I always recommend keeping things simple.

Using subgroups in a mix can be a big help there.

This means routing the different elements of the mix into sub-mix buses instead of having everything go straight to the master output.

For drum&bass or dubstep music, start by splitting the mix in just three subgroups:

1. the drums
2. the bass
3. the rest

Adjust this setup to suit your individual needs. There are no rules here.

Using subgroups gives you an additional stage where you can add final EQ, compression or other processing before everything goes to master. You will also be able to adjust the levels even if you have volume automation going on the indivudual tracks, or even automate the subgroups themselves.

It doesn’t end there though! Some more advanced techniques you can utilize with subgroups include:

• side-chaining
• saturation
• sweetening/exciting
• parallel compression

Even the simpliest mix projects can usually benefit from the use of subgroups, so get practicing!

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Weekly Tip #28: Utilize Subgroups to Mix

What is your concentration span? Everyone has a limit.

Studio work is hard on the brain as it requires constant alertness, creative thinking and attention to detail.

Our ability to concentrate depends on a lot of things

• commitment
• enthusiasm for the task
• skill at doing the task
• our emotional and physical state
• our psychological state
• environment and distractions

When your thinking starts to feel saturated, stop! It’s a vicious cycle that needs to get cut.

Even a brief break helps, but it’s good to reload properly every few hours.

I like to go for a little walk outside. Fresh air is paramount to our ability to think, and switching the environment for a bit takes our thoughts elsewhere and let’s us gain back some perspective.

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Weekly Tip #27: Take a Break

Do you want your mixdowns to sound nice and loud?

Quite often with problematic mixdown projects I get, the trouble can be traced back to the arrange.

Very commonly there is simply too much going on.

The decisions you make in the arrange often affect your mix much more than any leveling, EQ, compression or other work you do “in the mix”.

E´ molto importante!

You must arrange in a way that supports your mix instead of creating problems.

• Avoid collision of frequencies in your main elements
• The busier the mix gets, the less dynamics it has
• Be smart with details – don’t make your ideas fight for attention
• Let it have space to breathe, give the listener a chance to take it all in
• Make sure the timing is good

Less is more.

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Weekly Tip #26: Arranging Is Mixing

I do a lot of reading on the web and it amazes me to think of the impact it has had on me, especially in the past couple of years. There’s loads of goodness out there but sometimes it’s hard to find, so I wanted to share with you here a few of the best, most impactful mindset related articles I’ve come across.

All of these articles have opened my eyes to new perspectives. They have pushed me forward in not only becoming better at what I do but also in leading towards a more defined and meaningful life.

They may or may not do the same for you, but I am certain they will raise questions and make you think.

These articles are not specifically about music, yet they have everything to do with it. Bear this in mind while reading.

Clicking the headlines will take you to the articles.

Do One Thing Well

by Leo Babauta (on Zen Habits)

Leo Babauta is full of wisdom and I’ve been reading a lot of his musings. This little piece of text really got me, as I can identify myself as someone who often has too many things going on.

Stop Being a Fucking Pussy

by Julien Smith (on In Over Your Head)

A brilliant rant on conquering your fears and reaching for whatever it is that you want. Real talk and a big wake-up call.

How To Make Money From Your Art

by Steve Pavlina

Pavlina takes you on a journey in this monster of an article. You might want to print this out as it really is a long read. I do not agree completely with everything he raps about, but it is serious food for thought and he is making valid points left and right. He keeps pulling up topics you will inevitably have to consider, sooner or later, if you aim for making a living with your music.

Firemen, Donuts and Meetings

by Seth Godin

OK this one little story didn’t actually change my life but I’ve read a couple of Godin’s excellent books and his thoughts have left an impression on me and given me a good push when I needed it. Godin keeps delivering the same, consistent quality stream of thoughts with his blog. This one is a quick read but you might just find yourself stuck reading more, and more…

Time is All We Have: 3 Ways to Increase Return on Investment

By Erin Falconer (on PickTheBrain)

“Everything you do is an investment of time.” This article works as a great continuum for the previous one by Seth Godin. The article offers great insight and three useful and concrete ways for making the best out of your most valuable commodity – time.

Have you read anything recently that left a big impression? I’m always looking for a good read so link me up in the comments.

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These 5 Articles Changed My Life

I often find myself coming back to old unfinished (and even finished) things and extracting bits and pieces for something new I’m working on.

Of course one should try to finish as much as possible, but reality bites and things get put to the side for various reasons.

I never delete anything I’ve started.  Sometimes I end up finishing a track years after I’ve started it. The puzzle suddenly comes together.

It’s good to routinely browse and listen to the old projects – I’ve noticed more often than not something good comes out of it.

Think of your unfinished projects as a library of sounds and ideas for those moments when you’re feeling a bit drained on ideas and inspiration.

Put that stuff to good use. This way you’ll feel your work on those projects was not wasted!

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Weekly Tip #25: Recycle Old Projects

I keep receiving many great questions from you peeps through email, Facebook, Twitter and AIM. I do try to take the time to address each and every one personally.  From now on I will also be going through some of the questions anonymously here on the blog every once in a while, so that everyone can benefit.

