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FINISH TRACKS WITH TEMPLATES STEP

6: MIX BUS PROCESSING (PART 1)
by Luke Prosser | Apr 23, 2017 | Logic Pro, Production, Resource, Workflow & Productivity | 0
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In Step 5 of this series I walked you through setting up processing and e'ects in your project
template. Now that you have your structure, instrumentation, transitions, stems, basic
processing &e!ects in place, its time to look at mix bus processing.

The vast majority of online tutorials and advice from professionals will tell you not to have any
mix bus processing whatsoever, and with good reason. However, the real issue isnt so black and
white.

First of all, mix bus processing is a hotly debated topic. I have no intention of fuelling the fire
further here, but its extremely important to know why its useful to have processing on your
master bus, and how it can enhance your mix.

Ill state up front that this is not a lesson in mastering. I repeat, this is NOT a mastering lesson.
Mastering is an art form in and of itself. However, as Ill explain, implementing some subtle mix
bus processing can have great results and provide you with a better understanding of the mixing
process as a whole.

The mix bus processing controversy

As Ive stated many times, music production is an extremely subjective process. What works for
one person may not work for someone else. Of all the procedures throughout the mixing process,
mix bus processing and mastering are perhaps the most controversial.

While there are no rules per se, there are some key concepts that you can implement that will
stand you in good stead for almost any mix. Understanding the basic techniques and knowing
how, why and when to utilise them will take you a long way. The rest is almost totally subjective.

The di'erence is experience

The reason beginners and up-and-coming producers are advised to avoid this approach is
because they o.en dont have a good grasp on the technical subtleties in mixing, let alone
mastering, and there is therefore a large space for error.

If, on the other hand, you take time to properly research and practice mixing, and gain a
balanced understanding of the pros and cons of adding mix bus processing, youre much more
well-equipped to achieve success.

Thinking outside the box

In one sense, mixing without any master processing is akin to painting blindfolded. Its di!icult to
predict how the final canvas will appear without having a big picture perspective. A.er all, if
youre going to apply master processing to your mix eventually, logically it just makes sense to
get a sense of how it will sound as a final product.

By mixing into a mix bus chain, albeit even a very simple one, youll have a much clearer
understanding of how your mix will come across as a completed track. The other big
advantage to this approach, is that it exposes any potential issues, such as frequency
imbalances and dynamic variations, before getting to the mastering stage.

Im not alone
Dont just take my word for it, though. Many seasoned producers and engineers also advocate
this approach. Tomy Declerque, for example, sums up this methodology perfectly in an interview
feature with Future Music:

Believe me, this can save a lot of time and a lot of back and forth, especially if youre working
with an external mastering engineer.

Graham Cochranefrom Recording Revolution is also in agreement.

Advantages
In summary, processing the mix as a whole has some significant benefits:

Enables you to gain a more accurate understanding of how the track will translate at the
mastering stage;
Increases the overall cohesiveness of a track;
Helps to glue the track together (by processing all individual dynamics and frequencies as
one body of sound).

Mix Bus Processing Fundamentals

All mix engineershave their own unique master chains and I encourage you to experiment and
find out what works for you and your music.

However, having researched this topic a great deal over the years and applied many varying
techniques myself, I have found that there are several core elements that form the key
ingredients of any mix bus chain.
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to achieve the following:

Identify 5 key plugins that you can add to your mix bus;
Describe how these tools can enhance your music;
Apply these plugins to your mix bus template.

[NOTE: Occasionally Ill recommend third party plugins throughout these articles. I dont have any
a/iliation with these manufacturers, so if I refer to a particular tool its simply because Ive used it
and Ive had great experiences with it.]

With all of these approaches, the key is to be subtle and use each tool with caution.

Youll notice that I specifically havent numbered each part of the chain. I prefer a particular
order for my own processing but many people may disagree, and thats absolutely normal!

So, while I have listed them in the order that I most commonly apply them in my own mixes, dont
treat this sequence as law. You should always look to experiment and trial di'erent
approaches to see if a particular variation creates a better result.

Gain
While a Gain plugin itself wont have any impact on the actual sound of your mix, it can be a very
handy tool in a project template. For example, if your mix is coming in a little hot, it gives you the
ability to reduce the overall level without having to adjust individual faders.

Most engineers (including myself) recommend around 3-6 dB of headroom. You can therefore
use a gain plugin to make any adjustments before going into your master chain.
You really can use any Gain plugin, just so long as its transparent i.e. it doesnt colour the input
in any way. Most DAWs o!er a stock Gain plugin (Logics can be found under the Utility
dropdown). I also like FreeG from Sonalksis as the automation increments are less fine and more
practical. As the name suggests, its free to download, but feel free to use whatever you prefer.
EQ
Many engineers prefer not to use EQ on their mix bus and there are a number of reasons to justify
this.

One reason is that they believe that any frequency issues should be fixed within the tracks
themselves, which is perfectly valid and certainly a logicalapproach. Another reason is that any
additional processing on the mix bus introduces further aliasing issues that need to be
accounted for I dont have the space to elaborate on this topic here but its an issue worth
researching.

However, applying an EQ on your master bus can provide you with some distinct advantages.
Foremost, applying EQ adjustments to the overall mix can provide a much more musical sound,
rather than clinically cutting or boosting the EQ on individual tracks.

