Table of Contents

Song Mixing Secrets

Who This Book Is For

What You Will Learn From This Book

About The Author

Testimonials

Song Mixing FAQs

Protecting Your Hearing

Setting Up Your Listening Environment

How To Fix Common Mixing Mistakes

#14 Noisy Tracks Are Making The Mix Muddy (5%)

#13 Poorly Mastered Or Over-level (10%)

#12 Rhythm Of The Song is Dragging (10%)

#11 Kick/Bass Relationship Is Poor (10%)

#10 Bass Is Too Loud Or Boomy (10%)

#9 Overall Mix Is Muddy Or Too Bassy (15%)

#8 Overall Mix Is Too Thin Or Tinny (15%)

#7 Too Much Ssss Sound In The Vocals (15%)

#6 Bright Instrument Or Vocal Sticks Out (15%)

#5 Lead Vocal Bassy Or Too Thin (20%)

#4 Narrow Mix, Sounds Bad In A Car (30%)

#3 Lead Vocal Not Loud Enough Or Inconsistent (30%)

#2 Inconsistent Tracks And Sections (60%)

#1 Not Enough Space In The Mix, Very Crowded - Especially in The

Choruses (70%)

My Main Resources

Thank You!

Contact Info

OceanofPDF.com
 Song Mixing Secrets

How To Fix The Most Common

Mistakes
By John Rogers

SongMixingSecrets.com
Revised 2021 - Copyright 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission from JR Mastering, except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests
please email John Rogers at [email protected].

OceanofPDF.com
Who This Book Is For

You're pretty good at mixing, but you know something is preventing

your music from sounding like commercial radio songs. And you
want to know what it is!

This book is for someone who has a good understanding of basic

mixing procedures. Sometimes as a solution to a problem, I might
suggest compressing the lead vocal a bit. But, I don't get into detailed
threshold and ratio settings. I assume you already know how to
compress a vocal track.

I wrote this entire book in simple plain English (layman's terms).

I eliminated all the words you never heard of and hi-tech jargon, so
anyone at any level can understand and learn from this book.

You've invested hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into your

music. If you're serious about it, now's the time to make a very small
financial investment in this book so your music will sound the very
best it can!

I wrote this book so you can quickly learn (in a matter of days)
the techniques, tips, and secrets that took me over 19 years to
learn!

OceanofPDF.com
What You Will Learn From This Book

Since 1999, the year I opened my recording studio JRmastering.com,

I've worked with over 8,000 clients (that's 6-8 per week). Roughly
80% of these clients mix their own music at home. And I must
say, most of their mixes are very good. They're very close to
commercial radio sounding mixes.

The mixer definitely does not need to read a 400 page book on basic
mixing techniques, or take a six week mixing course. They're way
beyond that.

What they do need is a book that points out the most common
mixing errors I see daily, so they can check their mixes for them.
Problems they don't even realize their mixes suffer from. And then,
use the information in this book to correct these problems. That's
what “Song Mastering Secrets” is!

This book is a learning guide, filled with in-depth information. I

wrote it from the perspective of a recording studio owner who's
worked with many satisfied clients. Working with this many clients
gave me the rare opportunity to discover what areas most sound
engineers are having problems with.

If you told me the style of your music, I could pretty much tell you
what will be wrong with your mixes, without even listening to them!
Not exactly, but it's the same mixing mistakes every day, song
after song.
This book does not include a hundred extra pages of theory and
worthless advice you'll never use. I included only information you
need to know. Solutions to real-world problems that WILL occur
in YOUR song mixes.

I compare this book to a good baseball coach. I don't know if

you're familiar with how a major league baseball player's season
goes, but the regular season runs from April to October.

In the winter, players who need it, partake in off-season leagues or

advanced hitting training. During these training sessions, hitting
coaches film the player's swing and determine what improvements
can be made. The players then apply these suggested changes to their
swing.

There are many many examples of players who, over the winter, went
from a .260 avg, 15 HR hitter (ready to lose his starting job) to a .290
avg, 35 HR hitter who ends up signing an extension for $80 million
dollars! And sometimes all the coach told him was to simply keep
his head straighter and change his swing launch angle by 15%. That's
it!

So, was that a huge secret? Well, to the player in this example it
was “the $80 million dollar secret!”

And I'm hoping this book has the exact same effect on your
mixes. Simple solutions that have major positive effects.

Also, this book was re-released in mid 2021. It covers current

mixing techniques using up-to-date gear. Since 90% of the current
software plugins weren't available in 2007, books written at that time
or earlier are primarily analog gear based, using old school mixing
techniques.

OceanofPDF.com
About The Author

Hello, my name is John Rogers. I'm a professional sound engineer

and have been mixing and mastering at my Las Vegas studio
Jrmastering.com, since 1999. I've worked with many highly satisfied
customers and have mixed and mastered songs in every genre and
style imaginable.

I've worked with several Grammy nominees and winners. I've also
mastered many billboard top 10 songs in Europe, movie soundtracks,
videos that have appeared on MTV, and dance/EDM music that has
been played in dance clubs all around the world.

Learn in a matter of weeks what took me over 20 long years to

learn! Let's get started!

OceanofPDF.com
Testimonials

Here are a handful of testimonials from former clients.

I do everything I can to get my clients' music sounding the very

best it can! And treat each project as if it were my own.

That is very kind of you to give me such detailed notes on ways I can
improve future mixes and recordings.... I've been reading up on your
mixing tips articles, and they are very informative, but having
something that's personalized feedback on my mixes is beyond
fantastic! I really want to thank you, John, again for everything, all
the tips, all your time and work, you've got loyal clients here, I will
certainly continue to always bring my business your way... Aaron F.

Every project I work on always goes to John! He has an awesome

way of turning your track into something really great! I always
suggest him to other producers. I will continue to use him on ALL
my tracks, and I would recommend him for all of your projects!
Jake W.

They sound great!! Thanks for finishing so quickly! Jared Reddick,

Bowling For Soup

I don't now how you do it, but you are amazing! You are so dead on
with your instincts and skills. I'm gonna drop $36 into your PayPal
account. Keep the extra $30 as a tip. Go have a beer on me. An
EXPENSIVE one! Wow, you have just blown me away with your
work. I'm coming to you every single time, man. You are the tops.
Give me a call anytime you need anything, and if I can help, I will.
And when we gear up for our next CD, I'll give you a shout. Thanks
again, man. You're just awesome. Felix

OceanofPDF.com
 SONG MIXING FAQS

Here are answers to a few common song mixing questions.

What's The Difference Between Song Mixing And

Audio Mastering?
In song mixing, you're "mixing together" multiple audio tracks to
create a song. Different tracks like the lead vocal, bass line, guitars, drums,
etc. are being combined together. Then proper effects like EQ, reverb, delay
are added to each track, along with panning and volume adjustments. In the
final step, the mix is exported to create a song in the form of a single stereo
interleaved .wav or .aiff file.

In audio mastering you're working with one stereo interleaved file. And,
the entire song is affected by effects processes, not individual tracks.

At least once a week, someone uploads one song .wav file and says they
want it mixed and mastered. Well, you can't mix one file. The word
"mixing" is a verb and you need at least two tracks (files) to be able to mix
them together. You need at least two of anything to be able to mix it
together!

What's The Main Goal In Song Mixing?

I want to first start out with your goal in audio mastering. Your main goal
in audio mastering is to replicate the sonic qualities of a well
professionally mastered commercial song, in the same genre and style as
the song mix you are working on.

Yes, everyone has their own slight preference adjustments like a little more
bass, brightness, etc., but overall you want to be at least 80% similar to
the current industry standard. The only exception is if a client specifically
requests an old school master. If that's the case, then you're going to have to
replicate the sonic qualities of songs from a past era.

Now when it comes to song mixing, achieving your goals aren't as easy
as just comparing your mix to a song on the radio and matching it.
Why? Because the songs on the radio have already been mastered, and you
are only mixing. There's no where for you to listen to examples of an
unmastered commercial radio mixes, so you can try to match them.

Note – I do have 50+ great unmastered mixes on my website, so you can

get a feel for how an unmastered mix should sound.

https://jrmastering.com/audio-engineer-portfolio-reviews-samples.html

Notice how these mixes are slightly dull and have a lot of headroom. The
rule when preparing a song mix for mastering you want to keep
everything slightly “below” industry standard, so the mastering
engineer can bring the mixes “up'” to standard.

As opposed to overly bright, way too much bass, distorted, and already
louder than a song on the radio. Too much cutting effects in audio mastering
makes a song flat and removes its sparkle. The audio engineer prefers
adding effects.

Back To The Main Topic – So, What Is The Main Goal in Song Mixing?

In song mixing you want to create a good mix that focuses on the sonic
qualities that can't be corrected in audio mastering.
 Elements like overall clarity and track separation (space), proper track
volumes in relation to each other, correct panning, track EQ and effects,
these all need to be done properly in the mixing process.

Why Do Songs Need To Be Mastered?

I've seen this question on the Internet many times. The answer I always see
is "Because all songs on the radio have been professionally mastered, yours
should be too." This is a true fact, but not an answer.

Yes, your songs need to be mastered because you want them to have the
same qualities of a well professionally mastered commercial song, but
this can only be achieved by using effects on the stereo/main out bus.
Which is what mastering is (using effects on the stereo/main out bus). Many
critical processes can only be done in mastering.

