I'm not going to get into advanced mixing techniques in this article, but I will mention basic solutions for the most common major problems we see daily.  We want your music to sound the best it can after mastering. If you follow these tips they will greatly improve your mastering results!  (And hopefully you use us when you're ready to master your CD project!)

Note: Many times a client already paid a lot of money to a local studio for a cd full of songs that have some, if not all, of the problems below.  If this is you, we can still master your songs.  We have a lot of techniques that will make them sound "better" but depending on how bad the mix is, they may not sound "great."


1. The Songs Have Already Been Mastered, Peaks Too High, Or Has No Dynamic Range

There are two factors to consider when exporting your final mix for mastering.

A. Peak level - The absolute highest level the output signal reaches. 
B. Dynamic range - The range between the highest level and the lowest level of the output signal.

PEAK LEVEL
Most of the music we master peaks a -3db to -4db.  This is perfect.  We also get a lot of music that peaks at -5db to -6db.  This works fine too, but -3db to -4db is better. 

Never go over 0db on the master fader, AND never go over 0db on any of your individual instrument or vocal tracks.  We receive songs that are under 0db on the peak level meter, but the vocals are distored because the individual vocal tracks were mixed at +3db (over 0db).  Nothing should ever go over 0db on any channel of the entire mix.

DYNAMIC RANGE
What's most important when getting your mix ready for mastering is leaving some dynamic range.  When looking at the master output meter, a normal mix we get in might peak at -4db when the snare or kick hits, then drop to -7db or -8db for the rest of the song.  You have roughly 3db to 4db of dynamic range in this example.  If you have 5db or 6db, that's normal too. When you look at the .wav file this creates, it has nice peaks and valleys.

But sometimes a client compresses and normalizes the final mix and we get in a song that peaks at -0db and drops to -1db (or less), having only 1db of dynamic range.  Basically, the main output level meter never moves!  Since the transients of the intruments and vocals have all been cut off, there's nothing left for the mastering studio to work with.  The .wav file will look like a solid black line.  No peaks or valleys, just a black line.


2. Boomy Or Noisy Vocals/Tracks
Problem - There's a constant low end hum on the vocal track or the vocals are to boomy.  When we boost the low end of the song (kick and bass), the low end hum noise and/or boomy vocals are also increased in volume.  This interferes with the kick and bass clarity, and also limits the boost we can give them.  Sometimes one of the instrument tracks in the song is noisy or has a hiss on it.

Solution - Roll off the bass in your vocals.  Use a high pass filter on your vocal track anywhere from 150hz-300hz.   Move around in that range to see what sounds best.  This will eliminate most if not all of the low end hum, and unless you're singing like Barry White, you don't need that low frequency in your vocal track.  Look through your entire song for noisy tracks.  Sometimes the cause is a mic being boosted to loud during recording or an instrument is gained/boosted to much.  Find your noisy tracks and either eliminate them or reduce the noise.

Noise/hiss is easiest to detect at the beginning and at the end of songs, when instrumentation is low.  Then it's not as noticeable while the meat of the song is playing.  The problem is the noise is always present and slightly clouding up your entire song, especially your subtle reverbs.

3. Kick Drum And Bass Guitar Are On Top Of Each Other In The Frequency Range
Problem - Both the bass guitar and kick drum are in the low frequency range (50hz-75hz).  They're washing each other out and there's basically nothing we can do about it.  Then there's a blank space in the frequency range from 75hz to 500hz.  This area gives a song presence and nothing is there musically.

Solution -  When you initially arrange your songs, you have to assign which instrument is going to be low frequency (50-75hz) and which will be mid low (100hz-250hz).  If the kick is low, then the bass needs to be mid low (and vice versa).  This is just the basics.  You could also have a mid low violin, piano, etc.

Note:  This is probably more of an "arrangement" problem than it is a "mixing" problem.  You have to select the right instruments for the job.


4. Distortion In Song File
Problem - Parts of the song are distorted (scratchy).

Solution - One or more of the tracks in the mix are going over level 0, they're overloading.  Make sure that not only the entire song doesn't overload, but also each individual track.  You can visually see a distortion by looking at your .wav files.  If the top of the wave is flat, it was chopped off and will sound distorted.


5. High/Sharp Instrument Becoming An Annoyance In The Song
Problem - A high pitched instrument like a synth, flute, etc. is very loud in the mix after mastering is done.  If it's very high in the frequency range, we can usually EQ it out.  But sometimes someone will put in a synth track at about 3k that is very sharp.  If we cut it, we cut the vocals too.  So, we're stuck with this annoying sound.

Solution - When mixing, remember that after we master your songs, they will be more clear and not as dull as your hear them during mixing.  There's no need to make these sharp instruments real loud.  You'll hear them clearly when we clean the mix up during mastering.

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