I realize some of the content on the website can be a bit too advanced for beginners, and there are definitely times my delivery doesn’t meet the standards.

So whenever you feel baffled by something, feel free to ask for clarification. Don’t be shy.

Hit me up any time from the contact page.

I would also like to encourage you to use the commenting feature on the blog posts themselves. Many times that is the best place to carry on the conversation around the topic.

Many thanks for sending in the questions.

Readers Questions January 2012

“What is your view on basic acoustic treatment (i.e. acoustic foam, bass traps) in a home studio? From the videos/pics I’ve seen of many DnB/Dubstep producers’ studios, there doesn’t seem to be much treatment (with the exception of Lynx). Also, do you have any more tips for studio/room setup, especially for hearing low frequencies.”

A

Basically from what I’ve seen people often don’t realize how big a difference proper acoustic treatment really makes. A lot of people are wasting the true potential of their great (and expensive) monitor speakers.

It’s like putting in the effort to go to the gym regularly but then forgetting to eat right. Makes no sense.

Here’s s a few quick tips for home studio and low frequencies:

• There’s never enough bass traps – the more you have, the more defined the low end gets. Get different ones to catch different frequency areas.

• Heavy couches and such objects will also help to balance the low end. You can fill the couch with sandbags or other material that is heavy and thick enough to absorb low frequencies.

• Experiment with monitor placement – this can have a HUGE impact. Same is also true for subwoofer.

• When people start to treat their rooms acoustically, a common mistake is to put foam and other absorbing materials everywhere which completely kills the sound in the room, makes the room sound unnatural and makes you feel weird.

• Especially don’t kill the floor too much! Some dampening can be a good thing but our ears/brain are used to hearing things with the echo coming from the floor. A wooden floor in the listening position is usually ideal.

• A lot of studios (including mine) are built around the idea that the front part of the room (near the speakers) absorbs and the back part of the room diffuses sound.

• Basic bass traps are quite easy and inexpensive to build on your own (I could do it and I’m no carpenter).

As it is really a too wide topic to go into in very much detail here, here are a few great resources:

• “Master Handbook of Acoustics”  - all you need to know and more.

• Studio building forum at Gearslutz – been a big help to me when building my studio.

• Sound On Sound magazine – they have a great article series on this topic called “studio rescue”.

“Is panning a single instrument to either the left or right only, going to cause problems on a club soundsystem?”

Simple left/right panning is usually safe (in terms of phase cancellation). What you need to be careful with is delay-based and “psychoacoustic” stereo effects. Some are mono-compatible, some are not.

One thing to keep in mind with panning is that the more you pan something towards the side, the quieter it will be when the mix is played back in mono. This can have an effect on the balance of your mix as a lot of club soundsystems work in mono.

It’s generally a good idea and standard procedure to keep all low frequencies mono, and the same goes for the body of the drums. If you plan to release on vinyl, this is an absolute must.

Whenever you’re mixing, take a minute every once in a while to check how your track sounds in mono. Listen to any changes in balance/levels when switching over from stereo to mono, as well as any possible cancellation of frequencies. This will give you some idea on how the mix will translate on a lot of club systems.

If you can make a mix sound good in mono, it will surely sound even better in stereo.

“For someone starting out limited budget, what would be your set up suggestion ?”

A

Of course everything should start by assessing ones needs and the individual situation, yada yada. But here’s what I would get if I was starting out now on a limited budget:

Computer: Apple Mac

Less hassle, get more done, trust me it’s worth the investment. If you really can’t afford it – a PC will do, but remember this is the foundation of your setup and you want to make sure it’s a good one. Everything depends on how well your system runs.

Monitoring: Behringer Truth B2031A

Not a huge fan of Behringer gear in general but these are great bang for the buck. They are often called the poor man’s Genelecs and for a good reason. I’ve worked on these for years in the past and I currently have a pair at my studio which I use for referencing.  They’re great for DNB and dubstep as their big physical size allows for a better bass response. With many of the other cheaper nearfields you would have to get a subwoofer for a decent bass response. With these you can do without. They’re big and HEAVY but very well constructed in my experience. I’ve dropped one from 1,5 meters on a doorstep. The outer shell broke but the monitor still worked fine. Current price (for a pair) at Amazon: 239.64 £.

Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

This is a brand new product from Focusrite and I have not used it yet personally. I would wait for the reviews before buying, but I trust Focusrite for quality and everything I read about this one (including the price) seems really nice. Plus it comes with a Focusrite plugin suite. Current price at Amazon:  119 £.

Keyboard: M-Audio Axiom 25 Advanced

I currently have the 49-key version at the studio as the main keyboard. Nothing to complain about. Well built, the keys feel good, nuff knobs and pads… The price is competitive, the whole thing feels very solid and everything works as it should. Current price at Amazon: 149 £.

Software: Logic Pro

There are many great sequencers out there, but with Logic’s price tag currently at ridiculous 149,99 €, this is a no-brainer to me. Besides the software itself, you get huge sound libraries.

