How to Mix Electronic Music: Balancing Levels in Ableton Live 12

Is your master channel always hitting the red? 🚨 Mixing can feel overwhelming when you have 12+ layers fighting for space. In this live class session, Ben Ang and E-Reng walk you through a "zero-out" method to balance levels like a pro.

[[00:00] Comparing a commercial track vs. an overloaded mix [[01:46] Why limiters won't save a bad mix [[03:02] The "Zero Out" technique: Resetting your gain staging [[04:36] Why we target -12dB for headroom (The Math) [[05:48] Building the Foundation: Starting with Drums [[09:13] Adding the Bass: Genre-specific mixing tips (Liquid Funk/DNB) [[11:33] Layering Pads and Arpeggios: Mental models for mixing [[17:36] Volume vs. EQ: Identifying the real problem [[20:22] Handling SFX, Risers, and Ear Fatigue

This lesson was recorded at the Electronic Music Lab (NUS EML), a performance group based at the NUS Centre for the Arts (NUS CFA) and open to NUS students. If you're an NUS student and want to learn how to create, record, perform, and promote your own electronic music or remixes, or you want to contact NUS EML to run a workshop or show, visit http://www.nuseml.com