How to KNOW When a Mix is DONE!
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- Опубліковано 3 гру 2020
- Whoever said "Art is never finished, it is merely abandoned" was full of crap. You can finish a mix AND feel totally good about it, but only if you have a clearly defined goal and a process for getting there. Gregory Scott, plugin and hardware designer at Kush Audio, shares a simple philosophical approach you can use to know whether your mix is done, or if there's still more tweaking to do.
For more tips, plugin discounts, and more, check out thehouseofkush.com/museletter
finally someone who can teach engineering in a way stoners can understand.
😂
Underrated comment
I mean, this IS the House of Kush....
@@TheHouseofKushTV don't leave me don't leave me 😹😹
"Just doing my thing..." (motions a few puffs)
Clicked faster than a rookie destroying his vocal eq
That’s insanely fast
🤣
I felt that
lolll
When mixing your own music, you know a mix is done when you've spent so much time on it that you hate the song, yourself, all your equipment, everyone else for mixing better than you, life in general, and you can't stand to mix it for another second and just have to accept it the way it is. Then the mix is juuuust right ☝️ 🤣
Yeah, summed up pretty nicely.
Ha ha true
Thats what I do....... My mix still sounds shite.
True shit
@@Khunvyel totally true. Something that helps me not hate the song is referencing in different environments. Put the song on whilst on a drive at work, bang it out on headphones during a workout. The precision won't be there to hear the minor details and faults, but it brings you back to the feel of the song and puts your head straight again ! Reminds you how the song is supposed to feel.
A few things must happen for me:
1. I can't notice any technical anomolies
2. The mix invokes emotions in me
3. The mix sounds like a "record"
4. After a day or two break for fresh ears...1-3 are still present on a re-listen.
5. Done.
after a day or two break for fresh ears, that's awesome yes, i gotta stop listening to it for a while then come back
You’re like the Mr Rogers of mixing. Always wearing the same clothes, always mellow af, and always a fountain of wisdom
Exactly! One of these videos should be watched in between each and every discouraging mix you do. Lol
I was thinking Bob Ross lol
more bob ross i feel like
When the Star Wars force ghosts need a ghost, House of Kush appears.
Chocolate rain!!! I'm so sorry
THE LEGEND
Tay Zonday! What a pleasant suprise
Tay ol' bean. Glad to see you're still kicking it!
bahaha this is good
I check to see if my mix is done by poking it in the middle with a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out clean then it’s done.
I prefer my toothpick to come out charred and crusty. Done!
If your toothpick comes out bent or broken reduce your compression settings. It should come out slightly sticky as well, if it doesn't, you've forgotten to glue your tracks together!
but if you can smell the glue, maybe too much!
@@jakebeamish well, if you used a clean compressor that is.. a character compressor can give a nice gluey smell. Ah, the smell of a Neve.. alright this is starting to sound weird now isn’t it.
We tried that with our bassist. After hearing him scream, he's now our vocalist.
A moment of silence please, for another lesson in music and life.
YES ...Woosah
I interpreted that video as just “listen to the song like your average listener does”. Meaning, you aren’t scanning the song at all. You’re experiencing it. Normal people don’t hear a tune on the radio and start focusing on tonal balance, drum sounds etc. They’re singing along to the words in their head at best. This is a hard thing for trained musicians to do! I recently bounced a track where so many things about it technically bothered me. It was more compressed and limited than I’d normally do, it’s pumping a little bit, the top end was more aggressive than I typically like... but it just “felt” right. I had two mixes, the “everything is in its right place” mix and the “I don’t know why this mix feels better one”. The artist greatly preferred the less polished one, so my instinct was right even though my head said otherwise 🤷♂️
I thought you'd mixed a radiohead tune then! haha
@@jamesday5065 ha!! I wish I had mixed that song. Wish I had wrote it too, but alas, I am no Radiohead/Nigel Godrich 😢
Thanks for everything ♥️
He is the single best mixing teacher I've ever had, everything makes total sense
6:30 "sipping my coffee, doing my thing" *gestures smoking*
Hahahaha, I hadn't noticed that, SO subsconscious!
No judgement man, the bold text makes it seem snarkier than I meant lol. Great advice in the video as always!
First time I stumbled on your videos, I skipped and coz why bother listening to someone who doesn't show any techniques. But after watching a bunch of your videos, I'm so glad i came back. You are a jedi master!
Thanks for coming back man, I appreciate the support!
I love this....it's like taking the old saying "If it sticks out and is distracting, it's not right" and completely dissecting it's meaning to the finest detail. Well done Gregory.
