Bus processing

Beware sometimes bus processing can counteract track processing.¹

What gives a mix that extra 20%, things like clarity, depth, groove, is often won through focusing on the minutiae.² Mike Senior first addresses problems (like phase, masking, balance) on the track level, and addresses sweetening (like tonal, musical EQ and compression) on the bus level, then does additional bus EQ and widening at the very end. This is similar to his thoughts on Technical vs. musical processing.³

Marc Daniel Nelson has a similar approach, solving technical issues at the track level but doing the sweetening at the buss level, then going to the mix buss.⁴ Gregory Scott likewise leaves bus processing for the end, not “mixing into” his bus processors.⁵

• Use a single bus EQ for high freq boost
• Boost the highs on the side and the lows on the mid
• Use bus compression for glue
• Try a transformer across the mix bus
• Use a holographic sound on the mixbus
• Try out half as much bus processing
• Mix at -14VU
• Use multiband compression to control low end
• Jaycen Joshua mixbus presets
• Use a safety pre-mastering limiter
• Use a lead instruments bus