hey man! i have a question, in your gain staging video you said that none of the plugins should exceed -15, but then I get here and the sub is at -13, is it that the sub is an exception or something else? i just have that boubt thank you I love how you explain!
@@nielsen5730 Hi, sorry for the late reply. There are no exact levels. You might want to aim for -15 or -8.. It doesn't really matter, the only thing that really matters is that you don't clip. As you keep adding more channels, you might end up going above 0 dB on the master channel, so keeping the levels quiet is generally better than keeping them too loud. But let's say you gain stage everything to -8 dB and you end up going above 0 dB on the master when you have lots of channels. You can then simply turn down the faders, so again, there's no harm done. :)
I don’t know if you check the comments, but I’m watching this seven years later multiple times a day and it does help me. I don’t really know what I’m doing but I really enjoy making dubstep music and you’re tutorials have been the cleanest, most precise tutorials on youtube that make the most sense to me even with learning disability’s. Your tutorials are straight to the point exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for all your hard work.
If you`re reading this and want to start mixing yourself from Zero - THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE for you ! Mannn.... i`ve been seeking for weeks now some basic mixing explanations. Half were so technical and others were very precise to actual track with no understanding of what is mixing and how should it be done for beginners. I watched this video this morning on my way to work and wow. this is it. finally got to understand it. Much appreciated. Thank you so much man (don`t know your name...but thanks :))
To be completely honest... i studied music production at a private school and paid a shi* load of money for it, but these RU-vid tutorials from FireWalk are like a hundred times clearer explained and better structured than my shitty school :D Anyway... I'm really happy that i've found these tutorials and i highly recommend them over a 16k€ education. They're for free and really really good. Like, subscribe and thank this man, guys!
I've only seen part 1 and 2 and my mind is already blown away. There's so much to learn just by seeing you keep the levels at -6 AT MOST. No wonder I get ear fatigued after a single session lmao
Man, I think the note at 11:36 is possibly the most important note in this entire series for me. I’ve spent so long in a personal mental loop thinking on the one hand “never solo thing outside of the mix because the levels will need adjusting after” and other other hand “adjust levels before the mix and EQ after” but I think the correct answer is levels first, EQ, mix, levels, EQ, mix etc. but always levels/ gain-staying first! Thank you so much!
Your a GOD SEND. I MEAN WHY GO TO SCHOOL WHEN YOUR TEACHING US. THIS KINDA STUFF. THE PRACTICE JUST COMES FROM OUR PART. WE HAVE TO BUY OUR OWN EQUIPMENT, WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE EXPERIENCE. WE JUST NEED THE GUIDE TO HELP US TURN OUR AMATEUR WORK INTO PROFESSIONAL WORK. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤love ❤YOU SO MUCH ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
You're a fucking lifesaver man. I was almost about to give up making music because I just couldn't figure out what made my tracks sound shit. You sir, and program Span. I love you. And when I make it big, I will personally hand you 10 million dollars.
Video after video on youtube has just been a bunch of people teaching stuff that they dont even understand the principles behind. Its taken me 3 days to find someone that can teach this stuff effectively and thoroughly. I was about to quit and find a job. Superb content firewalk.
Thanks! Glad you found it useful. This was actually the whole reason I started making these videos in the first place. A friend of mine was having the exact same problem you just described, so I decided to start making short, simple and straight to the point videos with no babling about my life etc. People (producers) just want to know whatever they need to know as quickly as possible, and then get back to producing. :)
Thanks, that was my aim all along, to make tutorials that was short and straight to the point, while at the same time containing all the necessary information. :)
Mixing is definitely one of the new things I need to learn. I have a track I'm working on and I tried to mix it by ear but it seems that my personal decisions while mixing are not so good. I learnt about LUFS metering and decided I'll go through all my tracks and make sure they all reach about the same levels in LUFS and maybe one will say this is not a good method but it helped a lot. Mixing and mastering are very complex yet captivating subjects. Thank you for this tutorial. So to summarize Gain staging at any dB (per video it was what -12, 16, 18 I don't remember watched in several times ^^') Setting the kick a bit louder per video -8dB Setting the subbass 3 to 10dB lower than the kick Putting the Hat at same level as Kick This should form a valley Basically making the rest fit in between so that the end result looks smooth in the spectrogram.