Being a self-taught engineer/producer myself (and still learning I might add), I’ve heard explanations and tips from a decent range of pro engineers-but none have been as eye opening, sensible, and articulate as Mr. Scott. Great advice and great video, as always!
Side note:
I saw at least a 50-60% increase in my mixing/producing ability once I grew my hair out to near-shoulder length. A coincidence? Have you seen Mr. Scott’s luscious locks? I think I may be on to something here...
cf. Samson 😛
God damn; Greg is such a king. I've been trying to figure out a way to articulate this feeling for years and greg did it in a solid 15. I love this channel so much
Actually, a solid 9 haha
Listening to your voice is an entertainment in itself, but there's also a lot of wisdom in it.
This channel is gold.
Greg, this is what I call distancing myself from the mix and I've only been doing it for a couple of years now. After I do all the nit picky stuff, I then turn on the song from the beginning and just listen to it as if I was a regular person. I wouldn't try to focus on any one thing but if something's not right, it will stick out like a sore thumb.
I just finished a 60s bubble gum track and as you know, that stuff could get pretty dense with all the backing vocals, orchestration and, especially the stuff the Wrecking Crew played on, all the little odds and ends you'd find. Those were some amazing arrangements. This track, on the fade out chorus, had 2 sets of backing vocals, a doubled lead vocal, string pad underneath, double tracked electric guitars, organ, lead violins line and lead French horns line as well as drums and bass. It's your typical 60s wall of sound.
When I finished nit picking (and there was a lot to nit pick) I played the track but couldn't really hear the violins and horns however I could feel them. To confirm, I muted those two tracks while the song was playing and I could just feel something was missing. That's how I knew the track was done. Nothing stuck out but everything added to the overall sound.
Ironically, I thought this was going to be an easy project because, well, you know, 60s bubble gum? Don't kid yourself. That stuff is hard as hell to get to sound right if you're looking for authenticity.
Anyway, great video as always. You teach more without playing a note of music than all the hours of noise out there combined.
Thanks.
Great story man, thanks for sharing and for the kind words!
ok the quality of these is getting so good
That’s basically what I do..
I work on it for awhile, put it down, come back later or the next day and listen.
Often times, I’ll hear things that need adjusting so I’ll tweak them, come back and repeat the process.
Eventually I listen and I’m pleasantly surprised to see that nothing feels off.
If I can listen all the way through and I get that excitement because it feels yummy, then I know it’s good to go.
Great video and great advice.
Greg Scott a.k.a The Gandalf of Sound. Thanks for all you do, sir.
The mix is done when you hit the deadline! just make the deadline 1 week and ship it! trust me you'll get used to it, its not your wedding after all!
But to lend my technique to your point; I like to go make a brew and listen from the other room with the door open. Also know your ears settle into a 'sonic profile' every 20 mins. so go listen to something else (like a kettle boiling, or nature) for about 20mins to reset them.
Brilliant analogy to the movement sensitivity of peripheral vision.
Thanks Greg....you are the zen master when it comes to practical tips that go beyond the purely technical
Great advice! I just finished a mix yesterday....I was really happy with it. Then I started nitpicking....I think this could go up a db, that could be a hair brighter etc. So I made the changes....seemingly very minute but afterwards I was underwhelmed. I listened to the second last version that I nitpicked and I found I loved it after all. So it was done.
Soften your gaze is a good way to put it. What I often do with a mix is play it low while I'm doing something else.
aka "selling past the close" 😛
You should be recording your voice for people with insomnia, not because it's boring and puts people to sleep, but because it's so bloody soothing. 'Fall asleep Derek', 'Okay'.
So pedagogic, you're simply the best. We don't get lost in technical settings, you're just giving your vision with adapted words. Greetings.
Thank you for presenting more than just a philosophy, but an actual method for implementing it. I was using the definition that it's done when neither adding things nor taking them away makes the finished product any better, but you've drilled it down to a much more approachable level.
Thanks! Yeah, I'm all about finding systems that are as brainless as possible, it helps me get past my own, uhh, 'roadblocks' 😛
Hell yeah. I love this. I think it's important to note on this subject that the recording/producing has to also be done as well in order to get into this 123 process. As a bedroom producer, I've done my own version of this with finishing mixes, however, during points where not all the recording is done and locked. So after I got the mix done, I then re-recorded other elements, which threw off the whole vibe, and needed repeating of this process. I'd love to see a video in the future of knowing when you're recording/producing is done as well.