Here are couple of examples of why a song needs to be mastered:

Do you want to be able to play your song loud without it breaking up?
Then you need mastering. In mastering, you can compress the entire song
as a whole (or in separate BANDS) so it doesn't peak too hot or distort
during loud playback. Compressing a song in mastering also kind of meshes
everything together. In mixing, you can only compress individual
instruments like the bass, vocals, etc. This does nothing for loud playback
nor does it mesh the song together as a whole.

Do you want your songs to be as loud as the songs on the radio? Then
you need mastering. In mastering, you can use a loudness maximizer and
make your songs as loud as needed without distorting. You can't do this in
mixing just by cranking up your levels. You will distort before reaching
your desired loudness.
 This question is kind of like asking, "Why does my cake need to go in
the oven?" If you want it to be a real cake, and be similar to other cakes,
the oven is the final process to get it there. You don't have a cake unless it
goes in the oven! You only have raw mixed ingredients. The oven meshes
everything together to be like other cakes.

Can Anyone Become A Great Mixing Engineer?

I would say YES, most people can become a great mixing engineer. I say
this because most of the mixes I receive from clients are pretty good and I
know the audio engineer (the band member with a computer) has only
minimal training. He could easily be great if he put a little more study and
practice time into it. And if he had this book to teach him what took me
over 19 years to learn! Ha!

The bigger question is, how much time and effort are you going to put
in? You know, everyone can be in good physical shape, or at least in decent
shape. The choice is yours.

But, is there going to be a diet and exercise plan that's followed daily for
months, or is everything going on eBay or craigslist a couple weeks after
starting? It's up to each individual to do what's necessary to achieve their
end goal.

You get out what you put in, even when it comes to song mixing. This
book gives you the knowledge and tools you need to become a great mixing
engineer. And you'll learn a lot faster than I did. But it's still up to you to
read this book in its entirety and put in the practice time.

How Long Does It Take to Mix A Song?

Honestly, there's no definitive answer to this.

Mutt Lange, the engineer who worked with Shania Twain, Def Leppard,
AC/DC, Michael Bolton and a slew of other stars was a LEGENDARY
slow worker.

Truly AMAZING RESULTS (and like I always say, all anyone cares about
is the end result). But, a sloooow methodical worker.

I'm not going to go back and read up on him again for exact details, but I
remember reading each song takes him a couple months to record and mix.
I said a couple months for ONE song!

I've heard many engineers quote 10 hours to mix a 25-30 track song.
This sounds fair.

One factor is how well you know your EQ and effects, and how many
you use. If you've been doing this for many years, you already know HI &
Low Pass EQ filtering, and can apply it right off the bat. You also have
favorite effects you like to use for each genre, and know the delay times,
which reverbs to use, etc. on vocals in certain situations.

Someone like this could finish a song MUCH FASTER than someone just
starting out who is in “trial and error mode,” testing different effects on
every track. Someone like this could take weeks to mix one song. And it
still might suck! But that's a different story.

Number of effects used will also affect song mixing time. A pro might use
a dozen different effects on the lead vocal, changing them in each section.
While a newbie might use ONE EFFECT (plate reverb) on all the vocals in
the entire song.
 That all being said, I'm going to go with 6-8 hours to mix an average 25-
30 track song, over the course of a couple days. I say a couple days
because I'm a firm believer in the “next day fresh ear” mixing and mastering
method.

I like to clear my head and listen to a mix (or audio master) fresh the next
day, and then make my final adjustments and tweaks.

Should Your Mix Sound Close To A Mastered Song?

This section is basically a tip for those of you working with clients or if you
plan on submitting your mixes to a mastering engineer.

DEFINITELY 100% NO!!

I've actually seen a few sound engineers online say the opposite. They say to
make your mix sound as close as possible to a finished master. "All you
want the mastering engineer to do is make the song louder." These
comments are based on common sense and theory, NOT on real world
experience working with thousands of clients (like I have)!

If the only thing your songs really needed was for the mastering engineer to
make them louder, why not just make them louder yourself and save the
money? Duh! No, pay someone $500 to do it in 15 minutes. I want that job!

Here's why you don't tell clients to partially master their own
songs:

1. Because they're paying an experienced mastering engineer to

properly do the entire job.
Here's a non-music example. Before you get your car detailed, do you clean
it spotless inside and out, but leave only the windshield dirty, so that's all the
car detailer has to do is wash your windshield and he's done? NO! That
doesn't even make any sense.

You're paying for a car detail and you want every process that comes
with it. That's their specialty and you want their expertise in every area, not
just the windshield washing process. The same goes for audio mastering.

2. Mixing is not mastering. For a song to sound like a commercially

mastered song on the radio you MUST use effects on the stereo/main out
bus. When you do use effects on the stereo/main out bus you are mastering
not mixing. And you're not supposed to partially master your songs if they're
going to a mastering engineer. Read the paragraph above again.

3. And the #1 reason is THEY CAN'T DO IT! They don't have the
knowledge, skills, replicating abilities, etc. That's why they're looking for a
mastering engineer to begin with!

I explain to my clients to submit a mix that's clean, but slightly dull with
lower overall volume levels. That way I can bring everything up to where it
needs to be. Nothing on the stereo/main out bus.

In the past, before I was giving this info, do you know what my clients
would send me? I would say half the submissions were partial masters
where the clients were trying to make them sound radio ready. The problem
was they were TERRIBLE! Way over-level, distorted, super bright and/or
super bass, way too much compression, etc. Many times they had everything
wrong!

In a perfect world, yeah send me a song that's already mastered and I

don't have to do anything to it. But I know from years of experience
 working with actual people that this is a very unrealistic request. Most can't
do it, that's why they're looking for a mastering engineer to begin with!

I've also heard the comment that mastering is taking all the songs on a
CD and making them all sound similar. Really? That's all mastering is?
So, I'm supposed to take the best mix on the CD and make all the other
songs sound just like it? That doesn't even make any sense! What if the best
mix on the CD sucks?

What if someone gives me only one song (which happens daily)? It can't be
mastered because there isn't an entire CD?

I make every song on the CD sound as close as possible to a commercial

industry standard song. Each song is mastered to sound the very best it
can, regardless of past or future songs on the CD. Also, every song is mixed
differently and requires different actions to achieve this. After I do this, all
the songs on the CD are comparable in every sonic area.

Audio mastering is taking a mix and bringing it up to commercial

industry standards.

What Is Headroom And Dynamic Range?

In order to produce a good master, a mix needs proper headroom and
dynamic range.

WHAT IS HEADROOM?
Headroom is the distance between an audio tracks peak level (when the
meter is at its highest) and 0 level on the output meter.

As a song plays, the output meter on the stereo/main out bounces up and
down with the music. You can see how high (loud) an audio track peaks by
looking at this meter. Anything peaking over 0 level usually means
distortion, so at all costs stay below 0 level.
 How far is your peak loudness below 0 level? That's the simple
definition of what headroom is. So, if your meter is peaking -3dbs below 0
level, you have +3dbs of headroom. If your meter is peaking right at 0 level,
you have NO headroom.

Note - +3dbs to +6dbs of headroom is the standard recommended amount,

but many times a song with more or a little less headroom can still be
mastered with no problems. But, it really makes no sense to give a
mastering engineer a mix with 0dbs of headroom and risk the chance that
it's slightly distorted. There's no reason to do it because overall song volume
is done in the mastering process, not in mixing.

WHAT IS DYNAMIC RANGE?

Dynamic range is the area between the peak level (when the meter is
up) and the low level (when the meter is down).

Roughly, 3dbs to 6dbs of movement between the high and low meter level is
a typical amount of dynamic range, but this does depend on the genre of
music.

Note - One problem you want to watch out for (if you're mixing your own
music) is dynamic range between song sections. You don't want a +10db or
more difference between the verses and choruses. This creates a mastering
problem because the verses will never be loud enough compared to the rest
of the song. Roughly a 6db difference is as high as you want to go.

Why Does A Mix Need Headroom And Dynamic

Range?
In one sentence, it gives the mastering engineer more room to work with.
 If I compared a hair stylist to a mastering engineer, hair length would be
headroom. If someone came in with 18" of hair, the skies the limit as to how
she could style it. But, if they came in with only 1" of hair, her style options
are very limited. In audio mastering, no headroom limits your options.

In the audio mastering process, a series of EQ boosts and cuts are

performed. Most of the time you're going to need to boost something, even
if it's only a little +2db boost at 100hz. Well, if the song is already at 0
volume level or higher, you might not be able to make a necessary boost
without distorting.

Also, if a song has very low dynamic range (the meter barely moves) it's
probably over-compressed. Which means it could lack punch, power, clarity,
or could even limit EQ options. You want your song to have some
dynamic life!

I want a song mix with some headroom and decent dynamic range. I
want to EQ it as necessary, I want to compress it as necessary, I want to be
able to set the overall volume as necessary, and I don't want to work with a
distorted mix.

How To Create Proper Headroom In Your Mixes

To create a mix for mastering with proper headroom is pretty simple. In
mixing, never let your levels go over 0db on ANY of your individual
instrument or vocal tracks. If you do this, 99% of the time you will be
under 0 level on the stereo/main out meter, which leaves you some
headroom (not necessarily +3db or more but at least +1db).

Don't compress your tracks heavy and you'll usually have adequate
dynamic range too.
That's usually all you need to do to achieve proper headroom, but there are
always exceptions. If most of your tracks are HOT and peaking right at
0 level, your song mix could be at 0 level with no headroom. It won't be
distorted (if not recorded distorted), but you still won't be leaving the audio
mastering engineer much to work with. If this is the case, after finishing
your mix, link all the channel faders together and just pull them all down a
few dbs. Now you have headroom.

