Thanks for that, David. I made this vid a few years back now when I was first getting started with my mixing/mastering services. That has since grown into multiple records being produced and a different approach to mixing altogether. I do still treat my master buss in the mix, though. I've got something of a go to chain that has taken me a while to find and so far so good. Happy mixing!
Really interesting way to mix this top down method, I will try it for sure on my next mix. Great video, was thinking of buying the sub for the Slate plug-ins and I think your video convinced me! It sounded real good.
Thanks, MrNeehel! The Slate Digital stuff is pretty amazing. Every mix I've done since I signed up for the subscription has had some Slate plugins in them. I like the Virtual Tape Machine and Custom EQs on the mix buss. Definitely, give Top Down Mixing a go on your next mix. It's a great way to save on CPU while making you really think about your mix moves. I used to just start from the ground up, but this method just forces me to make better, smaller decisions that produce bigger and better results. Be sure to like/comment on my "How To Make Your Lead Rock Guitars Pop" tutorial. It's a quick one, but the first 20 likes/comments receive 20% off their next mix. Cheers!
i think of the master buss as my "studio sound".. i mix all my songs to stems and then import those stems where i "top down" mix.. and that master buss i create is the one i use for at least one complete project with tweaks here and there. once i have enough "tweaks" i create a new master buss thus a new "studio sound"
It sounds like you're just stem mastering. I also master tracks for some of my clients, and if they send me stems, it just allows me a little more flexibility to manipulate their tracks into what I think they should sound like. I prefer traditional mastering involving only a two track, and most times, my clients also feel like the two track is enough to get a good master. If you're mixing all your tracks down to stems, then importing those stems into a new session to work on the master buss, you are, in fact, stem mastering. Top Down Mixing is different though. You're taking your full mix, adjusting the level of each track to get a static mix, and THEN hitting the master buss with some light EQ and compression, just to carve out some of the stuff you know you're already going to cut out (i.e. 2kHz harshness, 500Hz room tone, etc). Then you do some more carving on your sub groups, and then whatever you need to adjust on the individual tracks. Starting from the top and finishing at the bottom is true Top Down Mixing. Try it out on your next mix if you've never done so in the past. Don't add any plugins on the individual tracks. Bounce multiple like tracks down (if you have two kicks, adjust the levels till you get a good sound then bounce them down to one kick, or multiple rhythm guitars to one track, but no plugins just yet), adjust levels, and start at the master buss. This approach forces you to HEAR the end result, giving you a vision to reach for. Let me know how it works out. :)
deanc2000 That’s a pretty fair statement, especially with the way reverb has come back in a big way in commercial releases. For this particular track, Chris had told me he wanted a bit of a drier sound so I kept the reverb off. If you listen to some of my recent releases, you’ll hear more reverb/delays on the vocals. I’m putting together a course that will teach a lot of beginners how to get a great sound right out of the box. Follow me on facebook and message me your email so you can be one of the first to know. 👍🏽
Hey, Ryan. That's a good question. Vibe is totally subjective, in that it's something that is different from one listener to another. I think the best synonym for "vibe" is "character". When I was in audio school, they made sure to teach us how to capture the cleanest possible audio when tracking as well as how to clean up audio within a mix, i.e. getting rid of all unwanted noise. However, noise gives character to your sounds, which also help differentiate them from other mixes. I'm talking about good noise, like the buzz of an overdriven preamp or the sound of saturation/distortion on a snare. All of these add up to what I call "vibe", which helps make your mix stand out. The next time you're working on a mix, take into account what instruments you want to stand out through the use of saturation and/or distortion. This can be achieved through console emulation plugins, driving your preamps a little hotter than usual, or the use of guitar pedals on other sources, like a snare or a kick. Get creative. Listen to tracks by The Black Keys or Queens of the Stone Age to hear how they use different methods of creating a vibe. Hope this helps.
TL Audio Mixing & Mastering good to know. I’ve probably been overusing saturation and distortion but it’s for me it’s harder to be subtle. thank you for the thoughtful reply
Thanks for commenting, man. It's fun engaging with viewers of my tutorials. It helps me learn what I should maybe cover next. Also, don't worry about overusing saturation and distortion. As long as it sounds good. Other ways of getting vibe/character going is through the careful use of compression to create movement in your tracks. Hope you subscribed. I'll definitely be posting more stuff in the near future.
