Sticking with the Times

With technology moving at a faster pace than ever, keeping up is getting harder every year. New tools offer results in seconds for things you used to do in minutes, and as humans, we decide to fill the time we’ve saved by doing more work – spending more effort in that final 1% of a project to differentiate it from the rest.

As the technology improves, the techniques necessary to produce music change along with it. Some accepted wisdom no longer applies, but that doesn’t stop it from being exchanged and engrained via the internet – do we still need to worry about noise floors when we’re using a DAW? Meanwhile, a whole new set of norms, rules and best practices have developed to help people operate within the landscape of 2019 and its boosted toolset. How do you use the Range control on your compressor? How do you get hints on what instrument’s masking another? And how best to tie all these techniques together so you can use them at the click of a mouse any time you fancy?

In this guide, we’re going to give you the update you’ve been sorely needing, providing a catch-up for all the DAW-based tools that would have been unfathomable when music production began to take root. But first, a brief run-down of the top tech you can get your hands on in 2019…

Essential tools

Leading the mixing game is software development house iZotope. By investing in machine-learning technology, the Massachusetts software barons have opened up new avenues in audio, changing the game and throwing the gauntlet down for the future of mixing. While their RX and Ozone packages provide revolutionary takes on audio clean-up and mastering, respectively, it’s Nectar and Neutron that can change the way we mix.

Neutron provides a strip of processors that are aimed squarely at mixing, and its artificial intelligence means that these tools can identify masking, automatically set up starting points for its devices, and provide a new way of levelling and panning tracks. Nectar takes on vocal processing, offering the usual, dependable subjects for clean mixing, and wildcard effects for more creative vocal takes.

For a more home-grown, indie option, DMG Audio’s range of tools have been coming on in leaps and bounds over the years, each one offering microscopic, surgical control over a certain area. If you ever wanted to adjust FIR smoothing, Bleed, Ceiling Curve and Attack Curve Law in a compressor, Compassion is a ridiculously comprehensive choice.

FabFilter’s range of incisive and incredibly well-designed mixing tools can give you more than you ever thought you could want. The flagship Pro-Q 3 equaliser offers super-steep filters, individual mid/side selection for each band, and spectrum-grab band creation.

With the bounds beaten, it’s time to take you through the features and techniques behind today’s best mixing technology. Throw those faders to the wind and come with us…