Remember, loudness maximization is done in mastering not mixing. DO

NOT keep raising your faders way over 0 level in an attempt to match the
volume level of your favorite song. This will distort it. Yes, you matched the
volume level, but now you have a scratchy distorted mess!

OceanofPDF.com
 PROTECTING YOUR HEARING

This chapter is also included in my best selling book, Audio Mastering

Secrets. It's so important, I had to repeat it again here.

If you did become the greatest sound engineer who ever lived, but had to
suffer from hearing a loud HISS sound while relaxing on the beach, that's
something you'll have to live with for the rest of your life. No amount of
money can fix it. Hopefully this chapter helps prevent that problem.

Millions of people suffer from tinnitus. A new study shows around 10% of
the U.S. population suffers from it in some form, but many have never
even heard of it until they got it! Unfortunately, I was one of those
people. It can happen quickly and it lasts a lifetime...

As a sound engineer, your hearing is your most important asset. It's

critical that you protect it for as long as possible. In this section, I will
discuss the causes and prevention of tinnitus, and general safety practices
that will help you keep your ears healthy.

What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the constant hearing of a sound when there is no sound
present. Some describe it as a ringing sound, a hiss, or a high pitched tone.
The sound is continual, and it varies from one tinnitus suffer to another.

How Is Tinnitus Caused?

 Tinnitus is caused by either a single extremely loud sound or by loud
sounds over a period of time. I know a military vet who got severe tinnitus
from the sound of jets taking off in close proximity. Another guy I know
got it from a single bomb explosion that was right next to him. Listening to
loud music at a concert or club, if you're in a band, if you play music loud
on your iPod, or monitoring music very loud as a sound engineer; over a
period of time any of these scenarios could cause tinnitus. If you cut grass
for a living and don't wear earplugs, I would imagine that could eventually
cause it too.

It can also be caused by prescription drugs in the benzodiazepine family

or even by over the counter drugs like ibuprofen. I heard of a man who
got severe tinnitus from MSG in Chinese food. The cook made a mistake
and loaded it up heavy with MSG.

How Did I Get My Tinnitus And How Did It Sound?

I got tinnitus in 1999, working on one of my very first mastering
projects the day I opened my studio, JR mastering. At that time, I
needed to listen to the songs much longer than I do now because of my lack
of experience, and I listened to them WAY too loud.

I was reviewing my final masters at a high volume level (105-110 dbs)

for about 30 minutes non-stop. When I was finished I didn't really notice
anything. But, when night time came I could hear a high-pitched tone. It
sounded like a 40db test tone @ 5k. I could hear the tone in both ears, but
my right ear was twice as bad as my left. The first few days it was hard for
me to sleep because I kept thinking about this sound. The sound was also
very annoying when sitting outside in a quiet area.
Is There A Cure For Tinnitus?
No. There are many pills and snake oil products online, but I have
never heard of a valid cure. But, experts say it gets better over time as
long as you don't make it worse.

The first few months I suffered from tinnitus, I would say it was very
annoying at night but not too bad during the day. It did not effect my sound
engineering. After six months, it improved about 25%. After a year, it's
roughly 50% better. Now, many years later, I would say I have maybe 20%
of the original tinnitus I got in 1999 (an 80% improvement). Its pretty much
gone because it was a mild case of tinnitus to begin with, and I took
preventative measures so it wouldn't get worse.

Can You Mix And Master Music With Tinnitus?

Mine was not severe, so it did not hinder me at all. The noise I heard was a
40db loud test tone @ 5k. I started doing my initial mixing and mastering at
around 85dbs, so the tinnitus tone was pretty much masked (drowned out).
Its kind of like when someone records mic hiss. You can hear it when the
music stops, but when the guitars are playing you can't hear it at all because
the hiss is being masked.

Singer Phil Collins retired because of his tinnitus. Bono also has very
severe tinnitus that greatly affects his everyday life. If your tinnitus is very
severe like those two, I'm sure your sound engineering skills would be
greatly affected.

How To Prevent Tinnitus In Everyday Life

 Always use hearing protection (earplugs) when at a concert or a club
playing loud music, when cutting grass, when using a blower or electric
power tools, and for sure when shooting a gun. Any situation where a
continuous 100db sound is present.

Also, don't listen to music over 100dbs for long periods of time. OSHA
recommends no more than 1 hour @ 105dbs. I would NEVER go more
than 20 minutes straight at 105dbs, if that. Also, be careful with
ibuprofen and prescription drugs.

How Loud Is Too Loud When Mixing And Mastering?

Well, 105-110dbs for 30 minutes straight was too loud for me. I had
tinnitus at the end of the 30-minute session! Everyone is different, so I
don't want to give you specific sound ranges and upper limits. All I can tell
you is what gave me tinnitus, and what's worked for me to improve my
tinnitus 80% since 1999.

How To Protect Your Hearing As A Sound Engineer

THE GUINEA PIG EXPERIMENT

I read a study online where a scientist exposed guinea pigs to extremely

loud music. The results were that the guinea pigs who listened to extremely
loud music continuously, say for 30 minutes, had severe structural damage
to their internal ears.

The guinea pigs who listened to the same extremely loud 30 minutes of
music, but it was not continuous (roughly 2 minutes of music and then a 2
 minute break), the damage to their internal ears was FAR LESS severe
compared to the first group.

Now remember, both groups listened to music the same total time (30
minutes). But, continuous listening was far more damaging than
intermittent listening.

The Rules I Follow During Song Mixing And

Mastering
I initially mix and master at a lower level. I keep levels around 80-90dbs. I
listen 10-15 minutes at these levels, then take a 5-minute break. I will do
this for between 2-4 hours, then I take a full two-hour break.

When it comes time for the finalization (loud listening @ 105-110dbs) I

NEVER go more than 2-3 minutes continuous and I pretty much split
time. If I listen to loud music for 5 minutes, I take a 5 minute break before
starting up again.

Above is what I've been doing since 1999 and it works for me. Maybe
you can go 100dbs for 8 hours a day and never have a problem, but I'm not
risking it. 105-110dbs for 30 minutes continuous ruined my ears pretty
good, and I had to make sure they didn't get any worse.

Tinnitus isn't fun. I might be going overboard a bit with my silence rests,
but it's working for me.

Better safe than sorry with tinnitus because it lasts A LIFETIME!

OceanofPDF.com
SETTING UP YOUR LISTENING ENVIRONMENT

Mixing and mastering audio starts with your listening environment. If it

isn't giving you a true sound, you'll be lost.

Room Size
Technically, you can properly mix or master in any room size. But, I
believe a smaller room is better than a very large one for someone who's just
starting out. And when I say smaller I mean closer to 12'x15' than to 20'x30'.
I've mixed and mastered songs for a number of years in a 20'x30' room. It
took me a few days to get used to it, but after that I could do it.

The obvious problem with a big room is it's a very open space. If you
don't have a good acoustic setup, the room will add reverb to every song.

You have to compensate for this on every song you mix or master, because
the extra reverb you hear isn't really in the music. It's coming from the
room.

In a smaller room, even with no acoustic treatment, your mixes and

masters will all sound more true. They won't be discolored from bouncing
around a big room.

Speaker Choices
I've used dozens of different brands of speakers in my career and I do like a
few better than others. But, this article deals more with types and sizes of
speakers, not with brand choices.
 The main mixing and mastering speakers I currently use are Dynaudio 100w
powered studio monitors with 6" woofers and 1.1" tweeters. They have nice
EQ adjustment options on the back and I know these speakers very well. If
you get speakers that are a little larger, you'll get better LOW-end out of
them, but I'm happy with the size I use.

The most important part of your speaker setup (that a lot of newbies
don't know about) is having a sub-woofer on the floor between your
main studio monitors. If you're using 4-6” monitor speakers, it's impossible
to correctly mix or master any music content under 150hz without having a
sub-woofer. 4-6" studio monitors will not play the low 60hz sub-bass AT
ALL, and they're weak at best in the 100hz area.

Speaker Placement
Before I tell you the setup I like best, after many years of experimentation,
I'd like to first tell you the setup I personally don't like (even though a lot of
sound engineers do this). Two studio monitors, five feet apart, on a desk two
feet away from their face. And NO sub-woofer! I think they call this "near
field" monitoring.

But at some point during the audio mastering process, you must crank
the music up very loud to set your final compression and to hear how it
translates at high volume levels. You can't do this if your speakers are
right next to your ears! At least I can't.

Maybe this is why the songs I get in for re-mastering badly break up when
cranked up loud, and the bass is totally washed out. They were originally
mastered at very low levels without a sub-woofer, and not optimized for
loud playback.
 I also find it hard determining the overall depth and stereo width in
music when the speakers are two feet in front of me. Which makes sense.
Its like watching a 50" TV. I want it to be far enough away so I can take the
whole picture in. No one puts a 50" TV on a table right in front of them, yet
this is done with speakers.

My Personal Speaker Placement

First off, I use speaker stands for my studio monitors, and the speakers stand
3.5 feet off the ground. I have the stands roughly 7 feet apart, and the
speakers are about 6-7 feet away from my face. The sub-woofer is on the
floor, centered between the two speaker stands.
Note - Do not put the back of the speakers right up against a wall. Have
at least 10 inches between the back of your speakers and the wall, or the
sound will be altered.
 I've found this setup is close enough where I can here all the details in the
music, wide enough so I get a full representation of the stereo field, and the
speakers are far away enough so I can crank the music up to 105dbs to make
sure it sounds right for loud playback, without blasting myself in the face.

