How to Run an Efficient Mix Session

Your time is valuable, and so it is important that you run efficient mixing sessions. Today I want to share with you some ways that you can run a more efficient mixing session in your home studio. These tips will not only help you get faster at mixing, but your mixes will be better because you'll be forced to focus on what is important.

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Your Ears and a Pen and Paper

Getting a great sounding mix or recording starts with something much simpler than you'd think. It doesn't start with thousands of dollars worth of gear. It doesn't start with the most expensive DAW. It doesn't start with the best plugins you can buy.

It starts with your ears, a pen, and a paper. 

As humans, we have a tendency to over complicate and over analyze things. We rarely go to the simplest solution. This is especially true in the audio engineering world. We are still struggling with the idea that our songs could sound better if only we had this or that. You see, it's easier to put the blame on something you can't control. It keeps you from having to take responsibility. The problem is that it also keeps you from growing and getting better. A great recording or mix starts with a few simple things. 

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EQ Carving Kick and Bass

In today's video, we are going to look at using some EQ carving techniques to help the bass and kick drum sit more nicely together. 

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Don't Play It Safe When Mixing

"If ten out of ten people like your mix, you're doing something wrong." That quote slapped me in the face when I heard it. Who said it? Dave Pensado. If you don't know who Dave is, he's a Grammy winning mix engineer and also runs Pensado's place (an amazing place for tutorials on mixing.) Short version: Dave knows what he is talking about. So what do this mean? How is it a bad thing if ten out of ten people like my mix?

It means you are probably playing it safe.

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Are You Taking A Break From Your Mixes?

Have you ever mixed a song, only to come back days later and hear something that just sounds totally off? If you have been mixing for any amount of time, then this probably has happened to you. You get an awesome sounding mix, spending hours upon hours, bounce it down, and think your done. Then you come back in a couple days and suddenly that snare is way  too loud. Or maybe that vocal is a bit too quiet. How we can fix this problem? Unfortunately, you really can't. Instead, here's what you need to do.

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Using a Side Chain on Kick and Bass

Getting the bass guitar and kick drum to play nicely together can be one of the most difficult tasks when mixing. Today I want to show you one technique that will help you along in this process. It's called Side Chaining. 

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The Biggest Barrier To Better Mixes and Recordings

What do you think is the biggest barrier to you getting better mixes and recordings? Do you think it's your gear? Maybe if you had better monitors or better preamps your recordings would sound better. Or do you think maybe it's your DAW? Maybe if you had a better recording software you could do better work.

I've got some good news for you. It's none of those things. It's something much more difficult to change. It requires work, patience, and discipline. So what is it already?!

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Why You Don't Have To Worry About Competition

It's no secret anymore. We are in a new day and age for the recording industry. Gear is cheaper than it ever has been. You can mix in the box. Track limits are pretty much gone. We are in a digital age now.

What does this mean for the recording industry?

Well, quite simply, it means things are changing. One major change is that more and more people are able to get into the audio engineering field. I think this is good. (Some people don't.) It also means that musicians are less likely to have to go to a large studio and drop a ton of money on making a record.

So if you want to get into audio engineering, don't you have to worry about competing with a ton of other engineers?

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Three Tips To Get Great Sounding Mixes

There are so many great mixing tips and tutorials out there, that sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to implement them all. The key really is to get in the habit of using some techniques that you think benefit you and help you get a balanced and great sounding mix.

Today I'd like to share with you three tips that are easy to get in the habit of doing, and will help take your mixes to another level. These aren't fancy tricks for you to use or anything like that. These are tips that make sense, are easy to implement, and yet are extremely helpful. Let's start with tip number one.

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One Word That Will Revolutionize Your Mixes

Sometimes when we start mixing we don't really think about what we are trying to achieve with the entire mix. We simply want it to sound good, but we don't really know how we are going to get there. So we start putting EQ and compression on tracks trying to make everything sound awesome. We want our tracks to be punchy, clear, loud, dynamic, and sound professional. The irony is we miss the most important part of mixing.

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The Static Mix

Before you put any plugins on your tracks, make sure you get a nice static mix. A good static mix can really set the foundation for your song and help everything else flow more smoothly.

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Next Time You Mix, Close Your Eyes

I want you to try something next time you sit down to mix. I want you to close your eyes. You might be thinking, "why would I close my eyes?" But you see the point is not your eyes, it's your ears. In the digital age of mixing, we've gotten so used to seeing our plugins work that we've started to rely on our eyes more than our ears. In music, this can be disastrous.

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How You Can Be More Productive In The Studio

In the digital age of mixing we are plagued with thousands of options to enhance and alter our songs. We have hundreds of plugins to choose from and limitless tracks we can record. With all these choices, how do we stay focused and productive when mixing? Today I want to share with you three ways that you can be more productive when recording or mixing. These tips will not only help you to become a better engineer, but will also help you become more efficient which will lead to more clients and more money in your pocket.

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