Spectrum Analysis

Reading a spectrum analyser for harder styles: the frequency ranges in a hardstyle track, finding mud and resonance, and what the meters are telling you.

Reading a Spectrum Analyser

How to read an FFT spectrum display and what the numbers actually mean for your mix.

7 min read

Frequency Ranges in Hardstyle

Where kick, bass, leads, and percussion live in the frequency spectrum and how to manage them.

8 min read

Finding Mud and Resonance

How to use a spectrum analyser to identify and fix muddy frequencies and unwanted resonances.

6 min read

Hardwave Analyser - guide to using the spectrum view to identify and fix low-end mud in hardstyle tracks

Overview Hardwave Analyser (v1.0.26) is a free, released plug-in available as VST3 and CLAP for Windows, macOS and Linux.

3 min read

How to set up Hardwave Analyser in Ableton Live

1. Get a Hardwave account The Analyser is free, but you need a Hardwave account to download it.

2 min read

Other topics

Plug-ins

How to install, set up and use Hardwave plug-ins in any DAW: Suite installation, licences, the Analyser, WettBoi and what to do when a plug-in will not load.

Mastering

Loudness, limiting and getting a hard dance mix release-ready: LUFS targets for hardstyle, what a limiter really does, and where AI mastering falls short.

Effects & Processing

FX chains, filters, reverb and delay for harder styles: building a chain that stays clean, filter envelopes for risers, and keeping wet tails off the kick.

Mixing Hard Dance

Mixing hard dance at 150 BPM and above: kick and bass balance, what high tempo does to a mix, and the decisions that keep a track tight at festival volume.

Sound Design

Designing the sounds that carry a hard dance track: hardstyle kick synthesis from tail to punch, screeches and leads, and the atmosphere around them.

Production Science

The physics and psychoacoustics behind a hard dance mix: how loudness is perceived, why layered kicks cancel, and what phase does to your low end.