Manuel Gasse Hey, Manuel. First off, thanks for watching the video. As for your question, YES! Plugin order is indeed very important. You need to stop and think about how one plugin will affect the way the following plugin will react to its incoming signal. For example, on the master buss, I will usually use a an EQ first before using my buss compressor. I’ll do this because I want the compressor to react to any boosts I’m making with the EQ. If I did it the opposite way, I’d be containing the track with the compressor only to make parts poke out again with the EQ. That doesn’t make sense to me, as the buss compressor is meant to even out the track. Harmonic saturation will usually follow the buss compressor because it doesn’t really add any level like an EQ would but it will enhance the sound. I used the VCC first in this mix because I wanted to recreate the build of a console as well as it’s sound, but that’s pretty much it. I still follow it with the EQ (which this particular EQ has some pretty soft and musical Qs so it works well on the master). Always think before you start choose your plugins about how one will affect the other. If you take a minute before placing them, you’ll start to learn how to create the sound you’re hearing in your head.
joe k That seems a bit harsh, especially when the band was kind enough to let me use it for the tutorial. I think a more diplomatic approach would have been to ask if there were any upcoming videos I a genre you’re more into. Also, when you work as an engineer, sometimes you’re going to get music coming in that you might not be 100% keen on, but you work with it the best you can to make something that sounded good sound better. It’s an important lesson to learn when it comes to working on music. 👍🏽 If you learned something, though (which ultimately I hope you did) I am putting a full on course together that will touch on techniques that can be used on multiple genres. Send me a PM on my Facebook if you’ve got a track you’d like to submit to be featured in one of the lessons. Thanks for your input. It’s good to know that I should change up the music to something a little more generally approachable. Cheers!
I'm sorry you feel that way, @000aleph but this is a tutorial, so it's going to be predominantly explaining my thought process when working on the master buss. I'll try to include more music in future videos. Cheers!
Thanks, I appreciate the answer. Sometimes I tend to forget that there are different needs from my own out there. Nevertheless, you might consider my suggestion, since all explaining is not worth much without showing how it translates into sound.
I'm definitely considering it. This was my first tutorial, so there's always more to learn. I'm looking to provide my viewers with solid content that will help them grow as mixers along with me. I remember listening back and thinking the same thing, but in the end felt alright with it as it was my first time doing this. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't yet. I'll be sure to follow through with your suggestion on the next one. ;)
Many thanks Tony. At last some proper tutorials.
Great tutorial, good pace and you explained everything really well. Thanks for taking the time 👍
Thanks for that, David. I made this vid a few years back now when I was first getting started with my mixing/mastering services. That has since grown into multiple records being produced and a different approach to mixing altogether. I do still treat my master buss in the mix, though. I've got something of a go to chain that has taken me a while to find and so far so good. Happy mixing!
Really interesting way to mix this top down method, I will try it for sure on my next mix. Great video, was thinking of buying the sub for the Slate plug-ins and I think your video convinced me! It sounded real good.
Thanks, MrNeehel! The Slate Digital stuff is pretty amazing. Every mix I've done since I signed up for the subscription has had some Slate plugins in them. I like the Virtual Tape Machine and Custom EQs on the mix buss.
Definitely, give Top Down Mixing a go on your next mix. It's a great way to save on CPU while making you really think about your mix moves. I used to just start from the ground up, but this method just forces me to make better, smaller decisions that produce bigger and better results.
Be sure to like/comment on my "How To Make Your Lead Rock Guitars Pop" tutorial. It's a quick one, but the first 20 likes/comments receive 20% off their next mix. Cheers!
i think of the master buss as my "studio sound"..
i mix all my songs to stems and then import those stems where i "top down" mix.. and that master buss i create is the one i use for at least one complete project with tweaks here and there. once i have enough "tweaks" i create a new master buss thus a new "studio sound"
It sounds like you're just stem mastering. I also master tracks for some of my clients, and if they send me stems, it just allows me a little more flexibility to manipulate their tracks into what I think they should sound like. I prefer traditional mastering involving only a two track, and most times, my clients also feel like the two track is enough to get a good master.
If you're mixing all your tracks down to stems, then importing those stems into a new session to work on the master buss, you are, in fact, stem mastering. Top Down Mixing is different though. You're taking your full mix, adjusting the level of each track to get a static mix, and THEN hitting the master buss with some light EQ and compression, just to carve out some of the stuff you know you're already going to cut out (i.e. 2kHz harshness, 500Hz room tone, etc). Then you do some more carving on your sub groups, and then whatever you need to adjust on the individual tracks.
Starting from the top and finishing at the bottom is true Top Down Mixing. Try it out on your next mix if you've never done so in the past. Don't add any plugins on the individual tracks. Bounce multiple like tracks down (if you have two kicks, adjust the levels till you get a good sound then bounce them down to one kick, or multiple rhythm guitars to one track, but no plugins just yet), adjust levels, and start at the master buss. This approach forces you to HEAR the end result, giving you a vision to reach for. Let me know how it works out. :)
thanks for the feedback.. so i did some "rough mixes" in the top down fashion.. i'll know better when i really mix the song fully
Good stuff Tony
Thanks, Kenneth! Glad to contribute what I've learned thus far.
i also use slate plugins.. the everything bundle is awesome!
Currently really digging Verbsuite!
You area an awesome teacher! Easy to understand and follow :)
i realize Im kinda off topic but does anybody know of a good website to watch newly released tv shows online?
