In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to
mix and process pads, strings, and similar sounds. Let's have a look at EQ first. Pads tend
to take up a lot of space in the mix, especially when used in a drop for example,
which is usually the busiest part of the mix. You can always sidechain it, but if you want more
air in your mix then it often sounds better if they are not too sidechained, especially in trance
music. If you use pads in a quiet part of the mix, like in your breakdown for example, you
typically want to hear the entire sound. In that case you should EQ
the pad something like this: Make sure to leave some of the low-end in
there so that the body of the pad remains. If you low cut it like this, it
becomes very thin and brittle. It will also tend to lose that nice
warmness and become harsh instead. It's okay to increase some of the high-end
if you want to bring out more of the highs. This depends on the sound of course. If you want
to use the same pad in the breakdown and the drop, but it's taking up too much space
in the low-end during the drop, there are a few ways around this. If you
don't want to sidechain it to death then you can add a second EQ and remove some
of the low-end for the drop like this. Then just add an automation clip and
enable the second EQ during the drop. This will essentially turn the effect
on and off. On here, and off here. And then the opposite for the second one. I'm just going to tweak this a little bit. You can do this track by track,
or on a submix for example. As I said in my mixing and mastering explained
tutorial, the key to a clean mix is to make sure that each element has its own place in the mix. If
you haven't seen that video yet I recommend you go check it out when you're done watching this one.
You can find the link in the description below. If you've made a lot of changes in the
first EQ, then instead of making a new one you might want to clone it instead, so that
it doesn't sound too different when they switch. To clone an effect in FL Studio, just
click "save as" and then drag and drop. That said, you might want the pads to leave
more room for the leads, and sit slightly more in the background during the drop, so
you might want to use different EQ anyway. If you have a lot of pads and drops as well, then
this can become quite tedious though, as you'll end up with a lot of automation. In that case, it
might be easier to do this on a submix instead. Now, all the pads will be EQ'd the same way. This
is great for automating basic low-end roll-off and such. You'll still want to have individual EQ for
the various pads and strings though. In this case, I'll use the compressor on the submix itself to
provide some gentle glue compression, but you can of course compress each one individually
too, or just some of them. That's up to you. In this case, I'm using some basic glue
compression. However, if you're compressing a single pad for example, then I typically like
to use a slow attack and a fairly long release. Alternatively, you can try something like
this. You typically won't need a lot, depending on what else is in the mix. Some
gentle glue compression will usually suffice. Keep in mind that these are sustained sounds
with frequencies spanning the entire spectrum, so they can quickly become overwhelming if you're
not careful. You can do this track by track, or on a submix for example. If there's a lot
of other stuff going on in your mix, then you might want to fill less space and vice versa.
It always depends on what else is in the mix. Check out my dedicated compression tutorials
in the links below if you want to know more about this. Next, let's look at reverb. Reverb
is great for adding ambiance and atmosphere, and can make sounds appear more epic.
While reverb usually sounds great in solo, it tends to push sounds further back in the
mix itself, so don't use too much of it. This is also why you typically want to
place the reverb after the compressor, or else it might take up
too much space in the mix. Let's add some sidechaining. Reverb can work well in the breakdown, but
then cause problems during the drop. To deal with this, people often use automation
to sidechain the pads only in the drop, like this. This will turn the effect
on and off. On here, and off here. If you don't want that pumping sound, then you
can try sidechaining the reverb separately. Patcher works very well for this.
Let me just set this up really quick. This way you get plenty of ambiance without
having it interfere with the main kick. This can also be used in the breakdown, that way you'll get the same constant
movement from the sidechained reverb itself. You can also automate this so that you
get standard reverb during the breakdown, and then switch to a side-chained one during
the drop. To do that let's clone this effect. Remove the sidechain. Now, right-click here, and then "make
automation clip". This will essentially turn the effect on and off. The sidechained
one should be on here, and off here. And then the opposite for the second one. By the way, if you would like detailed
feedback on your music, mastering, and so, on then you might want to check out my services.
I'll put the link in the description below. If you have the LFOtool or similar plugin, you can use that to sidechain only
the low frequencies like this. You'll find links to all the plugins used
in this video in the description below. You can accomplish the same thing using
the EQ that comes with FL Studio like this. Now, it will remove the lows from
the pad every time the kick hits. You'll make space for the kick while at the
same time retaining the air in your mix. I have another tutorial showing how to set
this up. You can find the link to that video as well as a few other sidechain and EQ
related videos in the description below. Tricks like this will help clean up the mix
and make it sound much more professional. This effect is of course cumulative, so
things like this is often what separates the professionals from the beginners. Next,
let's look at panning and stereo width. In order to understand the mixing process, try
to envision an orchestra on stage playing a symphony. You'll notice that the placement
of the individual players is not random. To achieve a good balance in terms of volume,
loud instruments like brass and percussion traditionally go in the back, with the woodwinds
and strings in front of them. To avoid clashing, sections with similar ranges or timbers are
positioned opposite each other in the binaural field. For example, violins on left, trumpets on
the right, horns left, cellos right, and so on. This is important to keep in mind, because
when you mix your track your goal is the same. You want every single element in your
track to have its own place in the mix. In order to quickly space this out we
can apply some quick stereo separation. To do that, you simply turn this knob to
the left. This will make the sound wider. So right combines the channels, making it more
mono, and left separates them. Quite easy. If you want to pan a sound left
or right, you can use this knob. By placing similar sounds left and right you
can maximize the available space in your mix. This can be panned slightly right,
and let's pan this slightly left. If you're producing orchestral music though, then try to keep it authentic with regard to
where musicians would be placed on a real stage. Pads and strings sound better when they are wider,
but that will also push them more to the front, so make sure they don't start to
interfere with the leads and such. The most important thing to always keep
in mind when mixing and mastering is that you need to ensure that every single sound in
your mix has its own unique place in the mix. Saturation can also be used to brighten up
pads and strings. Here's without saturation: And here's with saturation: Quite a difference. This is what I used to make
that bright sounding pad in my too late remix. As with everything else, layering is
the key, so you'll typically want to use more than just one sound. If you want to know
all about mixing and mastering, layering sounds, and so on, then check out my mixing playlist
here, or see the links in the description below. I'd like to thank our patrons for their ongoing
support, and as always, if there's any specific tutorial you'd like us to make, or if you have a
question, just let us know in the comments below. And make sure to like, share and subscribe if
you enjoyed this video. Thanks for watching.