Learning And Calibrating Your Speakers

When I first start out with NEW speakers (though I never change them
now), I listen to my favorite hit songs in every genre and style. Songs that I
know from my years of experience have X amount of bass, X amount of
brightness, etc. I know how these songs are "supposed" to sound.
Most good speakers have EQ adjustment switches on them, and the sub-
woofer has a volume control on it. After several listens, I'll slightly adjust
the EQ on the monitor speakers and the bass amount on the sub-woofer so
that my favorite reference songs sound "true" to me. I'm making my
speakers sound true to life, not exaggerated in any sonic area. Once the
songs playing through these speakers sound "true" to me, then
anything I mix or master will be done correctly.
How could speakers sound untrue to me? An example, if I'm playing a
few commercially hip hop songs and the bass sounds very weak on every
song, the speakers I'm using are untrue because I know in reality the bass
should be much higher/louder in hip hop. I know the sub-woofer needs the
bass volume adjusted and maybe the studio monitors do too. And I adjust
them accordingly.
If I worked with these untrue speakers, I would improperly raise the bass on
every song, thinking it was too low, when in reality the speakers aren't
properly playing the bass.
 It's easier when working with true speakers because what you hear
correctly represents the audio material you're working on.

Sound Proofing Your Room

Way too much is made out of room sound proofing. I've audio mastered
songs to perfection in an untreated basement (when I started out), in huge
and small treated pro studio rooms, and I've had several song that were on
the radio in Europe, that ranked on the billboard charts, that were ALL
mastered in a quiet small UNTREATED bedroom. No one can honestly say
it can't be done, I have the radio masters to prove it.
You will have to listen to a few reference tracks using good speakers you
know well, to learn your environment. And some client feedback is
required. But after some practice, you can do it.
Now, If your listening space echoes or just sounds to wide, by all means
deaden the sound. Remember, your goal is to get a true sound in your room.
But,If your studio is a small carpeted room, you don't necessarily need foam
or sound proofing on your walls. You already have a quiet room. The
important thing is to learn your listening environment, whatever it is.
Note - If you feel you have to have some foam or acoustic treatment in your
room, BUY IT! Remember, you'll still have to learn how the room sounds
after you install it. Many don't get this part right and their work is very poor.
Again, my point is you don't necessarily need it for audio mastering if your room
doesn't reverberate or heavily color the audio. This is common sense. But, I see
too many people online that won't start mixing and mastering until they can scrape
up $1,000 for room treatment.
I've gotten in over 100 remaster jobs that were originally mastered at studios
with thousands of dollars worth of foam on their walls, and these masters
were HORRENDOUS! A mash of distorted noise trainwreck! The foam did
a lot of good..
OceanofPDF.com
How To Fix The Most Common Mixing Mistakes

I've mastered many songs, and time and time again I've notice they all
suffer from the EXACT same common basic mixing mistakes.

In this section I'm going over the top 14 mixing mistakes I see daily, and
how to fix them.

The percentages you see next to each title represents how often I see the
mistake overall. I say overall because if you see (10%), that doesn't
necessarily mean I will see this problem once on every 10 song CD.

Using hip hop music as an example, I might get in 9 CD projects that all
have proper headroom, but then I'll get in a hip hop project where the entire
10 song CD is over-level. Even though the entire CD is over-level, that's still
10% overall compared to everything I get in. But 100% for that hip hop CD!

I'm just mentioning this because I don't want you to see 10% and think you
HAVE TO have one song with a particular problem on every CD you work
on.

If you're working with clients, mixing engineers are fairly consistent. If

the first song in a project has one or more of my listed errors, many times
the entire CD will have that same error.

Even though many of these mistakes and their solutions are pretty
simple (while others might be new to you), they all have to be mentioned so
you know what to look for when finalizing your mixes.

As I'm writing this book, I'm starting to realize that knowing what you are
doing wrong, is just as important as me telling you how to fix it.
Like a checklist, go over all 14 of my mixing mistakes, making sure
your songs don't suffer from any of them. Doing this will take your mixes
to the next level!

OceanofPDF.com
 #14 Noisy Tracks Are Making The Mix Muddy (5%)

I see this problem mainly in songs where mics are used to record
instrument tracks, like a rock song. As opposed to a song made using a
keyboard with noise free samples. Those songs could contain distorted
tracks, but track noise is a rarity.

* The Problem -

Tracks are recorded with a slight hiss. When all vocals and instrument
tracks are playing at the same time, you can't notice any hiss. The audio
content is loud, so the hiss is drowned out.

But even though you can't always hear the hiss, when you have 10+ tracks
with a tiny amount of it on each one, it adds up to an element of space eating
mud.

When I start mastering a song, the hiss is apparent at the very

beginning or end, when the music isn't playing. You can even see it in the
.wav file. Silent tracks are hairline thick in the .wav file, while a hiss track
(that's supposed to be silent) has a little thickness to it. Not jagged, it's just
several times thicker than the hairline.

* The Solution -

Before you even begin recording anything, record silence. Is the .wav file
a hairline line or is it a little thicker?

Then play back the silent track you just recorded and increase its
volume. If it gets louder, obviously it's not silent! And if it isn't silent during
this test, it won't be when you start recording either.
Usually these hiss problems are because something is gained too high.
It's either the gain boost on the preamp (stand alone or on your audio
interface) or the gain boost going into your DAW software, which you
control within the DAW program itself.

Usually if these two areas are not over-gained, you won't have the hiss
problem.

Check this out before you start recording! Why add extra noise?

OceanofPDF.com
 #13 Songs Are Partially Poorly Mastered Or Over-
level (10%)

This problem pertains more to working with client submissions, or if you're

going to be sending your mixes to my mastering studio, JRmastering.com.
Ha!

But then again, if you are doing your own mastering, your mixes still can't
be over-level and distorted when you start the mastering process.

I'm going to repeat the text from an earlier chapter so you don't have to go
back.

How To Create Proper Headroom In Your Mixes

To create a mix for mastering with proper headroom is pretty simple. In

mixing, never let your levels go over 0db on ANY of your individual
instrument or vocal tracks. If you do this, 99% of the time you will be
under 0 level on the stereo/main out meter, which leaves you some
headroom (not necessarily +3db or more but at least +1db).

Don't compress your tracks heavy and you'll usually have adequate
dynamic range too.

That's usually all you need to do to achieve proper headroom, but there are
always exceptions. If most of your tracks are HOT and peaking right at
0 level, your song mix could be at 0 level with no headroom. It won't be
distorted (if not recorded distorted), but you still won't be leaving the audio
mastering engineer much to work with. If this is the case, after finishing
your mix, link all the channel faders together and just pull them all down a
few dbs. Now you have headroom.
 Remember, loudness maximization is done in mastering not mixing. DO
NOT keep raising your faders way over 0 level in an attempt to match the
volume level of your favorite song. This will distort it. Yes, you matched the
volume level, but now you have a scratchy distorted mess!

Don't Partially Master Your Mixes

If you're going to master your own music, like I do, you can mix and
master at the same time, using effects on the stereo/main out as you go
along.

But if you're going to be sending your songs out for mastering, nothing goes
on the stereo/main out.

If you put effects there, this is a partial master. The mastering engineer is
doing the mastering, and they don't need you to do so some of the processes
for them. Reason being, if you do something wrong, sometimes it can't be
corrected. So, why do anything at all since you're paying the engineer to do
it?

OceanofPDF.com
 #12 Rhythm Of The Song is Dragging (10%)

This mixing mistake is critical when working with EDM, dance, fast pop
and some hip hop music. Other genres of music, it's still important but not
crucial to the integrity of the song.

* The Problem -

You're listening to a fast paced song and it seems to be dragging. The

bpm is fast, the lyrics and most of the instrumentation is hype, but
something seems to be missing.

Many times this is because the snare/clap or hi hat is buried underneath

the music and/or just not loud enough.

Usually, the hi hat is the culprit. The sound engineer just forgets about it
when mixing. Or, a newbie song arranger doesn't even put a hi hat in the
song arrangement at all!

* The Simple Solution –

Raise the snare and/or hi hat volume. A simple solution to a critical

problem.

Here are three ways to raise the volume levels -

A. Simply raise the faders until you can hear these elements coming
out of the mix. Keep going up until you can hear them driving the
rhythm of the song.

B. Hi hat problems can usually be adjusted in audio mastering. I talk

about this in detail in my Audio Mastering Secrets book. Note - The
snare/claps volume levels cannot be corrected in audio mastering.
 C. When working with the snare/clap volume levels, if your song is
dense in the Upper MIDs, you might keep raising the volume and it
never cuts through.

One trick I use is to double the snare. Many rock songs I double the snare
right off the bat, setting one dry and the other I put a little drum verb on it.

If that doesn't work, you might have to create space in the Upper MIDs,
which I discuss in mixing mistake #1 creating space in a mix.

Sit and listen to your mix. Is that snare/clap and hi hat combo coming
through nicely? Is it driving the rhythm of the song?

OceanofPDF.com
 #11 Kick/Bass Relationship Is Poor (10%)

In most songs, the meat of the kick is within the frequency range of 60-
90hz, though it usually goes past 100hz (with its power subsiding).

The bass/synth is most powerful between 100-140hz, but it can extend much
lower.

A sub-bass sits around 50hz and lower.

