The Most Important Mixing Tip Ever?
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- čas přidán 19. 05. 2024
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When I first started out, I was obsessed with "fixing" my mix. I'd focus on the EQ, solo a track and go to town, cutting any nasty frequency I found.
Problem is, if you go looking, you'll always find something to fix. I know I did. And I ended up with boring, flat mixes.
I've since learned that the pros don't mix like this - and neither should you. Shift your mixing mindset from defence to offence and get to pro mixes faster. - Hudba
If you separate all the ingredients of a cake, and taste each one individually, you might conclude that the salt, flour, and eggs have no business in the composition of something meant to be sweet, and you'd end up with a pile of sugar.
that's a brilliant analogy
Yes, only use Solo for editing. For mixing, turn up the track you're focused on, or turn everything else down, so that you can hear the focus track better but in context.
I agree with this but with a grain of salt, if u are a regular joe guy in a basement studio with not much money behind it and the tracking etc is problamatic, the eq defensive cutting can be awesome to learn how to hear bad or bothersome frequencies and advance u in that way. When u talk about u got to watch pros mix, yeah all the recorded tracks they are mixing are recorded in perfect or near perfect environment , mostly addative eq is great advice, but thats just not realistic for most people on youtube that are watching these videos, i think focusing on the subtractive eq is way more handy in this state and at this level.
@@siahfishin5295
Nice so what if we consider subtractive eq as part of the editing process, and then be freed up to do creative additive eq in mixing.
lol nice one
Recently, I challenged myself to complete a mix without using any plugins with visual feedback, just SSL channels and Analog remodelled stuff and it was my best mix to this day. I had a habit of cutting the resonant frequencies that popped up in Pro Q3 but I just said fuck it, let’s roll. It sounded much better than my past mixes. I also used Sonarworks to flatten out the frequency response of the headphones which was amazing.
Dude this is so creepy! This is the exact thought process I am stuck in at the moment... I am constantly toggling between those two perspectives. Not getting anything done... My Brain was holding me back... I did not dare to break out but my feeling has always been like this. This gives me confidence now to go ahead with offensive mixing and trust into the feeling I already had about this! Thanks so much...
was the same for me as well! Thanks for the knowledge
Ive been slowly breaking out of the defensive mode as well. Im realizing that it really all depends, but some of my latest mixes have way fewer cuts. Still gotta remind myself to leave things alone every now and then.
Brother, it's not like jumping off from a bridge. No one will get hurt! Try, try again.
Honestly, I think the the underlying issue with the "defensive" mindset isn't so much about cutting vs adding, but about looking for things to do instead of doing things because you know it's needed.
My entire mixing philosophy boils down to: if I think it needs more of something -> I turn it up; if I think it needs less of something -> I turn it down.
It pretty much works for everything. Level, panning, EQ, compression, ambience... What does the song feel like? Does it sound how I would want it? Yes/No/why? What would make it sound how I want.
That's it.
SPOT ON. I have been mixing for over 20 years, and was once a defensive mixer, but over time, I became an offensive mixer because I just liked the sound I was getting by not overthinking anything, and just using great sounding plugins and gear for their character. On my channel I get criticized to death from defensive mixers who think I should be more "detailed" in my approach to mixing, but I tell them, I don't care, and I like the sound I am getting. You just come to realize over the years that the narrow cut at exactly 200Hz to reduce mud with a tight Q is not really audible, and is not necessary.
This is so helpful for this mixing slump I’m in. I try to remind myself that nobody that’s listening to the song is thinking about the Ableton project and what I’m doing with my plugins. They only care about the noise coming out of their speakers. The song itself is all that matters. That’s the goal, right?
Jack Richardson (notable for recording/producing hits like American Woman and These Eyes.. by The Guess Who) often used to say that he "never failed to get a hit because of a bad kick-drum sound". We all love awesome sonics, but at the end of the day: it's all about the song.
Im not a producer, im mostly a player, but im constantly trying to improve the quality of my demo recordings. And ive learned more in just a few of your videos than from years of noise that so many people "teach" online and in person. You re a great teacher!
He has good general advice.
Such a great channel. I tried a bunch of different things at first, mainly doing narrow eq cuts which led to nowhere. After watching some of your videos I grabbed the ssl channel strip and actually tried to listen to what I was doing as opposed to worrying about how much db I'm moving. Keep putting out content man; there aren't a lot of channels that are doing this stuff!
