9 Tips for Mixing Kick Drums, When to Use Compression, and More

Learn 9 kick drum mixing techniques.

This was a great week for music production tips and tutorials. After swimming through a sea of information, I’m serving the best content from around the web to you on a silver platter. Learn how to mix your kick drums, pick up new studio gadgets for under $100, discover when it’s appropriate to use compression in your mix, and more.

9 Pro Tips for Mixing Kick Drums

There’s nothing quite like obsessing over a kick drum for hours on end. Hopefully, you’ll never have to do that again with this guide by Sundown Sessions. The tips in this guide include removing unnecessary frequency content, providing enhancement with EQ, using compression and triggers on your drum set, mixing your bass properly, and proper mix buss compression. Read the full article for the complete list of mixing tips.

Top 10 Home Recording Studio Gadgets Under $100

MixbusTV has compiled a list of helpful studio gear that’s priced under roughly $100. The list includes power conditioners, a cable tester, DI box, USB mic microphones, USB power hubs, microphone isolation shield, and more. Some highlights include the Ebtech Hum X Ground Line Voltage Filter and Tube USB Hub. It’s probably worth mentioning that not everything on this list falls exactly within the $100 budget, but most of it comes close.

When to Use Compression in Your Mix (3 Situations)

Black Ghost Audio demonstrates 3 scenarios in which it’s appropriate to apply compression to your mix, along with some recommended compressor settings. This article approaches compression from a “meet the need” perspective, turning compression into a problem-solving tool. If you know what the parameters of a compressor do, but you’re still struggling to apply compression effectively, this article is for you.

Interview With Grammy Award Winning Producer, Ben Billion$

Ben Billion$ is a multi-platinum, Grammy award winning, Miami-based producer who has worked with artists like Yo Gotti, Future, The Weeknd, and DJ Khaled. In this interview with Dave Pensado, Ben talks about his approach to creating music and how the Miami club scene helped shape his sound. As a bonus, Pensado demonstrates some great 808 widening techniques at the beginning of the video.

Are You Using Too Many Plugins?

In this free-flowing FAQ with Produce Like A Pro, a variety of topics are covered like EQing toms, tracking through plugins, the best way to approach drum alignment, and the amount of time you should practice recording and mixing each week. They’re also giving away a pair of White Kali LP-6’s, which Sonicscoop has reviewed in the past; these are great budget speakers that blow their competitors out of the water.

5 Focus & Productivity Hacks for Musicians

Vespers of Warp Academy talks about how you can train your mind’s ability to focus. Doing this will allow you to work at peak performance for more extended periods in the studio, which can result in getting more work done. He talks about the impact that focus has on musicians working at a professional level. The productivity hacks mentioned in this video include removing distractions, mind training, prioritizing micro-goals, single-tasking, and using productivity apps.

The Complete Guide to Recording Vocals

Recording vocals can prove to be one of the most challenging aspects of creating a song. You need to use the right microphone and mic placement. On top of this, you need to milk a quality performance out of your vocalist. Adding effects to vocals while tracking can save you time once you start mixing, so it’s important to know what types of tools to reach for. Matthew Weiss of The Pro Audio Files teaches you everything you need to know about recording vocals in this detailed guide.

For ‘Chernobyl’ Score, Hildur Guðnadóttir Went to A Nuclear Power Plant

‘Chernobyl’ is HBO’s incredibly popular new mini-series that tells the chilling story of the Chernobyl disaster that occurred in 1986 near the city of Pripyat, in the north of the Ukrainian SSR. For the score of ‘Chernobyl,’ composer Hildur Guðnadóttir traveled to a real nuclear power plant in Lithuania for inspiration and suited up in Haz-Mat gear. She says that “Trying to make music out of a story – most of it is about listening.” In an interview for Score: The Podcast, she talks about her experience in detail.

6 Ways to Choose the Right Synth

There are so many synths available that deciding on one can be quite the challenge. MusicTech offers up some tips to help you narrow down your choices. Do you want a software or hardware synth? Analog or digital synth? Modular or semi-modular synth? New or second-hand synth? A clone or not a clone? What’s your budget? If you’re in the market for a new synth, check out my recommendations under $1000 and over $1000.

Charles Hoffman is a Mixing and Mastering Engineer at Black Ghost Audio. After graduating from the University of Manitoba with an English degree, Charles completed his education at Icon Collective in Los Angeles, CA.

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