How are electrohouse productions so clean ?
 

howcome ?

it generally sounds very bright and crisp ? as in lots of highs...

any tips on mixing electro house ? tutorials ?


thanks:)

Take it easy on the effects, the trick is to keep the bass raw and gritty.

Bass 1: Low on subs Gritty with a bit of noise, lo-mid and lo-presence
Bass 2: Triangle or sub

Compress the bass

Leads: Simple waveforms ( square, saw, sine) with pitchbends/ filter env./modulation.

Percussion: clap, simple 909/808 snare, kick with some serious thump in 80-120 hz, rimshot, 808 hats or 909 hats.

Keep it simple.

Possibly a good mastering engineer. Get some mastering software and look for a brightness preset. I've not tried any yet but i've been doing all of the above metioned for years and it still doesn't sound like the real thing.

Don't forget sidechain compression as a much ( over) used tool in electrohouse...

99% of it is fitting the right sounds together, 1% is mastering. Mastering can't make tracks 'clean-cut', EQ in the mixing stage can. Mastering can't make a half-ass track sound crisp and clean. It all comes down to creating a balanced track with good sounds, which sounds much easier than it is.

Yeah mastering won't sort out your mess but when you get good will add that lil finishing touch.

The key is . . . don't try to copy others work too closely, you can be 'inspired' by a sound but you should develop your own and then it will probably end up sounding different and unique. Unintentional dirt is good, too clean is bad, let it sound a little dirty but be sure everything is in time and with no keys clashing. Keep the arrangement interesting, ie: don't let it sound like a 5 min intro. The most important thing is develop your own individual unique sound, so do it different to the other tracks out there, just one of the right elements and people will decide which genre it fits into. Be original and don't follow all the rules - BREAK THE RULES!

add a little overdrive on the top or middle-top range of frequencies. It may be an analog tube-type OD or even better, a slight amount of digital fuzz or waveshaping.

i always do it on the basses : a big low end, but with a pinch of grit on the higher bands

The reason they sound so crisp is nothing to do with mastering, you have to have a good mix first. Picking the right sounds will help and also Eq'ing make sure each sound has it's own space in the frequency range. For instance if your bass is sitting around 100hz say well cut your kick there slightly to give the bass more space. But also remember don't go crazy as you will take alot of oomph out of your track. Balance balance balance.

Good monitoring setup is also needed.

Side chain naily everything, especialy your noise patch's and your effects. Listen to deadmau5. The sidechain is what makes most his tracks.