I’m still a relative newcomer to mixing; I’ve been at it a few years, mostly mixing my own bands. I’ve gradually come to this realization on my own. I do find that I mix defensively in the very earliest phase, just dealing with poorly recorded sources. But I do this at the same time I’m doing tempo mapping, time alignment, and editing. It isn’t the “art” portion. At this point I’m in what I call intern mode. The actual fun comes when I’m done with all the chores. So my eventual goal is to improve my recording to the point where I don’t have to correct and my tracks sound good as soon as I’m done recording them. When you’re working on a budget that part takes time.
A major caveat here is that Pros use high end gear, a great room, console and other stuff to get a great core sound to start mixing from. They usually dont need to fix things vs just going mic, cheap preamp straight to daw. There’s a lot of tone shaping- and controlling processing you’re missing as a ”home studio novice”.
I get your point 100%. I think this may be an example of needing to know the “rules” before you can break them. I think you need to gain enough experience and knowledge to get to the level that you are at. But agreed that sometimes mixing is a less is more exercise. And mixing starts with an excellent source. I would love to see your process on editing tracks before mixing. I don’t think you have any, but I haven’t gotten through all your videos yet. Thanks so much for your insight!
I love this mindset! 'Build with the raw bones and add the feel and excitement' also the chiseling analogy was perfect. I am definitely now playing 'Offence Mixer' and looking to bring the best out of the song.
Another really great tip. I am definitely guilty of what you talked about EQ-wise. I'm concentrating more on getting good sounds/tones at the source and staying as simple as I can -- thanks again.
I totally agree but I think it comes down to knowing what you're listening to and knowing where to boost. I used to be interested in frequency numbers and rules because I didn't know what to listen for so I started boosting and cutting blindly without knowing what I was doing. Once you get a sense of what you want to hear and where it is everything starts to fall into place. I'm not a pro and I still don't make the best mixes ever but training my ears has made my mixing a little better so I know I'm on the right path.
Bottom line, keep practicing and trying things out and eventually you'll get the hang of it.
To answer your question, i used to always start eq with pro q 3, 1st hpf or lpf, then comp and then additive or subtractive. I used to cut or bosst depending on what i wanted to hear. But then i started following your videos and then started using the ssl 4000e from bx for major eqing just so i can develop my ears.
I use frequency analyzers to give me an idea of where things are happening like the fundamental of a kick or the palm mute buildup of guitars, but I ultimately use my ears to determine which frequency to hit
Its a great point however I must add the caveat that in order to bypass the "fix" mentality, you've gotta have well sculpted and arranged performance stems to free you to be more creative. Bad recordings (not to be confused with colored sounds) do need fixing before shaping.
Mixerman says in his book, "mixing is an agressive art form". There's a lot of truth in that.
Mixerman also called a kickdrum "kik". I kinda hated that quirk.
So true words, after I stopped the defensive way, two things raised: My client base & The fun in mixing ! Enough with -0.7dB of 578Hz haha
Are you crazy? 0.7dB is way too much! 0.5dB is the absolute maximum. I’d also never cut at 578Hz since 578 is not part of the Fibonacci sequence!
@@julianb4333 And never compress more than 1 db per compressor!
You are 100% correct. I have been mixing for 25 years and only recently discovered subtractive eq was holding me back. I dont even cut low mids out of kick drums/toms most of the time anymore and am getting better drum sounds than ever. Dig your channel man!
So substracting the EQ for solo guitars is a bad idea and should be avoided until I have everything recorded?
I’ve done some great borderline pro mixes in my 8yrs of engineering but I think after seeing this I’ll only be across the pro mix line. Much appreciated by your videos and help
Love this video Jordan, awesome thought process to ultimately keep those mixes as good as they can be!
Live sound teaches you to make all these mistakes in the studio. These defensive philosophies really help and ring true in live sound not so much in the studio, two totally different approaches. I really like the offensive/
defensive analogy.
I love these videos so much. They get me so motivated
I’ve been part of a lot of different mixing communities that preach the “theories” that you’re talking about, like looking for whistly frequencies and notching them out or only using subtractive EQ. really don’t know where these guys are getting this stuff, but that was, by far some of the worst advice I’ve ever gotten. people who are watching this and reading the comments because this is going against what you’ve heard elsewhere - this is absolutely spot on advice
It does really irritate me how many bad advices and "rules" I've come across on YT over the years regarding mixing. There are too many people talking about this stuff who lack the knowledge.
