Dubstep, DnB, EDM Mixing & Mastering Tutorial for Beginners

Main ideas & lessons

• Target audience/genre fit: The tutorial is for heavy electronic music (e.g., drum and bass, bass house, dubstep, glitch hop, space bass) and is framed as especially useful for beginners.
• Core philosophy: “make it good, fast”
  • The goal isn’t perfect, best-ever mastering, but a solid, clean-enough mix/master by getting levels and structure right first.
  • The emphasis is on mastering/processing quickly (e.g., “in ~5 minutes”) during live demonstrations—learning what to do matters more than spending ages on tiny tweaks.
• Beginner-friendly method vs. traditional “effects-on-effects”
  • The video discourages overly complex workflows where effects are distributed across tracks/groups/mix bus/master in layers.
  • Instead, it promotes a simpler chain: set levels, create the sound, then stop processing and use limiting/clipping to reach loudness.
• Clipping/limiting as the main loudness tool (not much compression)
  • Clipping/limiting is presented as working especially well for aggressive heavy electronic music, where distortion/squishiness can be stylistically acceptable.
  • The speaker often avoids using a compressor, suggesting modern EDM workflows often start from pre-compressed samples, reducing the need for extra compression.
• Trust metrics and testing over guesswork
  • Use meters/plugins to hit loudness targets, check stereo/mono, and test sidechain behavior rather than assuming it’s correct.
  • A warning is given: many people are “cooked” because they use too many plugins, masking what’s actually deficient.
• Prioritize fundamentals
  • Before dialing in details, ensure you can hear/measure what’s missing (e.g., with sine sweep and spectrum tools).
  • Avoid unnecessary EQ “carving” based only on visuals; only make cuts when they’re clearly noticeable (rule-of-thumb: >30% noticeable change).

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Method / workflow presented (detailed)

1) Live support + motivation (channel strategy)

• Invite viewers to send tracks for live mixing/mastering.
• Condition to start: if the video reaches 2,000 likes, the creator will do live mixing/mastering for free.
• Proposed schedule: every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. PST.
• Disclaimer: the live purpose is to show how to get a good mix/master quickly—not necessarily the absolute best possible.

2) Step-by-step mixing & mastering approach

Step A — Set up and test your listening environment

• Perform a sine sweep test:
  • Start around 5,000 Hz and sweep down to 20 Hz.
  • Around roughly 50–40 Hz, your earbuds/speakers/room should shake / you should feel it.
• Use monitoring tools (examples mentioned):
  • SPAn, stereo imaging tools, etc. (also referenced later in the example project)

Step B — Build a simple, clear track/group structure (aim for ~6 groups)

Create groups such as:

• Kick + Snare group
  • Used as the trigger for sidechaining when needed.
• Sidechain group
  • Contains all elements you want to sidechain.
  • Often includes a dedicated Sub track (clean sine/controlled sub) for full control.
  • Note: the speaker says the top-pro referenced doesn’t use a dedicated sub, but the creator prefers it.
• Bass group
  • Contains bass-related frequencies excluding the sub (or excluding sub + harmonics via low cuts).
  • Optional: do “premixing” before driving the clipper (not required).
• Effects / risers / ear candy group
  • Can be processed together with bass distortion so it glues with the bass.
• Melodic group
  • Melodic elements may be inside or outside sidechain depending on vibe (speaker prefers simplicity but allows flexibility).
• Vocals group
  • “Real vocals” go here; atmos/echoed vocal elements may go to effects/risers instead.

Additional guidance:

• Before leveling up, produce 50–100 tracks using the simplest effective method.

Step C — Set monitoring loudness / loudness targets

• Use meters (example: SPAn) to manage loudness.
• Suggested loudness range:
  • Aim around -7 to -3 dB LUFS
  • The speaker says they’ve hit -2 and even -8, but people generally aren’t “mad” about it.
• Framing:
  • LUFS ties into how “squish/fat” you want the track to sound and whether it fits the intended vibe.

Step D — Choose loudness strategy: “redline the master” vs clipper

• Preferred approach (speaker’s reasoning):
  • Redline the drum bus/master (or master chain) to avoid fear—“train like with weights.”
  • Then, when using a high-quality clipper later, it’s like taking off the weights.
• Alternative:
  • Use a quality clipper (the creator references “New Fangled Saturate” as commonly recommended and notes they use it).

Step E — Solo-based mixing order for heavy electronic music

For bass-forward music, the creator’s order is:

1. Solo the bass group and get it loud enough to drive into a clipper.
2. Introduce sub and level it so the loudest parts get the distortion level the speaker wants.
3. Add kick + snare next.

