Every mixing engineer has his own secret weapon and mysterious recipe. In this article, we'll explore bus processing—how to use it without abusing it to achieve the best results. SSL G-Master Buss Compressor Multi-segment compression, independent compression processing of different frequency ranges, is not suitable for use on the bus. If you're considering using multi-segment compression to correct your mix, it's best to focus on individual tracks. Use multi-segment compression with creativity, and you may also bring new ways to the mix. Kramer Master Tape Abbey Road J37 Tape 5. Should the limiter or other effects be placed on the bus? CLA MixDown Greg Wells MixCentric 7. When is the bus processed? Dongguan Tuojun Electronic Technology Co., Ltd , https://www.fibercablessupplier.com
1. What is bus processing, why do bus processing?
In simple terms, bus processing is the application of one or more processing operations that change signals (such as compression or EQ) to a stereo bus or Master fader. Therefore, this treatment obviously affects all the tracks, not just some instruments.
At first glance, this may be in conflict with our habits. After all, the mixing phase is the last chance to adjust and fix problems for individual recordings. Then why do you still have to deal with it as a whole?
The simple answer is that it is not always the best choice. Bus processing does not solve the specific recording problem of audio track distortion, and does not return some parts to an ideal point. These tasks require you to track and correct. But what bus processing can do is to add personality, style, and texture to your overall mix. Properly operated, your mix sounds like it was already mastered before it entered the mastering process.
This technique may have some psychological implications. Mixing is a long and tedious process. Twisting the East and adjusting the twisting - starting at the wrong direction, you may hit the wall all the way, and even serious will make you lose confidence in yourself. And the fine bus processing can make your mix closer to the finished product, which gives you great confidence and the artist's enthusiasm. Suddenly, when faced with difficult choices, you have a new perspective.
2. How to use the compressed mix bus on the mix bus The most common process on compression is compression. Allowing multiple independent tracks to pass together through a stereo compressor helps to bond separate musical elements together. This is especially important if there is a large change in level in a song.
A gentle setting is the key. The attack is slow (10-30 ms), the release is fast (no more than 50 ms, depending on the music), the compression ratio is 2:1 or less, and the gain can be 1 to 2 dB when the song is loudest. Attenuation (if it is dance music or hip-hop, the attenuation may be a bit more). If you deviate significantly from this type of setting, your mix may be dull and unnatural.
The SSL G-Master Buss Compressor plug-in accurately reflects the analog circuitry in the legendary console of the same name, making it an excellent choice for your mixing bus compression. It is easy to use and musical, adding strength to the sound. If used cautiously, the drums and snare drums will stand out, and the entire mix will look even more forward. 
You have to know what way you can use it for yourself, and be careful not to step into the puzzle that you can't easily get out of.
Finally, the use of any mix bus compression is closely tied to the amount of compression that a single track has loaded. When you're sure that the mix itself is well-balanced, use bus compression, and it's likely to make subtle changes to the mix that you've worked hard to adjust.
3. How to use the equalization talk about the mix bus on the mix bus, the equalizer is more discussed separately for individual cases. In summary, the best way to achieve a flat frequency response is to adjust the individual tracks to make them a perfect blend. However, if you find that you can't easily solve the problem by changing the balance of each instrument, the mixing bus EQ may provide a quick solution.
For example, you can upgrade a little in the 50-60Hz area, adding strength to both the drum and the bass. Alternatively, you can do a little trap setting in the 300-500Hz area to increase the variation and improve the clarity of the most important intermediate frequencies, such as vocals and guitars. In the 8-12 kHz area, you can also do a little lifting of the shelf, add a sense of breathing, or make a gentle "smile curve", while weakening the intermediate frequency while emphasizing the low and high frequencies at both ends.
Many mixing engineers also like to use the equalizer as a global high-pass filter on the bus to eliminate ultra-low frequencies of 25 or 30 Hz. (This operation is usually done before bus compression.) In many musical styles - except for dance music and hip hop, you don't need these ultra-low frequencies. Even if you can't hear the ultra-low frequencies that are knocked out, removing them can make the overall mix look clean, add valuable dynamic space to the mastering stage, and make your midrange more expressive.