I think a lot of that subtractive eq advice is towards the beginner, who is going to have a tendency to boost way too much. I think as you get better, you don't go looking for problems so much. You start to identify problems when they present themselves.
Best tip ever! I used to think this same thing at the back of my mind but wasn't sure. Thank you for the clarification!!!
This is so true! I've done mixes with that defense-mentality many times, and even though it gets separated and smooth, it often end up dull and lifeless. It sound good, but it doesn't feel good. Nowadays I mix in 2-steps:
- Offensive, focusing on what I like about the sounds and do my best to enhance that.
- Defensive, focusing on what I don't like: bad frequencies, clashing etc. without losing any of the feel.
I always use eq emulations for creative sound creation and usually boost
Correction Eq to cut out unwanted frequencies
This is such a great vid that so many beginner and intermediate mixers need to learn and understand!
This concept have had a huge impact. Amazing!
My granddad was a painter and had quite the reputation in my country, his main thing was designing and drawing posters. The way he worked was super confident, drawing big lines and never going back fixing things. Tiny imperfections do not break the whole picture, they add character. As a result it all just worked perfectly, every time, and he would also manage to do more work. No small moves, no micro adjustments, just go go go.
If you think about it, when you first start doing anything, you start small, due to lack of experience, expertise etc. So thank you for this video, more people need to see this. Better break things and try to figure out why rather than doing nothing.
Thank you very much for this encouragement!!! Kinda like being pointed to the beautiful forest and the surrounding landscape from among all those many trees. =)
Thanks so much for helping me see that I have been instinctively following for the most part a sound path - not looking for problems like you described. A firm user of non visual plug ins (love the slate all access pass) turn knobs and listen to the changes -
I find the sweep helpful when trying to hone in on a problem I’m hearing, not to hunt down problems otherwise not heard.
I also find I try to pronounce, a little bit, the main frequencies that make up the essence of the instrument and lessen anything that detracts/distracts from itself. I find that if I’m working with decent origins my adjustments are rarely extreme.
I’d class myself as an intermediate tech btw. Did 1 year study and been doing it at churches solidly for about 15 years. Never done it as a profession but I’ve worked alongside and gleaned from some experts to enhance my abilities. Always think I can be better even if it feels like my best mix to date.
Maaaan this is so relatable I started out mixing "scientifically " , and trying to FIX and not mix, now I keep it simple and objective and I can honestly say its faster and 20 times more effective.,but I will say I do cut more than I boost but its not surgical at all and it's minimal, everything is much more natural , its really more about determining weather something needs processing or not, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
This is an important lesson. Thank you!
Jordan, man I’ve accidentally made boost on spectrum eq, on acoustic guitar and it started to sound more bright and colorful lol. Man, your advices are really cool, thank you
You're the best, Jordan! Thank you for doing what you do.
I'm a fan of "gnarly" rock sounds. When I sat down and learned to mix for my project, I didn't want to cut the imperfections. Just make it sound even more raw. Your videos helped a lot. Thank you man.
Great advice Jordan, thank you for sharing!
I fully agree - provided that good recordings are available. (Otherwise you will have to fix things, which is sometimes the case if you are mixing other people's stuff, especially if they are new to recording and you don't have that big influence on how they are recording).
Good video. I always mix this way now. I used to not do it. But, I noticed once I started mixing looking to enhance and push the energy and life of a mix that my mixes got way better.
Found I naturally did this without having to watch a youtube video. Granted when I first started years ago (haven't touched a mix in 10 years before now) I would do this and be frustrated over and over.
This time around it all clicked. Mix with heart, feel and love not math.
Maybe I am wrong, but works for me.
Love the Vids.
Wow. What a great video. Well articulated and on point. I completely relate to all of this.
One of the top mixing channels.
Well said. It's the lumps and bumps that add interest. Yes, reel in the excessive ones but don't eliminate them. I think it's also important to record with the same attitude of looking for the excitement and the magic even if it is a bit ugly.
Great points in this video! Of course, when you are mixing local bands with subpar recordings, there is going to be some fixing, but overall what you describe as mixing offensively is the way to go.
