0:50 - #5: Skipping Proper Gain Staging 5:00 - #4: Overprocessing On The Mix Buss 7:38 - #3: Not Level Matching Your EQ Plugins 10:22 - #2 Not Using Automation 14:30 - #1 Not Referencing A Professional Mix Here y'all go. :3
Thanks for stressing the importance of using a reference mix. It is so easy to just get into your project and forget about anything else, but such a good reminder and idea to bring that reference mix into your session with volume fader down. Great stuff Graham, and God bless!
I get so scared referencing a track cause I feel ill get disappointed to hear the difference between my mix and the professional mix but I know , I know I have to work to get it as close to the reference as possible. Thank your for this great vid.
there are so many mixing tutorial videos on youtube which are actually great but i find those from recording revolution to be the most informative and very easy to follow. graham is a sincere teacher.
You've created such a wonderful useful resource on RUclips for people learning to record. Just started up a home studio. Learning a ton from your videos. You're ability to vocalize all you've learned so clearly and so modestly is inspiring.
I know this vids old but man, so helpful. What so many tutorials have been lacking, is the thought process behind choices. Many teach what and how, but I'm left wondering why I should. This nails it, learned a lot about automation.
Thanks for Clarifying gain staging part I really I was doing it all gain staging by the faders first and forget about the track itself I wondered why my track would sound too loud and clip
Wow, Number 1 surprised me,I've been preaching this to everyone I've taught anything to since the late 80's using analog. Its good to hear someone else say it is as important as well. great vid,I'm gonna pass this one to a friend of mine whom has recently built himself a home studio. i liked the automation as well. something that anyone can easily do now with DAW's..
Automation story here: I was keys and vocal harmony on an album a few years ago. We had a guitarist doing some soft acoustic finger picking on a couple of pieces. There was a time crunch for the release of the album and I was brought in to help in post processing. The guitar recordings sounded great except the finger squeaks were terrible hot and the tech who was doing the work couldn't figure out how to minimize the squeaks. I said, give them to me and I'll fix them. I painstakingly automated each squeak down to a reasonable level. The genre actually warranted some squeaks for authenticity so I didn't want to eliminate them entirely. Doing this also messed up the natural resonance of the guitar, so I went back and added automated resonance for the previous sounds to overlap the reduced squeaks and subsequently NOT add resonance to the squeaks themselves. The tech was amazed at how powerful automation could be in improving the sound of tracks like this.
This video is so helpful. I have been struggling to get certain things to sit right in the mix, and i can HEAR the instruments and vocals in proper recordings, and they sit perfectly. Now I'm starting to get it better. Subbed.
First time am commenting on a video that is very legit and actually useful for every one who takes their mixes seriously. ''Thanks" a lot for videos like this.
I really do appreciate the points you make. As NRimai said, your selfless production and posting of these vids have helped me so much in the absence of audio school which I couldn't afford. As an aside, though I love the vocals of the example you use, they are apt for the great song they are recorded for. Thanks!
I basically agree about volume automation, but as you said earlier: be careful not to overdo it. Because if you do, you destroy the artist's performance - the piano player does have his own reasons for swelling or ebbing the volume of his instrument! I recently found that I don't have to make the piano track stand out every single millisecond of the mix. If it disappears below the surface of the obvious, that's not a bad thing - it's still audible, but you have to listen out for it in order to hear it. Which is exactly what I need in many places to give the other tracks their presence in the mix. I do not think everything should be constantly present in the foreground; it is the interplay of all tracks taking turns in the spotlight that makes for an interesting mix.
I agree that sometimes it's nice to have dynamics in the mix as a player executed. However having cut my teeth as a session player before an engineer I never heard the entire mix during my performance. If I had I might have played moments much differently. That being the case bringing out moments after the fact makes sense. It''s a tightrope we walk........
This was really helpful. I'm mixing my own music video for the first time and this is all new to me. I was really at a loss as to what the track levels should be at -- I'm using an instrumental track and I have had to set the levels down over fifty percent and I thought for sure that had to be wrong. Glad to see that I'm on the right track. As to automation, I already did that on my own as soon as I saw there was a way to do it. I find it one of the more fun aspects of the work.
great stuff! another trick I've found is to have a few eq's on the master. the eq's will have lo/hi passes to isolate sub, low, mid low, mids, mid highs, and highs. that way you can compare each individual eq band to the reference mix. it reeeeally helps with the low end!
