10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Mixing
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
- I'm sharing 10 things I wish I had known when I was a beginner - so you can skip some of the struggle, save time and improve faster in the studio.
☛ Learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes with my FREE Mixing Cheatsheet: mixcheatsheet.com
Watch This Next: 17 Noob Mixing Mistakes • 17 Noob Mixing MISTAKE...
Music I’ve Worked On: open.spotify.com/playlist/6I7...
Website: hardcoremusicstudio.com
-------------------------
MY FAVORITE GEAR:
Computer / Interface:
Mac M1 Studio Max sweetwater.sjv.io/anOMOo
Avid Carbon sweetwater.sjv.io/ZQ6M6g
Apogee Duet 3 sweetwater.sjv.io/y2qXqb
Monitors / Headphones:
Avantone CLA-10a sweetwater.sjv.io/WqyMyZ
Audio Technica ATH-M50 sweetwater.sjv.io/PyOMON
Microphones:
Shure SM57 sweetwater.sjv.io/daOMy7
AKG D112 sweetwater.sjv.io/Kj0MBy
Sennheiser e604 sweetwater.sjv.io/DKyvWa
Shure SM7b sweetwater.sjv.io/5g5vk3
AKG C451b sweetwater.sjv.io/jre9Rv
Shure SM81 sweetwater.sjv.io/eK1LnD
Audio Technica AT4050 sweetwater.sjv.io/JzKMqr
Preamps/Outboard:
API 3124 sweetwater.sjv.io/eK1LRD
EL8 Distressor sweetwater.sjv.io/XYmMd4
Favorite Plugins:
BSA Clipper blacksaltaudio.com/clipper
Escalator blacksaltaudio.com/escalator
Low Control blacksaltaudio.com/low-control
Waves SSL Bundle waves.alzt.net/dMd4q
Waves CLA Compressors waves.alzt.net/0va0P
Waves Platinum waves.alzt.net/jxz2M
Slate Trigger 2 sweetwater.sjv.io/MmAM53
SoundToys Rack sweetwater.sjv.io/xkLgyd
Auto-tune Pro sweetwater.sjv.io/OreMYr
Vocalign Project sweetwater.sjv.io/xkLgyA
Cranesong Phoenix II sweetwater.sjv.io/PyOMrz
Instruments / Amps:
Ludwig Black Beauty Snare sweetwater.sjv.io/1r9vDR
Gibson Les Paul sweetwater.sjv.io/B0nvz1
Evertune Guitars sweetwater.sjv.io/WqyM6P
Fender Jazz Bass sweetwater.sjv.io/nLX5R6
Sansamp Bass Driver DI sweetwater.sjv.io/OreM9Q
EVH 5150 sweetwater.sjv.io/4PGvr9
Mesa 2x12 cab sweetwater.sjv.io/75avGA
#10) Accept the Journey: After years of gigging, I finally got sick of band drama, and gave it up. But I still love making music - so I bought some instrument plugins and started learning how to compose in a DAW. Being an older guy who's just starting out could be daunting - but the freedom from having to fight for my ideas in a band is just too alluring to pass up. I've hit so many bumps in the road. There's so much I don't know - but screw it - I'm having fun. I just try to learn a couple of new things every day. Your videos have opened my eyes to so much. Thank you.
Carpenter Brut? Lol
Bro, I had the same deal! Played the drums in bands for almost fourty years, then got fed up, built a small studio, bought plugins and started learning studio engineering. Best decision of my life. Cheers! Good luck to you!
@Xequalswhat Having fun on your own and ability to analytically rethink everything you do is is the best part of being a late bloomer, good luck bro
My journey is slightly different. I was in a band in high school, but with a guitarist 11 years older than me. Instead of finishing high school, I attended the School of Audio Engineering for a year. I did live work for a while, but it clashed too much with gigging so I gave it up after a couple of years. I did set a PA up now and then and set a static mix, if our engineer couldn't show, but not regularly. Then, at 49, I moved 300kms away, so that was the end of the regular gigging.
Then, at 51, my daughter bought me an interface, and gave me her laptop.
It's changed my life, and gave me some of that 'spark' back!
