Great explanation! I had come to some of these conclusions through sweat and tears. I am a live venue recording enthusiast, so mostly subtracting is more important than adding. 👍 Keep it up you are helping many!
2:42 What about mixing in mono? Once we've achieved the best balance using faders and panning, should we switch back to mixing in mono? Cheers for the awesome videos!
It turns out that my layout and workflow intuitively found it way into a very similar pattern, although I don't always mix top down per say, sometimes depending on the material, I'll do bits of top down and bus processing at the same time.
3 different sources, in a playlist with the references. Good advice. I go walking hearing my mix in the headphone, and also check how it sounds in the car and in my system in the living room.
Great video, Jake. I like the top-down approach, but having to put high-pass and low-pass filters on each track to get rid of noise gremlins forces me to start at the bottom.
Excellent ! But I admit that during balance I more often prefer to apply a few plugins individually and directly when I perceive a phase problem. I don't apply too much, but just enough to fix some flaws. And I must admit that before I didn't see the need to put a Q and Compression again on the busses. I thought it was too much processing but I assure you, it contributes even more widely to a better quality of mix. Thanks guys!
Makes sense to me Julien. I've found that with more experience the lines get blurred between the steps a bit more. Probably because you're always kind of thinking ahead and habitually making moves with the end in mind.
I like this recap :D. If I may add that it "could" be a good thing to cut low freq that are not human audible (below 20hz) as it "could" add unwanted muddyness on the mix.
Good point! I personally do any kind of low end management in the "P" phase. I know a lot of people who do a whole high-passing step in prep before even getting an initial balance. Totally based on preference, whatever works best for YOU is the right answer :)
Great tips. I am confused about one thing regarding the mix bus and adding a second EQ. It looks like you have two eq's and a 3rd window with the mix bus. I am not sure how you got that to happen. I see a static orange eq line going across the top and I think you are trying to match it with the live sound but I have no idea how you get that static eq line to stay there.
I like to use the PAZ frequency analyzer from waves mainly because it has this feature. You can just google search PAZ Analyzer to learn more about how it works!
@@masteringcom Thanks, that makes sense actually, I've been using Track Stacks but never thought of it as such, I was still sending each channel individually to a bus group
Hey, can you take a listen to the Chorus in “Amber Ice” by Wiz Khalifa and inform me about how he got that to sound so good? Like what are the main things that you hear in it that makes his “whisper vocals” sound so smooth
it is 2022 i know bleu tooth speakers ear in phones tablets but if you make a great mix on good speakers and you do the job well you don't have to worrie about phones i don't make music for phones or headphones i make music sounds how it suppose to be and if that is wright automatic it sounds good every where example old school movies old school music it is not made for phones hahaha or ear in but it sounds good no it must reach your soul then it sounds good every where
You could apply what your are preaching to your own videos here, no? Your levels are fucked up dude.....Your speach is too quiet and the music sound is too loud....Geezuzzz
None of this means nothing if you can't accurately hear what you're mixing. No headphones give you a flat response. Unless you want to rob banks and literally steal thousand and thousands of dollars ALL headphones are weird in the high end and highly questionable in the low end. Most home studios are highly compromised in terms of speakers in rooms with DIY random/ bad room treatment. Even good treatment sucks because most home studios exist in small box shaped rooms that utterly suck. So there is almost no way to accurately hear what you're mixing. If you couple this fact with the fact that most people at home record in terrible sounding boxy rooms with condensers and with God knows what kind of weird reflections and standing waves...then by the time you get all that crap to the mixing stage you are literally pushing and shoveling crap up hill with your bare hands. And on top of all that...most home studio guys like me have terrible ears and wouldn't know a good or bad sound if it came and knocked on their door and said "hi you suck".
Mac demarco made millions off his home recordings he did in his apartment in untreated rooms . Depends what kind of sound one is going for . I’ve heard a lot of good albums people recorded at home with bad equipment and bad rooms .
