Shaping transients to create depth

Quiet transients and longer sustain can make a sound sit in the background.1 You can do this with compression or a transient designer. Dave Pensado demonstrates it here with a transient designer.2 Some instruments, like pads for example, naturally sit back in the mix for this reason.

Reverb can be used to create blend, but if it causes too much blend, expansion, gating, and transient processing can reduce the low-level sustain in between transients.3

Having a fast release on a compressor allows the transients to come through more. (On a tangential note, it also allows the compressor to react more often, creating a more leveled sound.) This helps the compressed source sit closer in the mix.4 The inverse is true too.

Phase changes from EQ can soften transients too.5 Pitch-shifting to create depth does a similar thing.

  1. 8 Tips for Creating Depth And Height In The Mix ↩

  2. Creating Depth with Transients - Into The Lair #130 - YouTube ↩

  3. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio pg. 280 ↩

  4. Vocal Compression Secrets of the Pros ↩

  5. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio pg. 209 ↩

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