When mixing your song, you'll sometimes want to expand the depth and feel of a track or the overall mix. There are certainly ways to do this and so we thought we’d share some common tips and tricks for making your mix sound bigger.
EQ Up Lows and Highs
Pull up an equalizer and boost the low end ever so slightly to add a bit of richness to the bass. Likewise, boosting the highs a touch can add more brightness and details. This works on individual tracks or a master track.
Layer Up
Adding more layers is one of the easiest ways to bring more texture and depth to your mix. If you work in a lot of samples, you can often copy and paste the MIDI data into a new patch. You can use different layers to bring out different aspects of the sound you’re looking for.
Like the rich lows on one piano, but prefer the crisp highs on another? Layer them on top of each other and let the best of each shine through. It’s also a great way to make your music sound unique.
Add Some Reverb
The right amount of reverb can add space and depth to your mix, especially in the low range. Experiment with different settings to find the sweet spot between depth and an “overproduced” sound.
808 Kick Drum
The legendary Roland 808 drum machine has been lauded for its deep kick drum pretty much since it was released in the 80’s. You can download samples of the 808 for free. Try adding an 808 kick layer to your drum track to see if it makes your kick fill out better. We bet it probably will.
Widen Your Stereo Image
Sometimes simply making your panning a little more exaggerated can make your stereo image feel a whole lot wider, causing a bigger perceived space for the listener.
Using these techniques when mixing can add a great deal of added fullness to your mix, which will translate well after the mastering process. The trick is to use them in moderation and to know when it’s best to use each one. Sometimes, less is more.
Make Pro Songs
There are 6 unique value-points inside the Sage Audio membership, so let’s go over each one so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
1. 20 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 20 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You’ll get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
2. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited mixing feedback so you can quickly improve your mixes fast.
- This is highly valuable - giving you access to a thriving community of mixing engineers who can provide you with feedback about what you can improve first before sending your mix to be professionally mastered.
3. Sage Audio University™ (SAU) — (Mixing and Mastering Education Platform)
- SAU is a modern audio engineering education platform that includes in-depth mixing and mastering course curriculums that match the new music industry.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from first-time mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout every course curriculum.
- SAU course curriculums include Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website, social channels, and portfolio for as long as you remain a member.
- Get first access to all future SAU course curriculums to continually build and refine your mixing and mastering skills as the industry evolves.
4. Sage Audio Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers that can provide you with real-world mixing feedback, discussions, mix competitions, networking, collaborations, and more.
5. 700+ In-depth Sage Audio Mixing and Mastering Videos
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content, Including:
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 58 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.