@@Tedtt655 I hear ya. My space is like a padded coffin. 8x9 foot. Spare bedroom. I've seen some of the old footage of Mac and he aint in a postage stamp. Having said that, you're right. People seem to make good stuff wherever. I think it's just me that sucks.
@@Tedtt655 Dude. Thanks for the pick me up. But the hours I put in seem wasted. I see the people who can do it and just think, nope, never gonna make it.
What's YOUR current mixing workflow?
I usually mix the instruments/ beats first then I go straight to the vox .
i like this guy ,he doesnt bore my ear holes
Hahaha! So glad to hear Lucas... I try to get straight to the point :)
FINALLY SOMEONE WHO EXPLAINS "WHY," INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING "DO THIS!" THANK YOU!
That was probably the most helpful video I’ve watched about mixing so far. Thanks!
That's awesome to hear Leona! Glad it helped :)
Really nice tips, thank you so much!
Happy to help Cássio!
Great explanation! I had come to some of these conclusions through sweat and tears. I am a live venue recording enthusiast, so mostly subtracting is more important than adding. 👍 Keep it up you are helping many!
This was such a great breakdown. THANKS!!
2:42 What about mixing in mono? Once we've achieved the best balance using faders and panning, should we switch back to mixing in mono? Cheers for the awesome videos!
Well said, well put together. Great video, helped solidify a lot of what I came to on my own, but the accronym was a beauty move
Man has just saved hours of my life in 10 minutes
It turns out that my layout and workflow intuitively found it way into a very similar pattern, although I don't always mix top down per say, sometimes depending on the material, I'll do bits of top down and bus processing at the same time.
Rocking; thank you! Might you have a pdf of all the steps and sub-steps?
Thanks....ummm what is the name of the music you played in this video?
This was awesome brother!
This video is just golden, thankyou so much
Thanks Much Jake...♥
My pleasure Ramon!
I like how you presented that.👍
Gonna try this method asap ! Thanks.
My pleasure Atibu :)
3 different sources, in a playlist with the references. Good advice. I go walking hearing my mix in the headphone, and also check how it sounds in the car and in my system in the living room.
Great video, Jake.
I like the top-down approach, but having to put high-pass and low-pass filters on each track to get rid of noise gremlins forces me to start at the bottom.
Totally. I know a lot of people who actually do this as part of mix prep... different strokes :)
Excellent !
But I admit that during balance I more often prefer to apply a few plugins individually and directly when I perceive a phase problem.
I don't apply too much, but just enough to fix some flaws.
And I must admit that before I didn't see the need to put a Q and Compression again on the busses. I thought it was too much processing but I assure you, it contributes even more widely to a better quality of mix.
Thanks guys!
Makes sense to me Julien. I've found that with more experience the lines get blurred between the steps a bit more. Probably because you're always kind of thinking ahead and habitually making moves with the end in mind.
@@masteringcom It's exactly that ! The primary idea of what my mix should look like dominates in my mind.
awesome video!! thanks
Thanks for the good tips
Happy to help Ace :)
What are "AH" & "BR" for the additional background vocals?
oh and THIS IS THE WAY 😃
I like this recap :D. If I may add that it "could" be a good thing to cut low freq that are not human audible (below 20hz) as it "could" add unwanted muddyness on the mix.
Good point! I personally do any kind of low end management in the "P" phase. I know a lot of people who do a whole high-passing step in prep before even getting an initial balance. Totally based on preference, whatever works best for YOU is the right answer :)
I start with drums then bass and once I have drum and bass working I add instrument making space for every instrument..and last the vocal
I do that too! Sometimes if I'm feelin' spicy I'll go drums, then vocals, then back to bass and the rest of the instrumentation
is a mix bus necessary or can you just use the master channel?
Is mixbus the master channel in fl studio?
What is the mix bus?
