What's The Next Step After Recording?

Often times as musicians we are perfectionists when it comes to our music. You want your songs to be the best they can be. And so you set out to create great songs, spending tons of time arranging, writing, and composing. Once you've got the ideas laid out, it's time to move on to the next phase:

Recording. 

So you rehearse every day for a week getting your songs perfect, and then you head to the studio. You spend hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months laying down your tracks to get the best possible recording you can. Every day you pour blood, sweat, and tears into your music to get the best sounding tracks you can.

Then the recording phase is done. But, what's next?

You listen to your songs but they still don't sound like you envisioned them in your head. When you listen to them next to other professional songs they sound more quiet, less punchy, less dynamic, and well, just not as good.

So where do you go from here?

You want to sell your songs on iTunes and Amazon and all the other major sites, but you need a professional sounding project to do that. In a market flooded with music, you need your song to stand out. So what's the next step?

Mixing.

This is where the mixing phase comes in. Mixing takes your recorded tracks that you've poured so much time into, and enhances them, bringing out the vision you had in your head for the song. Mixing uses creative processes and technical know-how's to take your song to the next level. Mixing makes your song more clear, punchy, dynamic, and louder.

But how do you begin the mixing process?

This is where we come in.

We run an online mixing and mastering company dedicated to helping musicians get professional sounding projects that they are proud of and can't wait to share with their fans. We use all sorts of mixing and mastering techniques to take your songs to the next level.

If you're at this stage a musician, and you're ready to get your songs mixed and mastered, visit our site and see if we are the right fit for you. We have samples of work we've done before so you can get an idea of the difference mixing can make for your projects. We also have multiple mix packages to suit whatever needs you may have whether it be mixing, editing, mastering, or all of the above.

If you have any questions you can email us at info@willsterling.net. We'd love to help you get started on the next step toward a better sounding project.

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Why You Shouldn't Spend Too Much Time On A Mix

Have you ever started working on mix and spent the whole day mixing, only to go back later and realize it doesn't sound good? If so, you're not alone. This happens all the time. It can happen as a result of spending too much time on a mix. Yes, there is such a thing.

Today I'd like to share a couple reasons why you shouldn't spend too long on any mix. 

Fatigue

The first and probably most important reason why you shouldn't spend too long on a mix, is simply that you will get fatigued. After hours upon hours of mixing, your ears will start to protect themselves and you won't be doing any good anymore. You can keep on and on, but there is a point of diminishing returns. You are going to get ear fatigue and not hear accurately. That's why when you go back later and listen, you say, "What in the world was I thinking?" This is a common result of fatigue when mixing. So set yourself deadlines and give yourself breaks. This will help to increase your endurance and keep your listening as accurate as possible. 

Priorities

The second reason you shouldn't spend too long on a mix, is so you prioritize your time on what is most important. If you don't, what will happen is that you will spend way too much time on things that aren't that important, only to be fatigued by the time you get to the important parts. If you haven't yet, try this: Make yourself do a one hour mix. You would be surprised at how much you can get done, and it will help you figure out what parts of the mixing process are the most important. If you don't give yourself any barriers, you'll often spend far too much time on the less important tasks. For instance, instead of spending an hour EQ'ing a snare drum, maybe you should spend an hour adding width and depth by simply setting levels and panning. Over time you will figure out what you need to prioritize the most, and what you are most skilled at. 

Anytime you start mixing a project remember to set barriers to prevent fatigue, and prioritize what you think is most important. 

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Creative Mixing

I love the technical side of mixing. I love turning all the knobs, setting EQ's, messing with compression, and pretty much anything technical in your DAW or on your console. However, over time I've learned that it's important to try risky mixing. What I mean by this is be creative. 

Far too often we get wrapped up in the technicalities and what we are supposed to do. We forget that mixing and music is an art. It's all subjective. No one gets to set a bar and say, "This is what you have to do to get a good sounding mix." Sure, there are great tips and suggestions out there that we would be foolish not to use. But we need to be creative. We need to take risks!

So how do you start being creative?

Break the rules. 

One of the first things you can do to start being creative with your mixes is to break the rules. Don't be afraid to try new things. Focus on the sound of the song, not just the technicalities. Don't be so overly concerned with what your EQ curve looks like that you aren't even paying attention to what it sounds like!

Use creative editing.

