Producer Tips #4 - Waveform Analysis

Tools like NCH WavePad, Audacity and FL's Edison make it easy to view, zoom in, and analyse your track’s waveform to see what's going on. Before mastering your track, export it as a WAV and check it out.

Here’s what to look out for:

**Volume Spikes**

Large, sudden peaks in your waveform? These could be caused by a single sound being too loud, or 2 or more sounds clashing -- like a kick drum hitting on top of your bass, or a vocal or fill that's way too loud. You can use sidechain, volume automation, EQ or simply removing one of the sounds -- for example if you have a double kick that goes over the bass you could just remove that single bass note, or use sidechain that will automatically duck your bass volume if the kick goes over it.

**Bad Mixing**

If the waveform looks inconsistent / unbalanced / messy - certain elements might be overpowering others. Adjust EQ, panning, or levels to clean it up. Make sure your kick isn't quieter than your bass, open hihat, clap etc. Check that your risers and drum rolls aren't causing big volume ramps in the waveform. Make sure your breakdown / build-up isn't louder than your main melody / climax section.

**Distortion**

Flat, clipped tops in your waveform are a red flag for distortion. Lower your levels and leave some headroom to avoid this. This is a common issue with DJ Mixes too -- always check your levels with a test recording to make sure you have space above and below the waveform (headroom) so you don't get distortion.

**Quiet Sounds & Sections**

If some parts of your waveform look tiny, they might be getting drowned out. Adjust the volumes, EQ or processing as needed. One of my personal favourite plugins for beefing sounds up is FL's Waveshaper -- just drag the curve up from the middle a little to add power and warmth (careful not to over-do it though!)

**Track End Issues**

Check the end of your track and make sure it ends smoothly and fades to silence instead of abruptly cutting off. Also check that any booms / downsweeps at the end aren't excessively long. If you have any sounds with long reverb or delay at the end of the song you'll want to make sure they haven't been cut off.

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Once you've identified any issues you can go back and correct them in your track and then re-export and analyse again to see if it's looking better