Capture some audio and mix or wait...

[Vicioushead]

I have this terrible habit of recording little sections of my songs and then wanting to tinker with the mix because it doesn't sound the way I want it to.

I wanted to ask what way you guys go about this process. Do you just capture all the audio and then mix or mix as you go? I have this little section on the go at the moment and because the rhythm guitars aren't as bright as I'd like, I tend to keep re-doing it and messing with EQ's until I bore myself to death.



So, what say you sneapsters?

 

[Nimvi]

I think you have identified your problem and what you should do to break free from it pretty well there

IMO, do what is most productive. If you are having trouble getting stuff done with your current technique, change it and never look back.
I've had a lot of bad experience with perfectionism creeping in and destroying my productivity too, and I still do sometimes. I've lost way too many years of my life to that.
In the end you just have to remember one thing: nobody in the world cares about a 1-minute snippet that sounds awesome. People want to hear a full song. The mix is just a vehicle to deliver that song as well as possible.

That is not to say that the quality of the recording isn't important of course, but write and record a full song to your best knowledge, and worry about the mix after that. Worst case, you may have to rerecord it, but at least you have a clear goal then.

What you have so far sounds interesting btw! I would like to hear more of that.

To answer your original question: I usually record everything before I start the real mix. I often do some basic work during sessions (HPF, bit of compression, some effects), but those are either to inspire the people working on the recording, or to help giving a closer idea of what the final mix should sound like. But I completely strip all those things again before starting the actual mix. The state of mind while recording is just a very different one than the mixing state of mind IMO. Trying to do both at the same time just frustrates me.

 

[botus99]

This isn't something with an easy answer. First, you'll develop a better ear over time to pick the right thing early on for the mix. Actively try to develop that! Don't worry about mixing too much during tracking, or ESPECIALLY writing. If you have a good flow going tracking-wise, ride that energy for all it's worth, and don't stifle it by trying to find that magic boost/cut on your EQ or that snap on your compressor. The mixing phase will be all the more fun when you delay gratification haha

 

[LiberaScientia]

I think you're just having trouble seperating the different stages of the creative process. Writing, pre-production, tracking, mixing and mastering.

I use a template project set up for writing in, with EZdrummer with a pretty basic, but decent sounding mix, 2 rhythm guitar tracks with X50 on, a bass track with Zombass, a lead guitar track, a clean guitar track, a slightly crunchy guitar track, and then a couple of different pad/synth sounds that I like. Means I don't have to faff around getting different tracks up, it's pretty much all there for me to use straight away, since I'm not likely to want anything other than those sounds, and if I am, then I'll go ahead and set them up.

Then when everything is written, I bounce the tracks and go mix it in a seperate project.

 

[Vicioushead]

Yeah, I think you are right. It's a tedious and slow way to work. I was curious to see if this is the way everyone worked.

 

[LiberaScientia]

For me it's that I'm beyond forgetful with riffs. I HAVE to track them all as soon as they come into my head, so messing around with mixing isn't really an option

 

[Nimvi]

For me it's that I'm beyond forgetful with riffs. I HAVE to track them all as soon as they come into my head, so messing around with mixing isn't really an option

That's a way to get you going.

Btw, I agree about the template thing. I think that if there is one stage where templates and presets shine, it's the writing phase.

Nowadays I write most of my stuff in Guitar pro. It has been my experience so far that if I can make something sound good in midi, it will sound better with real instruments. I also like how you can change small things on different instruments within seconds.

After that I export the MIDI files into a template in Reaper. A decent sounding premixed drum setup and some cool basic synths, and it instantly sounds like a song. So much more fun to work with, or to present to people IMO.

 

[ATLA]

its pretty important to be comfortable when tracking. like said above you should have your "go-to" preset for writing. simple guitar vst x50,x30,lecto ect. into lecab2 with choice impulses. zombass mea 400 sounds alright and its cheap. ez drummer with a basic set up into another buss with some light verb. keep it simple even if you don't like how it sounds. finish your entire song and resist the urge to start over analyzing the current mix. once you have everything written/tracked as tight as possible, then you can start mixing.