The "best" mixing advice!

[TheFireball]

Hey, what's up?

I'm getting frequently this question: "How do you get this awesome sound?" or "What's the magical trick?".
Seriously there's no answer in this question. But I can give the "best" advice to all the new guys here:

- Close your eyes.
- Concentrate as much as you can.
- LISTEN, and think what you don't like about your mix.
- And then make changes.

Seriously, if you want a good trick, that's it.
The key is LISTENING and not looking on your daw and thinking what it will make it sound better.

I'm sharing this, cause I wish I knew that when I started.

 

[Behind]

I really think that the best advice is "get experience".

When I started, I had a very different view of things. Everybody who listen to their first mixes think in some way "mother of god, what I did there?". That happened to me too.

In some way there's some arrogance in people who start mixing.They usually think "I can do it better or at least as good as my favourite AE's". When they notice that it's not that easy, then they ask you: 'hey, how do you get this awesome sound?'.

Then there's a time where the people try to find THE SECRET TIP that will make their mixes sound professional. People who come to this forum asking for Joey presets for example. I've even read people writing on this forum things like 'ok, so you don't want to give away the secret...'.

Some people start by recording their bands or their own ideas. They notice it's difficult and then they give up. But there's always some guy who wants to learn for real and this is the key of getting better at this. You need to have the will to learn. In this way, you'll get experience and become better and better.

If you don't know the way you want something to sound, then you won't be able to find the problems in your mix. I usually find the advice "use your ears" quite stupid. The advice here should be "TRAIN YOUR EARS", and this is only possible with hard work, then you'll be able to "use your ears" and rely on them. So first, get experience and then use it in the best way you can.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

Hey, what's up?

I'm getting frequently this question: "How do you get this awesome sound?" or "What's the magical trick?".
Seriously there's no answer in this question. But I can give the "best" advice to all the new guys here:

- Close your eyes.
- Concentrate as much as you can.
- LISTEN, and think what you don't like about your mix.
- And then make changes.

Seriously, if you want a good trick, that's it.
The key is LISTENING and not looking on your daw and thinking what it will make it sound better.

I'm sharing this, cause I wish I knew that when I started.

I back this alot. Its almost like your are listening with your eyes when you mix. Its really hard to explain but definitely try this technique. I don't believe there is a "best" piece of advice, just a whole lot of good advice

 

[ahjteam]

I really think that the best advice is "get experience".

When I started, I had a very different view of things. Everybody who listen to their first mixes think in some way "mother of god, what I did there?". That happened to me too.

In some way there's some arrogance in people who start mixing.They usually think "I can do it better or at least as good as my favourite AE's". When they notice that it's not that easy, then they ask you: 'hey, how do you get this awesome sound?'.

Then there's a time where the people try to find THE SECRET TIP that will make their mixes sound professional. People who come to this forum asking for Joey presets for example. I've even read people writing on this forum things like 'ok, so you don't want to give away the secret...'.

Some people start by recording their bands or their own ideas. They notice it's difficult and then they give up. But there's always some guy who wants to learn for real and this is the key of getting better at this. You need to have the will to learn. In this way, you'll get experience and become better and better.

If you don't know the way you want something to sound, then you won't be able to find the problems in your mix. I usually find the advice "use your ears" quite stupid. The advice here should be "TRAIN YOUR EARS", and this is only possible with hard work, then you'll be able to "use your ears" and rely on them. So first, get experience and then use it in the best way you can.

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Those "who think they can do it" are the ones that did their first record at a real studio then they saw "hey that didn't look so hard", then do the second release at the drummers basement with two SM57's and warez versions Cubase, Podfarm and Waves plugins and wonder why it sounds like shit. You CAN'T download experience and knowledge from a torrent site.

 

[A Midnight Requiem]

If you don't know the way you want something to sound, then you won't be able to find the problems in your mix. I usually find the advice "use your ears" quite stupid. The advice here should be "TRAIN YOUR EARS", and this is only possible with hard work, then you'll be able to "use your ears" and rely on them. So first, get experience and then use it in the best way you can.

This paragraph is PERFECT. I see the "use your ears" advice thrown around a lot, but like you said, a lot of people don't know what sounds good and what doesn't. Even then, it's all subjective.