I bought interfaces for two of the guitarists from the band, so hopefully we can collaborate, but having to play 3 guitar parts, and anything else I want to add, has been a good experience. My guitar playing hadn't really progressed at all since high school, since most times I'd just play rhythm in the lead breaks.
Learning how to record on a DAW, rather than analogue, has given me a challenge I needed!
Half of the musicians in my hometown, and everywhere I've lived, lead very self-destructive lifes. Too much alcohol during practising, snorting all kinds of stuff and messing up their musical aspirations with all that; I hate it. And since I am mostly on my own, my DAW gives me the opportunity to create the music to my likings.
On the other hand, I miss the interaction of playing together. My neighbor won't let me have a drummer and a bass player and me on guitar at the same time, although it is possible with most systems. But you can layer your tracks in a home studio, and, very nice too, collaborate over the web. I love my DAW 🎉
I have over 30 years of experience as a musician and over 13 years of experience in mixing. If you take the time to truly comprehend the advice given in this video, you can save yourself years of frustration and avoid wasting your time. Great video!
This is just the confirmation for me to know that I'm on the right track with this fellow.
Tip #10. I absolutely love this. I actually had a mentor tell me this exact thing. She said something akin to "You've reached that point where it's an inverse bell curve. You're going to hate every single one of your mixes even though they are good. You'll keep getting better and better until finally you come out to the other side where you start liking your mixes again. And it'll feel like you can mix happily again. So just ride out the bell curve." And she was right. I still pick apart my mixes and think there are things I want to do better, but i'm starting to like my mixes again.
Most important part of a mix is………THE PERFORMANCE
In my humble opinion, I believe 99.9% of the time a great mix starts with a great song followed by a great performance played with feeling. There's always going to be something to find in a mix, but a good song will always stand out no matter what, which is why when I mix a song that just doesn't have it, played sloppily, etc. it is very difficult to craft a good mix.
yeah you can tell when tons of people 100% agree with a list yet these people aren't all cranking out stuff.. how they they know they agree???? great song + solid instruments + proper tuning + REHEARSAL is the first step. but he said a couple of things that are just not so.. ( IN MY OPINION).. there are some key technical things I was listening for and didn't hear and I heard a couple of things I avoid at all cost but hey : its whatever you want.. I mean I have heard songs on the radio with HORRIBLE recordings. it's not all your recording that gets you signed.. a lot of it is politics and work ethic etc. there are hits where cheesy midi drums were used. there are hits where HORRIBLE sounding guitar amp models were used (sounds fake and brittle and bit crushed kinda like if you took a regualar 1980's distortion pedal and plugged the output directly into a Pa live instead of playing through an amp). Embarrassingly bad recordings that went multi platinum.. the engineer did eq the hell out of it so it didn't sound quite as harsh but you could hear what it was and it wasn't good.. its like ? you couldn't find an amp and a mic????? and maybe with their issues, maybe they just couldn't. OR maybe they wanted to flex their muscles and show "hey look, we're so big we can do whatever and still sell millions of copies"
I agree totally, Robert Johnson's recordings were, rough and mono and they still sound cool today, because Robert Johnson sounded cool...RIP Gordon Lightfoot
Performance and editing can't be overstated. The bass, kick, and guitars all hitting at the same time makes an incredible difference
Just be sure to not make them exactly perfectly at the same time because otherwise that sounds boring and robotic.
Phase is magic
Forcing a performance to a grid can entirely destroy the pocket and feel of good musicians.
@@davidharrison5873 that isn't what I said to do
@@jasonthomas2393 if you edit performances so everyone is hitting beats at the same time, what else are you doing? You can't have that *and* pocket. If the musicians simply can't play very well and they don't have a consistent pocket then fair enough, but otherwise exactly simultaneous playing will kill the groove.
Hearing the mix on different speakers outside of your studio is truly enlightening. Like you, I began using my IEMs. I will add that regardless of even the optimal monitoring system, we all can get "ear fatigue". Going back in after a good night's sleep will sometimes reveal the worst blemishes almost immediately.
