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By the end of this 3 part video series, you should have a solid foundation on Limiting, Bus (Group) Processing, Clipping, and how to build a mixing/ mastering template to get your track loud and clear.
**Heads up, if you're new to mixing, check out the Mixing Essentials 101 Course to get a solid foundation on the core concepts shared in this Mixing Essentials 201 series.
Learn how to use this course - introductory video.
In this first video, we'll focus on the following topics:
How to get a louder, but clean mix
Dynamics processing and gain staging into your Main / Master (bus compression, creating headroom)
Limiting vs. clipping (when to use each, pitfalls to avoid)
Learn 3rd Party plugins to more quickly create your setlists and create the best possible DJ set. (includes special discount)
In this third and final video, we'll look at how to
- Balance the overall mix
- Use reference tracks to dial in our ears and make adjustments
- Export settings to get the song ready for streaming/ distribution!
Warping Songs in Live
Organize Clips in Scenes With Loop Bracket
Song Setup; Key and Tempo Transitions
Harmonic Mixing
Adding Tracks to Compliment Decks A and B
Editing Clips between Session and Arrangement
Use Ableton’s best effects and have more creative control while DJing.
MIDI Mapping; Launching Scenes
Using the Looper for Live Looping
MIDI Mapping the Looper & Other Effects
Clip Envelope Automation
Using Follow Actions to Trigger Clips
Saving Songs and Scenes to Use Later
Exporting Your Songs and Settings
Live Performance Workshop at Sweetwater
Live Performance Master Template
Controller Overview – Part 1
Controller Overview – Part 2
Record Ideas From Session Into Arrangement
DJing in Session View
Using Session Record Button
Recording Ideas Into New Clips
Installing Ableton Live
Intro To Live’s Interface
Intro To Live’s Browser Part 1
Intro To Live’s Browser Part 2
Saving Projects & File Management
Preparing Your Tracks
Organizing Stems in Live’s Browser
Grouping and Condensing Audio for Playback
Importing Stems; Adjusting Audio to Live’s Tempo
Adjusting Songs With Tempo Automation
Using Warp Modes
Intro To Session View
Editing Scenes & Looping Clips
Clip Transitions with Follow Actions & Key Mapping
Re-arranging Song Structure with Clips & Cues
Freezing & Flattening New Arrangements
Consolidating Time To New Scene
In this lesson, I’ll show you some tips necessary for creating a single Ableton Live project template to use for all your performances. Once you have a template prepared for your shows, it’s an easy drag/ drop process adding audio tracks to create a live setlist.
Once you’ve setup your individual songs across scenes to perform with, it’s easy to save them to later drag/ drop into a new Ableton Live set. This helps you quickly build new custom setlists for every show.
Live’s Clip Envelope feature is a powerful tool that is often underutilized for setting up a live performance.
Like many DAWs (Logic or Pro Tools) you can draw automation to control track and device parameters. Clip Envelopes, on the other hand, are snippets of automation that only exist within Audio or MIDI Clips themselves. Clip automation can be used to change a clip’s parameters and/ or the track parameters that the clip lives on.
Set up your live performances using hacks in Arrangement View as an alternative to Session View with flexibility.
Choosing The Right Audio Interface
Routing & Monitoring Tracks in Live
Setting Up In-Ear Monitoring
Reducing Latency
Setting Cues & In-Ears For The Band
There are tons of MIDI controllers on the market today used for live performance. The controller you decide to use completely depends on your needs.
Regardless of the controller you use, Ableton is compatible with nearly any controller on the market that sends a MIDI signal in/ out. I made a list below for several MIDI controllers I recommend performing live.
Live Performance Workshop at Sweetwater
Live Performance Master Template
Welcome to this course! Watch the video below.
If you have questions throughout this course or need help, I encourage you to post in the Discord Community HERE.
We'll use this mixing practice project throughout the course. I encourage you to practice all the concepts in this course using your own projects as well!
As you practice the concepts throughout this course, I recommend choosing "Save as" in Ableton Live, as you will continue practicing and ear training.
What is Signal Flow?
Signal flow is the order of operations a sound goes through. When you record an instrument, the sound goes through different stages before you hear it through the speakers.
Signal flow generally means how sound is processed (in order) through various devices and effects. (See the diagram below)
Understanding how sound is routed in a DAW is important to achieve your desired workflow. In the video below, we'll look at the basic signal flow in Live. These concepts can also be applied in any other DAW.