Thanks !! you make the best tutos ! i decided to learn or relearn everything, after years of amateur recording, i realize how much i needed it. this one and the mono mixing technic are fantastic lessons, thanks very much
Thanks for posting this. The toughest thing for me in the studio is getting a good balance of all the tracks. I learned a lot from your video. btw, that is a good song you're playing in your video. Rock on my friend.
Took notes and paid particular attention. Listening to audio looking at Video, know what is perfect vocals and music piano, guitar etc. Feel motivated I will be able to record and mix Not about perfection, surprises I might get on completing the project. Graham you did it and never gave up, so I also.
Very helpful as usual. The only one thing I haven't done yet is reference. I better start getting in that habit. I'm getting ready to release an EP. Thanks once again!
Great stuff fella. A lot of the time it is about overcoming lack of energy and yes laziness to go those extra steps of focus to get things right. I do volume level automation and you can make a mix so more accurate applying that level of detail. I have not done level matching with EQ before, but will now. However, I do it with compression, but find it a real challenge to my brain.
Graham another Great Vidy ! All Good Tips ! I really like your channel Graham and I've been home recording, myself and friends, off and on, for more than thirty years. Lots of 4 and 8 track Tascam gear at first and now Computers (but I'm just learning software now), so I'm good on the physical end, but playing catch up with DAW's so your website is invaluable ! ! ! Your approach is well thought out, organised, concise and productive. Thanks again ! ! !
Thank you for the great tips! I definitely need to use more automation.I just started to seriously use reference tracks when mixing and it has been super helpful. Does it matter much if the reference track is mp3 or wav format?
In the old days, using tape machines, there was no such thing as automation. I would mix a song 8 or 10 times while riding the faders and making changes. It's incredible how different each mix could end up sounding. Then you'd just choose the one you like :)
Hey, Graham! Question on level matching EQ... Are you just matching by apparent volume and what sounds like a match, or is based on how many dB you cut into your EQ? for example, if I cut -3 dB at 400hz and -2 dB at 600hz, do I add -5 dB to the output? Do I just add 3db because it's the deepest cut? I never paid attention to this until now. THANKS for shedding light as always!!
Really helpful, thank you. Especially the part about referencing, but I always get so discouraged when i listen to the professionally mastered track comparing to mine 😂
Thank You For this, A a beginner and having taking on a challange of recording an album in my gardenshed, in aid of mental health awareness i am absolutely in need of this help, as i cant afford to have a studio pro to do the mix and master, itsvall down to me, yikes. i hope to learn enough to at ;east get this one releaset thanks again
amazing tips!! very detailed and not mentioned on other tutorials. Can I ask for tip 3. level matching - do you know for the EQ8 on ableton if you can see the in / out level parameters like your stock EQ above? thanks
I'm learning to not worry about the lvls being so loud in the mix Once I noticed what mastering really does for the track after u just compress the shit out of it I have been getting a mix still in the green or maybe getting into the yellow but once I get thru the mastering it's loud but u still keep the sound from your mix
About "over-processing on the mix-buss"; What if you're (re-)mastering, which I do a lot more, and have a single mixed down track of course... Does it matter where you throw in all your plug-ins? Just for my approach I kind of use the mixer-channel and the master-buss as two "halves", where I make some essential alterations and touch-ups on the mixer-channel, and then I make some more general finishing touches with plug-ins on the mix/master-buss. Now, I like to keep plug-ins as few as possible anyway, just so it doesn't become a convoluted mess (possibly in sound as well), but sometimes I do end up with lots of them on either end. - Does it matter as much with mastering, or is it purely when mixing that you shouldn't mess with the mix-buss too much? I guess you're talking about, when MIXING, that whenever you put anything on the master, you'll be affecting ALL the tracks that obviously go into it. But with mastering there's no way around that, as it's usually one track.
0:50 - #5: Skipping Proper Gain Staging
5:00 - #4: Overprocessing On The Mix Buss
7:38 - #3: Not Level Matching Your EQ Plugins
10:22 - #2 Not Using Automation
14:30 - #1 Not Referencing A Professional Mix
Here y'all go. :3
rasheed for president
Thank you so much for this.
NO SHORTCUTS!
Are you dialing automation after the bus compression was done, or before applying the compression ?