Totally agree with #6. Its funny. I don’t mix rock myself. I’m more in the classical/ambient world. But there’s one reason I actually watch and come back to your videos. Because you mixed some albums that I “grew up” on in my late teens early twenties (ie Silverstein). There are a lot of bedroom producers on UA-cam spewing a bunch of nonsense (or just restating what they’ve heard from another bedroom UA-camr) but when you post a video it’s nice to know that it’s coming from someone that I actually enjoyed his output before discovering on UA-cam.
'at first you suck but you are happy, then you start to get better and learn more but it starts to feel complicated and depressing, but finally you break through to the other side where there is mastery and you'll be good and happy'
never heard truer words regarding mixing than these...
Number 10 is exactly something I’ve been through recently. I was so depressed, thought all my experience just got me to do things worse than before. But then after some speaking with more experienced engineers I found myself doing things better and feeling happy about it. Thank you for the video!
Good video . I'm a retired film re recording mixer . One of the things I learned after many years was that often the solution to improving the sound of a voice or instrument lies in removing some frequencies - not always adding or increasing the EQ . And , at least in movie dialogue , less compression and riding the fader like a maniac sounds much better than setting a compressor and letting it go . And how many hundreds of times a director or producer would insist in adding and adding and making everything louder - to no avail , and once in a while convincing them that " we need to pull back a few things , carve out a little space and then we'll have a place to fit in the tire screeches or the bad guy's breathing " .
#9 + #10. Along with that, are session templates and refining them. Every mix I do tends to get better and better, so after it's done, I find myself taking a moment to save/update my tracks presets, bus routing and main template. That way, all the things I learned and refined from the previous mix can be carried over to new projects. It's all about developing a workflow that makes sense to you. Slowly you get to the point when your template has everything you need and your projects get more consistent. That's when you start to see results.
You have the best advice man truly! I'm a hobby metal writer mixer etc guy here and I always go with my ears no matter what and when I show my process, I explain and prove everything I say.
Starting out in mixing, guys may pick out flaws in your work, even if your mix is great. Remember that mixing is subjective, trust your instincts, and be confident in what you do. Your unique mix will be appreciated and respected by others.
The going bk to older mixes part, almost a life lesson in music why I love this advice
This was sooo good! Saving this video. Thanks for sharing.
IMO, #3 should have been #1. When I started to pay more attention to the performances, specifically timing and tuning, the skies opened up. My mixes made a quantum leap in quality.
Great wisdom - thanks for sharing !!!
Thank you! Very helpful.
The real talk and advice is GOLD! Thank you! I don’t usually subscribe to anyone but your logic and great advice totally got me sold. Everything you’re saying is so true. Thank you once again
Great advice. Thank you!
Agree 100% with everything. Great video and a good reminder what to focus and what not to focus on. #10 is super important 🤓
100% true. Embrace the journey 👍🏾
These kinds of videos are pretty helpful, thanks man. I love the don't be afraid to go extreme one. I have been a/bing my mixes and noticing how gnarly pro mixes can be. I love bad and good sounds haha
I appreciate your time, your work, everything in total that you set aside for this and other videos. Advice is always helpful. THANKS Jordan.😉✌
Performance really can't be overstated theres like a special energy you can put into the micorphones and a good edit is like cutting all those special moments together.
#3 is so spot on. Editing so your transients and drums line up is so massive.
I really appreciate your channel! Upon my retirement I needed something to keep me sane. I got back in to playing my guitar and then recording and mixing. If I had known how much I love the whole process I think I would have made a different career choice. I felt your comment about starting with knowing nothing then evolving hits close with me. I can go back to when I first started recording (4yrs ago) and hear the amount of progress I've made. I have friends in the music industry that tell me that I'm doing a great job and each song is better than the last. That keeps me going and learning how to find issues and then knowing or figuring out how to fix them is so rewarding!! Please keep making the great content and I hope all goes well for you! Thanks!
Thanks, this was amazing! ❤
Really cranking out great content lately, Jordan! Love it!
I think of all mixing channels, I probably learned most from you, especially in terms of the mindset. Thank you!
By the way, I think I'm not the only one who would love another of those one hour mix videos! That was so interesting to watch.
Thanks for mentioning it. I'll look for it now.
9:41 that's so true. I also believed that there is no such thing a repeating pattern one could use. But after watching tons of videos, just like yours, there really is a formula, yes 🔥🔥
Amazing video,thanks so much!
