s get a bit more level, if you like. Let’s set it to -14dB. Now we’ve got our shorter
aggressive with it. Turn the Release level down to 11. This gives us just clap, there’s nothing to stop us adding our own reverb for a different
a short clap sound. Now it’s impossible to tell there was ever a reverb sonic character. Add REVerence after the Gate effect in the Insert strip.
on it in the first place. (Audio: Short clap.wav)
5 6
Click the empty patch name slot to bring up the list of presets. Add another Gate after the reverb, and turn the Release down to
Select Plate At 4sec and turn REVerance’s Mix level down to 15. 61. Again, this tightens things up, giving us a more usable reverb
This reverb is very intense, so it sounds pretty loud, even at this low tail. You can A/B the original and new versions of the clap by clicking
level. (Audio: Clap with new reverb.wav) the Insert strip’s Bypass button. As you can hear, we’ve completely
replaced the character of the original reverb with a different effect.
(Audio: Tightened reverb.wav)

> Step by step 2. Using compression to enhance transients in Ableton Live
1 2
Compression isn’t just for reducing dynamic range and increasing As you can see from the snare’s waveform, its dynamic range is
average volume level – it can also be used to enhance the pretty low. The fat sausage shape at the start means the beat is
transients of your drum sounds. This is useful when you have a drum indeed very loud, but what if you need more impact at the beginning
sound with the right character, but that’s lacking that initial hard of the sound? Add Glue Compressor to the track.
attack. Launch Live and drag Snare.wav onto an audio track.
3 4
We’ve going to use compression to lower the level of the sample, Turn the Threshold down to -27dB. On playback, you’ll hear that
but only after the transient stage has passed. To do this, turn the the sound has less perceived volume overall, but the transient at
Attack parameter up to 30ms. This means that the compression takes the start of the snare is now much more solid and satisfying. (Audio:
30ms to reach its full effect after the Threshold has been exceeded. Snare attack.wav)
5 6
The Release knob determines how long it takes the volume level Now turn the Ratio up to 10 to give us the most severe
to return to normal after the signal drops below the Threshold. compression Glue Compressor is capable of. With everything set
The longer this is, the longer the compression lasts. Turn it right up to up, you can use the Threshold knob to fine-tune the balance between
1.2s to get as tight a sound as possible. (Audio: Snare attack.wav) prominent attack and overall loudness. (Audio: Snare ratio.wav)

> Step by step 3. EQing beats with spectral analysis in Logic
1 2
When you’re dealing with a sound that has extreme frequency Click the Audio FX button on the audio track in the Inspector, and
spikes – as some drum loops and breaks do – spectral analysis can select EQ»Channel EQ»Stereo. Click the Analyser button on the
help you locate their positions. Create an audio track in Logic and drag left-hand side of the Channel EQ’s interface, and when you play the
Funky jungle.wav onto it. Set Logic’s tempo to 140bpm. project back you’ll see the audio signal represented visually behind
the EQ curve.
3 4
Channel EQ’s analyser isn’t particularly configurable, so let’s use Using SPAN, we can see that the peaks occur at 9.4kHz and
something more suited to the task. Add Voxengo SPAN (free 12.2kHz. Return to Channel EQ and set two band EQs with Qs of
download from www.voxengo.com) after the Channel EQ, and use the 2.00 to take off 10dB at 9400Hz and 12,200Hz. This tames the peaks,
horizontal bar at the bottom of its frequency display to zoom in on the giving you more headroom to turn the channel up and make it louder
high end of the frequency spectrum. in the mix. (Audio: EQed beat.wav)
Four exceptional equalisers
DDMF IIEQPRO $39 VOXENGO GLISSEQ $100 FABFILTER PRO-Q £124 WAVES REDD $200
The commercial version of DDMF’s From the maker of SPAN comes this One of the best all-round EQs on the Based on the EQ sections of Abbey
IIEQPro includes all the great features incredible equaliser that not only has market, Pro-Q is overflowing with Road Studios’ legendary mixing
of the CM Plugins version (such as the same powerful spectral analysis awesome features. With up to 24 filter consoles, Redd delivers that classic
serial and parallel routing options and capabilities as SPAN, but also boasts bands, zero-latency and linear phase 60s sound. As well as the simple EQ
19 filter modes, including several program-dependent band response. modes, intelligent solo mode for controls themselves, you also get
Butterworth filters) plus more bands This dynamic approach to EQ makes auditioning single bands, and undo/ Drive and Analogue knobs for dialling
and a built-in spectral analyser. It’s GlissEQ ideal for boosting highs and redo and A/B comparison functions, in the perfect level of vintage warmth.
also very reasonably priced. lows without making them sound it’s a real equalisation powerhouse. www.waves.com
www.ddmf.eu harsh or muddy. www.fabfilter.com
www.voxengo.com

> Step by step 4. Parallel processing in Live
1 2
Parallel processing is a technique whereby a processed (for Drag Glue Compressor onto the track. The effect has a Dry/Wet
example, compressed) signal is mixed with the unprocessed knob, which means that we can mix some of the dry signal back in
version of itself. In the case of compression, this would give us a direct from the plugin itself. However, by setting up a parallel
balance of loud ‘wet’ signal and punchy ‘dry’ signal. Start by dragging processing chain we can use multiple effects, which can then be mixed
Funky jungle.wav onto an audio track in Ableton Live. with the dry signal at the end.
3 4
Set the Glue Compressor’s Threshold to -27dB, Makeup to 7dB, To compensate for this, turn the Saturator’s Output down to -2dB.
and Attack to 0.3. Add a Saturator after it, with its mode set to Now the signal peaks at around the same level as the unprocessed
Sinoid Fold and its Drive turned up to 11.2dB. The processing we’ve signal did, although the dynamic range has been significantly reduced,
added has boosted the peak level by a few dB, which we can check by so it hits the peak level much more often. Now let’s create our parallel
bypassing the effect. routing. Select both effects, right-click and select Group.
5 6
This puts both effects in an Audio Effects Rack. Click the Show/ Now we’ve got our ‘wet’ chain with effects on it, and a new ‘dry’
Hide Chain List button and a list of chains in the Audio Effects chain for the unprocessed signal. As we’ve got two versions of the
Rack appears. Currently, there’s only one chain in the Rack. To add signal, the output of the track will be very loud, so turn both chains
another, right-click below it and select Create Chain. down to -6dB to halve their volume. You can use the Chain Volume
parameters to balance the signals, and toggle the Audio Effects Rack’s
Device Activator button to compare the parallel processed signal
with the unprocessed version. (Audio: Parallel processed beat.wav)

