The Best Mixing Advice I Ever Received
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
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One of the most straightforward mixing tips I ever received was to mix at low volumes. I didn't appreciate that tip until three years after hearing it when I stopped thinking about always listening to my music loud and listening from a different perspective.
Mixing at Low Volumes has a lot of benefits, like preserving your hearing tools, allowing your room not to play that big of a role in the acoustics, and listening for imbalances and errors a lot better.
Mixing at low volume according to the Fletcher Munson curve also allows you to listen to a less flattering version of your song. Everything sounds good LOUD; not everything sounds good QUIET.
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A solid advice that seems to be forgotten by many! A few tips n nuggets that has helped me a lot:
- Do critical/final mixing decisions with low volume and with fresh ears. (ie. Luca Pretolesi does this during morning hours when the ears are rested and not fatigued)
- Listen the work from various sound-sources (ie. headphones, monitors, car stereo, crappy earbuds, portable speaker etc.). When it sounds good in every source, it's most likely a balanced mix.
- Doublecheck and listen in mono to make sure levels are where you want them.
- Don't be scared to automate the master channel (and other channel) volume(s) if needed for certain parts of the track. Can be a pain in the ass, but can make a big difference.
- Dynamics before "loudness". Better to have a dynamic nice sounding tune than a brickwall-f*cked sausage as a waveform. Makes a big difference when played live.
- MetricAB is a great tool for mid-work reference checking and metering. (Doesn't fit everyones workflow though)
- Think of mixing your work as a painting - can't have too much colours all over the place. Each colour (in this case sound) needs to have a purpose and a place. Every sound/color needs it's own place on the canvas, otherwise its a shitshow.
That last point about it being like a painting is nice.
@@dullastonishment it feels like a Bob Ross reference
Pretty generic advice in all honesty
Not sure if intentional, but I love the fact this video is quieter than the others.
i naturally produce at lower volumes so i dont disturb anyone when im up late producing haha so this is already the norm for me :) great advice as always!
THANK YOU
Thank you very much! Strong advice! 🙏
Thank you for the tip. Btw, to all DJs and ravers: use professional earplugs (the ones with filters) - your ears will thank you over time. I wish I knew this 20 years ago.
Great reminder for me.! Thanks!
thank you zen
You the best! Dont let anyone tell you different!
Just started producing at home and your videos/tips have been my beacon of light. Thank you and keep up the amazing content compa!!
Thanks! I'm a newbie and I struggle with listening to levels so this was really helpful
Thanks Zen
Thanks for this advice Zen. I've always been a fan of listening and mixing music at loud volumes from a young age. Been trying to mix at lower volumes recently, especially since I am still young (25) and my hearing hasn't been damaged yet. DJing on weekends is another factor I deal with, so I am definitely exposed to loud music enough and should at the very least try to lower when I get the chance :)
Great advice! I also will step into the doorway sometimes and get better perspective from listening like that
this is absolutely bang on. Another tip I do too is listen to it off a phone speaker at a low volume so you can just hear the percussion or use headphones but slightly out of the ear. You can hear whats going wrong with your parts of your track, specifically the drums & top end stuff & transients. I hear so many clashes in my music i get accustomed to when i'm producing using my studio monitors.
Yeah its very usefull, still use this technique since day 1
Gracias :)
thank you , i got a utility button on the master template just for this YES. great reminder. my mixing teacher ariel borujov recommended this years ago but i guess its also getting yourself used to using this method which also depends on your level of production probably .
Yes! Also it’s easy to underestimate ear fatigue, always important to give yourself breaks or you’ll stop hearing the subtle differences.
Great tip ! One that I also really like is to move to another room, close one or 2 doors and see how the mix translate at high level but you being in a separate space. I started doing this because my roommate listens to music while I'm in another room and most of the time if I know the track I can recognize it from the very few harmonics that translates through the wall. Kanye West for exemple always highlight one element of his beat that "cuts through" more just to give you a rythmic reference, it's also interesting to see how 2 artists might have a vocal that translates very differently when doing this kind of caved listening. Just an idea. Thank you for your service !
I cannot belive how much difference it makes listening to your track at low volume... The most dumbest but very effective tip you gave me 🤣 Thank you for this and all the other tips you gave me🙏
Yes haha the ups and lows of this comment has me like 😃 😞 😆
Like you said regarding this style of tecch house.. Can you do a video dedicated about mixing the drums? How loud is the kick, with how much bass, how much punch. How loud are the hats, how much high frequencies should we aim for? Etc. peaceee
Nice Shirt ✌️
I first recognized the importance of trying to mix at low volumes, when I was hearing it in my car. I turned the volume down, and noticed, some parts seemed too loud, others not loud enough, for that even mix. Also, your fking faces are killing me Zen hahaha.
Has he ever done a video about project managing? Routing for mixing, grouping etc?
Can you show us how you processed that vocal? (Have that track on my playlist)
i listened to this video at low volume hehe
My wife agrees 👍 😌
Beer goggles aka EAR goggles
That’s a cool tip. If we mix and master only on headphones, which volume would be ideally low?
+1
What is this track???? It's amazing
The volume in your DAW isn't necessarily the volume that's hitting in your ears. You can try an app like SPL Meter on your phone to gauge the decibel level at your listening position.
Used to do that but said f it, I just like to hear low doesn’t matter at what level anymore for me as long as it quiet. I use my Daw volume because my sound card at low volumes can fade out my rights channel for some reason 🤔
@@ZenWorld Yeah you're right this is way more practical
what do you do when your mix sounds good on low volume but sucks on high volume lol
This should be a very obvious thing for anyone to quickly figure out on their own… Who is sitting in front of their monitors blasting sound enough to make a bad mix sound good? How could it even possibly sound good when you’re just disrespecting your eardrums with loudness. I’d be wary of any “producer” who couldn’t realise this without a UA-cam video instruction