Better ways of mixing!!!

[doclegion]

What would be the quick and easy way for accurate mixing? Do you really gotta sit and move levels all day to each song or is there something i can do to speed up the process? I know about presets. I want to record other bands without them waiting so long to get there hard earned DEMO. Thanks for the help anyone

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

I don't think so. You just need to get better by practicing, at least that's been my expierience.

 

[JBroll]

If you just want to be able to say that you've mixed something, set all faders to bacon and hope nobody listens to the finished product.

If you plan on having someone listen to what you've done (the typical scenario), presets are still a no-no unless you've made them or tweaked them yourself because then you're just running buttons and not doing anything. Eventually you'll get to the point where you hear a sample of something, hit five buttons, and have a small tribe in southeast Asia worship you, but for right now just stop sleeping, get really friendly with the pizza places near you, and get things right in whatever time it takes.

Jeff

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Presets are bad. Well unless they are your own.

And yes mixing takes time.

 

[Sloan]

never rush a mix. you'll hear it later and regret it.

don't ever let a band pressure you into rushing a mix either. they always ask for like a quick mix of what they just did, but make sure they don't get anything until you get your pay. Don't let your rough mixes get out too much - you only want people to hear the "good" polished stuff to avoid being called "that guy that makes ok recordings" instead of "that dude that will make you sound good". etc....

i keep most of my source material and old mixes and I constantly go back and listen to them and even remix them. it's amazing how far i've come from the first time i tracked and mixed a whole band together. i did 18 mixes on the first song they did here and it's gotten some local airplay. yay.

 

[sorceron]

i cant believe i just read that

 

[CJWall]

i cant believe i just read that

+1

 

[greyskull]

practice

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

I was using a digital live console the other night, shamefully i cant remember which one, but it did have a rock gig preset in there. No I didnt use it.

 

[MonochromaticStains]

practice, practice and more practice...

no quick and easy way...

 

[JoshSylosis]

i cant believe i just read that

+2

ken, i WILL get that shred solo to you at some point!

 

[PhilR]

My experience is that after you've recorded enough bands you start to get a good feel for what works and what doesn't. So your workflow gets a lot quicker when it comes to getting the track to "rough mix" stage.

 

[Ermz]

i cant believe i just read that

+3

 

[scorpio01169]

i cant believe i just read that

+4 two words,.........control surface

 

[sparkyness]

Between this and other threads, is it just me or are more and more people looking for shortcuts these days instead of refining their craft? There is a point where tools should *assist* you, but I'm just finding people want equipment or software to provide the talent as well.

It's called practice.

Rant over.

 

[doclegion]

By the way i wasnt looking for a shortcut. I would have figured that these days there is quicker ways of taking care of you recordings then doing things the hardway. If there was a quicker way of mixing i was wanting to know. I dont mind sitting there doing it after mixing so long ears tend to mess with ya and you end up remixing your mix.

 

[Nebulous]

By the way i wasnt looking for a shortcut. I would have figured that these days there is quicker ways of taking care of you recordings then doing things the hardway.

Uh, since when is there a "hard" or "easy" way? The fundamentals are the same: you use your ears and adjust the mix to taste. The tools have changed, the format has changed, as has the price/ accesability of recording and mixing gear. Computers might have made mixing faster in terms of workflow (lack of patching, etc) but in the end, all your plugins, presets, automation and "increased" worklflow are only worth the extent of your attention to detail and knowledge of mixing techniques, and prior knowledge of how a certain balance/ mix has translated over various audio systems.

There is no quick way, there is no easy way. Do it untill you're good at it and it becomes second nature. It's not the quickest way, but you wil become quick by donig it. Does that count?

 

[Ermz]

I'll second all that above. You wrote the post I couldn't be bothered typing up, Dan. Totally agree.

 

[musickey]

there is no mix by numbers every project should be approached differently from the last, but if there is mixing "presets" Andy or James maybe even Colin could you please post yours