Monday morning, the mix is callin'!

Actually, the mix isn't calling me because I'm relaxing at a ranch in Guadalajara, Mexico with some friends.

But that's no excuse not to help you out with some quick tips you can use in your mixes this week.

Whatever the genre, these mixing tips work on every mix, and they're so easy and effective you can use them right away.

1. Cut the kick between 300 - 400 Hz to reduce boxiness.
2. Use the gain reduction meter of your compressor to time the snare to the rhythm of the song.
3. Route the overheads to a separate group and compress the hell out of them. Blend them in for an aggressive drum sound.
4. For a livelier bass guitar sound that was recorded DI'd, use an amp simulator for the speaker effect to get the perception of the air movement of the cone.
5. Add synth bass underneath your bass guitar for a thick bass effect.
6. Filter the guitar until it starts to sound weak, then back it off to find the right balance of lows in your guitar tracks.
7. Use mono reverbs and pan them to the opposite side of the stereo field for a wider stereo image on your instruments. Don't do this with every instrument because you'll make everything wide, and then nothing will feel very wide in comparison.
8. Use side-chain compression on the guitar and vocals to make the guitar duck out of the way when the vocal is singing. Works especially well in a guitar-heavy mix.
9. For easy "automation" effects, just copy the phrase you want to manipulate to another track. It's often easier than drawing in automation.
10. If cutting a nasal sounding vocalist at 1 kHz doesn't work, mask the sound by boosting at 2 - 3 kHz.
11. Use an exciter on vocals as a last resort for dull-sounding vocal sounds.
12. Make sub-mixes with groups for an easier mixing workflow.

That's all for today. If you'd like even more in-depth mixing tips, my #1 best-selling eBook, Step By Step Mixing, is always available for a ridiculously low price. You can also get by other eBook, Better Mixes in Less Time, for only $1.

Check it out here:

www.StepByStepMixing.com

Björgvin