How to Create Interest with Samples, Width with ADT and Vibe with Amp Sims [VIDEO]

If you want to learn a few tricks about spicing up your virtual instrument tracks, this week’s Mix Stream video is for you.

We worked on a song called Twenty One by Wade Means, which I enjoyed working on immensely.

Because the tracks were all midi tracks converted to audio, they were very clean-sounding and didn’t have any bleed or weird room resonances.

In fact, they may have been a little bit too clean-sounding so I spent some time designing the sounds to how I thought they should sound, giving them a vibe and some extra character.

When you get perfect tracks that sound great but need to sound more like a record than a combination of tracks, it’s fun to imagine yourself as if you were there in the room while they were tracking, thinking about what kind of sounds you would’ve chosen from the start. Then let that mentality guide you through the mix to find the vibe you want.

Watch the video for tricks on:

Using different drum samples to create interest and contrast
Using automatic double tracking to create wider choruses
Using amp sims and effects to design your guitar and bass sounds

If you’d like me to help you out with your tracks, I’d love to hear the music you’re working on so please get in touch and tell me how I can help!

Have a great weekend,

Björgvin

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About Audio Issues and Björgvin Benediktsson

We help musicians transform their recordings into radio-ready and release-worthy records they’re proud to release.

We do this by offering simple and practical music production and success skills they can use immediately to level themselves up – while rejecting negativity and gear-shaming from the industry. A rising tide floats all boats and the ocean is big enough for all of us to surf the sound waves.

Björgvin’s step-by-step mixing process has helped thousands of musicians confidently mix their music from their home studios. If you’d like to join them, check out the best-selling book Step By Step Mixing: How To Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins right here.