* The Problems –

A. The sound engineer uses the bass and kick “as is” not applying any
EQ filtering. So, their frequency ranges all cross over (bleed into) each
other and either create a big punchless muffle, or the kick is phased out
entirely to the point where it's almost non-existent.

B. With sampled music, the meat of the bass and kick samples that were
chosen are right on top of each other. They are both in the exact same
frequency range. Neither has its own space in the mix.

* The Solution -

A. Space must be created in the mix for your basses and kick. They can't run
over each other. I explain this in detail in the final chapter, Mixing Mistake #1
where I break down HI & Low Pass filtering and subtraction EQ.

B. This is an arrangement issue. The meat of the kick and bass can't be the
exact same frequency range. This occasionally happens with hip hop songs I
get in.

For example, you can't have your kick and bass BOTH in the 60-90hz
range.
One of the two samples has to be hot in the 100-140hz range (and it's almost
always the bass) and the kick in the 60-90hz area.

Don't select bass & kick samples that are right on top of each other in
the frequency range.

OceanofPDF.com
 #10 Bass Is Too Loud Or Boomy (10%)

The percentage of songs I get from clients with this problem isn't extremely
high, because paying customers submit pretty good mixes. They don't send
me total garbage when money is involved.

Now, the guy who wants the free demo.... Garbage! Ha! But that's a story for
my next book....

* The Problem -

This is a self explanatory problem with a simple solution, but it happens

often enough for me to mention it. Especially with hip hop. The bass is
obviously too loud and boomy, overtaking the entire song.

* The Solution –

A better job has to be done with A/B comparison. Listen to a commercial

radio reference track in the same genre. Listen very closely to the bass
volume level and boominess.

This is mixing, not mastering, so you don't want to match it exactly. You
want to come in a little lower and let the audio mastering engineer match it
perfectly.

But of course, you don't want your bass +5dbs louder than the mastered
commercial radio reference track you're referencing. Not to mention
distorted too.

There are a couple reasons why this happens.

1. The mixing engineer wants this super loud bass. In their excitement to
achieve this they go way overboard, not realizing there's a sonic bass
volume limitation. If you're already way over a commercial radio song,
you've passed it....

2. They can't hear the bass!! And this happens VERY often.

You need a SUBWOOFER to be able to hear 80hz and under, and they
don't have one. If you can't hear the bass, you can't properly mix or master
it.

I once had a client who not only didn't have a subwoofer, he was mixing
with only ONE speaker too! WTF! And then he's complaining that the
masters I gave him are in mono... He's in the next book too...

OceanofPDF.com
 #9 Overall Mix Is Muddy Or Too Bassy (15%)

I experience this mistake with clients about 15% of the time. I DO want a
slightly dull song mix for mastering, because then I can bring it up to where
it needs to be. That's fine. But muddy, which means not clear, I don't want
that.

* The Problem -

Nothing is EQ filtered and several tracks are colliding between 100-

500hz. This creates a huge muffle that bleeds into the Upper MIDs, and
muddies up the entire song.

Or the bass tracks are just too loud.

* The Solution –

Mixing mistake #1 breaks down HI & Low Pass EQ filtering and mix
space. Read this chapter to solve the mud problem.

Reducing bass track volumes could also be a solution if you have them
cranked up loud.

But I would say it's usually a combo solution. EQ filtering first, with a
little bit of volume reduction.

OceanofPDF.com
 #8 Overall Mix Is Too Thin Or Tinny (15%)

* The Problem – You get the problem.

* The Solution – There are three possible solutions.

A. If instrumentation is thin in a band or two, this is mostly an

arrangement issue. For example, if your Upper MIDs have only a vocal
and maybe one other instrument, unless it's a singer songwriter song, you
need too fill up the frequency spectrum by adding more instrument
melodies, a synth pad, or something.

Or thicken things up with effects like slight delays, light reverbs, etc.

B. You're too aggressive with your HI & Low Pass EQ filtering. You're
cutting the instrument and vocals down too thin. This will create a tinny
vocal and could create a thin mix. This is rare because most people don't
subtract EQ at all, but I do see it.

Mixing mistake #1 breaks down HI & Low Pass EQ filtering and mix space.

C. As for the overall tinny issue, this effect happens when the 3-5k
frequency range is the loudest part of the song. This is also how you
create that radio effect.

The solution is to either boost up everything around the 3-5k range.

Or maybe you need to add more instrumentation in the adjacent frequency

ranges to fill up your frequency spectrum.

Lastly, lower the volume of the offending tracks. That one should have been
first.... Ha!
OceanofPDF.com
 #7 Too Much Ssss Sound In The Vocals (15%)

The only reason this percentage isn't higher is because most songs don't
have lyrics with a lot of Sss's in them. If they all did, probably 30% would
have too much Ssss going on.

* The Problem -

Another self explanatory problem, that happens often.

* The Solution –

Use your de-esser! Now some of you might say, this isn't a secret! “Use the
de-esser on vocals that have a sharp sss sound.”

Well, it's a secret to 15% of the sound engineers I've worked with, because
they didn't do it!

I use the de-esser on all vocal tracks, with at least a moderate setting. I
always use a de-esser because it's non destructive. If you apply a de-esser to
a vocal track and the bright sss sound never occurs, it just doesn't go on.

Crank up your mixes loud. If you hear even the slightest sss sound in your
mix, it will be 2-3 times louder after mastering (when your song is made
louder). If this is the case, apply the de-esser a little heavier.

Note – Most of the time, this sharp ssss mistake can be fixed in mastering
without destroying the rest of the song. But always fix it in the mix
whenever possible.
OceanofPDF.com
 #6 Bright Instrument Or Vocal Sticks Out (15%)

* The Problem –

The song has great volume levels overall, but then one instrument or
vocal is just super loud or bright. Many times nothing can be done in
audio mastering, it has to be fixed in the mix.

* The Solutions –

A. Simple. Lower the volume of the offending track. That's it.

B. Use compression.

Brickwall limit the bright tracks using a high threshold. So, at its loudest
point, the compressor will kick in and cut its top off.

More Tips -

Don't Make Your Lead Vocal The Brightest Track In Your Song

I guess there are some exceptions to every rule, but the lead vocal track is
almost never the brightest track in a song. You have hi hats, cymbals,
violins, some synths, rock guitars, and a few other elements that all should
be brighter than the lead vocal.

This usually is done because the mix is so crowded, the only way to get
the lead vocal to cut through is to make it super bright. Either the lead
vocal EQ is boosted around 3k, or its HI Pass EQ filtered to death, removing
all of its bass. This is not the solution. Creating space in the mix for the
vocal track is the solution, and I cover that in mixing mistake #1.

Another tip, brighter instruments easily cut through mixes because

there usually isn't much audio content in their frequency range. If you
have a high pitched synth or violin at 6-7k there isn't much else in that
frequency range to compete with it, so it shines right through.

That being said, you can make the volume of these high pitched
frequency tracks lower than you would think and still hear them just
fine. Just lower their volumes all the way down, and then raise them up until
they cut through and you can hear them.

Crank your mixes up loud and listen for these mistakes.

Is your vocal the brightest track in the song? Does it becomes annoying at
loud volume levels? Is an ear piercing instrument track coming in anywhere
in the mix?

OceanofPDF.com
 #5 Lead Vocal Bassy Or Too Thin (20%)

* The Problem –

You get this one.

* The Solution -

You want your lead vocal to be just right. If it's too bassy, Hi Pass EQ
filter it around 250hz.

If it was recorded too thin, add some bass around 400hz.

Or scale back on your HI Pass EQ filtering (if you applied too much).

Simple, but 20% of the time it's not happening. It's all about knowing
what problems you're looking for in your mixes.

OceanofPDF.com
 #4 Narrow Mix, Sounds Bad In A Car, Fake Stereo
(30%)

The definition of stereo is audio coming out of two or more speakers

that surrounds the listener. If your mix sounds two feet wide in the car
(right above the car stereo) you failed the definition of stereo. You're not
surrounding the listener.

* The Problem –

Your mix is too narrow. When you listen to it on studio monitors,

everything sounds pretty good from a stereo width standpoint.

On headphones, poor stereo width is more noticeable.

But a car stereo is the real barometer for stereo width. When your song is
played in a car, the music should spread across the entire width from the left
door to the right, NOT only two feet wide above the car stereo.

* The Solution –

One thing I tell everyone, when they're arranging a song, if they don't have
anything panned on the outsides of the stereo field, nothing will be
playing there.

You can't have a wide mix if nothing is panned wide! This is common
sense, but a lot of newbies don't get it. “I” didn't when I first started out. I
never even thought about it.

Too many people pan all their tracks between L30 and R30, and then
add reverb thinking this will create stereo width. If you do this in a car your
mix will sound two feet wide with slight reverb on the outsides. You won't
even notice the reverb.
 With rock music, I rarely see this problem because at the very least, the
song has left and right stereo guitars that were recorded separately (true
stereo) that create great width.

Hip hop is where I see this problem the most. Many times a hip hop song
has a lead vocal, kick, snare, bass, and hi hat all panned close to center
(between L20 and R20). They then add a stereo synth that comes in every
now and then. In this scenario, the song is basically a mono song when the
synth isn't playing.

When arranging a song, I do a stereo checklist from section to section.

What's panned to the outsides in my verses, bridge, chorus? And if the
answer is nothing, I have to either pan some existing tracks to the outsides
or create new ones.

You need to purposely designate and/or create what is going to reside on

the outsides of the stereo field. Either instruments and/or background
vocals.

One important note – Be careful with ANYTHING you pan full L or R.

