In FL, there's a knob under each mixer track called 'Stereo Separation' that can be turned clockwise to merge the audio to mono. It's on the Master track as well.

Listening and mixing in mono is a really good habit to get into. If not for making sure sounds aren't vanishing on smaller mono speakers, it's a great way to ensure your most important sounds are up front and taking centre stage, and also for making sure your bass isn't disappearing, or not as solid as it sounds in stereo.

As Wontolla said, go by ear. Meters will only serve to distract you, and occasional peaks won't change the average volume of your track compared to a mastered, limited release.

I use Maximus in FL, so that I can solo the Low, Mid, and High bands to make comparisons easier. It really helps me to hear which freq areas can be pushed more or adjusted, especially with bass.

Quote from: Neutrin05 on March 29, 2016, 03:32:31 am

One thing I did do however, was purchase Serum to replace Massive.  The sounds that come out of Serum are sooo much higher in quality than massive.  So hopefully that could help me some as well.

A saw is a saw. Ultimately, equipment doesn't make the mix as much as the mind and, more importantly, ears, operating it.

The only thing I would add to this is that different synthesizers have different methods of generating oscillators. Depending on how Serum generates a sawtooth waveform, it could be tonally different from Massive due to whichever single-cycle saw waveform Massive uses in their wavetable. Some synths have brighter or fuzzier sawtooth single-cycle waveforms; others have more dull or bodied ones.

There's a really good write-up at KVR about how Sylenth1 and Hive share a similar method of saw oscillator generation based on note and frequency. It also shows how a lot of synth developers go beyond just the basic coded sawtooth generation by raw numbers. https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=427890

Sorry to hi-jack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efKabAQQsPQ

Had forgotten about their vids. Thanks for the memory jog!

Holy hell, I had no idea this had even gotten responses, let alone such incredible praise. Thank you all so much! It's hugely encouraging to receive replies on my work.

So, just running down the list of people who've left comments:

3Phase, that pad is a vocal drone, yes. That particular one was a very old sample I found online - I can send it over if you'd like? I'm starting a tutorial site in late March for niche effects like these - it's pretty straightforward stuff: stretch a sample with Paulstretch or a granular synth, wash with reverb. I do it for a lot of atmospheric sounds.

David Zavalla, agreed! I've come a lot further since this mixdown, and pay more attention to them now. I do prefer not to push the high end too hard, though.

Przemoemo, thank you!

NameandForm, thanks mate! I try to pay careful attention to where sounds sit in the mix, but often neglect movement. I feel this track ended up a little narrow. The lead is a combination of Sylenth1 (for it's great low end weight with the filter drive) and Adam Szabo JP6K (for the spread-out highs).

Brno, that vocal sample is a torn-apart and re-arranged section of parts from Black Octopus's fantastic Siren by Veela pack. All the sounds are available from their free sampler of it.

Gahmee, Anjunabeats would be a dream come true, and it's my highest vision. Thank you!

djdillyc, sent you a message on Soundcloud!

Aerithos, thank you! I try to make my music as atmospheric and moody as I can.

Marrow Machines, I do look up to the mau5, so thanks! I try not to push the high end as much as others tend to, because I don't like how shrill it can become.

lyteside, I know you from the Anjunaforum! I think my mixing's come much further since this one, and the thickness has been slimmed down a little since. I tended to neglect the low mid region in older works.

RDtitan, I have a few more tracks on the way. I'm travelling overseas for a few weeks and won't be anywhere near my music PC, but I'm definitely open to collab! My Soundcloud is probably the easiest point of contact at the moment: https://soundcloud.com/kinesthetics

Again, thank you everyone. It's really lifting stuff!

Almost everything under 20hz is inaudible, so cutting it out of the track isn't too noticeable. If anything, it helps when compressing or limiting the track, if they don't have a HP roll-off.

As for the speaker damage rumour, it has some truth to it. If someone has produced a track without paying attention to the sub end (very common with new producers because you cannot hear it - out of sight/hearing, out of mind), and something's put a stupid amount of bass energy down there, like a loud kick-drum, it's going to smash the hell out of the subwoofer driver/amplifier, which CAN get damaged as a result. I vaguely remember reading that most big speakers/subwoofers have safety thresholds for damaging levels nowadays, however.

Sylenth1 is my go-to synth for sounds, but it doesn't cover everything I need. I use Harmor for more complex, digital sounds and textures, for example.

I think it's a good idea to get two or three quite-different synthesizers to cover all your bases. Sylenth1 does subtractive, rich 'bread & butter' sounds perfectly, then Harmor does the crazier, more experimental things like Resynthesis. I have Massive for Wavetable-style synthesis too (and Z3TA 2, when it f***ing works), and that seems to cover every type of sound I'd like to design.

I don't know how detailed Serum is, and there's UVI's Falcon and a future WT one coming from Tone2, but I think it's very difficult to get one synth that does absolutely everything. I'd love to be proven wrong though!