#15

The mix bus provides the final stage to tweak your mix and this month we look at how to compress it

Mixing is typically a spiral process where we gradually make smaller and smaller adjustments as we return to different aspects of the track. Processing the mix bus can play an important role in this and help achieve a finished mix that’s ready for mastering.

That said, opinions differ considerably about how much a mix should rely on overall mix bus processing, and specifically within this processing chain, whether a mix bus compressor is a good idea at all.

What’s clear is that poorly executed mix bus compression can both ruin your mix and massively compromise the mastering stage. These considerations can easily make us shy away from mix bus compression. However, properly executed mix bus compression can really help bring your mix components together, providing the mix ‘glue’ that makes everything sound cohesive and finished.

In this tutorial we’re going to focus on the best way to achieve this, looking at not only what we can expect from our mix bus compression, but also a couple of different approaches and also the type of compressor we’re using. By the end of the tutorial you should be more confident in your ability to select the right compressor, adjust the settings and add mix bus compression that will benefit your mix.