> Step by step 5. Tightening drum loops with Live’s Slice to MIDI function
1 2
Using drum loops or breaks is a convenient way to give your beats Live will automatically set the project tempo to 140bpm. Select
extra rhythm and character, but if they’re too loose or have too the clip and press Cmd/Ctrl+L to set loop points around it. This
much reverb, they’ll need tightening up. Doing this manually can be loop is drenched in dubby reverb, but we can quickly get rid of that
fiddly, so some DAWs have their own beat-slicing capabilities to make and tweak the loop in various interesting ways by slicing it to MIDI.
it easier. Drag Dub beat.wav onto an audio track in Live.
3 4
Right-click the clip and select Slice to New MIDI Track. A window A new MIDI track with an Instrument Rack loaded appears below
appears, asking how you want it to slice the loop and which preset the audio track. Mute the audio track. Now we can tighten up the
to use for the resulting instrument. The default settings of slice by new version of the beat on the MIDI track by turning its Sustain down
Transient and Built-in slicing preset will be fine for our purposes. Click to -infdB. Turn the Decay down to 362ms for a super-tight version of
OK to slice the loop. the beat. (Audio: Tight dub.wav)
Make your own slicing presets

Live’s built-in slicing preset is convenient parameters, with two left over for other and set each macro to the default value you
because it enables quick access to the ADSR functions – volume and velocity sensitivity, want it to have.
envelope controls of each slice, giving you an for example. Finally, drag the Drum Rack into the User
easy way to control a beat’s dynamics. The To make your own preset, create a new Library/Defaults/Slicing folder in Live’s
problem with it, though, is that it doesn’t MIDI track and put a Drum Rack on it. Put a browser. This creates a preset, which will be
have macro controls linked to each slice’s Simpler in the C1 slot, click the Show/Hide highlighted, prompting you to enter a name
Transpose and Detune parameters, meaning Macro Controls button, then the Map button for it. Type in a name, press Enter, and boom –
that if you want to retune the loop you have on the device title bar to enter mapping you’re done! Now, when you use Live’s Slice
to go through and adjust every slice mode. You can now assign macros by clicking to New MIDI Track function, you’ll find the
manually! Clearly, this isn’t a very convenient a parameter, then clicking the Map button on preset that you just created in the list of
solution, but thankfully it’s possible to create a macro. Note that when you do this, the Slicing Presets. Our Tuning Slicer preset can
your own slicing presets with which you can value on the parameter will reset to 0. When be found in the Tutorial Files folder – drop it
set up eight macros as you see fit. That’s you’ve finished, exit map mode by clicking into the folder in Live’s browser to add it to
enough to control the ADSR and both tuning the Map button on the device title bar again, the Library.

> Step by step 6. Cutting or enhancing reverb with Logic’s Enveloper
1 2
Apple’s Logic Pro includes a unique and really quite powerful In the Inspector, click the Audio FX slot on the audio track and
dynamics processing tool in the form of Enveloper. This can be select Dynamics»Enveloper»Stereo. The plugin very effectively
used not only to tighten up the reverb on drum loops, but also to make detects the transients in the loop, and enables you to control the tail of
them sound louder and boomier – ideal if you’re after a big, ‘live’ drum each hit using the Gain fader on the right-hand side of the interface.
sound. Start by dragging Dub beat.wav onto an audio track and For starters, turn it down to -100%. (Audio: Tight dub.wav)
setting the project tempo to 140bpm.
3 4
This immediately gets rid of the reverb and gives us a really tight, Let’s use the effect to enhance the reverb now. Set the Time to
dead drum sound. You can get different curve shapes by using the 2000.00ms and turn the Gain up to 100%. As you can hear, this
Time knob to the left of the Gain fader. Set the Time to 60.00ms and has a really drastic effect on the sound. The boominess is so loud that
the Gain to -74% for a less severe reverb reduction effect. (Audio: it’s going to clip the master, in fact, so set the Out Level to -9dB. (Audio:
Release curve.wav) Boomy reverb.wav)
5 6
We can use Enveloper to treat the attack stage of each hit as well It’s possible to dull the attack stage of the sound as well as enhance
as the release stage. First, return the Gain fader on the right-hand it. Turn the Gain fader down to 100% and it’ll sound like you’ve
side of the interface to 0%, then gradually turn the Gain fader on the turned up the attack time of each slice. This is potentially useful when
left up as you play the beat back. Once you reach the 60% level you’ll you want to layer one-shot drums with a loop to give them character
really start to hear each hit become more pronounced. (Audio: but the transients of the loops clash with those of the one-shots.
Transient enhancement.wav) (Audio: Dulled loop.wav)

> Step by step 7. High-shelving drum loops with parallel EQ
1 2
Using a pair of high-shelving EQs can be a very useful way to Insert IIEQPro CM onto the audio track. Click the Off button on the
shape the high and/or low end of drum loops. To demonstrate this, bottom row to pick an EQ type. Select HighShelf and an orange
we’re going to use DDMF’s IIEQPro CM, which you can find in the CM node appears at the left-hand side of the graphical display above. Drag
Plugins folder. Create a new audio track in your DAW and drag Dub this to the +5dB position at 2000Hz.
beat.wav onto it.
3 4
Now click the Band 1 button and select Band 2. Set this band to Click the Serial button on the right to switch to IIEQPro CM’s
HighShelf as well, and this time move the node to -7dB at 100Hz. unusual Parallel mode. In this mode, each band works on a dry
The white line displays the overall effect of the two bands, revealing version of the signal rather than one that’s already been processed.
that by using two high-shelf EQs we’ve created a curve that we couldn’t This affects the overall sound of the EQ, illustrated by the change in the
have made using just one. (Audio: Serial high-shelves.wav) shape of the white line. (Audio: Parallel high-shelves.wav)
5 6
As well as using the Frequency and Gain parameters, we can also Finally, let’s try out IIEQ Pro CM’s all-pass filter mode. In serial
use Q to control the shape of the EQ – and IIEQPro CM’s Q can get mode this doesn’t do a whole lot, but in parallel mode it has a
pretty extreme. For example, by tuning Band 2’s Q up to 3.00 we can quite dramatic effect. Select Band 3 and set it to APF. Now, when
remove the low end of the reverb from the beat while simultaneously you sweep its frequency up and down, you’ll see that the overall EQ
boosting the kick. (Audio: Boosted Q.wav) warps around its position – this is ideal for experimenting with
different frequency responses.

