Most effects plug-ins come with a filtering option, so be sure to cut to around 100 Hz to avoid buildups. Use this same kind of thinking when it comes to the reverbs and delays you add to pads or your implementation of any reverbs or delays built into the synth itself.

Ideally, you want to stop short of thinning the pad, but still allow important low end elements to come through with clarity.

As you pull up the cutoff, listen carefully. The simple solution is to use a high-pass filter to limit the reach of pads. As a result of excessive low end, there may be some nasty distortion too. This makes it difficult for the drums and bass to cut through and provide impact. But in the context of the mix, you will often encounter clashes with instruments that share similar frequencies, particularly in the low end. When listening to the solo’d pad, this fullness will sound great. Like I mentioned at the top of this article, most pads are full frequency range instruments, from low to high. These are generalizations, but you should get the idea. For example, you might want to roll off the highs on a low-key atmospheric pad tucked into a hip-hop track, but emphasize these same frequencies in a cinematic piece. In the latter case, listeners may not even notice the pad as an isolated instrument, but if the sound were muted, the mix would sound less exciting.Īll this to say, the approach you take to mixing pads largely depends on the role they take in the song. Pads can serve a musical function in electronic music, but they can just as easily be a non-musical element that provides atmosphere. In hip-hop and R&B, pads typically sit further back in the mix, supporting vocals, plucked instruments, and other melodic elements. In an ambient recording, it might be the lead (or only) instrument, complete with whooshing white noise oscillators, bleeps, and chirps that develop over time. There are a number of scenarios where pads crop up in songs. In this article, we’ll look at tips for overcoming these issues and more. Pads also tend to have a broad frequency range that overlap with a number of other elements. Many VST companies design pads extra wide and with lots of delay and reverb that can muddy the mix. But, for all this goodness, they can be a pain when it comes to mixing. Who doesn't love pad sounds? They can fill up the mix, glue elements together, and support vocals and strings in the mid and low ranges.

Mixing vocals over instrumentals