Another thing you can do to help you get creative, is to use creative editing. I'm talking about things like automating plugins and panning. For instance, maybe you want the reverb to kick in louder on a vocal when it hits the chorus. Most DAW's let you automate that. Or you want a mono acoustic guitar during the verse but then on the chorus you open it up hard left and right to make it sound huge. There are so many possibilities. Don't be afraid to try things.

Be creative with plugins. 

There is no end to the possibilities of creative effects you can do with plugins. Using things like delay, reverb, and other creative effects will help you add a whole new aspect to your song. You could, for instance, take a vocal and add a ping pong delay that trails off. Or you could use a stereo reverb on a mono track to widen it up. There are so many different combinations you can do, so try new things!

The whole point here is to get creative. It will help you mentally when mixing too. It'll get you out of that technical rut and into the creative mentality, which is really where you want to be. So next time you sit down at your DAW, get in the mindset of creativity, and try something new.

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Getting Vocals to Sit Right in the Mix

In most songs today, vocals are probably the most important part of a song. If you listen to the majority of pop songs, the vocals are loud, upfront, and clear. Even in rock and other genres the vocals are what drive the melody and catch peoples ear. So, with vocals being such an important part of the mix, how do you get it to sound right? Today I want to mention three things you can do that will help your vocals sit right in the mix.

Save the vocals for last.

On nearly all mixes I work on, I save the vocals for last. This is just the easiest way for me to make sure they are sitting right in the mix. If I can get the rest of my mix sitting well together, then when I get to vocals, I know right where they need to be. So when you are mixing a session, just mute the vocals and get everything else sounding right first. Once you've got that done, move on to the vocals.

Don't solo the vocals.

You know who listens to solo'd vocal tracks? Nobody. All that matters is what they sound like in the context of the mix. I listened to Chris Lord Alge talk about this recently. He said he didn't understand why people would solo a vocal only to get it sounding right, then throw it in the mix and it's completely lost its context. I honestly think this is a good rule of thumb for any track. What ultimately matters is the context of the mix. If you need to solo something to EQ out a weird frequency, do it. In general though, you should mix vocals and most tracks within the context of the mix.

Use compression.

Compression is an extremely handy tool, and in my experience it works wonders on vocals. Using the right kind of compression on vocals can make your track punch through the mix and sit right where you want it. Especially if you are dealing in a rock mix. You want your vocals to be punchy, loud, and clear. This is the perfect time to use compression. Keep in mind thought that compression can be a tricky tool and try not to over do it. If you can get good with a particular compressor or find one that you think works good with vocals, stick with that.

So there you have it. Three tips to help get your vocals sitting right in the mix. If you have any questions feel free to email us at info@willsterling.net and get your question featured in the Question of the Week. Thanks for reading!

Mixing, Editing, and Mastering Services

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Video Tutorial (How to Clean Up A Muddy Mix)

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Video Tutorials Coming Soon!

I'm very excited to announce that we will be offering video tutorials for mixing and recording within the next couple of weeks. We will be covering topics from EQ and Compression to automating plugins and more! You can look for these video tutorials here on the site, on YouTube, or at http://willsterling.net/blog. We can't wait to share these videos with you and help you become a better mix engineer!

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Thoughts from an Insecure Audio Engineer

Over the past couple years I had this crazy idea to start a business. I wanted to start a mixing and mastering service for small musicians trying to get a great sounding demo or EP. So I set out on the journey hoping it would work. I began by learning as much as possible. I already knew a decent bit, but I really wanted to excel at the art. So every day I would practice mixing. On the way to school and home I would listen to podcasts. I would read books and learn about business and marketing. I set aside some amount of time every day to invest in my idea. Over time, I noticed my idea start to grow.

Here recently I took a couple huge steps forward. I built a professional website and a mixing portfolio. Those are two very important things to have if you are going to run an online or local business that involves creativity. People want to know you are a professional and want to hear what you have done before they throw money your way. So at this point I was all pumped up and excited to really get the business going. I had the foundation laid and the plans were coming together. But then I got hit by something that I wasn't sure how to deal with. Fear. 

I began to be afraid. I hadn't charged anyone yet, and I was afraid to. I didn't think I was good enough and I wasn't sure if people would even want to pay for my service. So many questions started popping in my head. How much should I charge? Where do I find clients? How do I keep clients? What if people hate my service? I was just plagued by all these thoughts and the fear began to cripple me. But then I started to think back to these books I had read on leadership and running a business. All of them talked about the fear of failure and how you have to push through even when you are afraid. Failure is just an opportunity to learn and failure is the way to success. Success is not some straight line from point A to point B. It's a crooked line full of turns, ups, downs, failures, wins, and unpredictability. So I pressed on. I decided to charge.