Analyser plugins are regarded with necessary to ensure that we’re getting the best
Sometimes even the suspicion by some producers. “Mix with mixdowns possible. The worse the studio
your ears, not with your eyes!” they’ll advise. environment you’re working in, the more useful
best producers need Of course, visual aids are indeed no
substitute for your lugholes, but they can be
these tools become.
If you’re working in a less-than-perfect
a helping hand, and helpful in many situations. Let’s not pretend
that our ears are perfect: what we hear
environment, it’s sensible to use as many
possible methods as you can to ensure your mix
depends to a great extent on the sounds right. Along with referencing on
that’s where analyser characteristics of the room we’re in and the headphones, checking your mixes on as many
monitors we’re using, and we’re not all born systems as possible and A/B-ing with other
plugins come in. Here with the innate ability to detect where that
rogue spike sits in the frequency spectrum.
tracks, analysis plugins ensure that you get an
accurate idea of what’s going on in your mix.
are four ways in which Analysis tools are becoming a standard
feature in music production software across the
In these walkthroughs we’ll show you how to
use multiple inputs to reference two signals at
board. DAW mixers have always had level once on the same spectral analyser, use an
they can make your meters, but now spectral analysers are finding oscilloscope plugin to monitor your mixes’
their place as a common feature of EQs, and a dynamics, use spectral analysis and EQ to tweak
life easier… few dynamics processors now include
histogram displays. These aren’t just bells and
the harmonics of individual sounds, and
compare the peak, crest and RMS values of your
whistles for the sake of it: the more production mix with those of a mastered track. Once you’ve
takes place away from dedicated studio got to grips with these techniques, you should
environments, the more these features are find it a lot easier to create the perfect mix.

> Step by step 1. A/Bing dynamic properties with Blue Cat Audio DP Meter Pro in Cubase
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
In Mixing in the Digital Domain on p24, we looked at how peak, Drag Work in progress.wav onto the WIP track, and Mastered
RMS and crest values relate to each other. Let’s see how we can track.wav onto the AB track. Work in progress.wav represents an
use these values practically by comparing an unmastered track with a unfinished project. It hasn’t been limited at all, so it’s really very quiet
commercial master. Load a new project in Cubase and create two compared to Mastered track.wav, which represents a mastered track
audio tracks. Name one ‘Project’ and the other ‘AB’. that we want to compare our project with.
3 4
Mute the AB track so that you can only hear the WIP track. Add Now let’s examine the AB track. Open Devices»VST Connections
Ozone 5 (download the demo from www.izotope.com) to the and click the Outputs tab, then hit the Add Bus button. In the Add
master buss. Activate the Maximizer and turn the Character fader Output Bus window that appears, select a stereo buss and click Add
down to 0. We can now boost the level of the track by bringing down Bus. In the Outputs panel, make sure the new buss is routed to the
the Threshold fader. Set it to -3dB for the moment. same physical outs as the main buss. The new buss should be named
Stereo Out 2 by default.
5 6
Close the VST Connections window and select the AB track. Set its Now, add Blue Cat Audio DP Meter Pro (download the demo from
output routing to Stereo Out 2. Now we can monitor the AB track www.bluecataudio.com) to both the master buss after Ozone 5
without it being processed through Ozone 5 on the master buss. To and Stereo Out 2. You can now compare the Peak, RMS and Crest
solo a track, hold Cmd/Ctrl and click the track you want to listen to. values on your Project and AB tracks as you bring down Ozone 5’s
The other track will automatically be muted. Threshold to bring up WIP’s volume. Remember not to reduce the
Crest value too much, or you’ll get a squashed, undynamic mix.

> Step by step 2. Dual track monitoring with Voxengo SPAN in Ableton Live
1 2
Voxengo’s SPAN analyser (free from www.voxengo.com) gives Name the first track ‘Kick’ and the second track ‘Bass’. Drag Kick.
you the ability to view two audio inputs simultaneously, which can wav onto the Kick track and Bass.wav onto the Bass track. As we
be useful when attempting to mix two sounds in the same sort of need to use SPAN’s multiple inputs capability, it’s easiest to put it on its
frequency range. We’re going to use Ableton Live to demonstrate this own track. Name the third track Analyser and put SPAN on it.
because its audio routing is quick and easy, but you can use any DAW
you like. Start by creating three audio tracks.
3 4
We’re going to use Live’s return tracks to route the Kick and Bass By default, both Live’s A and B return tracks have effects on them –
tracks to the plugin. We don’t need to use the track’s Audio From we don’t need these, so delete them. Next, we need to set SPAN up
routing, so set it to No Input – this ensures that your audio interface’s to receive audio on its extra inputs. Open SPAN and click the Routing
physical inputs aren’t routed to the track. button to invoke the plugin’s fearsome Channel Routing window.
5 6
SPAN has the same routing architecture as Voxengo’s other Take a gander at the Group Assignments row and you’ll see that C
plugins, which is pretty complicated, as you can see. Thankfully, we and D are routed to group 2, while E and F are routed to group 3.
don’t need to do anything too scary to get our two inputs up and This upshot of this is that the plugins’ 3/4 stereo input will be sent to
running. In the Input Routing section, set IN3 to C, IN4 to D, IN5 to E, Group 2, and the 5/6 input to group 3. We’re done with the Channel
and IN6 to F. Routing window now, so close it by clicking the cross at the top right-
hand corner.