Common Terms To Remember:
Group (or Bus) - A Group (mix bus) is a way to send or “route” one or more selections of audio to a particular place. Buses (Groups) are useful for mixing multiple tracks together. In Ableton Live, you can can create groups (buses) inside of groups!
Return Tracks (or Aux) - An “Aux Send” is a type of output used on most live sound and recording mixers. The aux sends on a mixer work independently of the main mix output and give you the ability to route multiple input channels to a single output while leaving out channels you don't want to hear.
Aux tracks are useful for sending multiple tracks to the same effect, instead of adding the same effect across many tracks.
Pro Tip: When placing one of Live's audio effects on a return track, typically you want the Dry/Wet 100% Wet, otherwise you don't get the full signal using Send knobs.
In this video I'll share why referencing and acoustics are important to tune your ears for mixing.
If you're brand new to EQing, download this PDF to learn the different types of EQ and terms.
EQing in Live; The Basics
In this video, I share several EQing tips to help improve the quality of your overall mix using Ableton Live's EQ Eight and Channel EQ. We'll explore important workflows including....
The art of contrast; comparing instruments when EQing
A/B testing your EQ adjustments
Using Filters and cutting unwanted frequencies
The "sweeping technique" to search for harsh frequencies
* use headphones or speakers to listen throughout this course.
Now that we understand the basics of EQ and what it looks like in Live, let's start applying it to different types of instruments/ sounds. Apply the concepts in the videos below to your Mixing Practice Project. (Using the Crystal Lights project or one of your own projects)
Watch the following videos below to get an idea of how to EQ drums
Watch the video below to get an idea on how to EQ Bass.
Keep in mind, making moves EQing is NOT a 1 size fits all. Every sample or plugin preset has its own unique sound and frequency. These videos are to help you get a basic idea of where to start. Use your ears!
Watch the video below to learn how to EQ a variety of lead instruments.
By now you know that EQing is very subjective depending on the sound you're using, and how instruments fit into the overall mix.
Watch this helpful video below to avoid common EQing mistakes...
New to gain staging? Read this article (15 minutes) to get a better understanding of what it is and how it can be applied.
In the next video we'll look at a few gain staging tips in Ableton Live.
Now that we understand the concepts of gain staging and creating headroom with your mix, let's look at several ways to apply it using Live.
The difference between a sound’s loudest and quietest moment is called thedynamic range. This dynamic range is the main aspect of a sound, and we can shape or control it in various ways.
There are 4 basic types of processors used to control the dynamic range in music production/ mixing. These include:
Compressors
Limiters
Expanders
Gates
Each of these processors are able to affect the dynamics of a sound, controlling volume over time. Dynamics are a huge part of a sound's identity, so controlling dynamics is invaluable for producers/ mixing engineers.
In the next video we'll get familiar with compression.
A compressor is used to reduce a sound’s dynamic range—that is, to make the louder and quieter parts of the performance closer to each other in level (making a frequency's high and low levels more equal).
Why use compression?
One common reason is to control loud transient peaks, such as a singer that suddenly bursts out a high note, which could be harsh to the ear. Or controlling loud frequencies of a bass instrument. Or grouping and controlling the dynamics of multiple instruments playing together.
In compression, the dynamic range becomes narrower — the loudest peaks and the quietest parts have fewer dB of level difference between them.
Compression essentially causes very subtle distortion in a signal through its processing. The compressor does this by emphasizing certain harmonics based on how the compressor is hitting the incoming signal. It’s our job to make that distortion feel transparent and natural by using a compressor's settings.
Main settings on a compressor to remember:
Threshold - Level you set when dynamic processing begins. Sets the level in which the compressor starts working with the incoming signal
Ratio - Amount of compression that occurs once the signal passes above the threshold.
Attack - The initial amount of time the compressor will go from zero compression to full compression.
Release - The signal will eventually drop below the threshold, meaning compression will stop. The release time determines how long this takes.
Knee - Affects how a compressor behaves with signals near the threshold. Think of it as a narrowing or widening of the threshold point, smoothing out the transition of the dynamics.
Makeup Gain - As compression occurs, it's squishing the loudest parts of the incoming signal, it becomes quieter. The makeup gain turns up the volume of the output signal to compensate. You might see Auto Makeup Gain on some compressors.
Watch the next 2 videos sharing how I use compression in the practice project Crystal Lights. Then apply compression to tracksyou've been working on! I share a variety of compression tips in both videos...
Finally, there’s sidechain compression. This form of compression uses one instrument’s level over a threshold to activate the gain reduction (compression) on another instrument.