Once I put a price on my site I thought, "Just great. Who in the world is going to spend money on my service? I'm worthless!" But I just did it anyways. My first week of having the website I received three emails and got three paid mixing gigs. You can imagine how ecstatic I was. I couldn't believe that someone had gone to my website, listened to my portfolio, and decided it was worth buying. I was so encouraged by this but once again, the fear came. What if I can't deliver the mix they expect? What if they find out I'm not the greatest mix engineer in the world? I remembered again that failure is a part of the path to success. So I did it anyway. All three clients loved their mixes. I was successful because I pushed through my fears.

I'm still pursuing this business and this idea. I'm still learning how to market and how to grow. I'm still learning how to be a better engineer and how to gain new clients. I'm still learning. And I'll always be learning.

The point in all this is to say, take a step forward. Don't be afraid to have some initiative and step out there. Don't feel like you have to be perfect. Don't be afraid to fail. Through willpower, hard work, and endurance, you will be successful. Learn everything you can in the process! Learn how to run a business and how to market. Learn how to keep clients and how to grow. Learn, learn, learn. It will pay off.

Every day I still fear failure. Some days I want to quit and go back to a more secure path. Some days I don't know how in the world it could possibly succeed. But this is just all part of the process. I continue to make myself take initiative and move forward in spite of my fears.

We're all afraid of taking initiative. We're all a little insecure about our abilities and our value. Don't let fear hold you back from accomplishing your dreams. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be willing.

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Question of the Week

I'm excited to announce a new post series called Question of the Week! Basically every week I will be answering a question on the blog, that you submit. Hopefully this will help to give you relevant information to the type of issues and barriers you may be having when mixing or recording. Remember to submit your questions to info@willsterling.net. Anyways...let's get started!

This week our question is as follows:

"How do I make each instrument stand out from each other, but also blend? I've tried to mix well but the end product always seems to mush together in an undesirable way. I use Ableton if that helps. Thanks a bunch!"

Great question. Let's start off by tackling a couple of the issues you seem to be having.

The first issue you seem to be having is depth. Depth in a song describes how close and far away a sound seems to you. This is really just determined by how loud or quite a track is. So when you mix, you want to create a good bit of depth. In other words, don't have every track at the same volume level. Allow some instruments to sit in the back and act as layers, while other ones shine through. For instance, if you have a keyboard synth track, those are usually get to have in the background just sort of filling the gaps. But something like a lead vocal needs to sit on top of the mix and really punch through. By spending time adjusting levels and creating depth, it will help each instrument to sit together nicely and not fight for attention.

The second issue you may be having is width. Width is just what it sounds like. It describes how wide your mix is and how you have your instruments panned. If your tracks are starting to sound mushed together than there's a chance you aren't giving them a lot of separation. Try using LCR mixing to create a nice, wide, stereo sound that will help alleviate some of those crowded track problems. But don't forget to check your mix in mono and make sure that it sounds good. Often times panning can make you unaware of a problem that would otherwise be noticeable in mono. So be sure to check every now and again.

By creating width and depth you will give your tracks room to breathe and help them sit better with each other in the mix. Hope this helps!

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How to Clean Up a Muddy Mix

Today I want to share two tips on how you can clean up a muddy mix.

1. High Pass Filters

The first tip I want to share with you is using a high pass filter. If you aren't familiar with a high pass filter, I'll briefly explain it. A high pass filter essentially rolls off the low end and allows the highs to pass through. Hence the name. This can do wonders to a muddy mix, and it's very simple to implement. To get started using a high pass filter, all you need to do is put some sort of EQ plugin on your track. It can be a one band, three band, seven band, it doesn't matter. Then when you have the EQ plugin up, look for high pass filter (sometimes known as a low-cut or lc) section to enable. What this was allow you to do is roll off all of the frequencies below a certain point. A good starting point is about a 100hz. Put this filter on most of your tracks except for kick drum and bass guitar. These are the instruments we want to sit at the bottom of the mix. You won't notice the high pass filter change your tone drastically, but when you have them across most of your tracks, it will really clean up a lot of low end in your mix.