@Gavin Jesse I use FlixZone. Just google for it =)
@Gavin Jesse I watch on Flixzone. Just google for it =)
How about putting some reverb on the vocal?
deanc2000 That’s a pretty fair statement, especially with the way reverb has come back in a big way in commercial releases.
For this particular track, Chris had told me he wanted a bit of a drier sound so I kept the reverb off. If you listen to some of my recent releases, you’ll hear more reverb/delays on the vocals.
I’m putting together a course that will teach a lot of beginners how to get a great sound right out of the box. Follow me on facebook and message me your email so you can be one of the first to know. 👍🏽
Thanks for the tutorial. How would you define vibe?
Hey, Ryan. That's a good question. Vibe is totally subjective, in that it's something that is different from one listener to another. I think the best synonym for "vibe" is "character". When I was in audio school, they made sure to teach us how to capture the cleanest possible audio when tracking as well as how to clean up audio within a mix, i.e. getting rid of all unwanted noise. However, noise gives character to your sounds, which also help differentiate them from other mixes. I'm talking about good noise, like the buzz of an overdriven preamp or the sound of saturation/distortion on a snare. All of these add up to what I call "vibe", which helps make your mix stand out.
The next time you're working on a mix, take into account what instruments you want to stand out through the use of saturation and/or distortion. This can be achieved through console emulation plugins, driving your preamps a little hotter than usual, or the use of guitar pedals on other sources, like a snare or a kick. Get creative. Listen to tracks by The Black Keys or Queens of the Stone Age to hear how they use different methods of creating a vibe. Hope this helps.
TL Audio Mixing & Mastering good to know. I’ve probably been overusing saturation and distortion but it’s for me it’s harder to be subtle. thank you for the thoughtful reply
Thanks for commenting, man. It's fun engaging with viewers of my tutorials. It helps me learn what I should maybe cover next. Also, don't worry about overusing saturation and distortion. As long as it sounds good. Other ways of getting vibe/character going is through the careful use of compression to create movement in your tracks.
Hope you subscribed. I'll definitely be posting more stuff in the near future.
How do you determine plugin order ? Is it very important ?
Manuel Gasse Hey, Manuel. First off, thanks for watching the video. As for your question, YES! Plugin order is indeed very important. You need to stop and think about how one plugin will affect the way the following plugin will react to its incoming signal.
For example, on the master buss, I will usually use a an EQ first before using my buss compressor. I’ll do this because I want the compressor to react to any boosts I’m making with the EQ. If I did it the opposite way, I’d be containing the track with the compressor only to make parts poke out again with the EQ. That doesn’t make sense to me, as the buss compressor is meant to even out the track. Harmonic saturation will usually follow the buss compressor because it doesn’t really add any level like an EQ would but it will enhance the sound.
I used the VCC first in this mix because I wanted to recreate the build of a console as well as it’s sound, but that’s pretty much it. I still follow it with the EQ (which this particular EQ has some pretty soft and musical Qs so it works well on the master).
Always think before you start choose your plugins about how one will affect the other. If you take a minute before placing them, you’ll start to learn how to create the sound you’re hearing in your head.
This song made it hard to watch...
joe k That seems a bit harsh, especially when the band was kind enough to let me use it for the tutorial. I think a more diplomatic approach would have been to ask if there were any upcoming videos I a genre you’re more into.
Also, when you work as an engineer, sometimes you’re going to get music coming in that you might not be 100% keen on, but you work with it the best you can to make something that sounded good sound better. It’s an important lesson to learn when it comes to working on music. 👍🏽
If you learned something, though (which ultimately I hope you did) I am putting a full on course together that will touch on techniques that can be used on multiple genres. Send me a PM on my Facebook if you’ve got a track you’d like to submit to be featured in one of the lessons.
Thanks for your input. It’s good to know that I should change up the music to something a little more generally approachable. Cheers!
Wtf is this 😂❤
This is a tutorial for beginners who don’t know what Top Down Mixing is.
Thanks... but: too much talking. When I skip through a video and not once land on some music, I'm not inclined to watch the thing.
I'm sorry you feel that way, @000aleph but this is a tutorial, so it's going to be predominantly explaining my thought process when working on the master buss. I'll try to include more music in future videos. Cheers!
Thanks, I appreciate the answer. Sometimes I tend to forget that there are different needs from my own out there. Nevertheless, you might consider my suggestion, since all explaining is not worth much without showing how it translates into sound.
I'm definitely considering it. This was my first tutorial, so there's always more to learn. I'm looking to provide my viewers with solid content that will help them grow as mixers along with me. I remember listening back and thinking the same thing, but in the end felt alright with it as it was my first time doing this.
Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't yet. I'll be sure to follow through with your suggestion on the next one. ;)
000aleph - His talking was not only informative but necessary. “What” he is doing on his mixes is just as important as “Why”.