Mixing Piano House Explained
Join veteran Groove3 instructor Larry Holcombe for a near three-hour mixing piano house video course with all the stems included! In this series, you'll learn about the tools and concepts you need to create a pumpin' track that can stand up next to the pros. If you're tired of sterile, anemic mixes that fail to impress, this is the course for you! These videos are for those new to mixing piano house.
Videos
• Gain Staging (12:14) - We introduce the series in this video and also discuss how and why we gain stage the mixdown from the start, ensuring we have sufficient headroom and our effects are working in the "sweet spot."
• Volume (12:36) - Next up, we create a working balance for the mix blending sounds appropriately.
• Transient Shaping (04:03) - This video concentrates on creating space before we start the mixdown by reducing the level of decays in our top loops using transient shaping.
• Stereo Image (15:18) - Discover how to create front/back perspective using stereo image, making some sounds more mono and spreading others in the stereo field. This allows sounds to jump forward or back, creating separation.
• Sidechaining (06:15) - Learn to sidechain some of the sounds to create that trademark pump while also saving us headroom to use later for loudness.
• Filtering (13:43) - We continue on to filtering the low and high frequencies of our sounds, which allows us to create a mix that's "taller" and clearer in the extremities. This again enhances the 3D space we are aiming to create.
• Compression (15:52) - Explore the idea of maximizing front/back perspective and groove by using compression with specific attack and release times calculated using the Music Math app.
• Additive EQ Pt. 1 (14:30) - Next up, we choose certain sounds to focus on in the mix by selectively boosting areas of the frequency range for separation and mix clarity. We do this firstly by using shelving shapes to make subtle broad stroke adjustments.
• Additive EQ Pt. 2 (15:58) - Building on the previous video, we use parametric EQ to dial in more specific tonal adjustments.
• Saturation (15:36) - Discover how saturation is used to inject as much energy and vibe as possible into our marquee sounds. As another byproduct of this process, we're able to musically roll off transients to make our compression and limiting later down the line more transparent.
• Spatial FX (15:18) - After having focused so far on creating space and separation, we're now able to fill some of that space with a combination of early reflections and reverb. This leads to a bigger, more "3D" space.
• Parallel Compression (12:30) - It's time to hype up the mix with parallel compression, which adds extra energy and groove to each instrument group.
• Wrap-Up & Final Thoughts (08:29) - Finally, we isolate every stage of processing we've utilized during this video series to highlight exactly what each added to the final result while also comparing the new mixdown to the rough production mix.