building your standards... mixing advice

[Pedro Teixeira]

its like cooking. you can't walk into a kitchen and be a chef. you have to learn flavors and tastes. you have to learn how flavors mix together. what do you like? what flavor combinations spark your interest? what presentations look best to you? no one can tell you that onions and grapes go good together because its subjective! when you start to build this for your self, and you know how the tools of the trade work (compressors, eq, etc), then you WILL know how to make things sound good.

This is seriously one of the best descriptions ever, exactly how I think and very well put.

Until you find the ingredients you like you'll just have to practice and practice and practice... It's all about experience and only then you'll be able to find what sparks your interest and you'll do it with your eyes closed. It's all relative really. The trick here is NOT to copy anyone but to experiment with the ingredients lots and lots of times until you feel you're in a place your happy with.

Also like Plec said, A/B'ing mixes is good to get a notion and perspective, NOT to copy, I used to do that a couple of years ago, I dont do that now, ever, but it's a good place to start really.

 

[timislegend]

any one have any good songs that are good examples to a/b?

think that's the point... it's supposed to be whatever sounds good to you.

personally ...i don't listen to a lot of the metal genres but if i were to record/mix/master a metal genre song, i would use a song by *oh, sleeper "a banquet for traitors" ...because i really like the volume of the mix/master.

i have also used ross robinson & matt goldman mixes as well (slipknot, glassjaw, underoath).

but those are just a few. plus+ those mixes remind me just how much better i COULD be, if not greater.

 

[joshwheelermusic]

You can pay someone all the money in the world to teach you how to be creative, and you won't learn a damn thing.

 

[Mike Unstincs]

Who needs to A/B mixes when you can just come on here and get all the advice you need in a few posts. If you can match say Andy Wallaces mixes or Randy Staub's then you can go on to do your own thing from there, only makes sense. The reason most people don't A/B mixes, is their mixes suck so bad, they are unlistenable.

 

[greyskull]

i haven't referenced something in years.

 

[Aaron Smith]

I like using references, but for me it's much more so about trying to make sure my mix has the same energy and sonic impact, than it is about copying sounds or something similarly silly.

 

[gabriel g.]

I take refernce tracks if I try something new or when I am after "that" sound and to check if I am on the right path.

 

[tobyrosemusic]

+1 to gabriel.

when i'm recording bands who bring in ideas of what album they like, i constantly A/B to those albums to get a feel of what the band wants out of their recording.

 

[BLUElightCory]

It's pretty simple.... do what works. Don't do what doesn't work.

I love this.

 

[Laneismusic]

I know I'll probably get shit for posting this. But I read through what joey was saying, and I tried it out (previewing clips of songs and messing with tone and what not).


I did it for guitar in this case. I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out.

The drums suck I know, and there is no bass in there atm.

Just like.. tell me what you dudes think?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6418015/endgtr. drums and gtr only.mp3

 

[reg3n]

I know I'll probably get shit for posting this. But I read through what joey was saying, and I tried it out (previewing clips of songs and messing with tone and what not).


I did it for guitar in this case. I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out.

The drums suck I know, and there is no bass in there atm.

Just like.. tell me what you dudes think?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6418015/endgtr. drums and gtr only.mp3

Go post to rate my tone section man, you'll get your answers there.

On Topic, the thing i find most difficult for mixing is exactly what we're talking about here, like building my own philosophy, when is a kick sounding good, or a gtr, because i seem to get used to sounds real quick, like if i hear the shittiest tone ever i can say "oh, that sucks" , but 1 minute later my ears love it and it's a damn barrier i can't cross still. Something like that Doing the analogy, if i went to a kitchen and found one huge stinky turd i'd say OW NOES, WTF! but three seconds later i'd be swimming in shit.

 

[Plec]

Go post to rate my tone section man, you'll get your answers there.

On Topic, the thing i find most difficult for mixing is exactly what we're talking about here, like building my own philosophy, when is a kick sounding good, or a gtr, because i seem to get used to sounds real quick, like if i hear the shittiest tone ever i can say "oh, that sucks" , but 1 minute later my ears love it and it's a damn barrier i can't cross still. Something like that Doing the analogy, if i went to a kitchen and found one huge stinky turd i'd say OW NOES, WTF! but three seconds later i'd be swimming in shit.

That can happen to anyone.

Besides building your own reference for what sounds good or not, your ears constantly adjust themselves to what's coming in as a new natural, even after 30sec. Everything becomes relative!

It's a constant battle with learning how your mind and ear works together in order to know what it is you're actually doing and reacting to. That's why a nice selection of good (to you) reference CD's is an ear opener when your ears have grown accustomed to something that you normally wouldn't call your natural state. For mixing it CAN be fine since it's all relative anyway but you might end up with an unbalanced mix freq. wise although all the major parts of the spectrum can internally be very well balanced, the total balance of the spectrum might be skewed.. which is where mastering comes in, but for mastering it's a lot more tricky! If you're working on a mix that is very unbalanced freq. wise, you have about 30 sec to assess what is needed before your ears starts to adjust to it.

 

[davidcortese]

hey joey im i huge fan of your work i was wondering how do u do that glitchy effect on vocals or guitar i really wanna know

 

[tempe]

hey joey im i huge fan of your work i was wondering how do u do that glitchy effect on vocals or guitar i really wanna know

Hey man, there's no easy way to do this, you just have to cut up the audio file to get the rhythm you want!

 

[Mattydeath]

This was a lot of help to me. I mean seriously I'm not the biggest fan of joey's mix's but his production is amazing. But on topic I find that I listen to so many types of music that some how it all integrates into what I am doing. like the other day i found myself trying to make this breakdown have bass like the beat in a rap song. By the way it came out great.

 

[reg3n]

That can happen to anyone.

Besides building your own reference for what sounds good or not, your ears constantly adjust themselves to what's coming in as a new natural, even after 30sec. Everything becomes relative!

It's a constant battle with learning how your mind and ear works together in order to know what it is you're actually doing and reacting to. That's why a nice selection of good (to you) reference CD's is an ear opener when your ears have grown accustomed to something that you normally wouldn't call your natural state. For mixing it CAN be fine since it's all relative anyway but you might end up with an unbalanced mix freq. wise although all the major parts of the spectrum can internally be very well balanced, the total balance of the spectrum might be skewed.. which is where mastering comes in, but for mastering it's a lot more tricky! If you're working on a mix that is very unbalanced freq. wise, you have about 30 sec to assess what is needed before your ears starts to adjust to it.

That's one amazing tip man, and yes, i find there's a little time period when i just sit in front of the mixer and start the session when i say "ok this is not good here and there" and then hear it 5 or 10 more times and... "nahh it's amazing!!!" so, i'll put that to practice, thanks