7 8
Now we need to get the audio from our Kick and Bass tracks into Select the Return A track, and set its Output Type to the Analyser
SPAN’s inputs. We’re using Return tracks to achieve this, so that the track, and Output Channel to 3/4 – Voxengo Span. Now turn the
routing doesn’t interfere with the tracks’ audio output, which we want Bass track’s Send B level up to 0dB, and set the Return B Output Type
to keep routed directly to the master. Turn the level of the Kick track’s and Channel to Analyser and 5/6 – Voxengo SPAN.
Send A parameter up to 0dB.
9 10
We’ve just routed the Kick and Bass tracks to SPAN’s 3/4 and 5/6 Currently, Group 2 is set to the default colour. Click the colour
inputs via the Return A and B tracks. Now, if you bring up SPAN’s button above the spectral display and change it to light blue. To
interface and click the Group 2 button, you should see the output of see the Bass track, click the Group 3 button. Next, click the Underlay
the Kick track displayed visually. button and select Group 2. Now we can view both sets of input at the
same time.
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The commercial version of MAnalyzer includes DP Meter Pro and a wealth of Photosounder’s Spiral uses an spectral analyser SPAN extensively
offers the same visually appealing other goodies, including the innovative circular display to show throughout this Special, and if
spectral analysis as the freeware StereoScope plugins series, the octave and harmonic you’re smitten with its crystal-clear
version, plus mid/side functionality, FreqAnalyst Pro and FreqAnalyst relationships of the including audio graphical display and copious
8-channel input and an online preset Multi. Be sure to give the signal. This makes it ideal for options, this enhanced version might
exchange. It’s available as part of -exclusive FreqAnalyst CM a go, analysing and creating synth sounds. be for you. With static spectrum
Melda Production’s MMixingBundle the installers of which are located in You can find the exclusive version, display and real-time spectrum
and MTotalBundle packages, so check the CM Plugins folder. Spiral CM, in the CM Plugins folder. import and export, SPAN Plus really
them out if you’re after a bargain. www.bluecataudio.com www.photosounder.com puts the anal back in analysis.
www.medlaproduction.com www.voxengo.com

> Step by step 3. Visually monitoring dynamics with WaveShaperCM in Logic Pro
1 2
WaveShaperCM, which can be found in the CM Plugins folder, is an Press X to bring up Logic’s mixer, and locate the Audio FX slot on
amazing, flexible distortion effect that can also be employed as an the Output track. Select Audio Units»CableGuys»WaveShaperC
oscilloscope. Let’s see how we can use it to check the dynamic M»Stereo. You’ll notice that the waveshaping function represented by
properties of an audio signal. Create a new audio track in Logic Pro the XY panel on the left of the interface is slightly curved.
and drag Kick.wav onto it.
3 4
This gives us gentle distortion, as the title of the preset suggests. This gives us a perfectly linear waveshaping function, which
We don’t actually want to change the sound of the incoming signal means that the sound passes through the plugin unaffected. Now
at all, and the easiest way to make sure that no waveshaping is applied we can focus on the oscilloscope display to the right-hand side of the
to the audio is to click the New button in the top left-hand corner. interface. At the moment the tempo resolution is set to 1 bar.
5 6
To change the resolution, click 1 bar (4/4) and select 1/4 from the Finally, click the Audio FX slot on the audio track and select
list. This sets the resolution to a single beat. If you prefer an old- Dynamics»Compressor»Stereo. Any changes you now make to
school unsynced display, click Beat and select Fixed instead. You can the kick’s dynamic properties can be seen clearly in WaveShaperCM’s
now set the rate of the oscilloscope with the Hz parameter. oscilloscope. Analysing audio like this is particularly useful when
limiting your entire mix, helping you to ensure that it’s not becoming
too squashed.

> Step by step 4. Fattening up resampled synths with MAnalyzer
1 2
When working with resampled one-shot synth sounds, we can We can use any spectral analyser for this, but MeldaProduction’s
perform surgical equalisation on particular harmonics that MAnalyzer (free from www.meldaproduction.com) is particularly
wouldn’t be practical on parts playing more than one note. Using a convenient because it displays the frequency values of the input
spectral analyser and EQ, we can tweak the level of individual signal’s first few harmonics. Add the plugin to the audio track and
harmonics and resample the sound in order to play it chromatically. bring up its interface. We can immediately see that the second, third
Start by loading Raw synth.wav onto an audio track in your DAW. and fourth harmonics sit at 65Hz, 131Hz, 196Hz and 261Hz.
3 4
Now place DDMF IIEQPro CM (in the CM Plugins folder) before Set the first three bands of IIEQPro to DigitPeak mode, turn their Q
MAnalyzer in the effects chain. With this arrangement, we can EQ up to 6.50, and set them at 65Hz, 131Hz and 196Hz. We can now
the sound and the results will be reflected by the spectral analyser. use these bands to adjust the levels of the first, second and third
harmonics, shaping the sound in a manner akin to additive synthesis.
5 6
Set the first band to +3.8dB, the second to +5.7dB and the third to To properly gauge the effect the equalisation is having, we need to
+8.5dB. This clearly gives the sound a boost in the low end, but we hear how it sounds when it peaks at the same level as the
need to be careful that the processing we’re applying is actually unprocessed signal. Set the Volume knob at the top right-hand corner
having a positive effect on the sound. If you bypass the EQ you’ll see of the interface to -2dB. Now the channel peaks at the same level,
that the track peaks at a lower level when the plugin is deactivated. whether the plugin is active or not, and we can assess whether our EQ
is having a beneficial or detrimental effect on the sound. (Audio:
Boosted lows.wav)

