Bus compression is one of the most powerful tools for gluing your mix together and giving it that professional sound. What some producers don't realize is that bus compression can also be used to create a deeper, more 3-dimensional mix. When we use bus compression to create more depth, it becomes what I call pocket compression. Just like you carve out pockets with EQ to create space; with bus compression you can intensify and shape these spaces into what are called 'dynamic pockets'. In this book I will be showing you how to use bus compression to bring instruments together, as well as push them apart. This will allow you to easily create the professional separation and harmony your mixes deserve.

What if there was a simple way to give your mixes a professional sound before doing any real mixing. What if you could add instruments to a session and have them automatically sound like they belong. In The Bus Compression Framework you''re going to learn a big secret that mastering engineers keep to themselves. We''ve all had the experience of mixes sounding dull, lifeless and flat. For me this hadn''t been a problem for years, but I never really gave a second thought to how I solved it. That''s because after setting up this system I never really had to mess with it again. It wasn''t until I showed a student how to do this that I realized how powerful this system really is. I remember trying to help my student who was going through the phase of overly clean mixes. As it goes with overly clean mixes, his mixes were so clean, they were lifeless and sterile. I showed the student my bus compression setup--the exact numerical values, everything that I explain in this book. A couple days later he sent me an email with the before and after versions of his track. The difference between them was night and day. I was convinced he had gone through and remixed the entire track, but when he told me "No, all I did was use the formula you gave me, and oh ya, I cut a little from the pads," I was blown away. Now this student''s mix had been so clean that it had a glaringly digital feel to it. If the prescription wasn''t more cowbell then it was certainly going to be more additive EQ. Yet here he was following my 5-Bus setup and getting divine results and STILL feeling the need to EQ cut more from his mix. That was pretty much the moment I realized I had a pretty cool technique to share with you. By using the set and forget techniques inside the Bus Compression Framework you''ll achieve the kind of rich and vibrant analog sound we typically associate with expensive mastering. Not only will your mixes sound richer and more vibrant, but the 5-bus setup I''m going to show you will literally multiply the space and magnitude of your mixes. The Bus Compression Framework does this by using a combination of restrictive and open compression settings to create more contrast within your mixes. As you increase the amount of contrast in your mixes you get increasing levels of perceived depth. But like anything, if you utilize too much contrast you''ll end up with a poorly balanced mix that sounds all over the place. What''s awesome about this technique is that it''s a step by step formula for guaranteeing your mix has a professional sound. Now not all mixing is formulaic, but my students have said that the formulaic techniques in this book coupled with The 3-Space Reverb Framework literally upgraded the sound of their mixes by leaps and bounds. Not only will your mixes become more expansive but instruments will play together like they were meant to. Now when I say this technique gives your mixes a perfectly analog sound I mean all the benefits of analog. That means you get the organically pleasing sound of analog while avoiding the pitfalls of emulating analog within a DAW. It''s easy to tell when people fail at emulating analog. Their mixes are too colored, overly murky and they lack detail because they''ve used too much saturation. If you keep adding harmonics everywhere then they''ll eventually clog up your mix. As you read this book, I''ll be showing you how to infuse your mixes with analog richness while also maintaining the type of clarity expected from modern recordings. By using The Bus Compression Framework your mixes will naturally come together. Mixing will feel much more organic and you''ll actually have fun mixing instead of feeling like you''re solving problem after problem. Now if you want an immediately professional, radio ready sound, then pick up your copy of The Bus Compression Framework.

