MIXING SCIENCE Friday - Technical Craft That Separates Pros from Amateurs

Tech House Daily - MIXING SCIENCE Friday, September 5, 2025. Today we break down the technical craft that separates amateur bedroom producers from professional DJs and producers. Starting with frequency separation - the foundation of professional tech house mixing. The kick drum needs to own 60-80 Hz, while the bassline sits in the 80-120 Hz pocket. Most amateur mixes fail because they let these frequencies compete instead of carving distinct spaces. Use a high-pass filter on everything except kick and bass, starting around 100 Hz and adjusting by ear. EQ strategy for tech house follows the "surgical before musical" approach. First, remove problematic frequencies - cut the muddiness around 200-400 Hz, tame harshness around 2-4 kHz, then enhance. The magic happens in the midrange clarity around 800 Hz to 2 kHz where vocals and lead elements need to cut through without fighting each other. Compression in tech house serves groove, not just dynamics. Parallel compression on drum groups creates punch while maintaining transients. The classic technique: send drums to a heavily compressed bus, blend it back with the dry signal. This gives you the snap of uncompressed transients plus the sustained energy of compression. Stereo imaging creates the wide, immersive soundstage that defines modern tech house. Keep kick, snare, and bass mono-centered. Use stereo width on hi-hats, percussion, and atmospheric elements. The key is contrast - wide elements feel wider when contrasted against focused center elements. Sidechain compression remains essential, but the approach has evolved. Instead of obvious pumping, use subtle sidechaining to create pocket for the kick without destroying the groove. Set fast attack, medium release, and aim for 2-3 dB of gain reduction maximum. Harmonic saturation adds the analog warmth that digital productions often lack. Tape saturation on the mix bus, tube warmth on basslines, and subtle distortion on percussion elements. The goal is character, not obvious effect. Reverb and delay create depth without muddying the mix. High-pass your reverb sends around 200 Hz to avoid low-end buildup. Use different reverb spaces for different elements - short room reverbs for drums, longer halls for atmospheric pads, and filtered delays for rhythmic interest. The final mix should translate across systems - from club sound systems to phone speakers. Reference on multiple playback systems and use spectrum analysis to ensure your frequency balance matches professional releases. These techniques separate weekend warriors from working professionals. Master the science, then let creativity flow within that technical foundation.