@@macrondo5852 I wish I'd gotten this notif sooner, aw, thank u ❤️🥺
Please never stop reminding us.
+1!
Thanks Graham! Because of you, we don't have to go for Recording Classes..
God bless you Brother...
Thanks for stressing the importance of using a reference mix. It is so easy to just get into your project and forget about anything else, but such a good reminder and idea to bring that reference mix into your session with volume fader down.
Great stuff Graham, and God bless!
I get so scared referencing a track cause I feel ill get disappointed to hear the difference between my mix and the professional mix but I know , I know I have to work to get it as close to the reference as possible. Thank your for this great vid.
there are so many mixing tutorial videos on youtube which are actually great but i find those from recording revolution to be the most informative and very easy to follow. graham is a sincere teacher.
You've created such a wonderful useful resource on RUclips for people learning to record. Just started up a home studio. Learning a ton from your videos. You're ability to vocalize all you've learned so clearly and so modestly is inspiring.
I cannot express to you how thankful I am for this video.
Critical info, Graham.
When I intervened at a pro studio in the early '90's, mechanical automation was a repair tech's healthy paycheck generator!
I know this vids old but man, so helpful. What so many tutorials have been lacking, is the thought process behind choices. Many teach what and how, but I'm left wondering why I should. This nails it, learned a lot about automation.
It's not old, it's timeless
Thanks for Clarifying gain staging part I really I was doing it all gain staging by the faders first and forget about the track itself I wondered why my track would sound too loud and clip
Brilliant tips. I was scared of automation but now I see how it can be done, and why.
What a beautiful automation/expression on that Piano One...
Thank you for sharing this, wow...
Wow, Number 1 surprised me,I've been preaching this to everyone I've taught anything to since the late 80's using analog. Its good to hear someone else say it is as important as well. great vid,I'm gonna pass this one to a friend of mine whom has recently built himself a home studio. i liked the automation as well. something that anyone can easily do now with DAW's..
ive been learning to mix for about 2 years and im just now learning about gain staging...thank you so much
Graham and Jordan from Hard core music studio
Has made a huge impact on my life
Great tip about level matching EQs that I'd been neglecting. It's applicable to "fair" active/bypass comparison of any effect too.
Automation story here: I was keys and vocal harmony on an album a few years ago. We had a guitarist doing some soft acoustic finger picking on a couple of pieces. There was a time crunch for the release of the album and I was brought in to help in post processing. The guitar recordings sounded great except the finger squeaks were terrible hot and the tech who was doing the work couldn't figure out how to minimize the squeaks. I said, give them to me and I'll fix them. I painstakingly automated each squeak down to a reasonable level. The genre actually warranted some squeaks for authenticity so I didn't want to eliminate them entirely. Doing this also messed up the natural resonance of the guitar, so I went back and added automated resonance for the previous sounds to overlap the reduced squeaks and subsequently NOT add resonance to the squeaks themselves. The tech was amazed at how powerful automation could be in improving the sound of tracks like this.
This video is so helpful. I have been struggling to get certain things to sit right in the mix, and i can HEAR the instruments and vocals in proper recordings, and they sit perfectly. Now I'm starting to get it better. Subbed.
First time am commenting on a video that is very legit and actually useful for every one who takes their mixes seriously. ''Thanks" a lot for videos like this.
Where can we hear the full and completed mix of this? Sounds a great piece!
Great advice! Proper gain staging is so critical. My mixes have been coming out way cleaner ever since.
I really do appreciate the points you make. As NRimai said, your selfless production and posting of these vids have helped me so much in the absence of audio school which I couldn't afford. As an aside, though I love the vocals of the example you use, they are apt for the great song they are recorded for. Thanks!
I basically agree about volume automation, but as you said earlier: be careful not to overdo it. Because if you do, you destroy the artist's performance - the piano player does have his own reasons for swelling or ebbing the volume of his instrument! I recently found that I don't have to make the piano track stand out every single millisecond of the mix. If it disappears below the surface of the obvious, that's not a bad thing - it's still audible, but you have to listen out for it in order to hear it. Which is exactly what I need in many places to give the other tracks their presence in the mix. I do not think everything should be constantly present in the foreground; it is the interplay of all tracks taking turns in the spotlight that makes for an interesting mix.
