Mixing Essentials: EQ & Compression in Cubase

Home » Audio & Production » Course Catalog » Mixing Essentials: EQ & Compression in Cubase

Mixing Essentials: EQ & Compression in Cubase

Mix Your Own Tracks

Learn how EQ and compression are ideal for most mixing tasks

Automation Compression CPU Optimization Cubase Editing EQ FX & DSP Gating Mastering Mid-Side Mixing Panning Pitch Correction Plugins Quantizing Recording Sidechain Stems Virtual Instruments Workflow (Production)

4 out of 5 stars (based on 2 reviews)

Who's this course designed for? Audio & Production

Appropriate for Level 1

Play Video about Watch Course Preview

Start Learning!

Join the community and get 2 free lesson credits per day, plus a sign up bonus. Signing up is free and easy.

2 Credit Bonus

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Current Status

Not Enrolled

Price

Free

Get Started

What You'll Learn

EQ & Compression in Cubase

If you want to get started mixing your own tracks in Cubase, this course covers the fundamentals that you’ll need to know. Learn about EQ, Compression, drum mixing, instrument mixing, pitch correction, timing corrections and much, much more. This course offers perspective and walkthroughs that show which tools to use and how to get the most from your EQ and Compressor in many different mix situations.

Where You’ll Start…

Start by learning how Cubase handles 64 bit plugins, licensing and creating your first project. We’ll open Cubase up, load in stems (audio samples available with this course for free) and start learning how to use EQ, compressors, master channel limiting and frequency spectrum monitoring. These lessons set the stage for specific mixing techniques covered throughout the course.

Mix Your Own Tracks

From instrument channels to automation, this course demonstrates real-world techniques for mixing step-by-step. From EQ settings on instruments (synths and keyboards) to gating and compression on drums and percussion, this course uses real-world examples to showcase the flexibility and power of mixing primarily with EQ and compression.

When You’re Finished…

Once you’re finished with the course, you’ll feel familiar with Cubase and you’ll be ready to start mixing your own tracks using EQ, compression, gating and frequency spectrum monitoring. You’ll learn how to optimize your computer for mixing just as you’ll learn to optimize your workflow with keyboard shortcuts. We’ll even cover the fundamentals of pre-mastering a finished mix! All in all, this course hits all the most essential elements in the Cubase mixing engineers workflow. Enroll today and get started!

Audio & Production Level 2

Learning Cubase MediaBay

Find out how MediaBay can boost your productivity by organizing your content, samples and loops using tagging and favorites.

View Course Details

Audio & Production Level 3

Discover the Cubase Chord Track

If you’re a seasoned Cubase user who isn’t taking advantage of the Chord Track, this course will offer you a quick jumping off point.

View Course Details

Beginner Mixing and Mastering for Audio

My new PathFinder Series offers students a more immersive learning experience. Enroll today to get enhanced and personalized training.

Learn More

Start for Free

Video Lessons

Course Content

Introduction & Stems 0:51 Sample Lesson

Gain an overview of how to use this course's stem audio files to your advantage throughout this course.

Instructor Introduction 0:37 Sample Lesson

Allow me to introduce myself! My mixed background as a musician, recording engineer and producer helps to establish a clear expectation that this course contains practical, professional guidance that will help you learn the essentials of mixing audio with Cubase.

Creating Your First Project 1:05 Sample Lesson

Let's start by opening Cubase and understanding how to get ready with a new project. I'll explain what the Steinberg Hub is for and how to get up and running quickly.

Installation and Licensing 1:45

Learn how the USB eLicenser is used and why its both helpful and problematic. I'll give you some tips for optimizing your storage and provide a further overview of upcoming topics.

64 bit Hosts and Plugins 3:30

Develop an understanding of why 64-bit technology improves the experience of an audio engineer using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) like Cubase. I'll also discuss the relationship between 64-bit plugins and hosts (like Cubase).

Plugins Overview 0:59

I'll make the case for using 2 main plugins to serve us throughout this course. While Cubase contains a full complement of plugins, we don't need most of them to make a great mix!

Learn to Use EQ 4:04

We'll get started creating our first track and establish a workflow for setting up an instance of a built-in EQ VST 3 plugin. I'll explain how the Studio EQ's user interface can be configured with band pass filters (BPF), low pass filters (LPF) and high pass filters (HPF).

Learn to Use a Compressor 4:43

We'll continue discussing plugins by looking at one of the built-in VS3 compressor plugins. I'll explain how the Compressor's user interface can be configured to apply different kinds of compression using threshold, ratio and ALL the controls on the interface.

Master Channel Limiting 4:21

We'll build on your toolkit by looking at how (and why) a limiter plugin should be applied to your mix. I'll explain the user interface for the limiter built into Cubase. We'll also introduce the Mix Console and see how it facilitates a user-friendly way to manage and apply inserts.

Organizing Tracks 3:12

Learn how to organize multiple tracks in a way that makes navigating and mixing your multi-track project much, much easier. This workflow tweak relies on features unique to Cubase.

Spectrum Monitoring 5:13

Mixing on headphones (or lousy monitors) can make it hard to evaluate how "balanced" your mix is. I'll show you how to configure any cubase project to match import resolution and visually monitor the frequency spectrum of your mix (or any individual audio file). Once again, we'll be using built-in plugins from Cubase.

Importing Audio Stems 2:22

I'll demonstrate how to import all the 24-bit 96K audio stems from this course, so that you can follow along with future lessons.

Drum Mixing Overview 0:45

Gain an overview of how to approach mixing drums by focusing on specific elements one at a time, to build up a solid foundation for a great mix.

Stylistic Considerations 2:08

Let's talk about "style". Deciding on the music style at the beginning of the mixing phase will help us stay focused as we progress with our mix. Defining the stylistic personality of our mix will keep us on track to making a great mix.

Reusable FX Chains 2:30

I'll introduce my preferred 3-plugin FX chain for drum mixing. Then, I'll show you how to quickly duplicate this helpful FX chain onto all the drum tracks quickly and easily.

Optimizing Latency 2:43

I'll explain how to ensure that your computer's full resources are being used by Cubase (so that you can have a better workflow). I'll also explain how latency and buffer size are related to troubleshooting playback problems (audio dropouts).

Gating the Kick Drum 2:28

We'll discuss how a gate is used in our reusable FX chain. This is the first step in making our drum mix sound clear, crisp and articulate!

2 Compression Tips 5:04

In this lecture, I'll outline 2 principles for setting the correct compression settings on any sound. Compression can be hard to learn and hard to hear by ear! But, my 2 principles of good compression (based on perceived "closeness" and timbre) will make you a pro at using a compressor right away!

EQ & Compressor for Kick 1:51

I'll walk you through applying EQ to the kick drum. We'll use frequency spectrum monitoring tools built in to Cubase in order to gain insights into the right EQ settings.

EQ & Compressor for Snare 4:40

Watch this hands on lesson and see how gating, EQ and compression can be set correctly on the snare recording from our stems collection.

1 of 3

Leave a Review

What students say...

Cubase 12?

March 14, 2022

This course definitely helped me understand eq and compression. But, I think your version of Cubase goes back a little while and I’d love to see this stuff updated to most recent developments – especially dynamic EQ. Still very helpful, but please consider an update that would explain newer features?

Rafael Sanders

Good Videos

May 18, 2021

I usually mix rock bands, so I’m not looking for mixing tutorials about electronica. I still enjoyed this course and I felt like I learned lots of useful stuff related to Cubase.

Al Leonard

Mixing Essentials: EQ & Compression in Cubase