Tips for Mixing Loud Without Destroying Dynamics

I am personally not a fan of making my mixes as loud as they could possibly be just for the sake of being loud. However, there are times where it’s absolutely necessary to present a mix to a client that is as loud as commercially available mastered tracks. The trick is in how to deliver a mix that is loud without completely destroying the sonics and dynamics that were created in the mix.

So here I’ll offer a few tips on how I go about that by looking at the stereo bus chain on a recent mix. (Be sure to check out the corresponding audio examples at every step in the process).

The real trick in getting mixes loud is to do the compression and limiting conservatively in several stages as opposed to trying to make a single compressor/limiter do all the work in a single stage. Although my set up includes analog gear on the stereo bus the principles are the same for mixing in the box.

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