If you’ve ever recorded and mixed your own song full of amazing sounding and carefully performed tracks only to find that once you put them all together you can’t hear everything clearly in the mix – then you know my pain.

Maybe you know that pain all too well.

A great recording and mix generally consists of anywhere from 10 tracks to 100 tracks. And with each new track you add you increase the chances of covering up your previous tracks.

It can become a frustrating mess really quickly.

Even if you are using strategic EQ moves to clear out mud and make your mix pop it can still not be enough.

Today I want to share a little trick with you that works like a charm.

It’s a technique so simple that it can be learned (and applied) in seconds and always delivers results – specifically it helps every track sit perfectly in your mix.

Mixing Is An Illusion

The first thing you and I have to remember is that mixing (and audio in general) is an illusion.

We can trick our ears into hearing things that aren’t there, or hearing things that we want to hear rather than something else that is equally as dominant.

Consider how most modern vocals sound in today’s music. No matter how loud, aggressive, or hyped the music/band is in the song, the lead vocals still sit right on top and in the listener’s face.

How is that possible when the human voice is both quieter and more dynamic (i.e. inconsistent volume) than a full band with production?

It’s not.

That’s why we need to trick the ear by using a compressor to give those vocals an upfront sound in the mix.

It’s all smoke and mirrors my friend.

Knowing this, let me introduce you to something called “The Attack Principle”.

The Attack Principle

I originally learned this concept from my good friend (and talented mixer) Kevin Ward and it has been a game changer for me.

It’s called “The Attack Principle” and it couldn’t be simpler to understand or implement.

Imagine you have a song where a synth pad comes in during the hook, but you’re having a hard time getting it to cut through in the mix.

Turning it up makes it too loud and boosting an EQ just makes it harsh and annoying.

It’s not the most important element of the mix but it needs to be heard.

Enter “The Attack Principle”.

If the human ear notices the initial attack of a piece of audio (the first note, strum, or hit) the brain is primed to “hear” it in the mix even if the rest of the audio is not as loud as that initial attack.

In other words, all we need to hear is the attack in order to know it’s there throughout.

Going back to our synth pad example, let’s say we’ve settled on the overall correct level of the track in the mix. Any louder and it’s too loud. Any quieter and it’s pointless.

Here’s our synth at the “best” volume it could be.

In order to trick our brains into hearing the synth, all we have to do is automate the volume of the initial second or two of the audio wave so we hear the “attack” of the synth when it comes in.

In this case I would flip my synth track over to see the volume automation lane in my DAW like in the image below. Then I would write some automation to bring up the initial hit of the synth a solid 3db to 6db and slowly back it back down.

Now we flip the track over to the volume automation lane.

And then we draw in a volume bump on the initial audio wave and back it down smoothly.

You will have to fine tune the amount and duration of the automation to sound natural in your mix, but the concept is same every time.

This initial revealing of the attack of the track is what reaches out and grabs the listener’s ear and even though it’s volume goes back down a second later, the brain still knows that it’s there and “hears” it perfectly in the mix.

Brilliant!

Hear This Trick In Action

When you start to unpack how practical (and powerful) this little trick is you’ll find uses for it everywhere in your mix.

I personally use it for bass guitar, synth parts, background vocals, even percussion.

Check out this video where I show the technique in action on a lead guitar riff that is getting buried in the chorus.

Harness The Power Of The Attack Principle

Now you know the simple little trick I use to get my tracks to sit perfectly in the mix.

You understand that mixing is really one giant illusion where you can “trick” the ear into hearing things that you want them to hear.

You’ve seen that this one simple automation move can help every element of your song be heard just like it should.

So the question is simple: How are YOU going to implement the power of “The Attack Principle” on your next mix?