I'm not going to get into advanced mixing techniques in this article, but I will mention a few basic solutions for the most common major mixing problems we see daily.

We want your music to sound the best it can.  If you follow these tips they will greatly improve your mastering results!  And hopefully you'll use Big Label Sound Studio when you're ready to master your CD project!

1. Plug-Ins On The Stereo Out (Main Out)
For mastering jobs, NOTHING should be on your stereo out (main out).  No limiter, no loudness maximizer, no EQ, no spectral enhancer. This is our job in the mastering process.   We set everything where it's supposed to be. Then you tell us if you feel it needs a little more a less of something, and we can make adjustments.

2. The Songs  Peak Too High Or Have 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
The loudest part of your song (peak level) should be around -3db to -5db (below 0 level).  Note - Sometimes songs that peak at 0 level are fine, if it’s a quick hit (drum, hi hat, etc.) that’s peaking.  But it’s better to submit below 0 level mixes to begin with, since there’s really no benefit for you to come in hot.

Never let your levels go over 0db on the stereo out (main out) meter, AND never go over 0db on any of your individual instrument tracks or vocal tracks in the mix. 

Sometimes we receive songs that do peak under 0db, but the vocals or parts of the music are distorted because the "individual tracks" were mixed at +3db (over 0db).  Nothing should ever go over 0db on any channel of your entire mix.

The reason we need the level lower than 0, for example, is because if a song requires a frequency boost and phase correction, it can’t be done if you’re already at 0 level.  We can’t boost or phase correct anything!  You're already maxed out.

We get so many over level submissions, I've decided to show graphics of what your .wav/.aif file should look like.

This .wav file peaks at -6db.  A little low but just fine.  We can work with this.

This .wav file peaks at -3db.  This is great.

This .wav file peaks at 0db, but is fine because there are no distorted flat
spots in the wave.  The high hats are hitting at 0db and everything else
drops down, leaving good dynamic range.  We can work with this.

This .wav is +3db over level.  All the flat spots you see are distortion.  You can't
just jack up your levels past 0 and distort everything to make your song louder. 
It doesn't work that way.  Do not submit a file that looks like this.

Once a week, we actually get at least one file (or entire CD) that looks like
this!   Let's call this the "trainwreck file." +6db over level and totally distorted
from beginning to end.  We can't do anything with this.  No one can!

This is an interesting file. We get this quite often too. It's the "trainwreck file"
above, gained down -9db. It's completely distorted, but its -3db under 0 level.

A file where the mixer channels are over 0 level, but the main stereo out
is -6db, would look exactly the same.

We can't use this either. Once your song is
distorted and over level, you can't just gain it down. All you're doing is making
a distorted file quieter. You have to be under 0 level on the stereo out, and on
all the mixer boardchannels when outputting the original .wav file. Unfortunately,
many times the recording studio gives you the "trainwreck" file and you're stuck
with it. Gaining it down yourself does nothing.

DYNAMIC RANGE

As a song plays, the output meter constantly goes up and down.  Headroom (dynamic range) is the area between the peak level (when the meter is up) and the low level (when the meter is down).  Roughly, 3db to 5db of movement between the high and low meter level is good, but this depends on the genre of music.  With a compressed/limited or “over” 0 level mix, the meter will not go up and down more than 1db, if any.

The reason we need headroom is because compressed/limited and over 0 level mixes already have music content removed from them, which greatly limits what we can do with the song.  It would be comparable to a woman going to a hair stylist with 3 inches of hair.  The stylist would be “very” limit with what she could do.

4. Noisy Tracks / Boomy Vocals
Problem - There's a constant low end hum or high end hiss on an instrument track, or the vocals are too boomy.  This track noise eats up space, clouding up the entire song. And the boomy vocals interfere with the kick and bass clarity.

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 their noise by EQ high or low pass filtering the track.

Noise/hiss is easily noticed at the beginning and sometimes at the end of songs, when instrumentation is low.  It's not as noticeable when the meat of the song is playing.  The problem is, the noise is always present and is slightly clouding up your entire song.

5. 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 same low frequency range (50hz-75hz).  They're washing (phase cancelling) each other out and there's nothing we can do about it in mastering.  You won't be able to hear one or the other very clearly.  Then there's a blank space in the frequency range from 75hz to 500hz.  This area gives a song presence, but it's empty.

Solution -  When you initially arrange your songs, you have to assign if the bass or kick 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 in the correct frequency ranges for the job in the first place.

6. High/Sharp Instrument Becoming An Annoyance In The Song OR Vocals Have The Sharp Ssss Sound
When mixing, remember that after we master your songs, they will be a lot more clear.  There's no need to make higher frequency instruments (synth, violin, chimes, etc.) real loud.  You'll hear them clearly when we clean and brighten the mix up during mastering. 

If these instruments are still too bright after mastering, you can upload a new adjusted mix and we'll swap it out at no extra charge.

If the Sss sounds in the vocals is the least bit sharp before mastering, it will be unbearable after mastering.  Apply a De-esser to the vocal track if needed.  This can be applied after mastering if you miss this one.  Not a problem.

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