INTRODUCING A NEW SERIES OF APPS
CELEBRATING THE ICONS OF ELECTRO
KRAFTWERK
EDITION
OUT NOW
The Electro Legends Series

Ralf Hütter interview / Autobahn revisited / Video tutorials
Analysis by OMD & John Foxx / Live review
UNIVERSAL
TRANSLATION
The best mixdowns will sound great on any
playback system, big or small. Here’s how to
ensure your tracks do the same
A trap that it’s all too easy for the aspiring panorama. Having big, beefy bass, solid kicks
dance music producer to fall into is that of and slamming snares might be enough to make
creating mixdowns that only work well on your track bang on a club system, but unless
one kind of playback system. It’s an you’ve got the right energy in the mids it’ll
infuriating problem, as we tend to assume sound tinny and unimpressive on laptop
that once we’ve got our productions up to a speakers, which will be unable to reproduce the
standard where they sound great on a club lows. Likewise, your mix might sound fine on a
system, they’ll also sound good on big rig and a laptop, but have a listen to it on
headphones, in the car, or anywhere else. headphones and you might discover that its
Sadly, this isn’t the case, and we often find stereo image is lacking.
ourselves becoming so focused on the Working in bedroom or project studio
requirements of a particular type of system that environments can make getting that elusive
we fail to consider how a project will sound in perfect mixdown much trickier, because it’s
other contexts. This leads to inevitable harder to trust what you hear in such a
disappointment when we test our music out restricted environment. But don’t worry,
elsewhere. While there’s no substitute for because in the following walkthroughs we’ll
experience in this type of scenario, the good reveal some essential tips and tricks that make
news is that there are various strategies that we use of analysis plugins to ensure that you’re
can employ to ensure our music sounds great getting a full-sounding mix no matter how
over as wide a range of reproduction equipment compromised your monitoring environment.
as possible. We’ll also look at how to make your bass-driven
They key to transferability is in ensuring that tracks more frequency-rich using layering and
you’re not leaving any ‘gaps’ in your mix, in processing techniques that will help them sound
terms of both frequency spectrum and stereo better on smaller systems.

> Step by step 1. Using spectral analysis to balance musical elements with beats and basslines
1 2
While your ears must have the final say in any mixing decision, Drag Groove.wav onto the first track and Chorus piano.wav onto
spectral analysis can be helpful for balancing elements in a mix, the second, then add Voxengo SPAN (free download from www.
especially if you’re working on headphones or in a less than ideal voxengo.com) to your master buss. Solo the first track so that you can
studio environment. Launch your DAW, set the project tempo to monitor the drums and bass. In SPAN you’ll see that the highs and lows
130bpm and create two audio tracks. peak at between the -39dB and -42dB regions.
3 4
The mids don’t peak that high, so we know that we have some As the channel reaches the -4.5dB mark, you can see that the
room in the mix there to accommodate other sounds. Unsolo the piano’s fundamental (that is, lowest) frequency is reaching a
first track. The piano is quite loud, so turn its track down to -12dB. Now, similar sort of level to the low and high peaks of the beats and bass.
watching SPAN’s display as you do so, gradually turn the level of the However, you can also see that the piano sound is relatively dull, as the
piano channel up. fundamental frequency is quite a bit louder than its harmonics.
5 6
The signal isn’t peaking as high in the 600Hz-4kHz region, which Now we have a mix with a solid mid-range. You can take a listen to
means we’ve got some leeway to boost the piano’s mids and highs. any specific frequency range to hear how full it sounds by holding
Add an EQ plugin to the piano track, and use a high-shelf EQ to boost Ctrl/Cmd and dragging over SPAN’s analyser panel. This is handy for
by 6dB at 500Hz. We could also do with making the piano’s making sure that your mix has an appropriate energy level over the
fundamental slightly quieter, so use a bell-shaped EQ band to take off entire frequency spectrum.
1.5dB at 350Hz.

> Step by step 2. Mixing vocals using spectral analysis
1 2
As we saw in the previous tutorial, generally you’ll want all your Create three audio tracks, and name them ‘Groove’, ‘Music’ and
musical elements to peak at about the same level on a spectrum ‘Vocals’. Drag Groove.wav onto Groove, Music.wav onto Music,
analyser for an even-sounding mix. The one exception to this rule is and Vocals.wav onto Vocals. Mute the Vocals track and put Voxengo
vocals, which need to be heard as clearly as possible. Create a new SPAN on the master. Bring up SPAN’s interface and you’ll see that the
project in your DAW, and set the project tempo to 130bpm. instrumental tracks really fill out the frequency spectrum.
3 4
Turn the Vocals track down to -20dB, and unmute it. Gradually We can make the vocal stand out in the mix more by EQing the
turn its volume fader up. By the time you get to about -12dB, the music track. Add an EQ to the Music track and use a bell-shaped
vocal will be at the right kind of level to be intelligible over the backing band to take out about 6dB at 1kHz. You can use the Q parameter to
tracks. You’ll see in SPAN that at this level it peaks the highest of all the establish the width of this band. The wider the band, the more the
elements, even though it doesn’t sound overly loud in the mix. music is weakened, but the stronger the vocal will sound.
5 6
Another way to make the vocal sound clearer is to duck the Set the Compressor’s Threshold to -10dB and Ratio to 2.00:1.
volume of the Music track when it plays. To do this, add a Now the Music track will drop in volume slightly when the vocal
Compressor effect to the Music track, activate its sidechain and set the plays. This helps maintain a consistent level of energy in the mids, and
sidechain source to the Vocal track. the reduction in volume isn’t obvious because the vocal focuses our
attention. (Audio: Balanced music and vocal.wav)

> Step by step 3. Using the Haas technique in Ableton Live
1 2
In Mastering the Stereo Field (p66), we talked about how some Add Live’s Simple Delay effect to the audio track. At the default
effects use the Haas technique to create a wide stereo signal. The settings this creates a basic stereo delay effect with no feedback.
downside of this is that it can have a less desirable effect on the mono Set the Dry/Wet level to 100% so that we just hear the delayed signal.
signal. Let’s see how we can create this effect manually, then check it Now click the left and right channels’ Delay Mode buttons to switch
for mono compatibility. Start by creating a new project in Live and them from tempo-synced to time-based.
putting Synth chord stabs.wav on an audio track.
3 4
Turn both Ms Delay values down to 1.00ms. Now we can control The bigger the gap in the delay between the left and right
the delay on each channel using specific millisecond values. channels, the wider the stereo image becomes. Set the right
Gradually turn up the right channel’s Ms Delay amount, and listen to channel’s Ms Delay to 26.7ms, and add Live’s Utility effect to the
how the signal goes from mono to stereo. master buss. To check how the signal sounds in mono, bring Utility’s
Width down to 0.0%. The signal still sounds good in mono, so we
know the Haas technique isn’t having too much of a detrimental effect.
Push it to the limit