2. Apply a High Shelf

The second tip involves boosting certain frequencies on your tracks. Before you do this, make sure you've done any sort of subtractive EQ that you can do. I believe that most of the time it is better to cut than to boost. But let's assume that you've done some subtractive EQ, you've put your high pass filters on, and you are still having a muddy mix. At this point, you will want to try and pinpoint what instruments are muddying up the mix, and apply a high shelf. Essentially you will be boosting the EQ from about 6khz up by about 3 to 6db to add high end to the track. For instance, if your drums sound too muddy, create a drum bus and then apply the boost to the bus. This will apply it across all drums and help them punch through the mix. Also, remember that what frequencies you need to boost will depend on the track. You don't want your mix to sound harsh, so don't get too crazy boosting the high end. However, with subtle boosts where it needs it, this should also help to clean up your mix.


Remember to practice getting it right at the source as well. If you are getting a muddy vocal take, try using a condenser mic that picks up a hotter signal and higher frequencies. This will make your job easier as a mix engineer and help clean up the mix.

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Do You Mix With Your Eyes Or Your Ears?

I love being in the digital age of music. It's great being able to sit in your bedroom and record an entire album with hardly any gear. Limitless possibilities are opened up with the addition of plugins and unlimited tracks. We can record at lower volume levels without worrying about losing sound. We can edit tracks with the click of the mouse. The list of benefits in digital recording goes on and on. But I fear we are missing out on a very important aspect of recording. Use your ears. 

If you do most of your mixing in a DAW, then you probably use your eyes quite a lot. Most EQ plugins are graphical EQ's with multiple bands that you can control and change curvature of the lines on the screen. Compressor plugins show you how much a sound is being cut in db levels. The point is, you are probably using your eyes to make most of these adjustments. Is this a bad thing? Well, not necessarily. But what is a bad thing is if you quit using your ears. Sometimes it is tempting to look at an EQ curve and think, "Wait a second, that curve is way too steep." But have you really listened to the sound? So what if it's a 12 db cut. Does it sound good? That's the point I'm driving at. 

Next time you are mixing, try this. Open up your plugins, and when you make adjustments, close your eyes. Most likely your plugin has nobs that you can control so use those without looking at the screen. Only use your ears. This goes for EQ, compression, and whatever other plugins you may be using. Get in the habit of mixing with your ears and not your eyes. 

Ultimately, what matters is what your tracks sound like. Don't fall into the trap of mixing everything with your eyes but make sure to use your ears as well. 

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Mixing in the Mix Box

I saw a great post today from Graham Cochrane over at The Recording Revolution. (Great and informative site) Graham was talking about mixing in the mix box, and I felt this was such an important concept that I needed to share it. The idea is that there is a box that your mix falls in. It's basically the depth and width of your song. How wide does your song go and how dynamic are the instruments?

Today I want to share some ideas that can help make your mix sound wider and have more depth. This will help you to create a huge song without everything being stuck inside the mix box.

The first thing I want to talk about is LCR mixing. LCR mixing refers to panning. The idea is that you either pan hard left, hard right, or dead in the center. I'm a huge fan of LCR mixing and in my opinion it does wonders to widen your mix. I've talked about it before and I'll probably talk about it again. If you're not at least trying LCR mixing, what do you have to lose?

Secondly, you need to create depth to your song using volume. Basically you don't want to have every instrument in your tracks sitting at the exact same level. This will make your song sound crowded and as if the instruments are all fighting for attention. Try to let certain tracks shine through like lead vocals or lead guitar. Create dynamics and by default, you will create depth.

Lastly, I want to talk about adding EQ to your tracks. Not every track needs low end and not every track needs high end. This is what high pass and low pass filters are for. They allow you to clean up the frequencies that aren't being used by certain instruments so that the instruments that actually are in those tracks can really punch through. I generally put high pass filters on almost everything except bass guitar and the kick drum. What you want to achieve here is better dynamics between your frequencies. You allow your tracks that have a lot of information in the mid range to sit comfortably inside the box, while pushing your tracks with high end information up and tracks with low end information down. This adds vertical dynamics to your song.

So to recap, there are three things you can do to help your tracks not fight in the mix box.

1. LCR Mixing
2. Volume Dynamics
3. EQ, High Pass, and Low Pass Filters

Hope this helps you take another step to a bigger and better mix! 

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New Website!

I'm happy to announce that I've got my new website up and running. If you need more information on how to get stuff mixed, mastered, or you just want to hear some sample work of what I've done, check it out!

Will Sterling Productions

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