I agree that sometimes it's nice to have dynamics in the mix as a player executed. However having cut my teeth as a session player before an engineer I never heard the entire mix during my performance. If I had I might have played moments much differently. That being the case bringing out moments after the fact makes sense. It''s a tightrope we walk........
This was really helpful. I'm mixing my own music video for the first time and this is all new to me. I was really at a loss as to what the track levels should be at -- I'm using an instrumental track and I have had to set the levels down over fifty percent and I thought for sure that had to be wrong. Glad to see that I'm on the right track. As to automation, I already did that on my own as soon as I saw there was a way to do it. I find it one of the more fun aspects of the work.
great stuff!
another trick I've found is to have a few eq's on the master. the eq's will have lo/hi passes to isolate sub, low, mid low, mids, mid highs, and highs.
that way you can compare each individual eq band to the reference mix. it reeeeally helps with the low end!
I use that too. Call it multiband referencing
"Automation" Makes so much of a difference.. Great tips/reminders!
I wish you could hear what this did to my track. Best video I've ever watched about mixing for real!
Thanks !! you make the best tutos ! i decided to learn or relearn everything, after years of amateur recording, i realize how much i needed it. this one and the mono mixing technic are fantastic lessons, thanks very much
Thanks for posting this. The toughest thing for me in the studio is getting a good balance of all the tracks. I learned a lot from your video. btw, that is a good song you're playing in your video. Rock on my friend.
Took notes and paid particular attention. Listening to audio looking at Video, know what is perfect vocals and music piano, guitar etc. Feel motivated I will be able to record and mix Not about perfection, surprises I might get on completing the project. Graham you did it and never gave up, so I also.
Very helpful as usual. The only one thing I haven't done yet is reference. I better start getting in that habit. I'm getting ready to release an EP. Thanks once again!
Great advice and done in a way that's easy to listen to. If only more web folks were as intent to help others in a positive way as you are
Great stuff fella. A lot of the time it is about overcoming lack of energy and yes laziness to go those extra steps of focus to get things right. I do volume level automation and you can make a mix so more accurate applying that level of detail. I have not done level matching with EQ before, but will now. However, I do it with compression, but find it a real challenge to my brain.
Best channel on RUclips.
nice video. I'm an EDM producer but I know that these tips apply practically the same. thanks for the help!
Graham another Great Vidy ! All Good Tips ! I really like your channel Graham and I've been home recording, myself and friends, off and on, for more than thirty years. Lots of 4 and 8 track Tascam gear at first and now Computers (but I'm just learning software now), so I'm good on the physical end, but playing catch up with DAW's so your website is invaluable ! ! ! Your approach is well thought out, organised, concise and productive. Thanks again ! ! !
Automation is key. Procrastinating on it was my mistake for years. Waves Vocal Rider is a nice little short cut.
thanks graham you are giving a new birth to music sweetness, iam in love with your music now
Great tips as always Graham! Thank you so much! I've always been pretty lazy on automation, but I will keep this in mind when doing my next mix.
Thank You for the great lesson and the "big picture" pointers. Really well- spoken and knowledgeable, Graham. May the Creator bless you!
Dude, your channel is insane. Great knowledge for free. gotta love YT right ? Keep up Mate !
I love your videos man! They are so informative and thorough. Thanks for all your hard work man!
The eq levelling is a clever tip, thanks man. Have a great day 😊
You, sir, are amazing at explaining these things.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.It was detail and helpful...
Fantastic! I loved the EQ in/out level matching & the reference track. I've just tried them and they help a lot. Thanks so much.
Thanks gram level matching Eq was a great tip and volume automation is amazing have been lazy but will start using this thing
Thank you for the great tips! I definitely need to use more automation.I just started to seriously use reference tracks when mixing and it has been super helpful. Does it matter much if the reference track is mp3 or wav format?
YOUR THE BEST GRAHAM. NEVER STOP DOING WHAT YOU DO!
I love your videos! So helpful as I get started in my home studio!
What do you think about compressor automation on a group bus?
Dude these are some really cool tricks to use! Fantastic stuff
In the old days, using tape machines, there was no such thing as automation. I would mix a song 8 or 10 times while riding the faders and making changes. It's incredible how different each mix could end up sounding. Then you'd just choose the one you like :)
Big improvement from a handful of your videos thanks
Thank YOU Graham! High Vibes from Brasil!
Off topic but, man, the Slate Digital stuff is SO GOOD. I wouldn't want to mix without them.
