Hey, guys. I'm always trying to level up my mixes. I've been paying attention to the way the music I jam has 808s and subs that sound spread out even though I know that low end instruments are supposed to be in mono; so I did a Google search on whether or not they should be in mono or spread out. Paraphrasing, it basically said do a little of both. This is how it said to do it: Methods for spreading high frequencies: • Mid/Side EQ: Use a Mid/Side EQ to apply a high-pass filter to the "Side" channel. This removes the low frequencies from the stereo field, effectively making your sub-bass mono while leaving the upper harmonics in stereo. • Stereo Imager: A dedicated stereo imaging plugin can expand the higher frequencies without affecting the low frequencies. Some plugins even have a "bass mono" feature to make this process easier. • Distortion and Saturation: Applying distortion or saturation to your 808 adds higher harmonic content. You can then use a mid/side EQ or imager to spread only these new harmonics. Both of my parametric EQs have midside processing as well as my mastering EQ and I believe a few of my other plugins do, too. For the parametric EQs, when I select the midside parameter, and I'm able to toggle between the two sides, are both changes being processed in each side even though I can only view one channel at a time? (Keep in mind I'm a fetus at midside processing.) And how does the mid channel get processed? Also, it says the upper frequencies should be widened. What are the "upper frequencies and upper harmonics" of an 808 or a sub? Would that be the frequencies that bleed into the low mids? I'm an amateur. My foundation is Dylan's YT tutorials, which I follow pretty much to the letter. Some of you are familiar with "The Chef Method" that works so well. Of course, there's also the reverb and compressor tutorials. After compounding all those different strategies (including the analog plugin chain) and then doing a little of my own creative work (transient shapers, tilt EQs, tremolo, etc.), I do a crap load of processing, so after every phase up until delay, I bounce each aux so I don't run out of inserts and don't run into the problems that come from overprocessing. At what point during The Chef Method (1. Cleanup, 2. Enhance/balance, 3. Mix bus EQ, 4. Blend, 5. Tweak/touch up) do I do the midside processing, widening, and saturation of the 808s and subs?

Hi, guys. First of all, this was not my idea. The Holy Spirit inspired it. (Yep, this guy is proud be a Christian.) I know, because I had already decided what I was going to do before I processed what it meant. Some of you pay the $35 a month to keep the most current version with the latest updates. Multiply that by the 12 months in a year. You're paying like $400 which isn't bad, especially spreading it out month to month... But... what if I told you could chop that number in half without selling your soul? The perpetual upgrade/update is $199. Sweetwater will let you pay monthly when you checkout with Affirm. And get this... it's a 12 month plan at $19 a month instead of the exact same benefits at $35/month. Actually, there is one benefit of paying the $19 a month. You're not renting it like the $35/month. This is a perpetual license. That $400 just dropped to $200 real easy, everybody still eats, and now you own your software. If you want to add another DAW to yourAvid and Sweetwater don't eat as much, but they do still benefit. Praise the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob!!! *Edit - This all applies ONLY to owners of previous versions of Pro Tools. Newcomers won't be able to start here. See the first comment and my reply.

Hey, guys. Could someone please look at the screenshot I attached and tell me, for the love of all that is holy, what this little knob does? I read the user guide, which didn't click. My masters always come out getting louder on the quieter parts of my beats and parts where there are less instruments playing. I randomly mess with this knob and eventually, I find a spot that levels it out. I want to get to a point to where I just know where to set it. The rest of the compressor is no problem, although the bleed section was giving me problems, too, until I read the user guide, but afterwards, that part was a breeze to work. How do I make this "Max Gain Reduction" knob work for me?

Yo, bro... your tutorials on compression, EQ, and reverb are freaking foundational. The stuff I learned from watching those long butt YouTube videos helped me to adapt to a variety of parameters in a variety of different plug-ins and even try out different methods that weren't in the tutorials that suit my individual beats. I'm really pleased with how my mixes are coming out But... It nags me that I don't understand midside processing and now, widening and I feel like the two may be connected to a certain extent. I'd love to get to know those two skills.