How to achieve professional standard levels when Mixing & Mastering

This is something that I've never been able to grasp, I've been making music for 10 years now, I've been to college and university and nothing I've ever learned comes close, I've looked at countless videos on youtube and I just can't figure it out, and I don't know where else I can try to get information about it.

Basically, I can't for the life of me produce a track thats loud without peaking in the red, no technique I've ever tried has achieved anywhere near the loudness I'm aiming for but I know something must exist because you listen to most albums these days and they're very loud.

I've been working a lot lately on making beats and it's proving more difficult than ever to achieve a loud mix when working with so much low end, but I listen to a song like "Teenage Fever" by Drake and if I didn't already know better I would say it's impossible to make a track so loud without clipping, and the version on Youtube doesn't do it justice either, the album version on iTunes is insanely loud, theres so much low end subby bass warmth and a lot of warm mid frequencies, and the snare just punches through so loud, and yet it all sounds so clean, now I've tried finding a similar sounding Kick and Snare and playing each completely on their own, without any other instruments or synths, at no where near the volume of that track, and they already peak way above 0db so how is it possible? It's the one thing thats always confused the life out of me, does anyone have any help on this subject because I really need it. Please help me out, thanks.

The first thing I would do with everything that is available on the internet, is find an interview where they talk about how they created the tracks you mention.

A lot of times they mix on a console and not in the box (computer only), so that is already a big difference.

You cannot reproduce gear that costs thousands of dollars and whatever experience is involved with a couple of plugins in Logic.

It takes years to get good at mixing. So do some research about the engineers that mix the music you like.

The first thing I would do with everything that is available on the internet, is find an interview where they talk about how they created the tracks you mention.

A lot of times they mix on a console and not in the box (computer only), so that is already a big difference.

You cannot reproduce gear that costs thousands of dollars and whatever experience is involved with a couple of plugins in Logic.

It takes years to get good at mixing. So do some research about the engineers that mix the music you like.

Thanks for replying, I've found it very hard to find videos on this subject, you can rarely find videos from the engineers but they aren't talking in detail about the things I want to achieve, they'll talk about their preferences for how they mix, but they won't actually run through what they do to achieve the results. Sorry for these amateur sounding questions, I can mix to a good level, I just can't understand how to push it so loud with so much clarity, so are you saying that mixing on console can achieve vastly different results? Because if thats the case I do feel a little better.

I just can't understand how to push it so loud with so much clarity, so are you saying that mixing on console can achieve vastly different results? Because if thats the case I do feel a little better.

Mixing on a good console like SSL or Neve is a whole different story than in the box.

Of course there will be people that say that there's no difference anymore with all the new emulation plugins in the box, but I disagree.

You mix different on a console than in the box. And the end result is always better from the console in my opinion.

The few times I got lucky enough to mix on an SSL G+4000 it was total bliss.

With correct gain staging and smart use of EQ and compression, you can get a pretty loud mix in the box.

Also the ‘mixing stage’ and the mastering stage are two separate processes.

A finished perfect mix isn’t going to sound the same as a completed mastered song (particularly in loudness/fullness).

Both are processes that take a lot of time to learn and perfect. But mastering in particular requires good equipment and well treated rooms to get really professional results. There are workarounds to get decent results but they require a lot of trial and error.

I would recommend working on getting your mixes as good as you can and perhaps having at least one professionally (or semi-professionally) mastered. This will teach you a lot about the process and also reveal just how good your creations are capable of sounding. M

As far as finding interviews goes, try this. Look up some names of the studio producers of some of the groups you like or that are prolific in the genres you’re interested in. Then search for interviews with them.

As far as finding interviews goes, try this. Look up some names of the studio producers of some of the groups you like or that are prolific in the genres you’re interested in. Then search for interviews with them.

I have tried that and still no luck really, I found several videos of Noah Shebib talking about certain parts of the process but never actually in detail, I'd love to see a video where they completely break down the process like they do with production videos, explaining what they're doing and why.

List some influences as well as genres and labels you like. I’ll try to find some for you this weekend.

Also, doesn’t have to be a similar genre even. As far as some of the principal concepts go, you could learn a lot from a country music producer (or anyone). So in the meantime, just watch any interviews of any professional producer taking about their process.

List some influences as well as genres and labels you like. I’ll try to find some for you this weekend.

Also, doesn’t have to be a similar genre even. As far as some of the principal concepts go, you could learn a lot from a country music producer (or anyone). So in the meantime, just watch any interviews of any professional producer taking about their process.

Here’s one. I watched just a little. It seems more about his philosophy/approach rather than techniques but still useful.

With correct gain staging and smart use of EQ and compression, you can get a pretty loud mix in the box.

The main thing I didn't understand is that the snare alone, if played at the same volume as the reference track is clipping hard, I found basically the same sample and EQ'd it to be as close as possible, the high's weren't too harsh, there was no real thumping mids, just a standard snare, but clipping, it just confuses me. Could that be down to not mixing on console?

Are you comparing the snare alone or in the mix? Maybe carve out space in your mix for it and it will be perceived louder without clipping?

Alone, I'm happy with the levels of everything in my mix, and even my mix is a good volume, I'm just interested in how the professionals achieve so much loudness. If I play the snare on it's own in the track, at the same volume as the reference track it's way into the red, and I just don't understand how they can have such a loud mix with a snare thats already seemingly too loud, a nice clear kick drum, and so much warm low end, it seems impossible to me and yet I'm listening to just that. If I can't get the results I want I get too hung up on it, and it's bothering me that I don't know, and can't find how to make it happen.

Correct gain staging, smart use of EQ, layering many sounds, parallel compression plus individual and group compression.

Typical things they use to make things loud, if that's what you're after.