Hey Max! Thanks a lot! That means a lot coming from you. I'mm a huge trance fan myself. I fell in love with the sound instantly, as it evolved from the late 90's. I have watched most of your videos and they are truly awesome! Your channel is probably the best place to check out for aspiring trance producers I would say. :)
'This channel is all about quality. We're not here to waste anyone's time. We realized early on that music producers wan't to make music first and foremost. When they finally do go to RU-vid it's because they need to know something, and then get back to making music. If that sounds familiar, then this is the channel for you' 100% agree and that's why i tell my friends to use FL and look no where else but Firewalk for tutorial.
Thank you! Very much appreciated! We're a very small Channel still. We spend a lot of time on every single video, which is why it takes so long to get videos out. We're only able to release a couple of videos each month, but unlike some other channels we just don't just record videos on the fly and upload several times a week, we script and produce every single video methodically in order to get it as short, simple and valuable as possible. By sharing the videos with others you help us a lot, and for that we are grateful! Thank you :)
@@FireWalkMusic Yes that is the best thing about team FIREWALK that you guys don't compromise on quality. That is the main reason i have a lot of respect for this channel. This channel will surely grow. It kind of makes me sad to see such a good channel is yet to reach it's deserving level of subscribers, especially considering the value it provides to independent musicians and producers like us and for that i thank you guys from my heart. 😊
I suppose not :D The reason we grow slowly is because we upload max 1 video pr week. The major problem for us is that our videos are rather short. We always try to make it as short and to the point as possible. Unfortunately the algorithm is punishing us for doing that, and our videos are not recommended or boosted so much. RU-vid favors channels that upload many times a week, and it also favors longer videos that keep people on the platform longer. Watch time is everything. Videos that's more than 10 minutes long can have more than one ad, which means more revenue and more watch time overall. The longer a video can keep the viewer on the platform, the better. This is the reason why so many RU-vidrs purposefully drag out the time in order to make their videos longer. They start talking about their life, their dog or whatever.. We don't do that. As I've said many times before: We're not here to waste anyone's time, so we're going to keep making short and straight to the point videos. To hell with the algorithm :p
Ok so, I might be late to the party, but I just found your channel and it's helped me a TON! It also helps that your projects are in the same genre that I produce (trance/progressive trance) because it gives me an even better idea of the sound I should have! Thanks a bunch for having made these videos!!
Fall in love with your technics, i have been watching a lot of videos on youtube for more than two years but finally got a best Music Teacher THANK you very much🌹🌹🌹💐
the only way i could give this video a dislike is if its uploaded without audio, that being said, this series is so freakin good, im taking notes and learning so much in less than an hour compared to the amount of time i researched about mixing from other channels. Bless you FireWalk!
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Unfortunately the series is not complete yet, but I'm planning on adding more videos like this to it, covering all the major mixing techniques, ending with mastering. In the meantime, I have plenty of other videos showing how to mix sub bass, kicks and so on, so feel free to check those out as well :)
thank you for your kind instruction!! There aren't kind instruction like this in Japan. So I'm really glad to know such useful information! I appreciate so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi there. Thank you for your great work. One question tho: Are these tutorials focused on one particular genre ? For example, you said that the kick should be the loudest element in the mix, but is this rule also applied in pop music ? Many thanks and keep up the good work !
It's good to note that depending on the size and shape of your room, it may cause certain frequencies (also referred to as room modes) to be perceived as louder. It's possible to graph a frequency analysis of your mixing space using REW (Room EQ Wizard) by using a sweeping tone and a microphone with a relatively flat frequency response. This can help you become aware of problematic frequencies in your space, and mix around them. Nothing will beat a space made specifically for mixing, but having an awareness of your environment and using your ears can help achieve a decent mix in any environment.
