There are many elements that come together in a great contemporary mix, and space is without doubt one of the most important.
What do we mean by ‘space’? In the simplest terms, it’s clearance between musical parts in terms of frequency ranges and dynamics, as established using EQ, panning, sidechain compression and other basic production processes.
Without sufficient clearance and space, kick drums and basses can all too easily collide, to the detriment of the low end; vocals and synths end up fighting for dominance; and the mix in general becomes flabby, unfocused and messy.
Here’s 9 ways to help add space.
1. Don’t go too low
Are you a skilled piano player? Good – keep practising! But be careful that you don’t automatically double the bass notes you play down the octave. Sometimes that extra bass weight can be great, but sometimes it unnecessarily adds mix clutter.
2. The power of EQ
EQ is a crucial weapon in the fight against ‘mix bloat’, enabling you to make both ‘general’ and ‘surgical’ choices about which frequencies to enhance or cut.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing each frequency band as a chance to add more power, and you’ll probably remember those early EQ mistakes where, suddenly, you’ve boosted every band to make everything louder.
As a mix takes shape, however, weeding out unneeded frequencies is essential. The best way to do it is to seek out frequency overlaps and scoop out those bands from ‘less important’ sounds. For example, are the lowest notes of your pad interfering with the bass?
The bassline is probably more important than those low pad notes, so use an EQ to lessen their volume. Equally, are higher notes fighting the vocal? If so, you know what to do.
3. Don’t mix on heaphones
Panning can feel unrealistically extreme on headphones, and they don’t always give the realistic information required to make good decisions as to what’s over-complicating a mix.
Monitor through speakers by default and switch to headphones only for ‘zooming in’ on detail and stereo specifics. ……….
For more information, click here:
NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.
