Start Mixing with Plugins: 7 Easy Steps

Learn how to use plugins to get polished vocals, slamming drums, and a full low end

Take Your Music to the Next Level

Need help figuring out which plugins to use in your mixes – and how? This video course will walk you through a mix and show you how to process each instrument.

Graham Cochrane from The Recording Revolution will show you how to use plugins to get slamming drums, a fat bass sound, and guitars and synths that shine through the mix. You’ll also learn how to mix a vocal to sound full, clear and present; how to get a bigger, deeper sound with reverb and delay; how to set up your master buss for a quick reference mix; and how to pre-master your songs.

Learn mixing basics step by step in an easy-to-follow method
Get tips for mixing vocals, drums, bass, synths, guitars
Covers the entire process from setup to preparing for mastering
Learn useful techniques for EQ, compression, effects, and more

Learn Mixing with Plugins Step by Step

How to Set Up Your Master Bus
Learn how to EQ and compress your master bus at a very early stage of the mix, to give yourself a quick reference of what your final mix will sound like. This way you’ll be able to hear your individual channels in the right context, and make better mixing decisions when you mix each of them individually.
How to Mix Powerful Drums
Learn how to make your drums pop in the mix, give them more oomph and make them bigger and larger than life. You’ll learn how to add weight and clarity to your kick and remove unwanted rumbling; how to gate your snare; how to EQ and compress the snare to make it punchier; how to fatten up thin toms; and how to apply parallel compression to a drum group.
How to Mix Fat, Full Bass
Learn how to turn a DI-recorded bass into a fat, full, larger-than-life, mix-ready bass performance. You’ll learn how to add harmonics to your bass to make it sound fuller; how to cut low frequencies to create space in the mix for your kick; how to add clarity; and how to properly use compression on a bass.
How to Help Guitars and Synths Cut Through a Mix
Learn how to help your mid-range instruments cut through the mix and gel: How to EQ and compress acoustic guitars; how to add sustain to lead electric guitars; how to add top end to virtual and sampled pianos; how to enhance the top end of synths using plugins that model analog consoles; and how to compress and EQ synths to make them cut through the mix
How to Mix Polished Vocals
Learn how to get your vocals to sit upfront for a polished sound that will grab the listener right away. You’ll learn how to search for unwanted frequencies and clean them up with an EQ; how to apply compression to a vocal; how to get rid of unnatural “s” sounds; and how to clean up backing vocals and make them sit properly in the mix.
How to Create Depth in Your Mix
Learn how to use reverb and delay to give your tracks space and depth. You’ll learn how to use effects on an aux channel; how to get a bigger drum sound with reverb; how to find the right reverb settings for your track; how to add a sense of space to vocals and instruments; how to make your track sound bigger and wider without losing focus.
How to Prepare Your Track for Mastering
Learn the final mastering processes to perform on an entire individual song. Watch how to take an already mixed song and give it that final polish. You’ll learn how to add clarity, width and volume to your tracks; how to widen the stereo field of your mix; and how to push the levels of your mix in a musical way using a limiter.