Great Prespective! Thanks and keep up with the great videos!
Agree with this 100%. And yes mixing is an art. Almost all decisions are aesthetic, artistic decisions in a mix, all of which are about emotional impact.
Thanks for talking to me. I do most of the stuff you talked about. Please does these techniques you talk about work for pop and edm songs? Especially the magic frequency series?
Excellent advice. Thx!
I almost quit because I was mixing defensively - and you are so f*cking right Jordon
This is easily the best philosphy I've seen among mixing CZcamsrs. I can tell how thin and sterile modern metal recording in particular have gotten because the prevailing trends are Defensive rather than Offensive. Mixing by addition not subtraction is the way to go.
your work is are amazing man heaven sent from South Africa
Only notch cut I do are for guitars, or for big groups (like massive choirs or other multiple similar things) where spikes quickly add up.
Hey! This is a great content! Tips and informations are really helpful! :)
I'm still watching the video, but I'd say to Jordan or any of the Hardcore Music Studio guys to exemplify, show the results of Defensive against Offensive mixing procedure.
I know this will depend on the engineer, we all think and hear differently. But seeing our mistakes exemplified could help to notice when we go mixing again after watching this video.
Take care and thank you for this video, I find it very well aimed.
Loved this one 🤘🏻
when you don’t know what you’re doing, you put energy into not fucking up. once you start to get good, you shift to trying to do something awesome.
Thank you!
Cheers!
This is something people wouldn’t understand. I’m a musician and it applies to me as well... I enjoy the live music making with all my “subtle” errors to the point of other musicians looking funny at me. 🤨 That said, they laugh but they really do enjoy it that way. 😂 Music is about having fun and playing with your heart & soul. ✌🏼😉
been producing for only a few years now, and i mix defensively. the first 50% of this video my ego was being stoked and im like ay im doing it right lets go! then i finished the rest of the video - excited to approach mixing less formulaically from here on out :)
Great way of looking at mixing! Challenge accepted!
That was great
Thanks
I use both. First start with fixing frequencies that I dislike - all the fizz and tubbiness and resonance and then use an ssl channel to boost certain character areas like for instance guitars around around 8k to cut through after I have performed some general LPF and HPF if they need it.
Funny, this is basically the exact same way that my mixes startet, improved and are treated now :D I still use surgical Eq, but i i never forget to add, what surgical eq takes feelwise
I can tell you can really mix , because alot people cut surgically and forget to add back, most of the time every frequency should be heard to a certain degree in every instrument, including the voice literally below maybe 100 or 130hz should be completely left out , other than that balance is key, I think we take the word "cut " or the term "cut out " to literal in the music world, it's more balancing volumes.
@@crimewavbeats5532 add: every frequency between your high and low cut, but yes, totally stand behind your statement. Having those 'holes' is what made my mixes sound unprofessional before
@@timstones786 right bro! Same crazy how simple it can actually be
I get your point, and even though I'm not 100% a "defensive mixer", it seems like this change of mindset won't be easy for me to make. Should I get used to do something to make the transition smoother? Or just to jump right in and go wild?
Great tips!
I think the EQ analysers are great for people starting out as watching them in action can really link the EQ graph to what you're hearing. After a while your ears should get good enough that you can translate what you're hearing to specific frequencies. They're also pretty great for fixing your bass and low mid frequencies which are often getting messed up by your room or monitor speakers.
NS10s are great for mixing as long as you have a good mastering engineer but I wouldn't fancy putting a track out that I'd never heard on full range speakers and hadn't checked the high and low end with a frequency analyser.
Yes! These days i see a frequency response chart of, lets say an amp, and can immediatly imagine what it probably sounds like
100% agreed with your opinion! People are too scare to miss a narrow cut in the mids! haha😜
Thank you again!!!
GREAT video!
You mispelled offense and defense but the video was helpful anyway. Thanks.
I used to mix in that "less is more" ethos. But since I began mixing otb (though still a far cry from high end) i changed my approaches. Added the kush approach of using the fader as low-mid knob. Sure i didnt abandon defensive moves but these i tend to tackled while recording as well xD
hey! Could you elaborate or give a link about this Kush approach? I love his tips but I missed this one. Thank you =)
@@paulosenoni oh wow a fellow brazilian como vai? xD
It's a snippet from the balanced mix = boring mix, but looking back i'm not 100% sure I took it from that video lol. Elaborating on freq. and volume-dependent depth, contrast... duller or bass-light sounds tend to sound further back.
