Category: Mixing

Drum Mastering

Drum mastering using parallel compression is a great way to mix tracks and to fix specific issues. Users are usually aware that when drums include a wide variety of elements, the impact produced in specific sounds is considerably lower. Producers know that one way to reduce this effect is by using parallel compression. Mastering Drums:…
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Stereo Width

Nowadays, electronic music masters frequently use stereo width to create a stereo image in their mixes. The context is that audio mixing is a dynamic process that is constantly evolving. Technology advances continuously appear, and musical trends are changing regularly. As time goes by, new mixing techniques emerge. Around 1970, stereo imaging became popular when…
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Mid-Side Technique

The mid-side technique is a very popular method within the music production universe. It helps correct the stereo sound image of a musical piece as well as its individual components. This technique adds wideness to particular sounds. You can fin it in most equalizers and as compressor devices. Nowadays, a wide variety of plugins can…
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Glitch Effects

Glitch effects became popular around 1980, when music producers started using DAT tapes to create splintered vocal effects. In the audio universe, a glitch is a temporary noise located in a file that and it sounds like a snap. After their first appearance, years later, hardware samplers with time-stretching alternatives appeared. Drum and bass producers…
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Mid/Side Processing

Mid/Side processing is a technique that processes stereo signals. Within this process, the signal has two mono signals. One of them is specifically for the left channel, while the other one is for the right. Although some signals might emerge from the center when creating a stereo signal, most of the sounds take place either…
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Nonlinear Processing

Digital audio processing implies nonlinear processing. The reason is that the latter’s foundation is in linear time-invariant systems. Many technical systems involve both linearity and time-invariance, especially those where input and output signals fix to a specific amplitude range. Many analog audio processing devices have nonlinearities, including analog effect units, valve amps, analog tape recorders,…
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Gain Stage

Gain stage is a term in audio engineering. It refers to the exact point, during the audio signal flow, when the user can adjust the level of any audio signal. Gain staging is a process that helps you to manage audio levels to eliminate distortion and avoid unwanted noise. Usually, it appears when each component…
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Parallel Processing

Parallel processing is one of the two main ways of adding affects to a chain. However, before delving into what it consists on, we need to explain its counterpart. Adding Effect to a Chain Serial Processing As mentioned previously, there are two main way of adding effects to a chain. The first approach is serial…
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Sidechain Compression

Sidechain compression, aka ducking, is an audio effect typical in radio, pop, and dance music. In this compression, the presence of an audio signal decreases the level of another audio signal. Radio achieves this effect by lowering the volume of the second audio track when the first one begins to increase the volume or when…
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Audio Panning

In audio, panning involves a moving action. An audio pan pot—short for panning potentiometer—is used in a mix to simulate the movement of a certain source from one side of the soundstage to the other. Ideally, timing, filtering, and reverberation differences should be present to complete the image of apparent movement within a specific space.…
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