Great tips. I am confused about one thing regarding the mix bus and adding a second EQ. It looks like you have two eq's and a 3rd window with the mix bus. I am not sure how you got that to happen. I see a static orange eq line going across the top and I think you are trying to match it with the live sound but I have no idea how you get that static eq line to stay there.
I like to use the PAZ frequency analyzer from waves mainly because it has this feature. You can just google search PAZ Analyzer to learn more about how it works!
@@masteringcom thanks. I didn’t even know I had this included in my waves gold bundle. I will check it out
I'VE NEVER SEEN HIM BLINK. Starting to think this channel is run by artificial intelligence
I don’t think he has eyelids but all good thx for the tips
So are you Mastering before checking your mix in a playlist with 3 other speaker sources?
Nope. I get the frequency curve right in the mixing phase. That way mastering can be reserved for that last 5% of polish and loudness
What's the name of the song?
when you say drum bus, you then opened just the group, does the group channel automatically become a bus?
If you use the TRACK STACK feature in Logic, then yes. Track stacks automatically route everything for you!
@@masteringcom Thanks, that makes sense actually, I've been using Track Stacks but never thought of it as such, I was still sending each channel individually to a bus group
Hey, can you take a listen to the Chorus in “Amber Ice” by Wiz Khalifa and inform me about how he got that to sound so good? Like what are the main things that you hear in it that makes his “whisper vocals” sound so smooth
Are you from Minnesota? The way you say your a's (bee-alance) gives it away lol
Useful advice, but why are you wearing a V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask?
HAHAHAHAHA
I'd love a side-by-side of that lol
it is 2022 i know bleu tooth speakers ear in phones tablets but if you make a great mix on good speakers and you do the job well you don't have to worrie about phones i don't make music for phones or headphones i make music sounds how it suppose to be and if that is wright automatic it sounds good every where example old school movies old school music it is not made for phones hahaha or ear in but it sounds good no it must reach your soul then it sounds good every where
Do you ever feel like this is it, like your life isn’t going anywhere?
I do not lol
@@masteringcom All jokes aside, great video, I needed this.
7) If your mix sucks in the car, (no matter HOW MANY REVISIONS/HOURS YOU TAKE) your mix sucks. PERIOD
Cool vid! Should you only mix top down if you're an experienced mixer?
You could apply what your are preaching to your own videos here, no? Your levels are fucked up dude.....Your speach is too quiet and the music sound is too loud....Geezuzzz
Thanks for the constructive feedback, we'll get this tightened up!
@@masteringcom No problem mate. Thanks. keep up the good work ;)
None of this means nothing if you can't accurately hear what you're mixing. No headphones give you a flat response. Unless you want to rob banks and literally steal thousand and thousands of dollars ALL headphones are weird in the high end and highly questionable in the low end. Most home studios are highly compromised in terms of speakers in rooms with DIY random/ bad room treatment. Even good treatment sucks because most home studios exist in small box shaped rooms that utterly suck. So there is almost no way to accurately hear what you're mixing. If you couple this fact with the fact that most people at home record in terrible sounding boxy rooms with condensers and with God knows what kind of weird reflections and standing waves...then by the time you get all that crap to the mixing stage you are literally pushing and shoveling crap up hill with your bare hands. And on top of all that...most home studio guys like me have terrible ears and wouldn't know a good or bad sound if it came and knocked on their door and said "hi you suck".
Mac demarco made millions off his home recordings he did in his apartment in untreated rooms . Depends what kind of sound one is going for . I’ve heard a lot of good albums people recorded at home with bad equipment and bad rooms .
@@Tedtt655 I hear ya. My space is like a padded coffin. 8x9 foot. Spare bedroom. I've seen some of the old footage of Mac and he aint in a postage stamp. Having said that, you're right. People seem to make good stuff wherever. I think it's just me that sucks.
@@oinkooink nah dawg don’t say u suck. Just keep grinding .
@@Tedtt655 Dude. Thanks for the pick me up. But the hours I put in seem wasted. I see the people who can do it and just think, nope, never gonna make it.