For example, you will commonly place a compressor on a bass track that reacts to the kick drum whenever the kick drum is hit. This method will ‘duck’ the bass out of the way each time the kick is hit, while still maintaining its overall level in the mix. Sidechaining is extremely valuable for preventing instruments in a similar frequency range from fighting each other!
Another use case of sidechaining might be creating "ghost notes", or inaudible hits of sounds, like on a muted track. You can assign these notes to a synth instrument on a separate track with a sidechain compressor on it, causing the synth to "pump" or move whenever the ghost note is triggered.
As mentioned in the video, download the Live 8 Compressor device HERE.
(I recommend placing it in your User Library after downloading)
What Is Parallel Compression?
With parallel compression, we take a small amount of highly-compressed audio and blend it in with the unprocessed audio...instead of applying a moderate amount of compression to the entire signal.
When used well, the effect allows us to get the best of both worlds: the punch and glue of compression, alongside the transients and dynamics of unprocessed audio. While there are no hard rules for what you can or should apply parallel compression to, the effect is popularly used in mixing to thicken, color, and add cohesion to large and prominent groups like drum and vocal groups (buses).
Oftentimes, compressors are placed on a Group (Buss) with the Dry/ Wet signal blended at 50% (or whatever you choose). Using a Return Track (Aux) is also common (Dry/ Wet 100% and blending with Send knobs)
In this video, we'll take a deeper look at the main parameters on limiters, how we can apply limiting to our tracks, and types of limiters you might consider using.
Click here to download the cheat sheet at apply it to your projects.
The rights of Users
Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by the Owner.
In particular, Users have the right to do the following:
Withdraw their consent at any time. Users have the right to withdraw consent where they have previously given their consent to the processing of their Personal Data.
Object to processing of their Data. Users have the right to object to the processing of their Data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. Further details are provided in the dedicated section below.
Access their Data. Users have the right to learn if Data is being processed by the Owner, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the Data undergoing processing.
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Have their Personal Data deleted or otherwise removed. Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of their Data from the Owner.
Receive their Data and have it transferred to another controller. Users have the right to receive their Data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the Data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on the User’s consent, on a contract which the User is part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
Lodge a complaint. Users have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.
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Where Personal Data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Owner or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner, Users may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection.
Users must know that, however, should their Personal Data be processed for direct marketing purposes, they can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification. To learn, whether the Owner is processing Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, Users may refer to the relevant sections of this document.
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Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to the Owner through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month.
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Legal action
The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Owner in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Application or the related Services.
The User declares to be aware that the Owner may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.
Additional information about User’s Personal Data
In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this Application may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request.
System logs and maintenance
For operation and maintenance purposes, this Application and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Application (System logs) use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.
Information not contained in this policy
More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Owner at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.
How “Do Not Track” requests are handled
This Application does not support “Do Not Track” requests.
To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies.
Changes to this privacy policy
The Owner reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by giving notice to its Users on this page and possibly within this Application and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to the Owner. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.
Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of the User’s consent, the Owner shall collect new consent from the User, where required.
By the end of this 3 part video series, you should have a solid foundation on Limiting, Bus (Group) Processing, Clipping, and how to build a mixing/ mastering template to get your track loud and clear.
**Heads up, if you're new to mixing, check out the Mixing Essentials 101 Course to get a solid foundation on the core concepts shared in this Mixing Essentials 201 series.
Learn how to use this course - introductory video.
In this first video, we'll focus on the following topics:
How to get a louder, but clean mix
Dynamics processing and gain staging into your Main / Master (bus compression, creating headroom)
Limiting vs. clipping (when to use each, pitfalls to avoid)
Learn 3rd Party plugins to more quickly create your setlists and create the best possible DJ set. (includes special discount)
In this third and final video, we'll look at how to
- Balance the overall mix
- Use reference tracks to dial in our ears and make adjustments
- Export settings to get the song ready for streaming/ distribution!
Warping Songs in Live
Organize Clips in Scenes With Loop Bracket
Song Setup; Key and Tempo Transitions
Harmonic Mixing
Adding Tracks to Compliment Decks A and B
Editing Clips between Session and Arrangement
Use Ableton’s best effects and have more creative control while DJing.