Also I was remembering Tom Dowd's console, whose faders were wired backwards... if he wanted louder/closer sounds he would pull them closer instead of "up".
Would you be able to do a small video on the different types of compressors (tube, optical, etc) and their uses? Been trying to find a good summary on the topic and it seems to be a topic that everyone already knows about.
Greets! Been using VCAs for a while here. Though im still on lower end (3630s, dbx 166, moving to 160As), these are quoted as fast and (often) transparent, depends on setup. A jack of all trades.
The 166 is soft knee and acts even faster in higher settings, it's really mellow.
The 3630 despite frowned upon by most, shines on drums (not so much rooms imo) and parallel comp. Ssl comps also used dbx circuitry mind you.
As far as other topologies go, can't say much. But you could focus on their characteristics (attack times, hard/soft knee), look up the history of 1176s (FET), LA2A (opto), Fairchild (varimu) and so on, there are many comparisons on YT already... easier to notice on drums.
many plugs and hardware are pretty linear when not pushed too hard. idk if you did already but check mags like sound on sound and knock yourself out xD
In this, just as in all things, balance and moderation are needed. The best of both worlds. Sometimes things need to be taken away. Sometimes things need to be added. Try both. At the end of the day, if it sounds good, it is good. Do what sounds good.
Great aproaching method point!
Who's afraid about to loose use to be a looser.
Ahh man, this was an amazing video.
The only time I ever do any of the notch mixing now is when I hear something in the mix that takes me out of immersion in the music such as a whistle in the overheads.
Awesome tips! Kinda blow my mind! My very question is: do you cut off tha low frequencies like under 50 hz on a bass or under 100hz on a voice?
3:15
"Searching for problems" is the new "looking for trouble". Or was it old, I got confused...😆
Thank You ma Bradah ...4rm South Africa ...
Right on I agree😮
Nice shirt there Jordan! haha love mine.
well, I can only speak for myself, don't do "offense" or "defense", I just listen and the mix itself takes me to to boost or cut, the real magic is in the routing of things......
The best defense sometimes is a great offense :)
This is huge!
Nice, thanks.
I guess that's my problem too, when recording something relatively flawless or being given decent raw tracks to start with, it's difficult to make it sound awesome when trying to fix problems which aren't there...
I spent years trying to learn how to create a solid and powerful kick and bass (Psytrance). Now that I got there, I'm strugglig trying to tone my (now progressive/tech) kick and bass back to match commercial levels haha. Same as you, my low mids are sounding thick and solid AF but I keep feeling like maybe they have too much energy in them. Not sure if I should just roll with it or if they will be a problem in the future playing on bigger systems?
You know, I heard this interview with Chris Lord-Alge where somebody asked if he spent a ton of time carving out space for instruments. He was seriously like, “No. I don’t really do that. I’ll cut some rumble; that’s about it”
There is no right or wrong when creating a sound in your mix. It's always better to cut a frequency that is running wild than to boost all the other frequencies to even it all out. Also, clearly, if some some frequencies are missing, you boost them. Mixing gets much easier when you learn not to overEQ or overcompress everything just because you feel like you need to. I mean, the band that you're working on surely isn't gonna come into your studio, open your project and start criticizing you for boosting instead of cutting and vice versa.
Cymbals.... I can't ever seem to get those right with defensive OR offensive mindsets. They always sound (paradoxically) too loud AND too quiet.
if you're dealing with really great tones, takes and performances, then yeah I agree with you. Unfortunately not always going on in the real world
dude thank you.
Hi, I like these videos but the music I mix is rarely heavy rock. I like to mix less aggressive dream pop/psych rock like Tame Impala/Beatles/Pink Floyd throwback to the 60s stuff. I also want to stick with a youtube channel for mentorship and not get conflicting stuff from too many channels. I use real instruments though so this content interests me. Will all this advice work for not so aggressive music as well? Just asking before I commit. Thanks!
Dude, this video saved me.
When I write a song, I always have a dictionary and a thesaurus with me.
I get what you mean, but it’s different in electronic music world. Where the line between sound design, mixing and making music is really blurry.
I needed to hear this 🤣
Best channel