How To Get A SKRILLEX Level Mix & Master

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

1) Don’t treat “mixing” as only an end-stage task

• Instead of thinking purely in separate phases (songwriting → producing → mixing), the creator recommends thinking about the mix throughout every stage.
• A specific songwriting approach is highlighted:
  • Call-and-response melodies add complexity.
  • The key mix-relevant idea: leave space between the call and response so the track has room to breathe.

2) Make every added layer serve a purpose (avoid “crowding by default”)

• During production (adding layers, sounds, drums), you should run a purpose-check:
  • If a new layer isn’t supporting something (rhythmic support, harmonic support, etc.), consider removing it.
• Example logic from the video:
  • Even if you have many percussion layers, they can function as one rhythmic unit (e.g., all layers supporting the shaker’s 16th-note pattern).

3) Reverb should be used only when needed (don’t rely on “solo sound” decisions)

• Rule: If a sound doesn’t need reverb, don’t add it.
• Why:
  • A sound might sound “too dry” in solo, but in the full mix, the reverb space may already be provided by other elements (for example, lead synths that are already reverbed).
• Method:
  • Decide on reverb while listening to the full track, not while soloing individual sounds.
• Additional detail:
  • The creator notes Skrillex often uses reverb only when necessary, and when he does, it tends to be short so it doesn’t take over the mix.

4) For “fat and punchy,” use short, punchy drum design

• The creator’s claim: short, well-separated drums help synths and bass come through more clearly.
• How to validate drum tightness:
  • Use an oscilloscope to visually check separation.
  • Each drum (kick, hat, shaker, clap) should be clearly defined with space between hits.
• Specific drum guidance:
  • Kick: very short (example: barely longer than a 16th note).
    • If the kick is too long, use a volume shaper plugin to shorten it.
  • Claps and hats:
    • Strong initial attack
    • Generally short
    • No reverb (keep them dry)
• Note:
  • This doesn’t completely forbid big, reverbed drum hits—but don’t make the core punchy drum set dependent on reverb.

5) Mastering “in groups” to squeeze loudness (with a specific limiter/clipper technique)

The final section presents a mastering methodology intended to increase loudness while minimizing audible distortion.

Grouping approach

• Divide the track into main groups, such as:
  • Drums
  • Bass
  • Synths (or “other synth/other” categories)
• Start with the loudest group first (example: drums).

Limiter/clipper setup (detailed)

• Add a limiter to the loudest bus (drums), but use it more like a clipper tool than a transparent limiter.
• In the limiter’s Advanced settings:
  • Style: Aggressive
  • Lookahead: all the way down
  • Attack: all the way up
  • Release: all the way down
  • Channel linking: turn off
  • Oversampling: raise it as high as your computer can handle (example: 16x)

Using the “unchanged output gain” feature

• Turn on a special gain feature (called out as important):
  • As you increase the limiter/clipper gain, the output volume stays the same.
  • This lets you raise the threshold until distortion begins.
• Procedure:
  • Increase gain until you hear distortion
  • Back off slightly to avoid distortion
  • Confirm behavior visually using a volume/peak meter:
    • Compare peaks with the processor off vs. on
    • Example values mentioned:
      • Without limiter: peaks around -8 dB
      • With limiter: peaks drop to around -10 dB (while sounding similar in loudness)

Copy settings across other groups

• Copy the same limiter settings from drums to:
  • Bass bus (to catch bass peaks that are too loud)
  • Synth bus (same idea)

Check overall master peaks

• Use a meter on the master bus:
  • Turn individual limiters off, observe peaks (example: around -1.6 dB)
  • Turn them back on, observe peaks reduced (example: around -4.3 dB)
• Result:
  • Since peaks are controlled earlier, you can squeeze more loudness later.

Finish with a normal mastering chain

After group limiting, run a typical mastering chain:

• EQ
• Mastering compression
• Soothe (high-end control/taming)
• A final limiter with standard mastering settings
• Goal:
  • Push the final limiter harder to achieve “super loud” results without distortion.

Important caveat (conditions for the technique to work)

• The creator explicitly says this group-limiting technique only works well if you also did the earlier steps correctly:
  • songwriting
  • production choices
  • mix quality
• Additional note:
  • The creator personally prefers keeping some dynamics rather than always chasing extreme loudness, but the method is presented as a tool.

Product/asset mention (supporting context)

• The creator mentions using a Serum preset pack for the synths/sounds in the video:
  • Sounds come from “my brand new serum preset pack”
  • Sounds are designed to be tweakable via the four macro controls in Serum
• Link/brand reference:
  • “biggs sounds.com” (purchase/check-out destination)

Speakers / sources featured

• Primary speaker: The YouTube creator (name not stated in the subtitles).
• Referenced artist for comparison/examples: Skrillex
• Referenced software/plugin features:
  • Serum (by Xfer Records, implied)
  • Soothe (plugin referenced)
  • volume shaper plugin (name not specified)
  • oscilloscope (tool referenced)
  • limiter (specific plugin not explicitly named in subtitles)
• Referenced website/source for sounds/preset pack: biggs sounds.com