26/03/2025
dAQb Mastering - Mixdown Tips
1. Kick & Sub Balance
Ensure your kick and sub are the loudest elements in the mix.
Keep kick and sub at the same volume—never let your sub be louder than your kick.
Make sure no other busses exceed the level of the kick/bass bus by monitoring the meters in your DAW’s mixer view.
Pro Tip: Play your track from start to finish with the mixer view open, step away, and check if any other busses exceed the kick/sub level.
Suggested Level: Aim for -13dB on both kick and sub.
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2. Stereo Width & Buss Management
Restrict the stereo width of all busses to 85-90%, except for the percussion bus, which stays at 100% width.
This ensures tight low-end focus while maintaining spacious percussion.
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3. Managing Peaks & Low-End Clashes
Roll off the low end of all elements (except kick/sub) to prevent bass clashes, which are the primary cause of peaks.
If using Ableton Live, apply the Utility plugin with "Mono Under 120Hz" enabled.
Recommended Roll-Off Points:
Percussion: Roll off everything below 500Hz.
Mid-bass: Roll off everything below 200Hz.
Everything else (except kick & sub): Roll off below 250Hz.
Percussion-Specific Roll-Off Guide:
All percussion (except claps/snares): Roll off below 500Hz (24dB slope).
Hi-hats: Roll off above 18kHz.
Claps/Snares: Roll off above 15kHz-18kHz.
Cymbals/Rides: Only roll off highs if they sound too harsh.
Non-percussive sounds: Roll off above 10kHz-15kHz (except for kick).
High-resonant sounds: Roll off above 15kHz-18kHz.
General Rule: Everything except Kick/Sub/Mid-Bass should have a low cut at 500Hz (use 18dB or 24dB slopes to avoid muddiness).
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4. Sample & Clip Volume Control
When loading samples directly into arrangement view (not via a sampler), set the clip volume to -7dB as a rule of thumb.
If using warp mode:
High-resonance sounds: Use Complex Pro mode.
Low-resonance sounds: Use Beats mode with a 1/2 or 1/4 rate to maximize bass punch.
Keeping initial sample volume lower ensures they don’t exceed +6dB at the start of your processing chain, preventing peak issues.
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5. Mono & Bass Management
Kick should always be mono.
Sub-bass should mostly be mono.
Every other channel should have the Utility plugin near the end of the chain with “Bass Mono” turned on to ensure a clean low-end.
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6. Buss Limiting
Add a limiter on all busses at the end of the chain.
Pro-L (Gentle & Musical mode) works well to smooth out peaks.
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These techniques will help you achieve a balanced, dynamic, and controlled mixdown with tight low-end and clear stereo separation.
