How do you know when to stop?

[Cacoph0ny]

Mixing.

That is one of my biggest problems. I get obsessive over a mix and I will end up making a bunch of changes and the mix turns out even worse then it previously was.

It's one of those things where you will never get it 100% perfect or the way you want it, so I'm wondering how do you guys know when it's a good time to just say, good enough.

 

[WellfearJoe]

When the white stuff comes out.

 

[El_Gato]

If there are no deadlines, when it sounds good enough.

This, of course, depends on the AE and their ears, gear, experience, requirement levels, expectations, time available, patience, interest...

Just put deadlines and problem solved. You'll make more music

 

[schust]

i think a lot of us have a problem with this. it took me 4yrs to release my last Cd. 3yrs of it was mixing. 3 FRICKIN years!!! it wasn't a complete waste of time. every now and then i'd pick up something new that would only help future mix sessions, but ultimately - it was hurting the current project i was working on. just like you said, even though i "thought" i was making it better - in fact i was making it worse. why? i lost perspective. i suffer from OCD too, which doesn't help. obessive behavior is my cross to bear. it's never more sad then when this disease affects what i truly love.

follow our heart. listen with ears AND soul. sounds corny, i know - but i think i truly successful engineers/producers do just that. when it 'moves' them, no matter how many goofs are in there, they know it's time to say stop.

 

[TomCase]

Focus on the sounds you want while tracking. Never ever have a fix it in the mix attitude. Use real guitar amps. Use real synths. Be bold with eq and compression on the way in. Move the mic untill it sounds great before pressing the record button.

I am no way anti amp sims or vi's, but they can leave you with so many options, that you'll micromanage the guitar/synth sound on it's own instead of in context with the song.

I try and keep most of my tracks with just a hp/lp and a compressor as the plugs.

Now if i am sent something to mix i didn't record, all bets are off. I'm done mixing that when im excited about the song.

Good luck and never quit learning.

 

[006]

One tip I can give you is to save each mix as like "Mix A/B/C/etc." or maybe "Mix (date)" instead of just working to where you hate what you arrived at. At least that way you can go back to a mix you liked more if the situation calls for it.

 

[derekmoffat]

Take frequent breaks, get plenty of rest, and eat healthy. If you're finding yourself feeling frustrated, pulling your hair out for 4 hours over something you just can't grasp your mind on, just walk away and come back later. Try to sort out all of the micro details that usually grab you later, during tracking and editing.

Once you feel like you've gotten all of the details sorted out, it's time to close your eyes (turn off your monitors, walk around the room, whatever) and look at the macro analysis. The big picture. I use to over listen to my projects before I was done with them and that sometimes ruined my macro analysis. I was always paying attention to that reverse cymbal coming up at 3:02 and that tom fill at 4:12 possibly having some audible distortion.

With time and the more you keep doing it, you just get better. And you'll never be 100% satisfied in the beginning. Or you will, but 3 weeks later when you're doing the next record, you'll listen back and say "Holy shit. What was I thinking?". But you learn from your mistakes and learn more and more how to balance a mix. And hopefully each mix you do is better than the last!

 

[TheDriller]

I work in very short bursts, no more than 20 minutes at a time before standing up and walking around the house while listening back to the mix in the background. By doing these quick iterations I can quite easily identify the point where the mix is "done", which usually co-incides with the point where i get bored and go play video games.

My advice: work in shorter bursts, take more frequent breaks and distract yourself regularly to maintain a healthy perspective on the mix.

 

[if6was9]

Deadlines. It's the best way to get stuff finished. If you've only got a week to mix something you will finish it in a week. I also agree with the get everything as good as possible when tracking. Cuts huge amounts of time off the mixing portion if you've already nailed down the tones.

 

[chrisrivalry]

Is it possible that your monitor setup isn't that great? being able to properly hear everything will help you make decisions a lot faster and let you know when the mix is complete, also reference mix with your monitors inside the DAW.

 

[-Noodles-]

Deadlines. It's the best way to get stuff finished. If you've only got a week to mix something you will finish it in a week. I also agree with the get everything as good as possible when tracking. Cuts huge amounts of time off the mixing portion if you've already nailed down the tones.

This.

 

[dcb]

when your start mixing, it will take years to gain confidence in what you do.
when you can finally trust your ears, youll know what you wanna hear on the record.

if the arrangement is perfect and your only mixing it shouldnt really take more than 8 hours for a song to mix (only if your experienced enough though).
i personally need 1 hour for the static mix and the rest for automating stuff (the important part of a mix)

working with deadlines as mentioned is important. set yourself a time limit and youll have a great mix. never strive for the "perfect" mix.
its all too subjective. 99.9% of the listeners dont care if the splash cymbal is panned 49 % left or 55 %. nobody ever cares if the kick has +10 db @ 10k or + 12 db.
if it sounds good, your done.

another tip: listen to clients suggestions. if your not sure about a mix - send them what you have.
they will help you find the right spot for everything.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

I'm actually the opposite. I hate making changes.

The answer here lies within practice, practice and practice obviously. It's something that will eventually come naturally for you. You need to stop nitpicking on details that people don't give a shit and start looking at the bigger picture, hear the song in your head, visualize it, make it happen through your speakers. If you nitpick and change this and that for hours I guarantee you, the mix won't go anywhere and you'll feel frustrated.

 

[Emdprodukt]

I second everything Danny said.

 

[ahjteam]

I have noticed when the overall changes start to be less than 2dB, the mix is good enough

 

[ArnaudM]

I know when a mix is finished when everything appears to be natural, and when the song lives by itself, when you reach the point you don't listen to the mix anymore, but to the song.
It's almost intuitive. After hours of struggle, it appears, clear and crisp : the mix.

During a session, you have to stop and go sleeping if you start hearing instruments you haven't recorded. I'm not kidding : it happened to me, and I interpretated it as an obvious symptom of imminent burn out