Throughout this Special we’ve necessarily applicable to every track or every
demonstrated plenty of ways to make your genre. Be realistic when you compare or A/B
music sound louder, wider and weightier. The your music with that of other producers –
quest for this kind of ostensible improvement your soulful deep house groove is unlikely to
in sound quality has been ongoing since the ever fill the frequency spectrum in the same
dawn of recorded music, but it seems that, way that a full-on, sawtooth-powered bro-
now more than ever, the pursuit of the step banger does, but it definitely needs to
loudest possible mixdown is dictating the stand up to the current production values of
actual content of the music (see its own genre.
StoneBridge’s remarks in Mixing and Once you’ve followed and understood the
Mastering for Club Playback, p31) as well as its techniques presented in these tutorials, the
sound. While it’s obviously futile to even next thing you need to develop is an ability to
attempt to reverse this trend, it’s probably judge how far you should take them on a
worth questioning whether or not you, track-by-track basis. This skill can only be
personally, need to follow it. developed through experience, so try to
While many EDM tracks might benefit from actually finish as many tracks as you can to as
huge amounts of sidechain compression and high a standard as possible. Eventually you’ll
gigantic, frequency-filling unison-detuned understand which tricks work well in your Not all dance tracks need to sound as though they were
saw patches, these techniques aren’t music, and how far you can take them. created by the King of Wobs himself

> Step by step 4. Doubling a bassline with a mid-range part
1 2
The ironic thing about the rise of bass music is that it uses a lot of Drag Groove.wav onto the audio track. If you’re using laptop
full-frequency-range sounds. The genres that bass takes its speakers or earbuds rather than serious monitors or decent
inspiration from (such as house, jungle and garage) would often have headphones to follow these tutorials (which isn’t recommended!), you
the simplest of subs, but that type of bass doesn’t reproduce very well might not be able to hear the bassline at all, but by putting a spectral
on smaller speakers. Create a new project in your DAW, set the tempo analyser on the master output you’ll see that it’s definitely there.
to 130bpm, and create one audio track and one MIDI track.
3 4
If we want the bassline to be audible on smaller speakers, one Load Dune CM (in the CM Plugins folder) onto the MIDI track. Click
solution is to layer it with a mid-range element that can be more the Bank B button to initialise the patch. Currently the MIDI part is
easily reproduced. Drag Bass.mid onto the MIDI track. This is the in the octave of C0, which is fine for a sub-bass but too low for a mid
sequence used to create the bassline, and by using it to play another part. Open the MIDI part, select all of the notes, and transpose them up
instrument we can double the bass part. a couple octaves so that the part starts on G2.
5 6
Now we need to make a suitable sound for Dune CM to play that Set Ring Mod to 100%. We can’t hear Osc 2, but changing it still
sits with the sub-bass. Set Osc 1 and Osc 2 to sine waves by clicking affects the synth’s output because it’s ring modulating Osc 1. Turn
the buttons next to the sine waveforms in each one. This gives us a Osc 2’s Semi (semitone transpose) up to +12 to create a classic house
simple sine tone, but by turning up the Ring Mod knob in the Osc organ sound. In the Amp Envelope section, set the Attack time to 9%
Common panel, we can increase the number of harmonics present in and the Release time to 19% so that the start and end of the note don’t
the signal and get a more interesting timbre. (Audio: Ring mod.wav) click. (Audio: Mid layer.wav)

> Step by step 5. Exciting sounds with TAL-Bitcrusher
1 2
Another way to help sounds fill out the frequency spectrum is to Put a spectral analyser on your master, and add TAL-Bitcrusher to
use to use so-called ‘lo-fi’ effects that work by reducing sample rate the audio track as an insert effect. When you play the bassline
and bit depth. Let’s look at how we can give a sine-based sub-bass back, you can see from the spectral analyser that TAL-Bitcrusher’s
some high end using the awesome Togu Audio Line TAL-Bitcrusher, a default settings have added a lot of high-end information to the signal.
free download from http://kunz.corrupt.ch. Create a new audio track
in your DAW and drag Sine sub.wav onto it.
3 4
Let’s set up an initialised patch so that we can investigate what Try bringing the Bitdepth down. You’ll hear that the sound doesn’t
TAL-Bitcrusher is capable of. Set the Bitdepth to 32, Samplerate to change much until we reach 24 bits, at which point some subtle
/0, Noise to minimum, Low Shelf and High Shelf to 12 o’clock, Dry/ fuzz appears. This rapidly increases as the Bitdepth parameter falls,
Wet to 100% Wet, and Volume to 12 o’clock, as shown above. and by deploying WaveShaperCM’s oscilloscope (in the CM Plugins
folder) we can see that by the time we hit a Bitdepth of 2 the signal has
become a pulse wave!
5 6
Clearly, this is a dramatic way to affect timbre. A more subtle Return the Samplerate to /0 and bring the Noise parameter up.
method is to use sample rate reduction. Turn the Bitdepth all the This adds a crusty high end to the sound, and as the setting rises,
way back up to 32 and bring the Samplerate knob up. The higher it the original signal reduces in volume. By using a little of each of the
goes, the lower in frequency the aliasing artefacts are, and the more lo-fi effects we’ve just described, we can get a heavy bass sound that
the signal becomes square in shape. nonetheless has a bit of crunchy character in the high end.

