It's not only a question of using EQ to get sounds not to clash. What's often perceived as space is more like spread; just how much of the spectrum is your track actually using? Often what a lot of tracks need is a major boost in the mid/upper-mid frequencies (generally 1.5 kHz and above).

You can't do this wholesale, though, for example with a master EQ. You can make minor adjustments that way but really you have to find or make good instruments/samples to boost those frequencies in.

As others have suggested, you should also make good use of reverb and pay attention to the predelay. Panning, stereo imaging, stereo widening, and compression are all useful tools too but they're secondary in utility to EQ and reverb.

Mind you, I can't exactly create the "pro" sound either, I doubt that any of us can, but I like to think it's fairly close, and 90% of the improvement in my own mixing has been EQ.

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as always there's 1000000 ways to get there and no way is more right than the other. With that said this is what I usually aim for (although I can't really state that my mixes are close to perfect the way I see it)

First of all I like to work with little compression in the mix. I use compressors to take out the extreme peaks in sounds if needed, in other words I use very gentle settings. I like to keep a lot of dynamics in my tracks, mostly because there's to little of that today with all the brickwalling going on.

I work quite a lot more with my equalizer and for me there are two keys that have helped me alot when it comes to this.
First of all, cut cut cut!
I very rarely boost any frequencies, that way I don't have to compress the sound after the eqing to take out peaks created from boosting, it also saves shitloads of headroom.
Second, get a good EQ that works for you!
Having an EQ that you feel is easy to work with and get good results with is really helpfull, I don't think I have to explain why really.

I also (when it comes to EQing) tend to cut the highs or the lows (depending on the sound ofc) straight of. If I have a lead that has it's main frequency area between 2000hz-8000hz I cut everything above 9000hz and everything below 1500hz.
It's easy to forget but even though you can't hear any frequencies below or above the main area they might still be there stealing headroom. So don't be afraid to cut stuff out, even when you can't hear a difference.

apart from that all you really need is training, you need to learn wich sounds fits together and wich ones that doesn't. Unfortunatley there's no manual on how to learn that so you'll simply have to trial & error.

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quote:

Originally posted by davedresden i suggest getting the gabriel & dresden prog-a-minute. in 3 easy steps you too could change the face of dance music. batteries not included. - dave

im really liking this thread its giving alot of different approaches to the part i think is the most difficult part of producing as no one will even listen to your melodys if they dont sound near professional...

this might be a stupid question but seen as "Vizay" mentioned light compression, Does this mean a low ratio just above 1:1, a high threshold, a large attack and long release???

Am I near correct that that is a gentle compression???

Yes that would be gentle compression but the attack and release could be set differently. But yes with a low ratio and high threshold there will only be a small gain reduction and this would be classed as light compression.

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exactly, the attack and release are always individual to the sound, some sounds need direct compression to take out some unwanted transients and some sounds need to "breathe" before they go through the compression.

Just to give numbers (remember that this alters depending on the sound!) I rarely go beyond 2:1 in ratio and the threshold is most of the time somewhere ranging from -1 -> -10

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quote:

Originally posted by davedresden i suggest getting the gabriel & dresden prog-a-minute. in 3 easy steps you too could change the face of dance music. batteries not included. - dave

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut EQ and reverb.

to clarify...reverb helps define a sound in the mix?

quote:

Originally posted by ASFSE to clarify...reverb helps define a sound in the mix?

Well if you're going to drown everything in reverb then it's not gonna work, but in some cases it can work (though I'd use ping pong delay or something for that myself).

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