Oh, snap, that's a verrry different question, I gotta give it some thought!
the content to bullshit ratio of this channel nears infinity - something valuable every time!
i love your metaphors and little bits of philosophy thrown in here and there
Gregory Scott I am you're n#1 fan. you have literally SAVED my mixes with you're approach that shapes perspective rather than vague explanations of how "so n so" made mix choices to achieve the sound for a mix that is only relevant for THAT MIX! I was so excited a few days ago when this vid came out. btw what are you up to this Saturday? I'm in the area lets meet for coffee.
I came here to learn the concept of knowing when a mix is done and dusted, but being in the presence of such a wise guru I can say I learned more about the philosophical aspect of mixing in these 10 minutes than I have in just about any other put together. Thanks Gregory, much appreciated.
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom : )
I use a similar method. When my mix is about 80% done , I print it and take it home. Then I listen to it in a casual setting, like lying on the couch or while cooking... I take notes of stuff which jumps in my face. One more session and done!
this is the best channel in the world hands down
when it sounds like SONG and not a mix. you're done
You're right! and adding to kush's point, it doesn't sound like a song unless you can hear it in the background go on about your business and nothing jumps out at you
Man you should open up a mix review where we can submit our material and get feedback. I’d even pay, you seem to really approach it from an emotional level more then anyone else on UA-cam. Really helps so so grateful
Thanks, yeah, this has been circling my brain since the channel started to pop. I can't say 100% for sure yet, but I've been assessing the feasibility of something verrry similar to this. Stay tuned!
I really like that you do not rely on showing screen shots of a Daw and showing us what you are doing. Showing the philosophical approach to mixing is something no one else does.
You're just on another level of teaching, my man. I ask the questions you answer, and you answer them better than anyone - IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES.
541 likes and no dislikes. There's a reason for that... pure gold. Thank you Gregory for being you.
Theres one now. Just remember, there's always a gobshite out there.
Probably CLA again, dude won't leave me alone.
@@TheHouseofKushTV I pissed someone off recently, cos I made them look a twat for saying immigrants deserve to drown and die. So he came on my channel and disliked all my videos haha.
@@JohnsysChannel The ratio remains impressive.
@@davejohnsonmusic yeah totally. I mean, they are probably searching for info to do with mixing. Have found a professional giving their personal insight and education to them free of charge, then instead of challenging this information or adding their own perspective, they just dislike the video. What's the actual point? I have to remind myself sometimes that not everyone is not a cunt.
Your style and advice is so good.. it actually makes me want to mix... that's saying something, since mixing is usually the part of the process I dread most.
Keep it up, man. You rock ;)
I'm glad to hear that man, truly! If it healps, I used to dread mixing too, always afraid I wasn't going to be able to make it all work. But once I got this process for knowing when the mix is done, that started to change, and dramatically. Now, I swear I just write songs so I have something to mix!
Listening is not about plugins, is about thinking. Thanks Kush! Truth is beautiful
one of the best martial arts that works in this way or be aware of your peripheral vision is the Aikido ( I practices for years) and one of the principles there is about don't be only focus in you plain vision and the peripheral vision, also to everything that is in the middle. As always you nail it Greg. My respect.
Brilliantly said... Much thanks!
Funny how I've been doing most of the things mentioned here more or less for years now without even realizing there was so much strategy behind it! Big up for the good advice and all your great videos! 😊
you're building an inspirational body of work that will bring light in dark times
Fantastic use of analogy to help understand concept of 'widening focus' in an audio mixing context - thank you
Thank you for your videos! I'm happy to find your channel with real philosophy of mixing, not usual mostly useless tricks and tips.
Thank you very much!
This advice is gold! One of my favorite things to do is listen to my track from another room. I always end up catching something that needs work
Great analogy and advices here, thanks. Simply turning my screen off helps me doing this process: listen start to finish, make mental notes, fix, repeat...
Yes!! I have a 'hot corner' for exactly this, I swipe down and left with my mouse and the screen goes black. I use it all the time!
I still can’t believe all of this knowledge is available for free! Thanks a ton!
Dude, “soft gaze”. What an amazing term you added to my vocabulary. Thank you!
This is such a great advice! It's about developing that sense of ironing the little (or big) things that annoy your vision and taste as well as the discipline to do it until nothing else annoys you about it. Process of elimination baby. Thanks Greg.
Very nice again. Sometimes I am just fed up because I am only tweaking minor things. Then I just decide that the mix is done.
I just put the music in my mp3,my phone,my car and my gaming pc, listen for couple days in different ways, when there is nothing annoying me anymore, that's the time I know it's done.