MIDI Mapping; Launching Scenes
Using the Looper for Live Looping
MIDI Mapping the Looper & Other Effects
Clip Envelope Automation
Using Follow Actions to Trigger Clips
Saving Songs and Scenes to Use Later
Exporting Your Songs and Settings
Live Performance Workshop at Sweetwater
Live Performance Master Template
Controller Overview – Part 1
Controller Overview – Part 2
Record Ideas From Session Into Arrangement
DJing in Session View
Using Session Record Button
Recording Ideas Into New Clips
Installing Ableton Live
Intro To Live’s Interface
Intro To Live’s Browser Part 1
Intro To Live’s Browser Part 2
Saving Projects & File Management
Preparing Your Tracks
Organizing Stems in Live’s Browser
Grouping and Condensing Audio for Playback
Importing Stems; Adjusting Audio to Live’s Tempo
Adjusting Songs With Tempo Automation
Using Warp Modes
Intro To Session View
Editing Scenes & Looping Clips
Clip Transitions with Follow Actions & Key Mapping
Re-arranging Song Structure with Clips & Cues
Freezing & Flattening New Arrangements
Consolidating Time To New Scene
In this lesson, I’ll show you some tips necessary for creating a single Ableton Live project template to use for all your performances. Once you have a template prepared for your shows, it’s an easy drag/ drop process adding audio tracks to create a live setlist.
Once you’ve setup your individual songs across scenes to perform with, it’s easy to save them to later drag/ drop into a new Ableton Live set. This helps you quickly build new custom setlists for every show.
Live’s Clip Envelope feature is a powerful tool that is often underutilized for setting up a live performance.
Like many DAWs (Logic or Pro Tools) you can draw automation to control track and device parameters. Clip Envelopes, on the other hand, are snippets of automation that only exist within Audio or MIDI Clips themselves. Clip automation can be used to change a clip’s parameters and/ or the track parameters that the clip lives on.
Set up your live performances using hacks in Arrangement View as an alternative to Session View with flexibility.
Choosing The Right Audio Interface
Routing & Monitoring Tracks in Live
Setting Up In-Ear Monitoring
Reducing Latency
Setting Cues & In-Ears For The Band
There are tons of MIDI controllers on the market today used for live performance. The controller you decide to use completely depends on your needs.
Regardless of the controller you use, Ableton is compatible with nearly any controller on the market that sends a MIDI signal in/ out. I made a list below for several MIDI controllers I recommend performing live.
Live Performance Workshop at Sweetwater
Live Performance Master Template
Welcome to this course! Watch the video below.
If you have questions throughout this course or need help, I encourage you to post in the Discord Community HERE.
We'll use this mixing practice project throughout the course. I encourage you to practice all the concepts in this course using your own projects as well!
As you practice the concepts throughout this course, I recommend choosing "Save as" in Ableton Live, as you will continue practicing and ear training.
What is Signal Flow?
Signal flow is the order of operations a sound goes through. When you record an instrument, the sound goes through different stages before you hear it through the speakers.
Signal flow generally means how sound is processed (in order) through various devices and effects. (See the diagram below)
Understanding how sound is routed in a DAW is important to achieve your desired workflow. In the video below, we'll look at the basic signal flow in Live. These concepts can also be applied in any other DAW.
Common Terms To Remember:
Group (or Bus) - A Group (mix bus) is a way to send or “route” one or more selections of audio to a particular place. Buses (Groups) are useful for mixing multiple tracks together. In Ableton Live, you can can create groups (buses) inside of groups!
Return Tracks (or Aux) - An “Aux Send” is a type of output used on most live sound and recording mixers. The aux sends on a mixer work independently of the main mix output and give you the ability to route multiple input channels to a single output while leaving out channels you don't want to hear.
Aux tracks are useful for sending multiple tracks to the same effect, instead of adding the same effect across many tracks.
Pro Tip: When placing one of Live's audio effects on a return track, typically you want the Dry/Wet 100% Wet, otherwise you don't get the full signal using Send knobs.
In this video I'll share why referencing and acoustics are important to tune your ears for mixing.
If you're brand new to EQing, download this PDF to learn the different types of EQ and terms.
EQing in Live; The Basics
In this video, I share several EQing tips to help improve the quality of your overall mix using Ableton Live's EQ Eight and Channel EQ. We'll explore important workflows including....
The art of contrast; comparing instruments when EQing
A/B testing your EQ adjustments
Using Filters and cutting unwanted frequencies
The "sweeping technique" to search for harsh frequencies
* use headphones or speakers to listen throughout this course.
Now that we understand the basics of EQ and what it looks like in Live, let's start applying it to different types of instruments/ sounds. Apply the concepts in the videos below to your Mixing Practice Project. (Using the Crystal Lights project or one of your own projects)
Watch the following videos below to get an idea of how to EQ drums
Watch the video below to get an idea on how to EQ Bass.
