tips

Modern club and pop productions are often dynamically ‘dense’ throughout the frequency spectrum, notably in midrange and high-mid areas. Strike that balance between punch, life and solidity – parallel compression is a good option

Limiters have a bad rep – but used carefully, they can transparently shave off unnecessary transient peaks from beats and spiky synths without damaging the audio. Try 1-2dB of gain reduction, then slowly progress from there

If a section of a signal is harsh in the mix, and dynamic EQ isn’t precise enough, think about chopping that bit out and EQing it on another channel. Or, automate an EQ to dip harsher jumps

Embrace the oldschool aesthetic and use harshness to your advantage by leaving in occasional resonances within vocal samples or synth stabs