Guess that's why I always feel like a tortured soul...
I needed this to hear this at this moment in my life. I’ve been trying to finish my first video game soundtrack I did 9 years ago for months and all but one mix has been holding me up from release. I like the “soft gaze” stop at three and fix method, rinse repeat and then move to other rooms, repeat method. This gives me determination to get it right until it’s done rather than paying someone else. Thank you for the inspiration. It also sparked other approaches I can do for affirmation.
Thanks for explaining stuff that I, as a noob, have zero confidence. You not only explain how you do those things in real life, but you also add some kind of analogy that it will be hard to forget.
Curious that I relate to all you said about peripherycal vision since I have more than the normal two blind spots in my vision, so I'm always checking for movement... it was a cool exercise! Just to end, I bought some of your plugins on sale and (I know they don't do the magic alone) but I noticed a big improvement on one of my mixes, just by using a touch of those plugins. Thank you!
Right on, thanks for the kind words and thanks for the support!
Came for the chilled vibes, stayed for the top notch advice
I come to this big awesome channel when I'm not mixing, thank you kind sir!
I recently discovered the KUSH, your talk on peripheral is where I would go when I was mixing LIVE.. thank you for this chat
Great explanation. Same process on my end (except for mastering instead of mixing)
Peripheral listening, unfocus to focus, small moves for big impact. I sound nuts, but I get it. I get it. Damn... simple, yet elegant. Yet again you remind us to get out of our own way. Thank you, again.
I have watched every video of these series ten times and I really wish there were more.
Every time I hear your intro song....the drums sound so damn good! I'm stumped on how you seemingly get the wide and full drum hits without it being overbearing or too loud. The hits are just so clear and full but again, its not over powering. Do you duplicate your drum hits and pan? It fills up so much space but nothing else is drowned out. It's like a paradox. For a non professional music maker, your drums sound like pure magic.
Oh, thanks! "Full and clear but not overpowering" is primarily a combination of two factors for me: how I play it, and how I mix it. The sound on this intro theme is just two microphones, in a sort of Glyn Johns setup but rather than place them for 'good phase', I placed them so that each one had a very cool and balanced picture of the kit all by itself. Then they're panned hard L & R, so there's minimal transient punch in the center and maximal spread and width.
It's my attempt to copy, as precisely as possible, the sound and vibe on Barry White's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More". Listen to that song and listen to the drum intro, and listen to each channel on its own. They are VERY different sounds, one is thicker and more saturated, the other brighter and snappier. And the phase is a bit smeared, imperfect... and it feels amazing.
@@TheHouseofKushTV Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it immensely!
"Soft Focus" is a technique used by the "Viewpoints" methodology of acting. I have learned it, and used it often, but never thought about applying it to my mixes. Nice!
Truly, everything is everything in this life 😊
I came across this video a while back and didn't finish it, now that I watched the whole thing I'm really glad I did. Super informative, glad I got to see this all the way through.
Yeah Gregory I dig what you're saying, and it's good to have this pointed out, so we can engage soft gaze more often. I like that- soft gaze with your ears. A lot of times when I'm correcting something on a track suddenly I'll notice that I have no idea what's going on outside that track. And like you mentioned, it's best to just start the song over and let the music envelop me without focusing on a single element of the mix. I guess that's what 'big picture" is. And when listening to the big picture, you will notice anything that's off, that needs correcting yes? Good usable post my man.
Precisely 💪🏽
This is exactly the process I go through to determine when my mixes are done. The flickering light "existing out at the periphery" is a nice touch. Well done.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom Gregory, I really like your approach and will try something similar. It reminds me of a zen story where the music teacher would do housework while his student played. If the teacher lost his focus on his housework and noticed his students playing, the student had not perfected his art.
Yep, that sounds like exactly the same thing 🕺
Mixing with mindfulness, I love it!
More excellent advice! Love it!
I've just finished composing a score for a French herb company, the final mix stage is tomorrow and I've been dreading it as I'm a musician and producer and not really a mix or master guy despite my music production degree and masters. But after watching this I feel more chilled about it as this is what I pretty much do anyway, but hearing it from you gives me more confidence! I'm also learning to work quicker and make better decisions and to have more faith in my decisions.
By the way, this episode is the exact length of a huge slice of homemade chocolate wedding cake with 2 inches of icing and drowned in double cream!
Thanks, and greetings from London during the Witching Hour!
love this channel so much. you save my days.
