- Mar 3, 2015
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So figured I'd make this thread, as I'm sure most people on this site have gotten more than a few "AHA" experiences over the years mixing, and some of these are general and not specific to a certain mix, or atleast pretty close to general. Hopefully a lot of you guys are willing to share some of this info with everyone else, and I'll take the job of collecting all the info in the top post. This could be a great go-to "guide" for mixing tips and tricks (and a little magic too). It doesn't have to be super-advanced or anything, it could just be a thing you always or nearly always do when mixing!
PS: I do realize there is another subforum which is more focused on production, so a mod can delete this post or move it if you feel like it shouldnt be in this subforum..!
I'll go first;
Your turn!
PS: I do realize there is another subforum which is more focused on production, so a mod can delete this post or move it if you feel like it shouldnt be in this subforum..!
I'll go first;
- High-pass/low-cut everything. However, be very sensitive about where you put the highpass on every instrument, as it's easy to cut away too much and make it sound "thin". -RokitProd
- Don't abuse compressors. Sometimes it's only used for the master bus. Using EQ helps fit elements into the mix infinitely more than compressors. -ToneAddict
- Only use a tool if the mix really needs and benefits from it. Start by doing a rough mix with purely volume and pan without automation. It will make you push yourself to thinking what the track really needs (if anything at all). Never process just for processing's sake. Use your ears, not your eyes. -rapucore
- Mix a lot of different stuff, and go back to your mixes after a while to take note of what you would want to do better next time. -Mago (Check out http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm for multitracks in many different genres)
- If your mix lacks "air" or presence, try exporting your full finished mix without any plugins active on the master track and bring it into the session, add a highpass filter to this track at around 17 kHz and start from 0 volume on the track and fade it into your mix. Be wary of any phasing. The same procedure can be also be used on any single track in your mix. An alternate way of achieving the same goal, is routing the master channel into a group/bus (or any other group you want to add more air to) and make a send with a HP filter on it. -RokitProd
- Check your phase on all tracks. Check snare against OH, kick against snare. Bassguitar against kick, the bass and guitars against each other etc etc. That can make a MAJOR difference in how your mixing is going to be in terms of punch, width and depth. -crillemannen
- When recording, strive to get everything as good as it can possibly get at core. The lesser processing you need on your tracks in mixing phase the better. Shit in shit out. Less is more. -Nicolás Daniel García Sordo
- Your ears are more valuable than any hardware. Develop them instead of buying gear! -S1779 (rewritten
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- EQ'ing and mixing in mono is a really good way to find where things clash and where they won't because you won't be fooled by the stereo separation. If you get things to fit well in mono and switch back to stereo your mix will have a very good separation between all of the instruments. In mono it becomes much easier to hear for example where the low-end of the snare wants to sit when you're eq'ing, just sweep around and find the right frequency where the clashing mix element clashes the most when you're boosting with a tight Q-value, and then cut from there. -Vihaleipä
- EQ Wise, try a low pass with your rhythm guitars around 7K. This seems very low but it actually works out well really good, and always attenuate the 4K area a bit for the vocals to come in. -MartijnPaauwe
- Instead using an equalizer to cut some frequencies, using a multi band compressor can be a dynamic alternative. -MartijnPaauwe
- Be wary about the 4kHz. It usually contains a harsh frequency that can be rough on the ears. Getting rid of most of this in especially guitars, will make your mix softer and, up for discussion, more comfortable to listen to over a period of time. -RokitProd
- Prep. Prep prep prep. Editing is not mixing. Tuning is not mixing. Reamping is not mixing. Prep more. -JeffTD
- PERFORMANCE and SOURCE TONE over anything. -Dans
- Your ears are your most important tools. Learn how to hear individual instruments in a mix, and learn which frequency ranges are important to each instrument. Using a reference can be useful. -TBlackfeet
PS: Using a reference is really helpful; be it a commercial song where you dig the production, or even just printing a reference point in your own mix, keep it in your project, and crosscheck it with any aditional tweaks you do to the mix. About frequencies; check out this link to train your ears: http://www.puremix.net/ear-training.html. Also, check out this frequency chart: http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/images/main_chart.jpg
- Regarding workflow; Colour coding tracks, groups and auxes is incredibly useful and really speeds up your workflow. If your DAW supports it, go into settings and make the audio on the track match the colour of the tracks, so that the entire edit and mix windows will be colour coded. -Random3
- Before mixing and EQ'ing anything; make sure you got the best possible volume balance of your tracks. The backbone of a powerful mix, is that all the instruments are in relative volume balance with eachother. -Ngoc
Your turn!