You're isolating it pretty much by itself out there and IN HEADPHONES it

will playback a lot louder than you think, and could burn someone's ears!

The farthest I go on solo tracks is 80 L/R. And when I go there I still must
do a headphone mix check to make sure those tracks aren't playing too hot.

A Few More Notes About Stereo

Back to the “surrounding the listener” definition of stereo. If you have

two audio signals that are panned left and right, they must sound different
to produce a true stereo sound.
If you have two audio tracks that sound EXACTLY the same (and start
at the exact same time) they will sound mono to the brain, regardless of
where they are panned.

Try this with a mono guitar track. Copy the track (so you have two) and
then pan one left and one right.

Now, the doubled guitar track will be louder, but you'll never be able to get
them to sound stereo. They will sound mono (right in the middle) no matter
where you pan them.

The only way to create a stereo sound is to make the two guitar tracks
sound different from each other, by adding different effects or by offsetting
their start times. Usually both.

Note – I do have to mention this. The example above is how to create stereo
sound when all you have is a mono track.

To create a true stereo guitar effect, you DO NOT record the guitar part only
once, double the track, and then pan it left and right.

You play and record the guitar part twice or more (in time) and then
you'll have multiple tracks with natural subtle differences.

When these are panned opposite of each other they WILL sound true stereo!
This goes for any instrument or vocal. This is how true stereo is created.

Multiple recorded vocal tracks panned on top of each other (not on

opposite sides) will create that radio quality thickness. Some artists
record and use four or more lead vocal tracks to create a thick powerful
vocal sound.

This is all basic stereo 101, but a critical mistake I see too often.
The Almighty Haas Effect

Ok, back to working with mono tracks.

I use the Haas effect to some extent on pretty much every song I mix,
considering the fact that clients submit many mono or fake stereo tracks.

What is the Haas effect? I looked up a few definitions online to copy here,
but they were all so confusing, I'm going to make up an easy John Rogers
two part definition. Ha!

First off, the Haas Effect is used to - Create stereo sound from a mono
audio track, or to increase the stereo field of a stereo file..

How Is The Haas Effect Done?

By copying the mono track and then offsetting the start time (several
milliseconds) of one of the tracks. Then panning them left and right (not
necessarily full L/R just on opposite sides). Finally, adding different effects
to each side is also required to intensify the stereo effect.

Sometimes I get in R&B songs with great vocal performances, but they're
all mono adlibs and background vocals. I have to Haas Effect everything,
and the results are amazing!

Note – To use the Haas Effect on stereo interleaved files (that are really
mono), you will first have to separate the left and right side into two
mono tracks. Most DAW software allows you to do this on import.

OceanofPDF.com
 #3 Lead Vocal Not Loud Enough Or Inconsistent
(30%)

*Problem #1 –

The lead vocal is too low for the entire song. I see this VERY often in
heavy metal songs because many times the singer can't sing very well. And
90% of the time the client refuses to raise the volume level, regardless of
what I tell them.

I'll say, “I honestly can't understand 70% of the vocals in this song, AT
ALL!” And they come back with, “Oh we want some of the words to be a
mystery. You know how songs on the radio, you can't understand every
word?” Yeah I do. A word or two I can't understand, or maybe half a
sentence. But NOT 70% of the song!

*The Solution –

Play a song for a friend who doesn't know the words, and have them
repeat them back to you. Or at least have them tell you which words they
can't understand, so you can make those vocals louder.

*Problem #2 –

The vocals are inconsistent. In the verses they are too loud, in the chorus
they're run over by the music, etc.

*The Solution –

I cover this in detail in the very next chapter, mistake #2 inconsistent tracks
and sections.
OceanofPDF.com
 #2 Inconsistent Tracks And Sections (60%)

There are several related problems I will address here.

The main reason for most of these problems is the song was not mixed
in sections.

Specific attention was not given to each section (opening, verses, chorus,
bridge, finale) with a goal of making each one sound great.

What usually happens is once a sound engineer chooses their effects (which
includes EQ) and volume levels, they use them for the entire song.

Nothing changes regardless of the fact that vocal and instrument tracks
are being added and subtracted from section to section.

An example, a hard rock song, the sound engineer sets the lead vocal
volume and uses heavy delay and reverb on it because the guy's singing is
terrible.

In this particular song, the guitars and drums are light in the verses, but the
mix sounds excellent in this section. Lots of space, full sounding stereo, the
lead vocal sounds a little distant but clear, etc.

Now the chorus comes in. Four loud stereo guitars are added to the mix.
Guess what happens to the other tracks once these guitars come in?

Question for you. If the mix sounds perfect during the verses, and then
four loud stereo guitars are added to the chorus, while NOTHING
changes with the other tracks, can the mix still sound perfect in the
chorus? It's impossible...
 This is like adding your preferred cream and sugar to a 10oz coffee, and
then pouring that cup into an empty 30oz one. Now add 20 more oz of
coffee, filling the cup up to the top.

Well, you now basically have black coffee again. The coffee ran over your
cream and sugar. Ha! You have to adjust the cream and sugar levels again to
get your preferred taste.

The same goes for music. If track numbers greatly vary from section to
section, effects and volumes need to be adjusted too. You can't just set
everything at the beginning of the song and let it go all the way to the
end!

Note – Of course singer songwriter, monotonous simple EDM and some hip
hop songs don't apply here.

For example, if a song starts with five vocal/music tracks and ends with the
exact same five tracks (nothing ever changes), then yes, you can just mix the
beginning of the song and you're done.

A Mix Isn't Only One Mix

Back to the “mixing in sections” concept. Technically, a mix isn't ONE

mix. Think of it as several mixes. You have an opening mix, verses mix,
chorus mix, bridge mix, the finale mix, etc. Each section has to be mixed
independently to sound great.

In the 90's, when I was just starting out in music, I watched several mixing
videos and read a few books. Not even one mentioned this concept!! They
did exactly what I mentioned above in the hard rock song example. Set it
and forget it.

Back then, my mixes always sounded like crap and I couldn't

understand why. One day I was sitting there and thought, this would all
 sound a lot better if I mixed each section separately and adjusted the tracks
so they all worked together to sound great in every section. DUH!

Here's a small fact to help you understand this concept even better.

A pro mixing engineer who gets paid $15,000 plus to mix one song, he uses
several different reverbs and delays on the lead vocal track in a song.
Usually, a different combination is used in every section. And this is done
with all tracks to some extent.

So, that ONE reverb you use on your vocal track for the entire song,
this is wrong.

Specific Track/Section Problems And Their Solutions

Now, I'm going to go through seven section problems I often see in client
mixes (in no specific order).

#1 Super Bright Solos (very common when applicable)

* The Problem -

The mix sounds good during sections where the instrumentation is full
(let's say 12 tracks). It was mixed well.

Now, track numbers are reduced in a new section, say down to 2-3 tracks.

The problem, one vocal or instrument track that is being featured is

now way too loud and bright.

This happens because the offending track was mixed to sound great
with full instrumentation around it. It can't possibly still sound great if
everything is shut off around it. The mix has drastically changed!
 I see this often in Hip Hop mixes. The bass is completely shut off in a few
sections, leaving a super bright lead vocal. It's terrible. Reason being, the
lead vocals are EQ'ed bright to cut through the big bass, and this works well
while the big bass is playing. But not when it's turned off.

*The Solution –

Using the Hip Hop example above, there's a good balance when all
instrumentation is playing. So, we need to address that bright vocal when
the bass goes off.

Consider this bass-less part a new section, and mix it accordingly. No

bass means you need to mix whatever is left playing less bright, compared
to when there was bass.

EQ cut any bright tracks at around 4-5k, or lower their volumes (though
this probably won't work).

You might even compress any offending tracks harder since they no
longer need to cut through the mix in the bass-less section.

Also, no bass (or when instrumentation is thin) also means the song will
be thinner. More delays and reverbs might be necessary to beef up this
section.

Remember, we want each section to sound good.

#2 The Lead Vocal Gets Run Over By The Music

*The Problem -

I talked about this earlier. When this happens, it's usually a hard rock
song, where the lead vocal is never loud enough to begin with and the
 guitars completely bury it in the chorus. But of course, this could happen in
any song.

With Hip Hop, I don't see this problem very often. The vocals are up
front to begin with, and instrumentation is usually so thin it can't run the
vocals over.

*The Solution –

Sometimes just making the vocals louder solves the problem.

Or even a combination of raising the vocal volume, and lowering the

volume of the added chorus tracks.

The solution could also be to remix it for space, giving the vocal more room.
I talk about this is the next chapter.

#3 The Chorus Is Too Loud/Thick Compared To The Rest of The

Song

*The Problem -

The chorus is obviously just too big compared to the rest of the song.

*The Solution -

If the chorus is mixed well and the only problem is its overall volume level,
you can link all the chorus tracks together on your DAW mixer board
and move the faders down as a whole, a few dbs (provided you have your
choruses separate from the rest of the song).

The thickness issue, I address in the next chapter which focuses on creating
space in a mix.
#4 The Song Opening Or Verses Are Too Quiet Or Thin Compared
To The Rest Of The Song

*The Problem -

Sometimes songs are arranged with thinner instrumentation and vocals at

the start, and then they build up from there. But they're just not loud or
thick enough.

Even though track numbers are light, you still want this opening part to
sound full with decent thickness. You can't have a dry weak vocal and thin
instrumentation while we wait for more tracks to be added.