The analogy you came up with is sooo good, thanks for the advice!
great information as always! Love this channel
Great stuff. Love your videos. Learning so much.
Thanks man I'm always learning new stuff from you, keep it up!
Your advices are gold! Thank you for sharing.
Great advice. Thanks Gregory!
Learned many things, Thank you Gregory! 🙏🏽
Great vid, love the visual analogy and also found the 1, 2 ,3 method very interesting. Something I've found to be a HUGE help in getting a wider perspective on a mix is this - when I've worked on all the sounds, gotten all effects, compression etc in order and gotten everything to where I like the balance, I take at least a half hour break then come back to it. At this point, I do a "save as" and pull all the faders down (but maintain the relative balances within any groups). I then hit play and pull things up and get a new balance. It means that I'm already happy with how everything sounds, so all I'm doing now is getting a new balance where it's groovin and makin me feel good! I've had enough time away from the mix to get out of the "technical" mindset and just hear it as someone diggin on a tune! At least 9 times out of 10 the new balance is better, more musical, more groovin, the relative levels are more adventurous and the thing just sounds more like a record. It can take maybe only 10 minutes to get to this. Then, while still in this mindset, i'll do automation by running full passes of the song and riding a couple things at a time in fader touch mode, so levels spring back to their initial position after a move. After a few rounds of this, I'll finish off with the more microscopuc stuff if needed, BUT always keeping in mind if I round off too many edges it starts to lose its mojo. I know it's finished when I'm afraid to change anything cos I like it too much! Sorry for the essay, hope it could be helpful for some people. Again, thanks for the vids, love your work, your sounds and your plug ins! ✌
Awesome workflow! Shit, this sounds a *lot* like 'buss mixing', I used to do that a lot when I had a 16-buss analog console in front of me. Keep the faders where they are, everything is assigned in groups to busses, pull the busses down and just mix the groups.
I never thought to reanimate that workflow ITB, thank you so much for this amazing reminder.
Man, do I miss so much about that bucket of electronics! 😥
@@TheHouseofKushTV Very cool! Have been really considering getting an analogue console lately (at the moment I use an 8-fader controller to do the method I mentioned), now I'm even more intrigued... Sounds like you had a lot of fun working on a console. Would love to open that can of worms myself sometime. Again, thanks for the vids, so great to hear someone talking about the MINDSET of mixing, so important. Cheers!
Thank you soo much for the holistic approach Mr Scott. Love these videos!
Your approaches are always brilliant and from the soul! Thank you!
You've been such a huge help and explain things EXTREMELY well (or at least in a way that i understand. Thank you so much!
God, I love this guy's style!
Love these videos, Gregory :) They always leave me feeling inspired to dive into a mix and move it on. It's also affirming to find out I've been doing *some* things right already, like going into the next room over from my "studio" and listening to a mix from there - that extra little bit of distance really helps shift your perspective so you can hear the broad sweep of a mix rather than obsessing over the minutiae :)
Thanks! Love the simplicity and lightness of that advice 🪶😌
I really appreciate your videos. The topics are not only informative regarding mixing, but also other aspects.
You're not-so-slowly becoming my favorite youtube channel. By a lot.
Thank you sir for all of your insight. It really helps. I find myself rewatching and finding new things to help my mix process.
Thanks
110% agree. Great idea on the sets of threes as well!
A producer I highly respect told me he loves to set his mix on loop and play video games in another room. He said it's helped him find tons of issues he never would have noticed.
Thought it was odd, but love his work and gave it a shot. It completely changed how I think about that phase of the process. It also made it much less stressful!
Awesome! Yeah, whatever it takes to give the process over to the unconscious, do it!
Brilliant workflow tip! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that. It’s great to hear your perspective on this interesting question.
Love your videos greg! As a beginner they're are still a little over my head sometimes but you've been incredibly helpful to me!
You'll get there, just keep at it, and every few months rewatch the eps you've seen. They're dense and layered, you'll hear the next layer when you're ready 🤜🏽🤛🏼
Really good advices here thanks Gregory
Love your approach. Intuitive, sensible, helpful. Thanks for the vid!
Great video, you got a great way to communicate your information with us. Cheers.
Thanks. Great explanation. Very insightful. Will try it on next project!
Thank you Greg for another true lesson on mixing, music and every day life philosophy! Your channel is Gold!
Awesome tip! Thank you so much for your channel! It gives the non-technical advice that's lacking online, the kind that other people say only comes with experience. Love it!
Awww, brilliant as always! I absolutely love this!! You have such a gift for teaching this stuff!