The boost and attenuation amplitudes on the bus balance are small and are only used to remove ambiguous or sharp problem frequencies. Remember, on the bus, your operation is affecting the entire mix, and what you are doing here may not be able to change when you are mastering. Whether it is boost or attenuation, 1-2dB is good. If you have made more than 3dB adjustments, it is recommended that you go back and check the individual tracks.
There is one caveat here: when using bus equalization, it is important to always look at your own adjustments against the reference track. The brightness of the hi-hat or the impact of the drum can be used as a ruler for listening.
4. How to use saturated saturation on the mixing bus is very subtle, it can bring very cool effects to the mixing bus. The music you've heard over the past few decades has been recorded on tape. The saturation of the tape, the absorption of transient details is extremely slight and musical, which is one of the reasons why we love those recording masterpieces. Analog plug-ins for tapes, such as Kramer Master Tape or Abbey Road J37 Tape, can indeed polish the sounds that have been too cleanly mixed, adding a sense of completeness and musicality – especially for purely software-mixed sounds. Adding it at the beginning of the mixing process (the specific location is to be debated, as detailed below) can give the sound a nice touch and reduce the amount of work after you.
However, it should be noted that any type of saturation - tape saturation, tube saturation, transformer saturation, no matter what - if used too much, will cause big problems. Therefore, it is usually better to use it on the bus than on a separate track so that the cumulative effect is not repeated. But be careful to monitor, because too much saturation will blur the details. As with other types of signal processing, use caution and moderation. 
The answer is simple, don't. The limiter processing is best reused in the mastering, not in the mix. Stereo, Mid/Side, Reverb, Modulation, Excitation, or Debounce are all the same.
6. Use the integrated bus plug-in to complete the "final touch"
The new generation of integrated bus plug-ins, the new way of working, greatly simplifies the workflow and is immediate. The famous mixing engineer Chris Lord-Alge's CLA MixDown offers four faders to control the color, dynamics and overload of the mix.
Greg Wells MixCentric, in collaboration with producer and mixer Greg Wells, uses the same approach, with only one knob, but combines EQ, compression and harmonic distortion to enhance and balance the sound quality of the mix. 
There are two basic ways of bus processing: the mixing project is done from the beginning, or at the end of the mix. Believe it or not, which way is better, the mixer community is very controversial.
As mentioned earlier, adding a “high-completion†sense of sound to the mix at the beginning of the project will greatly inspire the mixer and musicians. Bus processing at the very beginning allows you to create a better sound mixing state in less time, helping you focus more on the interaction of various elements as you make a mix decision.
Also, if you mix by bus processing from the start, it becomes part of the sound. For some engineers, the focus of the mixing bus is to create an environment for the entire mix, not the final rework. Chris Lord-Alge recommends hanging his CLA MixDown plugin on the Master channel before starting the mix.
This way of working requires an adaptation process. For example, if you use bus compression, the dynamic performance will not be as you would normally expect. In fact, when you open a large channel, you may find that bus compression will turn it down again! That is, you may find that you don't need to add as much compression on a track, but you need a bit of automatic control to make all the features appear. The mix sound compressed by the bus is very different from the sound controlled by a separate compressor, and the effect is stronger and more significant.
There are still many engineers who say that if you use bus processing from the beginning, you can do the most basic mixing tasks by doing a lazy job. They also argued that it was difficult to fix the problem after the bus was processed, because the sound was mixed and the whole body was moved.
There is no such thing as who is right or wrong. Try both ways and you know which one is right for you.
8. Every step of the operation should be lightly remembered, the key to bus processing is a slight moderation. Because the whole mix is ​​affected, a little adjustment can go far. Every step of your operation, whether it is good or bad, will make a huge difference to the whole sound. For example, using bus equalization to boost a specific frequency by 1dB, and multiplying a good multi-track several times is equal.
However, people often say that high risk brings high returns. Bus processing is an exciting way in the art of mixing, and indeed we deserve to delve into it.