True! Slate is coming out with Audio Legends v2 and he mentioned how insanely good and close the mix sounds with actual gear and in the box (ITB)...
Damn!! Explanation was on point. You sir just earned a new subscriber. Thank you 🙂
Just wanted to say, this was an very helpful and unpretentious video! Appreciate the upload!
YES !!😀 LESS IS MORE !! love the video
Thanks Graham ! You are the best ! God bless you for sharing your brillant ideas !
liked - eq check list is done. thankyou very much Graham!
Hey, Graham!
Question on level matching EQ... Are you just matching by apparent volume and what sounds like a match, or is based on how many dB you cut into your EQ?
for example, if I cut -3 dB at 400hz and -2 dB at 600hz, do I add -5 dB to the output? Do I just add 3db because it's the deepest cut?
I never paid attention to this until now.
THANKS for shedding light as always!!
good question, hope you get a response
It would be great if you showed the shortcut/hot keys that you were clicking on the screen!! Fantastic videos, man.
Really helpful, thank you. Especially the part about referencing, but I always get so discouraged when i listen to the professionally mastered track comparing to mine 😂
Yup, guilty as charged - poor gain staging, only now using automation, and not using reference mixes - I'll try all this on my next project - thanks
Thank you! One of the better top mix mistake vids
Thanks for this Graham! Really great advice!
My mind has gained a clear new approach to my workflow, now i'll be able to make better tracks
Great lesson! Just love the part of Automation! Thanks for this!!!!! :)
Fantastic. Your videos are a magnificent contribution. Thank you!
Thanks!! I´ve learned almost everything about music production with you!! Love your videos!! :)
Thanks for doing this Graham. Always way useful!
Very useful videos. Thank you!
Superb advice, thank you Graham.
Amazing video! Learned a lot. That song is so good, where can I find it?
Your awesome Graham! Thank you for sharing this.
Thank You For this, A a beginner and having taking on a challange of recording an album in my gardenshed, in aid of mental health awareness i am absolutely in need of this help, as i cant afford to have a studio pro to do the mix and master, itsvall down to me, yikes. i hope to learn enough to at ;east get this one releaset thanks again
So good Bro!. Learning loads from you. Thank you.
Thanks for the reminders!
Great video, and I really like that song that you used.
Dude, that's it. I'm becoming a patron of yours in patreon.
Solid advice as always. Keep it up 🎹
Learning some pretty solid tips in this vid that would greatly help my mixes. Thanks! 👍
amazing tips!! very detailed and not mentioned on other tutorials. Can I ask for tip 3. level matching - do you know for the EQ8 on ableton if you can see the in / out level parameters like your stock EQ above? thanks
This will be saved in my favorites. Thank you. :)
great tips as always
that's make you have professional sound
I'm learning to not worry about the lvls being so loud in the mix
Once I noticed what mastering really does for the track after u just compress the shit out of it I have been getting a mix still in the green or maybe getting into the yellow but once I get thru the mastering it's loud but u still keep the sound from your mix
All excellent tips. Thank you.
Great stuff, man!! Thanks for posting these tips! Very helpful :)
you are A G.O.D thanks !! keep doing what you're doing bro
Brilliant video graham.
Great video. Very helpful. Thank you very much.
Really helpful tips!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW.. thanks soo muchh!
Best vid I've seen in a while
About "over-processing on the mix-buss"; What if you're (re-)mastering, which I do a lot more, and have a single mixed down track of course... Does it matter where you throw in all your plug-ins?
Just for my approach I kind of use the mixer-channel and the master-buss as two "halves", where I make some essential alterations and touch-ups on the mixer-channel, and then I make some more general finishing touches with plug-ins on the mix/master-buss.
Now, I like to keep plug-ins as few as possible anyway, just so it doesn't become a convoluted mess (possibly in sound as well), but sometimes I do end up with lots of them on either end. - Does it matter as much with mastering, or is it purely when mixing that you shouldn't mess with the mix-buss too much?
I guess you're talking about, when MIXING, that whenever you put anything on the master, you'll be affecting ALL the tracks that obviously go into it. But with mastering there's no way around that, as it's usually one track.
thanks for the tips ! It helped me in a lot ways .
This is a damn good video for sho. Very nice and concise.
Thank you for sharing this important information.
Very knowledgeable video for mix