Step F — Sidechain rules + testing (very emphasized)

• Recommendation:
  • Use a volume-based sidechain (discourages compression-based sidechains for “clean mix” goals).
  • Prefer an “almost stock plugin” for simplicity (though a specific tool is mentioned too).
• Tools referenced:
  • GM Audio Ducker is praised as simple and reliable.
• Critical requirement:
  • Always test the sidechain.
  • Don’t trust it “looks correct” (e.g., LFO Tool can appear visually correct while being wrong in reality).
• Testing method described:
  • Record/inspect the sidechain group so you can see when it ducks and returns.
  • Sample/record kick/snare bleed points to ensure bass starts with the intended crossfade.
• Sidechain is also described as “overdiscussed,” but still essential to check.

Step G — Don’t over-EQ-cut visually

• Avoid cutting/making room purely based on analyzer visuals.
• “Purist” rule-of-thumb:
  • Don’t do anything unless the change is more than ~30% noticeable.
  • If it’s only ~20% and doesn’t meaningfully help, skip it.

Step H — Build toward the drop and finalize level targets

• Start mixing/mastering using the drop section.
• As you raise elements:
  • Expect the current version to sound imperfect; “future you” will cringe less after more learning.

Step I — Check stereo/mono compatibility

• Ensure the track sounds acceptable in mono.
• Trade-off:
  • As bass music gets more experimental, mono compatibility becomes harder and less important—this can be an artistic choice.

Step J — Finalize by deferring judgment (“future you”)

• If not happy:
  • Stop and return later after accumulating more experience.
  • Revisiting later is portrayed as faster than trying to fix everything immediately.

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Example walkthrough (project shown in the video)

• The creator references a track titled “Monkey Mind” sent to Subtronics.
• Mastering/analysis plugins mentioned:
  • SPAn, Stereo Tool, Insight
• Observations during the drop:
  • Loudness around -4 to -5 LUFS
  • Track is “bass heavy,” but the predominant frequencies are “still the loudest”
  • Described as “nice and wide”

Bass group processing example

• Bass runs through OTT
  • OTT is described as evening out level differences (raising quiet parts and reducing overly loud parts).
• Added distortion for glue/mixdown effect.
• Low cut:
  • Cut below roughly 54 Hz because a dedicated sub handles that range.

Sub group

• Sub is described as a sine wave around ~30 Hz fundamental frequency (clean sine, no noise).
• Mentions a prior video about this “circular type” sub.

Sidechain group usage

• Melodic/distant reverb elements are included in the sidechain group in that example.
• Sidechaining:
  • Uses GM Audio Ducker targeting the kick+snare group.

“Rule-breaking” demonstration

• Example of removing a wobble/wamp-like sound from the bass group because it didn’t sound good there.
• Another example of not having a dedicated sub:
  • Uses multiple saw waves into OTT, then drives loud enough.
  • Emphasis: if you achieve the sound you want, you can break rules.

How sidechain testing is demonstrated

• Records the sidechain behavior to verify activation timing.
• Notes that LFO Tool might show “correct” visuals but still be wrong due to latency/bleeding.

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Notes on credibility / community discussion

• The host responds to commenters questioning why viewers should listen:
  • They state they are not Subtronics, but have releases on recognized labels.
• Mentions labels/affiliations:
  • Pretty Decent labels with festivals and big artists.
  • Creator specifically says:
    • Check out Lit Rooster
    • Another release coming on Gravitas Recordings
    • soon Cyclops Records
• Mentions an interaction/recognition story:
  • Subtronics followed/commented, label contacted them, and they’re aiming for release/signing context.

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Closing / additional announcements

Retreat/property construction update

• A separate update about retreat/property construction:
  • Contractor delayed/vanished early August; more fixes needed.
  • Wants work done properly with photos/scheduling before booking.
  • Looking for a contractor near Los Angeles (within ~1.5 hours).

End call-to-action

• Follow on socials
• Listen on Spotify/SoundCloud
• Leave a like if you want live Thursday mixing/mastering

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Speakers / sources featured (identified)

• Primary speaker/creator: YouTube tutorial host (name not explicitly stated in subtitles)
  • References being followed/commented by Subtronics
  • Mentions a friend Ansu
• Referenced artist: Subtronics
• Referenced producers/figures (examples):
  • Virtual Riot (mentioned in context of ring sidechaining)
  • “SPAn” (plugin/tool, not a person)
• Referenced plugins/tools:
  • SPAN
  • Stereo Tool
  • Insight
  • OTT
  • GM Audio Ducker
  • LFO Tool
  • Ableton
  • Generic “stereo imaging tools / meters”
• Referenced record labels:
  • Lit Rooster
  • Gravitas Recordings
  • Cyclops Records
  • Pretty Decent (general mention)
• Other referenced track/artist names:
  • Track name: “Monkey Mind”
  • Collab: with Ansu
• Generic content references:
  • Mentions other YouTubers and “AI done” generic tracks on Fiverr/Spotify/SoundCloud (no specific names given)