Keep in mind, making moves EQing is NOT a 1 size fits all. Every sample or plugin preset has its own unique sound and frequency. These videos are to help you get a basic idea of where to start. Use your ears!
Watch the video below to learn how to EQ a variety of lead instruments.
By now you know that EQing is very subjective depending on the sound you're using, and how instruments fit into the overall mix.
Watch this helpful video below to avoid common EQing mistakes...
New to gain staging? Read this article (15 minutes) to get a better understanding of what it is and how it can be applied.
In the next video we'll look at a few gain staging tips in Ableton Live.
Now that we understand the concepts of gain staging and creating headroom with your mix, let's look at several ways to apply it using Live.
The difference between a sound’s loudest and quietest moment is called thedynamic range. This dynamic range is the main aspect of a sound, and we can shape or control it in various ways.
There are 4 basic types of processors used to control the dynamic range in music production/ mixing. These include:
Compressors
Limiters
Expanders
Gates
Each of these processors are able to affect the dynamics of a sound, controlling volume over time. Dynamics are a huge part of a sound's identity, so controlling dynamics is invaluable for producers/ mixing engineers.
In the next video we'll get familiar with compression.
A compressor is used to reduce a sound’s dynamic range—that is, to make the louder and quieter parts of the performance closer to each other in level (making a frequency's high and low levels more equal).
Why use compression?
One common reason is to control loud transient peaks, such as a singer that suddenly bursts out a high note, which could be harsh to the ear. Or controlling loud frequencies of a bass instrument. Or grouping and controlling the dynamics of multiple instruments playing together.
In compression, the dynamic range becomes narrower — the loudest peaks and the quietest parts have fewer dB of level difference between them.
Compression essentially causes very subtle distortion in a signal through its processing. The compressor does this by emphasizing certain harmonics based on how the compressor is hitting the incoming signal. It’s our job to make that distortion feel transparent and natural by using a compressor's settings.
Main settings on a compressor to remember:
Threshold - Level you set when dynamic processing begins. Sets the level in which the compressor starts working with the incoming signal
Ratio - Amount of compression that occurs once the signal passes above the threshold.
Attack - The initial amount of time the compressor will go from zero compression to full compression.
Release - The signal will eventually drop below the threshold, meaning compression will stop. The release time determines how long this takes.
Knee - Affects how a compressor behaves with signals near the threshold. Think of it as a narrowing or widening of the threshold point, smoothing out the transition of the dynamics.
Makeup Gain - As compression occurs, it's squishing the loudest parts of the incoming signal, it becomes quieter. The makeup gain turns up the volume of the output signal to compensate. You might see Auto Makeup Gain on some compressors.
Watch the next 2 videos sharing how I use compression in the practice project Crystal Lights. Then apply compression to tracksyou've been working on! I share a variety of compression tips in both videos...
Finally, there’s sidechain compression. This form of compression uses one instrument’s level over a threshold to activate the gain reduction (compression) on another instrument.
For example, you will commonly place a compressor on a bass track that reacts to the kick drum whenever the kick drum is hit. This method will ‘duck’ the bass out of the way each time the kick is hit, while still maintaining its overall level in the mix. Sidechaining is extremely valuable for preventing instruments in a similar frequency range from fighting each other!
Another use case of sidechaining might be creating "ghost notes", or inaudible hits of sounds, like on a muted track. You can assign these notes to a synth instrument on a separate track with a sidechain compressor on it, causing the synth to "pump" or move whenever the ghost note is triggered.
As mentioned in the video, download the Live 8 Compressor device HERE.
(I recommend placing it in your User Library after downloading)
What Is Parallel Compression?
With parallel compression, we take a small amount of highly-compressed audio and blend it in with the unprocessed audio...instead of applying a moderate amount of compression to the entire signal.
When used well, the effect allows us to get the best of both worlds: the punch and glue of compression, alongside the transients and dynamics of unprocessed audio. While there are no hard rules for what you can or should apply parallel compression to, the effect is popularly used in mixing to thicken, color, and add cohesion to large and prominent groups like drum and vocal groups (buses).
Oftentimes, compressors are placed on a Group (Buss) with the Dry/ Wet signal blended at 50% (or whatever you choose). Using a Return Track (Aux) is also common (Dry/ Wet 100% and blending with Send knobs)
In this video, we'll take a deeper look at the main parameters on limiters, how we can apply limiting to our tracks, and types of limiters you might consider using.
Click here to download the cheat sheet at apply it to your projects.
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