*The Solution -

If the opening/verses are mixed well and the only problem is their overall
volume level, you can link all these tracks together on your DAW mixer
board and move the faders up as a whole, a few dbs (provided you have
them separate from the rest of the song).

If there's a thickness issue, doubling your tracks could be a solution. I

do this often when the arrangement is thin.

Adding effects like reverbs and delays to create thickness is another

solution.

Maybe even add more instrumentation. If it's your song, you could add a
light background instrument like a synth pad to fill the arrangement up a bit.

#5 Vocals/Instrumentation Go In And Out

*The Problem -

Example, the kick drum is too loud in the verses, it's run over and weak in
the chorus, and in the finale the kick is GONE!

*The Solution -

Usually just manually gaining or cutting the .wav file's volume where
needed will do the trick. If it's way too low in a section, gain it up several
dbs.

Of course you can just raise the fader volume (if the section is separate
from the rest of the song).

But I like to manually use the gain function on the .wav files when faced
with the scenario. Especially on vocals. Sometimes a few words get run
over by something in the mix. It's easier to just highlight those few words
in the .wav file track and gain them up a few dbs, until they cut through.

It's amazing how you can't even tell the vocals are getting louder since the
music is too. To the brain, the vocals sound like they are a consistent
unchanged level.

If there's a phase issue, where the bass guitar/synth is running over the
kick and phasing (canceling) it out, you can raise the kick volume as loud as
you want and you still won't be able to hear it. It won't work.

If this is the case, you have to HI Pass EQ filter your bass so it doesn't
bleed into the kick. I talk about this more in the next chapter that deals with
EQ space issues.

#6 Something That's Supposed To Be Playing Is Missing

 There are a few exceptions, but usually you want to be able to clearly hear
every track in the mix, to some extent.

The problem is when something is just gone!

How could this happen?

A. A track is muted by mistake.

B. Phase issues. Two similar frequencies are crossing each other and
one is being canceled out. HI & Low Pass filtering, could be the
solution.

C. Very simple, the track just isn't loud enough. You can't hear it.

D. The track is getting smashed, no space. Again, this is discussed

in the next chapter on space.

E. Instrumentation is too thick and there's no room for the track to

cut through. Do you really need all the tracks you are using in the
arrangement to achieve the desired sound you're looking for? Can you
achieve what you're looking for with less tracks?

#7 EQ problems from section to section

I don't see this very often, but when I do it's a bad problem to have.

*The Problem -

The verses are super bright, the chorus is super dull, the bridge is
perfect.

In audio mastering, any EQ adjustments affect the entire song as a

whole. Since this problem can't be fixed with traditional audio mastering, it
has to be fixed in the mix.
 Using the example above, if I boosted the EQ at 4-6k in audio mastering, to
brighten up the super dull chorus, the super bright verses now become
distorted bright!

*The Solution -

You have to EQ each section properly. Remember, we want each section

to sound good.

Listen to the entire song for inconsistencies in EQ. You want a good
balance from section to section.

The major problem here is super brightness, and then dull sections. If
you notice this, many times adjusting the volume of the offending super
bright tracks will solve this problem. And then audio mastering will take
care of the dull parts in the mix.

Or an EQ cut in the 4-6k range might do the trick.

Lastly, compressing the offending tracks could be an option. But I would

try the first two before compressing. I hate to lose dynamic range on bright
instruments if I don't have too.

OceanofPDF.com
 #1 Not Enough Space In The Mix, Very Crowded -
Especially in The Choruses (70%)

This is the BIG ONE! At least 25,000 of the over 40,000 songs I've
mastered (to some extent) suffered from lack of space. This problem is so
big, I get a little more detailed with my solutions in this chapter.

Before I get into the problems and their solutions, let's discuss how a good
commercial radio song should sound.

When listening to a commercial radio song that is mixed and mastered

very well (and most are) everything is very clean and clear.

I can clearly hear the lead vocal that has it's own space in the mix, and I
can clearly hear the effects on it too.

The snare has its own space and can clearly be heard, along with any
effects it might have.

I can also distinctly tell the bass and kick apart, they are not canceling
each other out or muffled.

Everything has it's own space. Even the soft synth pads coming in, I can
clearly hear them too. The kick has punch and the bass has presence.

* The Problems –

I don't know any other way to explain it other than the song mix is just
a big mash of noise. Just solid sound with no space between any of the
tracks. And any effects used are a mystery.
 FYI – Of course I know there are genres where solid noise and a guy
screaming is the goal of the song. Ha! I'm not talking about that genre. 98%
of the time, we don't want that.

* Why This Happens –

1. If it's someone who is pretty good at mixing (which is most of my clients)

it's usually because they want to achieve this “big sound” and they go to far
with the vocals/instrumentation or effects.

2. Or of course, they just don't know what they are doing. Ha!

Here are some specific related problems -

1. Effects are too heavy, or too much unneeded instrumentation.

2. Panning is poorly done.

3. Subtraction EQ to create space is not done very well, or many times

not at all.

4. Sometimes, to some extent it's all three.

* The Solutions –

1 . VOCALS/INSTRUMENTATION OR EFFECTS ARE TOO

HEAVY

I was working on a song with a good friend who really knows music.
He's been into music 20 plus years as a singer, songwriter, and mixer.

He gives me a song to master that he's really passionate about. It's his
“big song” and he wants it to sound big!

Well, the mix he gives me is an absolute TRAINWRECK! Super mash of

noise, crazy excessive reverb!
 This was so odd to me. How could this happen with someone who knows
music so well?

The reason? I guess you could say his emotions took over his sonic
evaluations. In his excitement to make this “big sound” he just kept adding
instruments, vocals and effects without limitation.

This would be like someone who wants to start a real healthy diet but they
over do it, taking 100 vitamins and 10 scoops of protein every day. There's
only so much the body can process at a time. More does not always mean
better.

Well, the same goes for music arrangements.

Heavy Vocal/Instrument Tracks

Those powerful stereo guitars you hear in that song you like could be
only two tracks with a nice distortion effect and delay on them. Not six
guitar tracks using every effect plugin you own, like you're trying to do!

That thick choir singing in the background that sounds great, might be
only four vocal tracks, not eight like you're trying to squeeze in there.

Anything you want to sound “real big” many times it doesn't take as much
as you think to achieve it.

Whatever your plan is to achieve that big sound, cut it down a bit since most
people naturally go overboard.

Remember, less vocal/instrumentation tracks and effects means

everything else has more space and will be clearer.

It's so hard to judge your own material, let someone listen and get some
feedback.
 If you're thin, it will be obvious to the casual listen, and they will let you
know.

Note – I get in a lot of thin songs to work on too. I don't want you to
eliminate so many tracks that your songs are too thin. I'm all for doubling up
instruments and vocal tracks when needed. Just don't go over-board.

Listen to similar good commercial radio reference tracks and compare

their track thickness levels to your songs, and then replicate them.

Effects Are Too Heavy

As you add more vocal/instrument tracks to a section, you must reduce

your effects.

On the flip side, when vocal/instrumentation tracks are thin, you need
to add effects.

For example, a song has two background vocals in the bridge, that have a
high amount of hall reverb and slight delay on them.

When the chorus starts, four more background vocal tracks are added to the
original two.

Now that you have six background vocal tracks, you will probably be able
to considerably reduce the reverb and delay on those original first two
tracks.

All six tracks will more than likely have very light effects on them, and will
still sound nice and full.

This also gives you more clarity in the vocal tracks. And you're leaving
space for the rest of the song, which means the entire song will be clearer
and more dynamic.
Here's another tip -

So many times I've seen people ask online, “What should I set my
instrument volumes at, and exactly which effects should I use, and how
much?”

It's impossible to give someone volume and effect presets for a song
without hearing it.

It could be a singer songwriter song (only guitar and vocal), or a hip hop
song with only drums and one synths. Both of these songs are very thin. Or
a huge 50 piece orchestra mix. Everything is different. How could anyone
possibly give you exact preset settings?

Even within a single song it's impossible. Volumes and effects have to be
changed accordingly from section to section.

2. PANNING

This is basic mixing. If anyone knows anything about mixing, they usually
get this right. So, I'm not getting too deep into this.

But then again, I do get in a lot of hip hop mixes that really centralize the
entire mix.

When I first started out mixing for a living, I never realized how
important panning was until I worked with this guy who submitted a pop
rock project. The song arrangements had a lot of acoustic guitars, but also
included synth melodies and occasional vibes.

He sent me stereo tracks already panned and told me to leave them “as
is.” The lead vocal and drums were centralized, and everything else was
panned L/R 50 or more.
 When you pan this way, there is so much space in the center of the mix
that the lead vocal and drums sounds amazing!

Also, you don't have to crank up the volume or brightly EQ the lead vocal
(or snare) so it can cut through the mix. It's just there, clean and clear with
its own space.

I get in many songs to master where the lead vocal is the brightest and
loudest element in the mix, so it can cut through. This is wrong and will
create problems. And it's still not clear because the mix is too thick.

When a mix is properly panned (and the vocals/instrumentation and

effects are not overdone) the lead vocal can be the 3rd or 4th brightest
element in a song and still sound great. And you'll be surprised how low you
can make the vocal volume and still hear it perfectly.

Experiment with your panning!

3. EQ Subtraction And HI & LOW Pass Filtering

I saved the best and biggest for last! I would say at least 40% of the clients
I work with don't use subtraction EQ at all!

Most of their songs still sound pretty good after I master them at my studio,
JRmastering.com. But if they would have used subtraction EQ, their
songs move up to commercial radio quality level.