You're welcome. While gain staging isn't always needed (if you know what you're doing) it sure can be helpful when it comes to getting a balanced mix. I find that if you start with for example your kick at a certain level, and you know that the kick is going to be the most powerful element in your mix, you can just leave it at that level, and then use it to center everything else around it. Just make sure to never adjust the kick volume if you go that route though. :)
@@projectanigma For the kick? That depends on the kick and the mix. You shouldn't compress a kick just to compress it. There has to be a certain reason for it. What many people fail to realize is that most kicks from quality sample packs are already compressed and processed, so they should be ready to use with just minimal tweaking in terms of EQ and such.
in gain staging you say to set everything so that it hits between -10 -15 and then reset the mixers, but that means there is very little room to increase the mix faders
Hey. I recommend using a limiter on the master to push the volume back up after gain staging. That way you can give yourself some more volume while wokring. After setting all the synths to the same level, you can start pulling mixer faders down. You typically don't want everything to stay at the same volume. Some things such as the leads will be very loud and up front, but other things will be more in the backround and much quieter. When a mixer fader is set to the standard position, that should really be the loudest thing in the mix. That said, it's no problem to use another setting if you'd like. if you want to set all the faders at 50% for example, that's fine too, and will have no effect on the gain staging. :)
Great, just awesome! Although I know the basics and some more I can always improve from learning from another person like you. I’m watching a lot of your video’s recently. The reason? To gain more knowledge but as most the fact you are also making Trance music!
Great tutorial! That animation in the background with the monitors, headphones and the car sums up my life perfectly! I can never get my mix to sound good everywhere! :\
Thanks! This is a classic dilemma. There are so many different sound systems out there from very low end to high end, and they all reproduce music very differently. Getting it to sound good on all of them is impossible. You can get it to sound acceptable on most of them if you do it right though, but it's hard.. My best advice is to check your mix on various systems often. Test it in your car, on earbuds, small Bluetooth speakers, on your cell phone, on your home stereo etc and then make adjustments accordingly. This is how I do it. It takes a lot of time but its worth it in the end. :)
Always a great to watch! Learned a lot from you!! If you have the time, could you create a video about limiting? And how to mix the transient so you can get loud without clipping when mastering?
I love you man. I am not that smart and have trouble learning. Your videos help me create better mixes. Can you post the song you were making in this video please? I like it.
Thanks, glad you find the videos useful. Unfortunately this is not a full track, it's just something that was made for the purpose of this video. I never did any more work on it.
Really good tutorials! Will you be doing a video explaining how to position vocal chops / vocals within a mix so that they are clear and don't get caught behind the rest of the track?
How come yt didn't show me this vid earlier? Idk when i subscribed but surely it's not a few days or something. This tuts were the best and much easier to understand. One question though. Is this applicable to any genre? I dont care about genre as long as the music and lyrics are good. Just want to know. Thanks and Godbless!
Hi, glad you liked the video. I've made these videos so that it's very generic. There will be some differences from one genre to another, but most if the advice given here can be applied to any genre. These are general mixing tips.
Excellent video! I have a quick question for anyone who can answer! You can see that the Sub-bass is set to a lower dB level than the kick in the mixer as mentioned in the video; however, in the metering plug-in, the sub-bass is clearly louder than the kick! What am I missing? Thanks!
Thank you for this amazing content mate.. one of the best channels that i've ever found... I am really struggling on creating Melodys and Arrangements.. i think a lot of people will benefit few tutorials on those subjects as well.. and again really appreciate these tutorials.. ♥♥
Thank you! Glad you liked the video :) I have a long list of tutorials I'm going to make, and song arrangement is on it. Hopefully I'll get around to making a video about that shortly. :)
Really happy to hear that.. and Thanks again for taking time to do these invaluable tutorials.. :) cause you're one of the few people who teaches "WHY" not only "HOW" you do things.. ♥♥
Hey I loved your content...plz make video on phasing and correlation metre..it always flops to the negative...and to fix this I always change my tone and sound of elements😰😰
More "how to mix" videos are coming. I just haven't had the time to finish the series yet. The next one will be about compression etc. I will definitely include one about panning, mono and stereo separation as well. :)