Just wanted to say thanks for this. As an old 80’s engineer getting back into mixing these tips truly stand the test of time!
You are absolutely right !!!!
I completely dig your honesty. I believe I've experienced darn near everything you have so truthfully shared. All very valuable insights and suggestions, thank you for such a salient and timeless reminder!
Excellent video! Thank you.
Thank you for pointing out "the formula". Over time I've been able to streamline my recording process by relying on a process (aka formula) that works. Templates, recording techniques, overdub methodology, all of these things become familiar and the processes become reliable over time and it's awesome to be able to rely on them without pretending each song is it's own universe of sound.
Thank you !!!🤘😎
This video is just what I needed. Thanks for share your experience with us.
100% agree with you on the 'forumula'. Finding out what works for YOU is SO important. Doing the same things all the time that work = consistency. It makes it simple when you finally find what clicks for your personal work flow. People often ask me 'how do you get the vocals (or whatever) sound like that? What's your 'chain'? Just because my personal chain gets me awesome results, doesn't mean it's going to work for you, or anybody really!
Keep up the great videos!
Awesome tips and so true! Thank you for brining this to everyones attention.
So much right bro
thanks
I have a small studio and a few times per year I record bands/artists, occasionally for free when I feel like it. I don't buy expensive outboard gear, and I already have a bunch of really nice microphones so I am set. What I do buy, however is cables and mic stand gear to be sure that nothing is missing when you have people in the studio. I recently bought 10/6/3 meter cables and headphone extension cables. I also ensure that headphone pads are good and that there are enough sheet music stands for those who need it. Little things that can be really important. I also spend considerable time in advance on planning which instrument goes where, which mics to use and also set up a basic project in the DAW. I hate when you have to spend half a day just wiring everything up.
As always very helpful and insightful video, thanks Jordan...I think your point about tightness and tuning on the way in and the effect on the mix sticks out the most to me...but all 10 points are much appreciated...
This is probably the best mixing advice video I’ve ever heard. I was checking each of these as you named them. Learned them all the hard way. This video would have saved me so much time when I started 😭 Thanks for this…and those who are starting out mixing listen to this!
Great video! - I would add to #1 "stop being afraid... of making mistakes". The irony of YT is that every second mixing/production video is entitled "10 mistakes to avoid blah blah blah etc", and in many people, that just feeds the fear. Everybody HAS to make make mistakes to learn. It's hard to know what "too much" of anything is until you've pushed it "too much"! Sometimes "too much" ain't enough, and sometimes a "mistake" is your quantum leap forward! You'll never know unless you make 'em!
Jordan's take on gear (plugins in my case) is so true. If I would've known, I would not have bought all the plugins I have and just concentrated on training my ears
All your comments “hit home”
I experimented for your years
and realized that I have “formula” that I start with that works well on a variety of music styles. My gut tells me to do it then I should do what it’s telling me. Thanks for your video
Started watching drummixing videos of this guy when I started to learn how to mix. This guy made me completely get it and actually have fun with it. A rare case of someone who actually takes you somewhere by explaining the 'why' and not the 'what'
Thank you for these contents. I’m following your advises
For me, Many of the points resonate with me - there is was initially a lot of fear, like all the time it felt as if I was being judged from afar by all the great masters; and everyone on UA-cam was an expert. It took a while, but what helped was getting reall with everything - finding a great mentor helped me find both humility and confidence to overcome that fear. I'm only 3 years into my journey and recognised the 'breakthrough point' - my mixes do have a formula now, but the greatest realisation is that there will always be something to learn.
Another brilliant post
Great video dude, thank you
Ok - you're cool. It's awesome to find someone authentically sharing their experience with a clear sense of - "Do what works (for you)" etc. Thanks for this! (you have a new subscriber)
Inspiring, thanks
These are all really thoughtful, useful tips. Thank you. Subscribed.
Facts Brother!
Great vid! You nailed the descrip of my journey with the statement at the end. I’m not at that place where it’s easy again but I’m getting there. Eventually!
This is gold.