The Problem -

What these clients do is they record their guitars and vocals, play the
keyboard or synth bass sample, drums, etc., and then balance volumes and
add effects. Basic mixing, just like we all do. Nothing is wrong yet.
 The problem is they never use subtraction EQ on anything. If they use
EQ at all, it's addition EQ to brighten up the mid-frequency tracks, or they
add bass to the bass tracks. That's about it.

Note – This is how I mixed for many years when I first started out. Not
good.

The problem is frequency ranges collide in many of the tracks, creating

a big muffle (the opposite of separation). Not to mention, this is also a
space eater.

Subtraction EQ is used to create space where needed.

*The Solution - Subtraction EQ

Why Do You Need subtraction EQ?

HI & Low Pass EQ filtering or any subtraction EQ reduces or

eliminates a designated frequency range in an audio track, which gives
space to other priority tracks in that range.

And the reason you want to do this is because there's a limitation to the
amount of audio material you can have in any given frequency range
before everything becomes muffled and smashed. You have to give each
vocal/instrument its own frequency space, the best you can. And prioritize
space when necessary.

Here's an example. Let's say you have a song that includes a kick, bass, and
a piano (that's playing a lot of low frequency notes). And then throw in a
bassy “Barrry White” sounding singer.

All four elements mentioned above have audio content in 200hz-500hz

range (some more than others) and it's all colliding.
 If EQ is not subtracted from any of these tracks, you WILL have a big
muffle.

HI & Low Pass EQ Filtering Is A Must For Frequency Space

This is where Hi & Low pass EQ filtering comes in. Since so many
people know nothing about this, I have to explain the basics.

How it works, if you set a Hi pass EQ filter at 1k, everything below 1k is

muted. Everything above 1k passes through. It's a “Hi pass” filter. Which
means whatever frequency range you set, everything higher than the
setting passes through.

A Low Pass EQ filter is in reverse. Below the frequency you set passes
through, and above is muted.

LOW PASS EQ FILTERING A SUB-BASS

1. Sub-bass With The Meat @ 40-80hz

 2. Low Pass EQ Filter @ 200hz

Every vocal/instrument's audio content spans across the frequency

range (to some extent).

In the first picture, notice how the sub-bass audio content spans from 20hz
to 3k. And it peaks +6dbs @ 60hz. 60hz is where the sub-bass is most
powerful. The meat of the sub-bass is right around 40-80hz.

Now, look at all the audio content past 200hz. The sub-bass doesn't need
to span this much of the frequency range. This only makes sense. If it does,
all it's going to do is run over the kick/bass combo and bleed into the vocals
and MIDs.

The sub-bass is very low in the frequency range, and that's where we want
to isolate it.

In the second picture, a Low Pass EQ filter is applied @ 200hz. Everything

above 200hz is completely muted, leaving (isolating) only the meat of the
sub-bass.

That's the object of HI & Low Pass EQ filtering!

Isolating THE MEAT of each track's frequency range! Which leaves

space for other tracks.
If you're not doing this with your songs, you will be IN SHOCK once you
apply EQ filtering to every track. The clarity and space you gain is crazy!

Note – One exception that comes to mind is a rock kick drum (a real
drum). Around 1k, there's very little audio content. The .wav file will be
down near the bottom.

But in this 1k area is the click of the kick. This is one instance where you
don't want to isolate the meat. Doing so would eliminate this kick drum
click.

Some engineers slightly EQ boost this 1k click area, and then filter out
between 200hz to 500hz.

HI & LOW PASS FILTERING A MALE ROCK VOCAL

1. Male rock vocal. The meat's @ 350hz-2k

 2. HI Pass @ 300hz & Low Pass @ 15k

Most vocal tracks and mid frequency instruments, the meat is in the
middle of the frequency range. When this is the case, you can both HI
AND Low Pass EQ filter these tracks, isolating the meat, as seen in the
pictures above.

A few notes here.

For the lead vocals, move around in the 300hz range with the HI Pass
EQ filter. You want to remove the lead vocal's bass that will collide with
any instrument bass, but you don't want to remove so much of it that it
sounds thin, tinny, and nasally like Pee-wee Herman.

And, the Low Pass EQ filter @ 15k was done more for the sake of
example. To show that you can HI & Low Pass EQ filter the same track.
The audio content is so weak after 10k, Low Pass EQ filtering is optional.
Note – A perfectionist will use this option.

One exception to HI & Low Pass EQ filter usage is if

vocals/instrumentation is light. Let's say you have only a piano (which
spans the entire frequency range) and a vocal track. Well, you probably
won't have to HI or Low Pass anything here. There's nothing that can
collide in this example.
 What little audio content you have in your LOW Band, you can't eliminate it
with a HI Pass EQ filter and have a bass-less song.

EQ filtering is needed only when multiple tracks are colliding.

MORE ON EQ FILTERING

The kick/bass EQ filtering is a very important one. If the bass or synth-

bass bleeds into the kick it could phase (cancel) it out.

This problem can be solved by HI Pass EQ filtering the bass or synth-

bass somewhere around 100hz. Move around that range until you're off the
kick, and then boost the meat of the bass or synth-bass.

Then Low Pass EQ filter the kick around 120hz, so it's not bleeding into
the bass or synth-bass.

Note – Many times you can't perfectly filter out all bleed through. There
will be some going on. Any reduction is an improvement.

Bright instruments like a violin, cymbals, hi hats those can be HI Pass

filtered around 3k. Once again, slide around in that range.

I was going to make a basic chart for each instrument, but even similar
instruments have subtle frequency differences.

Just pull up your EQ for each track and see where the meat in the
frequency range is. And then isolate it with HI or Low Pass EQ filtering
(or both).

It's all about isolating the meat!

EQ FILTERING IN AUDIO MASTERING

 Hi & Low Pass EQ filtering is primarily used on a track by track basis
in mixing, not in audio mastering.

The exception when it could be used in audio mastering would be a Hi end

hissy song (@ 12k) or Low rumbly/distorted sub-bass bass (@ 30hz).

Hissy songs, I use the Low Pass EQ filter on them maybe 2% of the time.
This technique is rarely ever needed.

When it is needed, it's usually some real old guy's crappy rock songs he
transferred from cassette tape (or 8 track). That he recorded in the 70s, when
he was in his prime. Ha!

Hi Pass EQ filtering a sub at 20-30hz, I don't think I've ever done this in my
lifetime. But some sound engineers swear by it.

Lowering the LOW Band's volume using a multi-band compressor in

audio mastering is the solution for a bad sub-bass, not HI Pass EQ
filtering in mixing.

Notching Out A Frequency Range To Create Space

*The Problem -
Sometimes you have a vocal and an instrument (or a few instruments)
with the EXACT same frequency meat. They're all competing for space,
but you need one to cut through.

*The Solution -
This is where EQ notching comes in. Basically, you're cutting the meat
out of one or several tracks (using a narrow Q) so the meat from another
track can come through.
Or you can do it with an entire instrumental song mix, like the example
below.

PREPPING A LEAD VOCAL AND EQ NOTCHING OUT

SPACE FOR IT

1. Hip hop Vocal Track. HI Pass @ 350hz& +3dbs @ 1.5k

2. Entire hip hop song mix. -20dbs @ 1.5k using a very narrow Q of 12

In this example, we will be working with a two track mix. I've done a
mix/master on over 1,000 two track song mixes.
A rapper buys a beat (that's a hip hop instrumental) online, and then
raps to it.

Many times the beat is not arranged or mixed with space to add a lead vocal
track at a later time. So, it's tough getting it to cut through.

In the first picture, the vocal is HI pass EQ filtered at 300hz, and then we
boost the meat +3dbs @ 1-2k. I guess technically, with this boost we're
creating our own meat.

We just created a vocal track that will nicely cut through the song mix.

In the second picture, we notch out some of the 1-2k frequency range to
make room for the vocal.

Most of the time this works very very well. You can go from not being
able to understand half the vocals to 100% clarity, once this technique is
applied.

Note – If you're a perfectionist, cut up the music track and do not apply the
EQ notch out when the vocal isn't playing.

Or you can automate this. You only need to notch out vocal space from the
beat when the vocal is playing.

The above example used a vocal track and an entire song. Of course you
could do this with individual tracks too.

For example, a few blaring guitars are wiping out the lead vocal. You can
notch them out a bit at 1k to make room for the lead vocal.

Some sound engineers swear by this EQ notch out technique, while

others will never do it. Myself personally, I go by ear. If I need space I will
try it. If it works it stays. If it doesn't sound right, I don't use it.
OceanofPDF.com
 MY MAIN RESOURCES

Check out my other two books in the Music Production Secrets

Series
OceanofPDF.com
 Thank You!

I would like to thank you for purchasing this book. Your support is
greatly appreciated. I hope it has immensely improved your song mixing
skills.

Stay confident, work hard, and keep on learning. After 30 years in music, I
still learn a little something here and there every week. "Learning Is For A
Lifetime!"

I wish you the very best of luck in all that you do! Cheers! God Bless!

Your Friend,

John Rogers

OceanofPDF.com
 Contact Info

Contact Me - [email protected]

Follow Me On Instagram - @JRmasteringStudio

Follow Me On Facebook - @JRmasteringLasVegas

Follow Me On Twitter - @JRmastering

Follow Me On YouTube - JRmastering

Revised 2021 - Copyright 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission from JR Mastering, except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests
please email John Rogers at [email protected].

Ordering Information:

Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations,

associations, and others. For details, contact John Rogers at
[email protected].

OceanofPDF.com