

#Mixbus quantizing how to#
We’ll look at these in more detail shortly, but first let’s look at how to create a mix bus. There are at least two other ways to utilize mix buses that can significantly help with organization and control in your mix: subgroups and aux channels.

However, the master bus isn't the only mix bus you can create in a mix session. The master bus could also include things like EQ and compression for tonal shaping and “glue.” More on this later.

This could be as simple as adjusting the overall level to properly utilize headroom and avoid clipping-although you shouldn’t get in the habit of using your master bus fader to control your monitor gain, rather, use the level control on your interface.
#Mixbus quantizing full#
The master bus gives you a way to make final adjustments to your full mix before the audio leaves your DAW. It’s also typically what’s routed to your speakers or headphones. Ultimately this is where your entire mix is funneled down to two channels and it’s what’s used to create the final stereo export, render, or bounce. It’s also usually a stereo bus-unless you’re working in surround-with left and right channels. It’s almost always created by default and is where any new channels you create in your DAW will be routed. The most common mix bus is the main stereo bus, also called the “2-bus,” or "master bus." If you only have one bus in your mix, it’s this one. With the Neutron Compressor we have the option of engaging “Auto Gain.” This feature will automatically adjust the output gain to compensate for changes in level as a result of dynamic processing.What’s the difference between a mix bus and a master bus? Is it actually making your mix better, or does it just seem that way because it is louder? This is important in order to make an objective assessment of how the compressor is affecting the sound. Makeup gain allows us to offset the amount of gain reduction applied by the compressor to match that of the original uncompressed signal. For this reason, louder often sounds better, making it difficult to maintain objectivity when making comparisons. As we turn things up we become more sensitive to low and high frequencies. The human ear has different sensitivity to different frequencies, at different volumes. This is as much the case with a single instrument as it is with your entire mix. There is no set level to recommend here as it is dependent on the program material you are working with. At any moment, any part of a signal that goes above the threshold will cause the compressor to engage.

Threshold is the level at which compression will start to take place. I try to keep my ratios in the range of 1.5:1 to 2.5:1. When implementing compression on an entire mix, a little goes a long way! Anything more than a ratio of 3:1 on a mix bus, as a general rule, is too much. As you learn to set these parameters with practice, this is a great place to start. With the Neutron Compressor we have the option of engaging “adaptive release.” This feature scales compressor release times automatically based on the input signal. In contrast, setting your release time too fast can potentially create distortion or cause your mix to “pump” unnaturally. When set too slow, the compressor will not have a chance to return to unity gain by the time the next major transient occurs causing it to be diminished and your mix to lose impact. This is achieved by allowing the compressor to return to unity gain, or close thereto, before the next major transient occurs. The trick here is to enhance the groove of the song, not fight against it. Quite often our release times are set in relation to the tempo of the track.
#Mixbus quantizing pro#
Pro tip: When learning to hear attack times, it can be helpful to start with a long attack time, somewhere around 80ms, slowly lower it until you begin to hear it affecting your transients, shortening, or pinching them, and then back off the attack time to the desired amount. A slower attack time will allow more transient information to pass before the compression engages. AttackĪn attack time that is too fast can squash transients causing our mix to lose impact and punch. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how these parameters affect a signal when that signal is your entire mix. Many of us already know and understand the different parameters of a compressor, however, mix bus compression is unique in its application compared to other uses of compression.