SO TRUE about compression, just fully understanding it period, it’s completely game changing seriously, I been mixing 20 years, took me 15 of those to really start using compression to its full potential lol, parallel is huge too, I really started getting more extreme with my settings using it parallel first, so it was “less scary” cause I always had dry signal there to bail me out lol, but what ended up happening, is overtime I got WAY better at “normal” compression all around, cause once I started doing extreme shit on parallel channels, I really started “hearing” what every setting did, and gave me way better understanding of what I was doing in smaller increments in more normal situations
Very good advice, simple to understand
Tip 10. Looks like I'm in the middle of the Journey. I feel exactly as you've described. And I regullary catch depression after hard learning something new, putting big hopes on my new mix made with new knowledge and after all understanding I still suck. It's a big relief to know that this is common thing, and thank you very much for your advice. I just got to admit the Journey is much longer than I thought at the start and keep moving forward. Best regards,
"I just got to admit the Journey is much longer than I thought at the start and keep moving forward." For you and me both, brother. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent topics and views!
This is all good advice! One thing I wish I had known at the beginning of my career is that ultimately my personal taste is what people will actually hire me for. Yes technical proficiency is important, but beyond that you need the confidence that what sounds good to /you/ will generally sound good to other people.
Accepting the journey is the one which hit home for me. I started with a 003 rack+ on PT 7LE in 2009, recording mainly myself but also various bands in a variety of locations. All the experience mounts up, and intelligent, non-impulsive gear and plugin choices along the way.
I've been in that gear/plugin trap, and to a certain extent much of it didn't help until I realised what was really making the difference, and what makes for good results. I guess everyone's journey will differ from person to person, and depending on individual circumstances, budget and motivation.
Now, I've got a solid signal chain, flexibility in and out of the box, and a well-honed workflow. All that took a lot of time outside my full time job, and above all the acceptance that it requires patience, discipline and a consistent degree of effort.
Thanks for your videos. I'm considering applying for the PPS training, mainly for the career advice, but also to see where my unknown gaps are.
Nice advice dude. Appreciate your wisdom. Cool talk. Love your style.
Thanks mate.
Adding to #8:
What I wished I knew sooner: use reference tracks! And trust them! If you LOVE this one song's low end, use it as a reference. And don't try to go for more low end than THAT track! You're most definitely gonna overdo it!
“Gear is not the problem or the solution”
My drum set is a PDP Z5 series that I bought new back in 2009, CAD drum mics, Epiphone SG Pro (2013), Digitech RP500, cheap entry-level Ibanez bass guitar, 2013 model Yamaha DGX keyboard and just recently purchased (and most expensive) Zoom LiveTrak L-20
I do a mix down on the LiveTrak or move the files to GarageBand and work from there
It’s just fun to work on mixes, even though I know it’s nowhere near professional-sounding, but it’s getting better and better!
Excellenet info!
I started mixing and regularly referencing on my earbuds recently and it’s a game changer.
You nailed those points very well, I also had same experience, but You have those great points. Thank You. ❤
Number 6 in general, great life advice.
"Breaking through the complexity"... Perfectly stated!!
So much great info Thanks!!!!!!!
FANTASTIC VIDEO, I agree on pretty much everything! HOWEVER, regarding #7:
I invested ALL my (our) wedding gift money to buy a Thermionic Culture Fat Bustard 2 Analog summing mixer. One of the most pricey outboard gear there is out there. Took me a bunch of terrible mixes cause my A-D sucked, so I upgraded on a 2.5K audio interface (Metric Halo LIO 3D) to ensure what goes out comes in at mastering grade quality conversion.
And then, BOOM there it was. Mixing "kinda" out of the box, elevated my overall sound and perception of things. Same mix inside my Cubase was missing tons of things which I got from mixing out and "printing" it back.
->Then it was the monitoring. I used to work with Yamaha HS8's. I've seen people doing great stuff on them, they're on the 500$ ballpark so I said "why not"?
I never liked them, even if my space is like 70-80% treated. The translation was terrible, I was mostly mixing on some 30$ in-ear type of headphones, just like you said.
Tried Sonarworks Reference for a while but there was a lot of guesswork to be done there as well.