Headphones (optional): Grado Prestige Series SR-80i

Great open ended headphones for when you need to keep down the noise or check small details inside the mix. Good headphones are a great addition especially if your nearfield monitors are on the cheap side or if your room acoustics is lacking. Current price at Amazon: 102.90 £ If you have money to spend, then consider the 125i’s or 225i’s.

Q“If I wanted mixdowns done by you would you want every seperate track or grouped into percussion, drums, bass, sub and FX?? every seperate track as I’m sure you know could be a few!”

A

It’s many times sensible to group things up a bit. It’s up to you really. Some people do like to send every single track separate.  Others send most of the stems grouped up. Either way works for me. If I need something more to get a specific job done I will let you know in any case.

Same thing goes for effects. You might want to decide to leave some in there that you think are essential to the track.. That’s cool, but you should be careful -  especially with compressors and limiters (it’s gonna be a mission if the dynamics are squashed out of the tune to begin with).

If you’re having doubts, the safe way is to send me two versions of a stem – one with FX (wet) and one dry. Just make sure you label everything clearly and provide me any necessary information/instructions.

“Do you finish every tune you start?”

Hell no!! This is something I have been working on and improving consciously but I always end up with a lot of unfinished bits. On the other hand I work quite fast and my output rate is pretty good, so I think it’s fine that only the ones I like the most are getting finished. I also tend to come back to old things and finish them even after years. Sometimes you just need to give it a bit of time.

I do find the finishing rate gets better when collaborating with someone. Working with another person gives you direction and makes you accountable – both of these can be crucial in pushing the project through to the finishing line.

To Be Continued…

This post is getting longer than I expected so we’ll get to some more questions next month for the sake of readability. Thanks to everyone who sent in their questions!

I want to make this a regular feature of the website, so in the meantime, send in YOUR questions! Use the comments below, or hit me up through Facebook, Twitter or the contact page.

Big up!

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Readers Questions – January 2012

A lot of people are willing to spend good money on monitoring but forget to work on the acoustics of their room.

Big, BIG mistake!

Yes, you should get good monitoring. But make sure your room stands up to it. Otherwise you’re just wasting the potential of your speakers.

Tightening up the acoustics will make a huge difference no matter whether producing, recording, mixing or mastering.

It is often said you should look at how much you spent on your monitor speakers and spend the same amount of money on acoustics. I think that is absolutely true.

That being said acoustics is more planning than anything and you can often get started (and achieve great results) with very little investment.

Especially when working with a home/bedroom type of environment.

If you want to learn more, here are a couple of brilliant resources. Pretty much all you ever need to know:

Master Handbook of Acoustics (by Everest & Pohlmann)

Gearslutz Studio Building / Acoustics forum

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Weekly Tip #24: Tune Up Your Room

Mixing on headphones is a mixed bag (lol)… Some people swear by it, some really don’t. I don’t like to mix on headphones personally, but good headphones are still an essential tool to have in anybody’s arsenal.

And no, your DJ headphones won’t do, no matter how expensive. Those are optimized for an entirely different thing – reproducing things (particularly drums) within loud enviroments. DJ headphones are far from ideal in studio enviroment because of their closed structure.

What you should be looking for is a pair of high quality open air headphones, such as the Grado SR series. My personal weapon of choice for years has been the Grado SR 225i.

Good headphones will enable you to “zoom in” really close on your sounds and mixdowns and hear things in great detail. This can be a crucial thing especially if your monitor speakers leave someting to desire for or if your room acoustics are a bit funky.

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Weekly Tip #23: Headphone Magic

If your monitor speakers are standing directly on the table, it’s time to sort this out. Monitors standing on the table can cause the table to begin to resonate with the bass coming from your speakers. This will degrade the sound coming from your monitors as the table sucks some of the bass energy – you easily start to lose definition in the low end.

Fortunately this is a very simple thing to fix. There are specially made isolation pads available – or you could come up with your own from any sturdy foam or rubber (even a mouse pad will help a great deal).

Place the isolation pad under your speakers and you will probably notice how the low end of your speakers starts to sound tighter.

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Weekly Tip #22: Isolate Speakers From Desk

This basic rule helps you to retain the natural characteristics of the sound when EQ:ing.

Cut to address problem frequencies. Use narrow Q. Aim for removing nothing but the necessary. If you cut too much or too wide, you start to lose the original character of the sound. When keeping the cut narrow, it will often remain largely inaudible to our ears.

Shouldn’t we boost narrow too, then?

It would sound like the logical thing to do, but funnily enough – for boosting it’s the exact opposite.

Narrow boosts create unnatural harmonics and timbres that our ears are quick to recognize as something that shouldn’t be there.

Most of the time you are much better off using wide boosts. This will again retain the original character of the sound – yielding much more subtle and natural results.

If you do decide you must boost narrow in any case, be extra careful. Any sounds that will hit your narrow boost frequency area will jump out over everything else.

Also keep in mind the tip from a couple of weeks back. It is the necessary foundation to getting any EQ right:

Weekly Tip #19: Get It Right at the Source

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Weekly Tip #21: Cut Narrow, Boost Wide