The 2nd Edition of the #1 Amazon Best-Seller For Home Studio Musicians Looking to Skyrocket Their Mixing Skills...Learn a Proven Step By Step Mixing Process That's Helped Thousands of Musicians Like Yourself Make Amazing Mixes in Their Home Studio, Using Only EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay, and Saturation"This is the NO BS guide to taking your mixes to the next level! Björgvin has been teaching and writing about recording for a decade, and really understands that stuff that we all struggle with in the home studio. Step By Step Mixing takes you through the full process of making sure your mixes rock from ruff to radio ready!"-Lij Shaw, Award winning Producer and Podcaster of Recording Studio Rockstars Let Me Ask You This: Do you fight to make all your instruments fit together in a busy mix? Do you struggle to EQ each instrument to sit in their frequency range without getting in the way of everything else? Do you tear your hair out finding the right compression setting for each track? Do you have a hard time using reverb and delay without cluttering up your mix? Do you get confused by saturation and how to use it to get a warmer sounding mix? If you answered yes to one of those questions - don't worry - you're not alone.If you want to make better mixes immediately in your home studio that translate to every speaker system, whether you're working on demos for your band of mixing records for your clients, grab Step By Step Mixing right now.Here's What You'll Learn Inside: Learn to get organized and simplify your mixing process to create more mixes that sound better in less time Learn practical EQ tips to make all of your instruments fit in your mix Learn to use compression to create punchy and tight mixes Learn to use reverb and delay to add space and depth to your mixes without cluttering up the song and making yourself sound like an amateur Learn everything you need to know about saturation to add that secret sauce to your songs that make people take notice of your skills Learn an invaluable process to getting your mix to translate to any speaker or sound system Step by Step Mixing covers the theory behind each processor while giving you simple to use, practical audio tips you can use to improve your mixes.Every chapter is broken down as such: Explanations on the theory behind what the plug-ins do and how to use them: You'll get a thorough walkthrough of the various regions of the frequency spectrum. You'll understand exactly how to use your compressors. You'll learn all about the various reverb and delay settings (some reverbs are just too complex!) and you'll get very familiar with using saturation (without overloading and distorting your mixes!). Common Problems and Their Practical Solutions: After you understand how each processor works we'll talk about some real world scenarios. I'll give you some practical and easy to use tips to make your mixes jump out of the speakers. Once you've mastered these five processors above you'll be ready to make a killer mix in your home studio, whether you're working on demos for your band or mixing records for your friends and clients.Step By Step Mixing is For You If... You're exhausted with your trial and error process that keeps you second-guessing yourself about whether your music sounds any good. If you're tired of individual tricks and wished you had a clear set of instructions on how to make your mixes sound like the professional records you love so much, then Step By Step Mixing is your clear and concise reference guide for better sounding music in your home studio. Add Step By Step Mixing to your cart and get better mixing results immediately.

With audio and image files accompanying all the examples, this book demystifies the technical and creative processes involved in mastering the confusing subject of drum layering.

Discover how to achieve release-quality mixes even in the smallest studios by applying power-user techniques from the world's most successful producers. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is the best-selling primer for small-studio enthusiasts who want chart-ready sonics in a hurry. Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 160 famous names, this entertaining and down-to-earth guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and "fairy dust" effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use. ▪ Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. ▪ Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. ▪ Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Michael Brauer, Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Tom Elmhirst, Serban Ghenea, Jacquire King, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Noah "50" Shebib, Mark "Spike" Stent, DJ Swivel, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, Young Guru, and many, many more... Now extensively expanded and updated, including new sections on mix-buss processing, mastering, and the latest advances in plug-in technology.

Audio production is an incredibly rewarding craft. To take the raw, basic tracks of a fledgling idea and shape them into one glorious stereophonic sound wave is an amazing feat. The transformation from analogue to digital dominance has brought many advances in sound quality and new techniques, but producing digital music with only a standard computer and DAW can be problematic, time-consuming and sometimes disappointing without the right approach and skills. In Template Mixing and Mastering, renowned mix engineer Billy Decker tackles the challenges of in-the-box production through his innovative template approach. He shares his passion and knowledge from over twenty years of industry experience, including an introduction to templates and a step-by-step guide to their set-up and a discussion of drum replacement technology. Channel and setting information for each of the drum, instrument and vocal sections of his template is discussed along with the master channel and his methodology of mixing and mastering. Finally, he gives professional advice and best practice.

Reverb is one of the most important processors to know how to use. It's responsible for creating the entire perception of space in a mix. Without the organic sound of reverb, mixes would sound flat and lifeless. When I first started using reverb, I had no idea what I was doing. There were tons of presets to flip through, and I felt like I had to tweak everything about them. This led to lots of confusion and I ended up using reverb too much, or just avoiding it because I just wasn't confident I'd get what I was after. It took me years to discover the correct way to use reverb and the 3-Space Reverb Framework is the result of that. This reverb framework is deceptively simple and it works because it's the answer to how and why we use multiple reverbs in a mix. It's the answer to how we configure reverbs together. The framework tells us that different reverb types take up different amounts of mix real-estate. Once we know how to manage our mixing real-estate with reverb then it becomes much easier to achieve bigger, cleaner sounding mixes. This book will help you learn how to use reverb so that your mixes become more detailed. It will help you learn exactly how to combine reverbs together, and most importantly it will help you effectively shape and create the environment of your mix so that it sounds exactly the way you want.