11
ESSENTIAL
INTERVIEWS
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FIX YOUR MIX
Even experienced producers can have trouble with

some projects. Here are our suggestions for what to
do when you just can’t get that mix right
So, you understand the theory, you’ve got the produced it, there are more fundamental issues particular frequencies, or pushing compressors
hang of the your production tools, and you with the mix that need to be addressed. harder than they should perhaps be pushed. In
have a clear idea of what you want your mix It’s actually pretty common for producers to the morning, your ears will have had a chance to
to sound like. How come, then, certain tracks feel disappointment when reviewing their work, rest, and you’ll be able to hear the negative
just feel impossible to mix down properly? and it can boil down to a number of factors. consequences of your late-night tweaking.
Being able to determine exactly what the Many of them come about because of staying
problem with a particular project is and up late working on a project. Listening to music Rest your ears
whether it’s actually fixable is an enormously at even a modest volume for an extended period Another consequence of making music late at
important skill for any producer to master. of time can result in ‘ear fatigue’, which makes it night is that if you have to turn your monitors
Not just because it can save you many hours hard to properly discern subtle changes in a mix. down in order not to disturb those in the
of tweaking, but because struggling with a When your ears are tired, it’s easy to proximity of your studio, you might end up
track that sounds bad can be a truly inadvertently compensate for this by boosting mistakenly compensating for the fact that the
demoralising experience! There’s no single human ear doesn’t have a ‘flat’ response to
solution to what to do when a project isn’t different volume levels at different frequencies
working out, but rather several strategies
that you can use to systematically solve your
“It’s actually pretty (see Don’t (Always) Believe Your Ears on p34).
Also, having your volume level too quiet can
studio nightmares.
The initial step is to identify the problem. First
common for simply make your mix more difficult to hear –
especially if it’s competing against background
of all, is there a particular environment in which
you’re experiencing dissatisfaction with the producers to feel noise – and this will make it even more likely that
your nocturnal work won’t be up to scratch. If
track? If the project sounds good in your studio, you can feel that your ears are becoming
but not when played back on different systems, disappointment when numbed while working on a project’s mix, you’re
you’ve got a specific issue with mix translation – better off taking a break to give them a rest
see Lost in Translation, opposite. If your track
doesn’t sound great even in the place where you
reviewing their work” rather than carrying on, as any changes you
make while your ears are tired aren’t likely to

Lost in translation
IK Multimedia’s ARC
System 2 helps you tweak
your monitoring to better
match your room
As we touched on in Mixing and sounds, but just like our monitors can help with this, and there are
Mastering for Club Playback on and room, they colour the sound also dedicated correction tools
p32, translation problems can be and don’t give a 100% accurate for dealing with imperfect
caused by the particular acoustic representation. The unfortunate monitoring environments. One
properties of an untreated studio reality is that no monitoring such tool is IK Multimedia’s ARC
environment affecting the way system can ever give us a truly System 2 (www.ikmultimedia.
you mix your tracks. In an ideal perfect representation of what’s com), which uses a specially
world, we’d all be able to happening within of our DAW – all calibrated microphone to record
acoustically treat the rooms in we can get are clues to varying pitch sweeps that tell the
which we make our music, but degrees of accuracy. software how your monitors and
sadly this isn’t possible for the Nonetheless, by hearing how room are colouring the output
average bedroom producer. your productions translate to a from your DAW. This information
When working in less than variety of other systems, you can is then used to create a corrective
ideal mixing environments, using gradually learn the sound of your EQ curve that can be applied to
headphones can give us more studio and how to compensate your DAW’s master buss using an
clues as to how the mix actually for it. A/B-ing and visual analysis included plugin.
improve the mix and will only require correcting spectrum, and that there aren’t any frequencies important elements to be heard. Dance music is
at a later stage. that are peaking too low. Not having enough all about punch and dynamics – if the drums and
If you’re having trouble working on a mix energy in particular frequency ranges can result bass are having trouble cutting through the mix,
even in optimal conditions and are struggling to in a track sounding weak or cheap, and the fix is or other sounds are detracting from them too
get it sounding as defined as you’d like, the usually to adjust the balances on your mix much, you’re going to have a hard time getting a
culprit could well be over-enthusiastic buss or rather than simply apply additive EQ. If the mix groove going. Sidechain compression can help
master processing. Excessive dynamic range is looking really unbalanced, you might find it with this (see Sidechaining for Impact on p58),
reduction can make it impossible to get the right easiest to take the level of all the tracks down but you might find that the mix sounds better
sound, because your transients will be smeared, and rebalance everything from scratch, bringing when some parts are simply removed
your bass will be distorted, and the overall mix in the kick, snare, hats, bass and then others, altogether. Try going through and muting every
won’t have room to breathe. Thus, it’s essential until each part of the frequency spectrum peaks part track by track – if the mix sounds better
to check both processed and unprocessed at roughly the same level. You might find it with a particular part muted, get rid of it!
versions of your mix if you work with a limiter or helpful to examine tracks in the genre that you On a similar note, reverb and delay effects
clipper on your master. If your mix sounds too make using a spectral analyser, and compare can really clog up a mix if they’re used
rough or feels overcooked, try bypassing all them to your own – see the walkthrough on the carelessly. If you suspect that the problems
buss and master plugins that affect dynamic following page for step-by-step instructions on you’re experiencing are down to excess reverb
range and listening to how the sound of each how to do this. and delay, try turning the levels of these effects
element changes. Excess corrective EQ on down, using EQ to attenuate the low end of their
busses can also cause problems too, so try Less is more return channels or compressing them with a
taking it off and getting each element sounding When starting out in production, it’s tempting to sidechain input fed from the kick and snare.
right before it hits the buss. try to cram more and more sounds into a mix to If all else fails, perhaps there’s something
If easing off the processing doesn’t cure your fill it out and make it sound impressive. However, fundamentally wrong with the track, such as the
track’s ills, the next stage is to use spectral more often than not this tactic has the opposite drums or musical elements not being tuned
analysis to ensure that you’ve got an even effect to the one intended. The more clutter properly, the sounds themselves not being up to
distribution of energy throughout the frequency that’s added to the mix, the harder it is for the scratch, or the track being in a key that makes it

