90% of mixing is levels, EQ, and compression. Here’s some specifics used to hone the final 10% of this track.
Weak spots identified with corresponding enhancements listed below:
Important sub bass elements not cutting through mix
- duplicated each sub bass track into an original version and hi copy
- used high pass filter on hi copy to cut out all bass frequencies
- added distortion and stereo widening to hi copy track and blended it back in with original sub
- This move helped make the center of the mix feel less claustrophobic throughout
The initial writing stage left some areas of this song thin
- Additional instrument layering
- Added new keyboard melody ~0:50
- Replaced drum break ~1:32 new one, kept a few slices of the old one to pop through at times
- I didnt change the tempo from from 76 bpm to 52 for the double time parts. This became a problem when trying to audition drum breaks in real time. The align beats to project function stretched everything out slower when they really needed to be sped up. Not sure if there’s a double time preview button but I can’t find one.
Phase issues with main piano sample, also sounds panned left by default
- used a multiband imager to pull low frequencies back toward the center
- Using a stereo distortion plug in with the mix knob kept around 15%. Just enough to add some harmonics that balanced the sound without changing its character