🧠 How to Mix with a Loudness Hierarchy Using Soothe2 Sidechain Routing

One of the most powerful—but underutilized—techniques in mixing is controlling the hierarchy of loudness and attention in your track. At lostaud.io, we’re always exploring ways to let you mix smarter, not harder—and this approach uses Soothe2’s sidechain mode to do just that.

Whether you're working with vocals, drums, instruments, or hi-hats, this method lets you set a priority order that ensures each element sits where it should—automatically.

🔍 What Is Loudness Hierarchy in Mixing?

A loudness hierarchy is the idea of choosing which elements in your mix should be the most prominent and which ones should sit in the background. It’s a fundamental concept in audio production:

🧩 Typical Loudness Hierarchy:

1. Drums (Kick & Snare) – Groove drivers

2. Vocals – Emotional centerpiece

3. Hi-Hats & Percussion – Groove support

4. Instruments – Harmonic foundation

This might vary by genre (e.g., EDM vs. hip-hop), but the method here is flexible and works for all styles.

🛠️ The Tool: Using Soothe2’s Sidechain Mode

Most producers use Soothe2 as a dynamic resonance suppressor—but it also has a powerful sidechain feature that allows you to duck specific frequencies in one element when another element plays.

With this, you can:

• Reduce hi-hat harshness during snare hits

• Create space for vocals without EQ surgery

• Prevent lead synths from masking groove elements

• Mix multiple genres in one session—effortlessly

🧪 Real-World Example Setup

🎛️ 1. Ducking Hi-Hats for the Snare

• Insert Soothe2 on your hi-hat bus (tops group)

• Set sidechain input to your drum group

• Adjust depth, sharpness, and attack/release to taste

• Result: Hi-hats automatically make room for the snare—cleaner groove, no EQ guesswork

📌 Tip: Keep gain reduction under -6dB to maintain natural texture.

🎤 2. Prioritizing Vocals in the Mix

• Insert Soothe2 on your instrument bus

• Sidechain from the vocal track

• Set frequency range to mid/highs where vocal presence lives

• Result: When vocals play, instruments duck just enough to make vocals pop.

This replaces traditional vocal ducking compressors with frequency-specific dynamic EQ—way more transparent.

🥁 3. Ducking Instruments for Kick Clarity

• Add Soothe2 to the instrument bus

• Sidechain input: Kick drum

• Focus on the low-mid to midrange (60Hz–200Hz) depending on your kick

• Now the kick punches through the mix without overpowering

🧠 4. Ducking Instruments for Hi-Hats (Groove Clarity)

• Insert Soothe2 on your instrument group

• Sidechain from the tops (hi-hats)

• Focus on 8kHz–12kHz to reduce conflict

• You get rhythmic clarity and hi-hats that feel glued without masking the mix

🔄 Hierarchy Summary: Chain Logic

🎯 Bonus Tip: Add transient detection mode for better control over percussion and rhythmic elements.

🎹 “Automatic Mixing” with Soothe2

Think of this workflow as intelligent, dynamic EQ automation. You don’t have to:

• Manually carve out EQ pockets

• Stack compressors

• Bounce stems and tweak endlessly

Instead, Soothe2 listens in real-time and adjusts only the frequencies that need to move—when they need to move.

🧪 Genre-Proof Technique

This method isn’t just for EDM. Whether you're making:

• Drum & bass

• Trap

• Ambient

• House

• Pop
  It works—because it's based on how we perceive sound, not static EQ curves.

You can literally drag in samples from other genres, and they will still fit, as long as your sidechain routing is set up correctly.

🎚️ Soothe2 Settings You Might Try

📦 Final Routing Example

Group your tracks like this:

• Drums

• Vocals

• Tops (Hi-Hats, Cymbals)

• Instruments (Synths, FX, Pads)

Then:

• Place Soothe2 on tops, sidechained to drums

• Place Soothe2 on instruments, sidechained to vocals, kick, and tops

• Optional: Add another Soothe2 to “main mix” group sidechained to vocals only

🔥 TL;DR: Mixing with Soothe2 Loudness Hierarchy

• ✅ Use Soothe2 sidechain mode to establish mix focus

• 🥁 Prioritize drums and vocals

• 🎛️ Let Soothe2 dynamically EQ less important elements

• 🧘 Focus on creative choices, not endless EQ tweaking

• 🚀 Great for multi-genre workflows and fast turnaround production

📣 From lostaud.io

At lostaud.io, we're building a space for forward-thinking producers who want mixing systems that scale across genres. This Soothe2 sidechain method is one of those rare tools that makes your workflow smoother—and your mix tighter—without slowing down creativity.