> Step by step 1. Using Voxengo SPAN to visually A/B your tracks
1 2
Voxengo SPAN is one of the best spectral analyser plugins around, Import a tune that you think sounds well produced onto the track.
and it can be downloaded for free from www.voxengo.com. Install We don’t want to route the track through any processing you
it and load a work in progress in your DAW. We’re going to use SPAN to might have on your master buss, so send it directly to your audio
A/B compare the frequency response of your project with a interface’s main physical output rather than going via the master.
commercial track. Create a new audio track and name it ‘AB1’.
3 4
In Ableton Live, you do this by setting the output routing to Ext This is a useful technique in itself, but unless you’re working in a
Out, and selecting outputs 1/2. We don’t want to play the A/B track well-treated studio environment, it’s likely that your room is going
at the same time as the project – rather, we want to swap between to colour the sound quite a bit. This means that we can’t completely
them. To facilitate this, mute the AB1 track. Now you can swap between trust our ears, which is where SPAN comes in handy. Insert SPAN on
hearing your project and the comparison track by clicking the AB1 your master buss and bring up its interface. Now when you play your
track’s Solo button. track back, you’ll be able to see as well as hear it!
5 6
Click the Edit button to bring up SPAN’s analysis parameters. Play It’s a good idea to use several comparison tracks so that you can
your project back and sweep the Avg Time (average time) knob to ensure your project sounds right. You want to make sure that each
see the effect that it has on the spectral analyser display. A setting of part of the frequency spectrum peaks at roughly the same level on the
about 300ms gives us a quick response without being too fast to display. You can band-pass filter the audio by holding Ctrl/Cmd and
decipher. Copy this instance of SPAN onto the AB1 track – now you can dragging on the spectral view. This is helpful if you want to hear what
compare the frequency response of your track with the other one. sounds are sitting in specific areas of the frequency range.

Hearing is believing
The human ear may be amazing, but
it wasn’t designed as a bespoke tool
for mixing music, and thus it needs
to be trained for this purpose. If
you’re a novice producer, you might
have a good idea of what you want
to hear in your music in terms of
ideas and content, but its hard to
gauge whether what you’re hearing
in your studio is punchy enough, or
whether the frequency balance is
right. This is where A/B-ing
becomes invaluable. Sure, simply
listening to dance music of a similar
genre on your studio setup is a great
idea, but the ear has a short
memory. To really compare your
work effectively, you need to have
as short a break between listening
to your project and your
comparison tracks as possible,
which is why the procedure
suggested in the previous
walkthrough, allowing you to
instantaneously switch between
tracks, is so useful.
Another helpful practice for
dance music producers is to have a
DJing session, mixing up a bounced
version of the project in progress
with other tracks of the same genre.
If you don’t have any DJing kit
yourself, don’t worry – it can be
done in your DAW or via dedicated Mixxx is a great freeware DJing tool that offers many of the same features as its commercial rivals
DJ software such as the freeware
Mixxx. This can be downloaded in
PC, Mac and Linux formats from
www.mixxx.org. Putting your
tracks in the mix will help you
quickly identify a range of different
problems, including mixdown and
arrangement issues.
difficult for the sounds you’ve used to sit it simply wasn’t worth their time taking to
together well. In such cases, you might find that “Often it’s quicker to completion, because the ideas weren’t strong
correcting the error quickly improves the sound enough. By abandoning a track that’s never
of the track, though sometimes changing one
element will cause a domino effect, where you
come up with a new going to work, you free yourself up to spend
time on something that might.
end up having to adjust one part after another
to make them all fit – essentially sending you
musical idea than it is The final positive side to binning a project is
that you won’t be tempted to send it out to DJs
back to the starting point of tuning and and other producers. Sure, it’s possible that a DJ
balancing the drums. This is why it’s important to fix one that’s not or label could have taken a shine to it, but do
to get this stuff right from the beginning: it’s a you really want anything less than your best
lot easier to work on the drums solo rather than
within the context of a fully constructed mix.
working out” work out there? Once a track has been released
into the world, it’s practically impossible to get
rid of all evidence it existed, especially if a label
Waste not, want not abandoned – but even in this situation, there are puts it out. You might wish you’d kept less-than-
If you can get the beats sounding good but the still positives you can take away. If the project stellar tracks to yourself when they’re taking the
musical ideas on top of them aren’t working, failed because of lacklustre beats, learn from shine off your Beatport artist page!
you might want to consider ditching the latter. your mistakes and make sure you don’t allow Even worse, if a track is really bad, it could put
The drums are always the most important part yourself to half-bake such an important element off whoever you sent it to from listening to any
of a dance track, so it’s worth salvaging them if of the track next time. If the project was an more of your work. You don’t want to get
you can, and often it’s quicker to come up with a interesting idea that you simply couldn’t make yourself into a situation where you never send
new musical idea than it is to fix one that’s not work, take heart in the fact that you gave it your out anything, but it makes sense to leave tracks
working out. best shot and tried something a little different, for a few days before reviewing them, so that
The worst-case scenario is that you feel rather than just repeating the same formula you can assess them in the cold light of day. This
you’re unable to salvage anything from a track, over and over. Many successful producers have will give you the best chance of making an
and the project should be completely folders full of unfinished tunes that they realised objective judgement as to their quality.

DOWNLOADS
Log on to vault.computermusic.co.uk and select Computer Music issue 63
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COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 3

58 SIDECHAINING FOR IMPACT

66 MASTERING THE STEREO FIELD

31 MIXING AND MASTERING FOR 94 FIX YOUR MIX

43 TUNING AND EQING DRUMS

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 5

Width and depth

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Camo & Krooked

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: How does creating a dance track from the

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: How did you get into mastering?

: Did being an artist help to give you a

: What should producers look out for in

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 15

16 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 17

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: You work in a really wide range of dance

: Do you work with a clipper or limiter on

: With the Manix! record, how did you

: It’s sad to say, but house music seems to

20 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

: Do you use any visual referencing tools

: What headphones and monitors are you

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 21

24 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

It’s entirely possible to make music on a

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Once our sample has been taken, it needs to

26 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

audacity.sourceforge.net), launch it and set

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 27

Fig 8: Inter-sample peaks

28 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

when they peak at the same level is that they

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 29

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COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 31

The loudness war

32 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

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Don’t (always) believe your ears

This can be down to several factors, including

34 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 35

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Tony Blitz’s Local Talk EP is out now. Hear

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 39

40 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 41

Call 0844 848 2852RVPUJOHDPEFDNTQ# -JOFTPQFOBNQNBNQN4BUVSEBZT