Anyone else find it really difficult to mix your own band?

[Mattayus]

In a creative sense.

Subjectivity seems to fly out the fuckin window and I just cannot stop changing things.

It doesn't even matter, it's just a fuckin demo EP for my band, but I feel so precious about it, I've been forming/writing this band for about 4 years and it's coming to completion. Yet every month or so I strip back what I've got and start mixing it all again. Or at least change one element of it. Guitar tone, drum sounds, bass etc...

When I mix somebody else's work I take so much pleasure in it, it's a really creative process and I feel part of me is in their work, and I've never had a dissatisfied customer.

But I CANNOT mix my own music any more. I think it might be time to pass it on to someone else.

Thoughts? Anyone else have/had this experience?
Maybe it's the lack of time frame. The fact that I have no real "pressure" to get anything "released".

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Pretty much exactly what you said. It's really hard to get the proper perspective on your own material.

 

[Mattayus]

Yeah man. That and the fact that I guess my tastes change constantly, and I have too much freedom to run with it and not stick to anything. It's annoying!

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I am the same way, I cannot get a sound that works. to my ears, everything is very small and disconnected and lacking any clarity, harsh...you name it. Can do another band/practice stems and have something great in almost no time.

I think it has more to do with being over analytical of your own work.

 

[crillemannen]

I dont think i would have a problem mixing my own band.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I dont think i would have a problem mixing my own band.

If you haven't been there, you have no idea man

It's like someone who has never smoked saying quitting isn't hard.

 

[Skinny Viking]

I dont think i would have a problem mixing my own band.

Of course not

 

[Mago]

Not only staying objective is a hard task, but also commiting to what you have gotten so far and not starting all over again, as you said.

You gotta learn to feel confindent with what you have got, and deciding at some point if that what you are trying to make "better" may just be "different".
At some point the quality of it doesnt increase anymore. Stopping to want to change things is pretty hard, but I learned so eventually (hope so at least).
Learning to like it and all that jazz
You don't have to do things only because you can do them.
Learning to stay objective is indefintly harder tho...don't think it is possible to be 100% too.


Also hard because you hear the stuff a lot more often then you'd want to. Hopefully that doesn't harm the own listening enjoyment hehe

I think mixing your own band is quite easy if it is the only thing you do for it...so letting someone else produce, track and master...at least easier for sure.
Not trying to also do the layout and artwork yourself helps too haha

Learned a lot through the making of my bands album, no doubt about that...but I also learned a lot about what not to do for the next time

 

[jangoux]

Well, I think it is really difficult. A few years ago, we tracked at a nice studio in a bigger city and then said 'Let me mix it!'. In the end, I wanted so much perfection, that the mix never made out, the band ended and I lost the hard disk with all the files lol

Now, I am producing/programming/playing/recording/mixing my wife's CDs and I just can't do some songs at all. There is one particular song that everytime i listened, it seemed a bunch of crap was jumping out of my monitors. So i sent it all to a buddy, he mixed it, gave some stuff more priority (something I was not dealing well), and it sounded much much better.

 

[Melb_shredder]

It starts out fun... Because of the space to do what you want etc.. But it only gets worse from there. I've hit the point now where I've had to put literal stop measures in place when working on my own band etc like capping myself at a certain limit to how many changes after I 'think' I'm happy with it etc haha

 

[Uros]

Yeah, these and many other reasons are why I won't (probably) be doing this for my band at all. Maybe just the effects + their automation and such and certain dealio with volume automation (in a form of pre-mix), but won't be mixing it.

 

[MaellaJohn]

Not that I'm the best at mixing, at all.. but I do my band's stuff. The only thing that I would consider a problem for doing your own band is dealing with the other members. Especially if they're assholes and nobody can agree.

I only have one other person in my band though and he doesn't care too much for quality and he's indifferent about having mixes his way. So things go smoothly.

Other than that, I have fun mixing and stuff. To keep myself from constantly changing shit, I usually put myself in a position where it'd be REALLY inconvenient to go back and change shit.

Otherwise, I might be changing it over and over again, like the OP.

 

[Terminus]

Yes.

 

[updog]

The only thing that I would consider a problem for doing your own band is dealing with the other members. Especially if they're assholes and nobody can agree.

i'd reconsider if being in this kind of band is worth the time at all.

and to the question, yes it's very difficult and i pretty much need the other members to tell me to stop when it's "good enough"

 

[Nuno Filipe]

Yes, because I become obsessed with perfection and I put problems everywhere. The worst part it´s when I am tired and I am changing all the shit because nothing sounds good!lol You have to know when to stop.

 

[Morgan C]

I spent a year and a half recording and mixing my band's 4 song EP.

However, that was my first audio project EVER, I had zero experience when I started, and a lot when I finished, so I don't regret it. And it came out to be a pretty damn good mix too, despite my inexperience. However, I do think you'll be better off with someone else mixing it.

 

[Trevoire520]

I've found mixing my own band to be VERY hard. Not got a band at the moment but I think if I ever get one together I'll probably do the recording myself but leave the mixing to somebody else. Or just say fuck it and let them do the whole thing.

 

[LeSedna]

I'll tell you when I mix my Ep, I already decided I would have some points where I would have to say "STOP ok now it's good enough let's move on" to avoid situations like this where I would constantly change my mind. As there is absolutely no limitation or deadline about it, I might give myself some time before this sort of line, but it will still be there cause I know myself and I know I need something objective to kick my butt.

 

[BrettT]

I took on the task of engineering/mixing my band's full length, and I'm now regretting it. While I've learned a shitload of things, most importantly that I could never do this for a living, it's just been way too stressful. It's pretty much ruined my ability to enjoy my own music and music in general. My life as a musician has been reduced to sitting in front of a fucking computer screen while my bandmates get to fuck off and be creative. All my energy goes to engineering/mixing and I rarely have the desire or energy to play my instruments anymore. It's so frustrating and I would NEVER do it again.

 

[pitoga]

for me it's actually the other way round. I find mixing my own stuff way easier than others stuff. Mainly because I don't record thinks that i can't play so the editing time is reduced a huge amount. And secondly because I mainly know from the beginning with kind of a sound i want. With other bands it takes me a while to get there "idea" of the mix. as they usually don't let me that much freedom when deciding the sound of it.