Its also handy to have a more general tool at hand in certain scenarios, for example:

Remove unneeded low-end frequency content with a hi-pass filter (around 20-40Hz
depending on the material);
Add a subtle low-end boost for warmth and punch (e.g. around 50Hz);
Band cut the low-mids to reduce muddiness/wonkiness (e.g. around 200-500Hz) and
increase relative clarity in the upper mids;
Add some subtle air (usually around 8kHz up) without introducing harshness.
Compression
As mentioned, mix bus processing is o.en described as a way of creating a more cohesive
sounding track, that glues all of the individual elements together. Compression, then, could be
described as the glue gun. By compressing a mix, you can add more punch, power and
excitement to the dynamics, and therefore further engage the listener.

Its important to apply mix bus compression with care. Here are some suggestions for
enhancing your mix without squeezing the life out of it:

Setting a slow attack (e.g. around 20-50ms) will allow transients to come through;
A fast release will ensure that the compressor lets go of the music quickly and allows it to
breathe;
Apply a small ratio of around 2:1;
Avoid too much gain reduction aim for around 1-3 dB when setting the threshold.

You can use any stereo compressor on your mix bus, so dont hesitate to grab your DAWs stock
compressor plugin. The key, as always, is understanding how to use it. Try applying some of
the recommendations above these subtle moves will add up in the overall mix bus chain.

If you have a little budget and want to try out something more exotic, I highly recommend the
Waves SSL Master Bus Compressor, as it emulates the bus compression on the real SSL consoles.
Many engineers swear by it.
Limiting
Here Im referring to really any kind of limiters or maximisers, with the Waves L2 and L3 plugins
being famous examples. Its important to apply some form of limiting to get a sense of how your
final mix will be interpreted during the mastering process.

Generally, I would advise setting a ceiling of -0.3 dB. This is the more traditional level hailing
from the days of CD masters, which would exhibit distortion once this level was exceeded.
However, if the destination of your mix is internet distribution on platforms such as SoundCloud
and YouTube, you can push it to -0.2 dB. I wouldnt recommend any further than this, as many
platforms apply their own compression and limiting, and this therefore provides a little bit of
wiggle room, just in case.

By applying this brick wall limit on your mix, youre able to experiment with the limiters
threshold to drive the volume while applying gain reduction. Again at the mix bus stage, I dont
recommend pushing the gain reduction any further than around 2-4 dB, or you risk
introducing low-end distortion and losing the attack of transients.

You can experiment with this by using something along the lines of the Waves L2 and cranking
down the threshold. The L2 is an incredible tool and you can certainly cook it, however I really
dont advise it if you want to preserve the life and musicality in your mix.
Metering
Just as I recommend beginning your chain with some form of Gain adjustment tool, I also highly
recommend bookending your chain with some form of metering. If you havent got into the habit
of analysing your levels and imaging, now is the time to start. At the very least, you should be
monitoring your output levels.

I dont trust my ears a.er 40 minutes of intense listening as they have normally acclimatised to
the track by this point. Therefore, its good to reference a factualand visual representation of the
frequency spectrum and dynamics.

A.er all, if youre going to add mix bus processing, you need to know what that mix bus
processing is actually doing to your mix!
Depending on how in-depth you want to go, you could add your metering plugins before the
limiter to monitor the levels before they hit the brick wall. I o.en place a meter before and a.er
processing so that I get an accurate picture of whats going in, as well as whats coming out.

To begin with, try placing ametering plugin a.er the limiter to get an overall picture of the
dynamics, frequency balance and stereo field.
On the bus
I hope this rundown on the key mix bus processing plugins was useful! Hopefully you should now
have a good understanding of how these tools work, and are ready to begin applying them in
your own projects to enhance your mixes.

As mentioned previously, there are few things to be aware of when processing the mix bus, and
you need to be careful when making adjustments to the track as a whole.

I know this may disappoint some folks, but unfortunately there are no true presets that will
work across every mix. Every piece of music presents a di!erent set of problems requiring a
di!erent set of solutions. You need to listen to the track at hand, evaluate any issues and
adjust accordingly.

Above all, if in doubt, keep it simple. You can totally transform a mix by adding all manner of
crazy plugins to the master channel, and you can squash a track to within an inch of its life. But
that doesnt mean you should.

Its no good throwing on an L2 limiter if you dont understand dynamics processing, or creating
some insane stereo width if you dont know anything about phase relationship and mono
translation.
How many compressors you place on your mix bus is totally up to you. As I always say, if it sounds
good, then it is good. Just make sure that it sounds good!

Signal chain
Its also very important to consider the order of your processing chain, too.

Classically, many producers argue whether EQ should come before compression, or vice versa.
There is no right answer. Applying compression a.er EQ on a particular mix will create a
particular sound.

Fundamentally, if it sounds good, its the correct approach.

Mix Bus Processing: Part 2

In the next post, Ill explore some of the additional processing techniques that you may wish to
add to your mix bus chain. However, you should only begin looking at these tools once you feel
comfortable with the basics, so dont rush into anything.

Get to grips with gain staging, EQ and compression before experimenting with anything else.
These three skills alone will take you far.

Be sure not to miss the final part in this series!

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Thank you Dylan,
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15 classic [banging] dance tracks Templates in Logic Pro Step 5:

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