Until I won a pair of Amphion Speakers with their dedicated amp. A 4.000$ thing. Now, the word "translation" exists only in translating foreign languages: everything I mix, sounds great and identical on my car, my headphones, even my Marshal living room speaker (where nothing sounds good there,ya know it)
Of course, it took me ages to go to a point that I, my self like my mixes. And I still believe they suck, until I hear/read awesome reviews about the production and my mind rests for a second.
BONUS: Your mixing cheat sheet has helped a lot btw, thanks!
PS. On one of my best releases (Outloud "Outloud" on Frontiers Records) vocals were recorded with a B1 Behringer on a Steinberg card, guitars with a SM57 on a random amp/cab BUT the songs and performance were there ;-)
I did buy the CLA 10s because of you and I gotta say this is the one piece of gear that really changed things . That and soothe lol 😂
This is great advise
I get asked all the time how I’m able to mix all these different types of genres, and really it’s the same process, with little unique things here and there but for the most part, it’s the same. Nice refresher video for me
all but tip 10 is real. Getting better comes w serious anxiety and depression, but once you hit that comfort/"mastery" its smooth sailing
The last tip was really great!
I have to say watching your videos to get back into mixing metal thank you so much, your content is superb !!!!
Very cool! Lots here that resonates! (no pun intended haha). Especially listening to old mixes and going "wait what!?" Easy to feel like you're wasting time when that happens! Cheers!
the 6th tip was the most hard to swallow. knowing that that delayed my creativity by 3 years at the beginning of my journey till i woke up and just used my freaking ears
Great vid. Thanks!
Inspiring. Very good advice. I think finding an i tuitive formula really hit me. And yes the one piece of gear that matters is speakers. My own experience learning the space recorded, and how well something is recorded (quality of sound and play), can save time too.
10 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I can't tell you how frustrating it is now that I know all of these techniques but everything seems so complicated. Back when I barely know anything it was so much to discover new things and it would sound so good. In my opinion some of the best work I did in my earlier stages, although some would disagree.
Great video...I think we all started the same way, some dropped out on the way and some stuck it out. It is a long but enjoyable journey.
Thanks!
Awesome!
It's the second time I watch this video and I just realised how damn true what you say in the last few minutes is. I had exactly the same journey and I think you're right everybody does. Thanks so much for giving this advice for free!
Even years in, I feel like I'm at a stage in my journey where I ought to just save this video and watch it every so often. Thanks for this.
This is the most important video I have ever watched about mixing.
So many facts
This, folks, is pure gold! I ran into ALL of these traps and it's mostly just a matter of gear and no fear.
with the forum people, I learned that lesson when I went into their profiles and found out that the only audio that they had were null tests on DAWs and hundreds of posts about how transparent a plugin needs to be.
I'm guilty of going down these rabbit holes. I'm doing it now by watching your videos. I should just go practice mixing instead of watching videos over and over.
Accepting the journey is definitely the hardest one. I’ll often pull up old mixes back from when “I didn’t know what I was doing” and I’m blown away by how good they actually sound. I no longer try to remix old projects that turned out good, or even ok, because I can never beat the old mixes. I’ve learned that it doesn’t make a difference if I know more now than I did then. Clearly I knew enough to get it to a point where I was ok with it, so trying to redo it is always going to be like covering a song for me. Even though it’s fun, and may even sound ok, it never sounds better than the original.
I totally agree with #6
Often time people who criticized my mix are those who don’t have any official release, are not working in the industry, are doing it for fun
The funny thing is, people who praised my mix are the ones who have been in the industry for many years. So I only choose to listen to the feedback of people like this and not the internet commenters
This is all great advice! #6 totally! I forums there should be a way to always hear the posters work. Forget the “credits” as they can be exaggerated and just because you worked with someone doesn’t make you great. Some people that become popular are very talented, but sometimes it is a popularity contest. Always check the source where the info is coming from. You will be surprised what you find with the biggest loud mouths.
I stopped going on forums for the same reason. It’s impossible to distinguish the experienced from the hobbyist. Forums can be useless except for troubleshooting.
You’re a great teacher btw! I’ve watched a number of your videos and I’m impressed with the quality of your content and the way you deliver information. No gimmicks, no baiting, just quality information. I’m a professor of composition and recording and appreciate how you’re stripping away many of the misperceptions about mixing and music. Nice work!