In this exclusive extract from PureMix, multi-platinum mixing and mastering engineer Luca Pretolesi takes you step by step through his entire mixing and mastering process for Major Lazer’s hit single “Light It Up (Remix)”

Luca is Major Lazer’s “Finisher” and helps Diplo and his team combine multiple sessions into one sonic masterpiece.

Learn Luca’s hybrid workflow and see how he takes a great static mix, applies stereo bus processing and then digs into the details it takes to create a hit-sounding EDM record.

Luca teaches you his tips and tricks for mixing modern electronic/pop music including:

• Mixing with the final master in mind
• Create a present midrange on a dense mix
• Analog and digital stem mixing process using analog EQ, compression and summing
• Add thickness and a more organic sound to electronic ITB productions
• Removing reverb from a synth stem
• Add top-end clarity and mid-range punch heard on every modern pop and EDM mix
• Sidechain filtering for a focused bus compression
• Multiband stereo image processing to open up the top end with the perfect amount of dimension
• Automating the master bus for maximum impact on the drop

Hear countless before and after comparisons to learn the sound and attitude that’s required to create a killer mix.

When it comes to mixing EDM there are no rules and now is your chance to see how Grammy nominated mixing/mastering engineer Luca Pretolesi breaks the rules and delivers a slamming sounding mix!

BONUS: The artist and their label were gracious enough to allow pureMixers the chance to try their hand at mixing a portion of the song using the same raw multitrack stems Luca mixed.

Equipment & Software

Hardware

• Dangerous Compressor
• Dangerous 2 Bus +
• Dangerous BAX EQ
• Neotek Series 1E EQ
• Charter Oak PEQ-1
• Maselec STM 822
• Curve Bender
• 1202 Compressor
• BetterMaker EQ

Software

• iZotope Alloy 2
• iZotope Ozone 5
• Bx Digital V3
• Waves Lin MB
• Dangerous BAX EQ
• Waves CLA-76
• Waves CL 1B
• Waves R Vox
• Waves Renaissance Compressor
• Fab Filter Pro MB
• Fab Filter Saturn
• Fab Filter Pro MB
• Fab Filter Pro Q2
• Modus EQ
• UAD Pultec EQP-1A
• StandardClip
• StereoSavage
• UAD Tube Tech Compressor
• Walhallaroom

How To Watch The Full Video

This video tutorial is available to Pro members and can be accessed by signing up to a pureMix subscription or is available to buy for $40.

Sign up to get advanced audio tutorials where Grammy winning engineers teach you mixing concepts by showing you their techniques and tricks while mixing song by Pharrell, Imagine Dragons, Ziggy Marley and more. 

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