Any tips on mixing one's own stuff?

[meanmrmustad]

Any tips on mixing one's own stuff?

My band is pissed of at me that other people's mixes I do are great
and our songs aren't.

Why is it so hard to mix my own stuff?

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Studdy]

Only advice I have is to wait some time between tracking and mixing. I like to wait long enough that i almost forget the tracking process. Maybe 3 weeks or so. Then when I go back it seems to sound better, and my judgement is better.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I sort of have the same problem.

I record myself at home with programmed drums and amp sims and it comes out sounding like 5X better than any "real/live" recording I do with my band.

I think part of it is real drums, shitty room, and actually having 3 different people play guitar/bass. (My problems, anyway).

 

[Mashreef]

when i started mixing
i didnt knew the full use of gear's..
and i was always like Wtf why does my track sound so shit and the track i mixed for other sounds so damn good

 

[meanmrmustad]

It's not a tracking problem, it's a mix time decision problem I just think I hear my own stuff differently.

When I think it sounds killer...it sucks.
When I think it sucks...it sound good but I dont like it :S

 

[Mashreef]

maybe you should try a diffrent approach maybe??
try mixing at a diffrent place see if you feel any diffrence...

 

[DullElysium]

I guess it gets harder when you really give a shit. My mixes start to get worse and worse when I start trying to do something amazing and unique.

For other bands you just kinda do a mix that suits the band and that's it. But for your own band you want something special and amazingly earth shattering.

So my only real advice is to try to see your band as someone else's

 

[hurdy]

Go back to the other recordings and listen to them for inspiration

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Sorry, Mashreef..
Couldn't help myself:

@OP

It's incredibly hard to mix your own stuff while staying objective.. (for a lot of people at least, me included)
Try thinking of it as if you're mixing another band, not your own music..
Record and edit everything > wait a few weeks > pick it up again and try to make a rough mix that you like > leave it alone > listen to it a few days later..
Waiting will make you a bit more objective..

I've heard that you can stop when you've "basically done" like 80% - 90%.. the rest is just minor adjustments, nothing major, just details..
So after you have your mix, you might not want to change anything when you listen to it a while later..

 

[Clark Kent]

In my case it's got a lot to do with trying to please everyone in the band. F.ex. in my band I know that the bassist wants bass to be the loudest instrument and if it isn't he'll say the mix sucks and if it's too loud everyone else will say the mix sucks. So... I think you should only be concerned that it sounds to you since let's face it. They're not paying you to do it so they can suck it.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you might take mixing your own music too seriously. When you're mixing other material you do very few things and sound great but when it's your own sessions... seems like you're trying to do everything possible at the same time. F.ex. I was mixing this session for my band Underfield:


And the end result was so ridiculous I will never do it again. Basically instead of automation I side-chain compressed everything. Kick, snare and vocals were side chaining everything else. Synths and guitars were hard to hear together so they are side-chained together. Bass low end is being ducked by the kick drum. And btw those guitars are match EQ'd from Linkin Park's song "From the Inside". Sooooo many tricks and science behind that mix. It sounds great but also sounds like I did everything possible so it's not that good anymore in the end. Mostly the drums sound very sterile and dry.

 

[JeffTD]

I need a good bit of time off between tracking/editing and mixing when it's my own stuff or I lose perspective like crazy. Ideally I like 2-4 days off between tracking/editing another bands album before moving on to the mix, but with my own it's more like 2 weeks before I'm stoked on the material again enough to want to hear it repeatedly.

 

[Jaymz]

I've left a 3 year gap (and counting) between tracking and mixing...hopefully it does the trick.

 

[Mister Torture]

I think much of mixing ones own material is psychological. I always think my stuff sounds fake & amature compared to everyone else's stuff.

I think a big part of that is when it's you performing, all the anticipation of what comes next is lost and your songs don't hold the same impact that others do.

 

[Manicompression]

Knee deep in this predicament myself.

Advice? Just dont. Its not worth it.

Any future recordings I do for bands that Im involved with are going to be outsourced almost entirely. Unless you dont have a job or you have very few other priorities, in that case set a deadline and accept that you are probably just going to hate the finished product.

 

[Old Man Doom]

Only advice I have is to wait some time between tracking and mixing. I like to wait long enough that i almost forget the tracking process. Maybe 3 weeks or so. Then when I go back it seems to sound better, and my judgement is better.

+1
I don't wait as long as 3 weeks, but separating myself from the tracks for awhile definitely helps me. Although, sometimes I go back to the recording to mix it and find that I'm not entirely happy with a guitar line or something, which sucks if my recording setup (mic placement, room, etc.) was messed with in between the tracking and mixing.

 

[Bay Studio]

It's not a tracking problem, it's a mix time decision problem I just think I hear my own stuff differently.

When I think it sounds killer...it sucks.
When I think it sucks...it sound good but I dont like it :S

Sometime ago, i read on this forum that "when you hate your mixes, that´s when they´re right".
I can´t really say that it´s true, but i thought it´s kind of funny. So, especially when mixing your own stuff, try to let time pass after tracking before going into mixing, and try to treat your stuff as if it´s a clients mix. Just shut off the fact that it´s your material.

Helps for me dude! Good luck

 

[meanmrmustad]

Thanks! This is all great advice, I have a mix i'm happy with now...so it's probably going to suck hahaha

 

[mstone564]

Yeah, taking a break from tracking/editing helps so much because it's like you're hearing it for the first time.

 

[meanmrmustad]

This is my test mix, how does it sound?

 

[lanky noob]

Toms are a bit too clicky for my liking and imo the hats could go down very slightly but it sounds awesome

Snare reminds me of DT's Images and words album.... but it doesn't sound so diabolical in this