@@slurpii4142 you have to admit that the original studio mix is not everyone's style and the sound of the second one is kinda cool with somewhat clean and musical artifacts here. Personally I actually find both mixes sounding great!
Wow thank you so much joe ..I just did an ep that I mixed and master and I was very critical of myself even though I kept on getting all the good feedback from other people that they sounded very good
Phones don't have bass, unless you're using headphones or hooking it up to speakers. I can't stand listening to my songs just from the phone speaker (singular, because there's also no stereo separation on the phone speaker).
i remember the time when i was bad at mixing !! after 8 years i got way better and i was just a producer but now every song i produce includes Mixing+Mastering and more paycheck !!
Spot on the "reason number 2" I use my NS10s for *everything,* mixing, listening to music, videogame, movies. The way your brain calibrates on a set of speakers is impressive.
It's so true - my first produced album seems full of mistakes and not enough understanding about how to mix properly (I'm not judging myself as I recorded and mixed it all alone while studying sound engineering course ) but I noticed how after 3-4 years somehow my knowledge of things increased immensely and even tho I know it's not the end , but production feels miles apart from my first one! Great advice man
Secret point #6: it could also be your room. If you're mixing in a crappy-sounding room, with no acoustic treatment, this is going to mess with your ability to hear things correctly.
Thank you so much for saying that and not just me thinking it. acoustic treatment and consideration of audio reflection is also an issue. remember that a car dont have near as many straight corner surfaces to reflect from. and audio reflects totally different in a car. not to mention all the padding of a cars inside that absorbs some of these reflections
I always listen to my mixes as if it were someone else listening to it for the first time. It's a totally different frame of mind, and it's much more about soaking up broad strokes and vibe rather than ultra micro managing tiny details. It's almost like putting mental wool over your ears and stopping yourself zooming in too far.
Good example is the old Bring Me the Horizon Suicide season stuff, the mix is flat out demo-ish yet sold good and was a good record overall, I prefer the raw sound anyways, things have become too processed which is amazing if you can get it but the vibe is of upmost importance.
I had to figure this stuff out on my own throughout the course of... 2 or 3 thousand mixes or so... Annnnnd I just wanted to say it makes me so happy to hear other people saying what I've been thinking for years. It's so much easier to find bad advice on this stuff than it is to find good advice, everyone wants to be an expert. That said, you're doing an awesome service to the beginner and intermediate crowd and seriously moving them in the right direction. Please keep it up.
I loved the opening segment. I call it the "walk of shame" back to the house when the mix sounds horrible in the car. You played the part perfectly. I've made it many times at 1:00 in the morning but I don't have that experience as much these days. I've learned my speakers in both my studio and car by using reference tracks for comparisons. Your recommendation to listen to everything on your studio speakers is spot on and it really works.
I was smiling from ear to ear within five seconds. This happens with every one of my songs! I don't get too bummed because I know I'm not that good, but when I don't know how to diagnose and fix the problem, I end up like Sad Joe. All of your points were spot-on for me.
I had literal tears running down my face watching the intro to this because I have been living this problem the last week! I think it's just that Inexperience Factor as I'm just learning how to mix properly and that I added a bit too much high end EQ on the masters and killed the drums so now I'm going to try dialing that back and mixing my drums like a saw in your video for that (using a separate Drum Bus). Thanks for this! Gonna watch more of your videos as I go!
After 40 years on stage, and hours in recording studio. I now have my first song with my own home studio. It sounds fantastic because nobody dares to say it sucks. HAHA! But I'm having a great time. The world of DAW's- pluging's etc. Watched hundreds of videos to get inspired and how to work with your DAW. Learned a lot from your videos how to work in studio one. THX 4 the VID's. PS: some have no subtitles (I am Dutch)
Even though been doing for many years, I still listen a new mix in my car, but, first I listen to the radio few songs, then swamp to the CD Player (Yes I have an old Toyota), and compare the tone. Radio always sounds louder in my car for some reason (Doh!), so I have to turn my CD up to match. So why in the car? Well, once my client leaves my studio with a master CD in their hand, first thing they will do is listen on their way home :)
number one secret that changed my mixing skills : reference tracks ! I always have reference tracks in my daw when i produce / mix / master, it helps A LOT to not be in a "subjective perfect bubble "
Good video, touched on most of the points needed but one really big issue was left out... #6 - you can only mix what you hear. If the actual acoustic “sound” of your home studio is terrible then your mixes will not translate to other environments. I am a professional sound engineer and have been for over 20 years. I’ve recorded and mixed over 500 albums professional, have Grammy nominations, etc... I notice the acoustics of the room I am mixing in effects the final outcome of the mix moreso than anything else... I can mix on crappy speakers, good speakers, crappy recordings, good recordings, etc. and I can always get a good mix... but when the acoustics of the room are terrible, no matter what I do, my mixes sound terrible and I can’t hear what I need to do to fix it because it sounds great IN THE ROOM I am mixing in. A lot of ppl don’t realize that untreated rooms impart a lot of comb filtering into the acoustic sound of the room.... what that means is mixing in an untreated room is like mixing with a 31 band EQ on your speakers and a toddler just decided to move all the sliders for all the bands up and down to make a cool looking shape! Lol. As an example of what I’m talking about put a 31 band EQ across your mix bus and then just mess it up with some bands up 12dB some bands Down 12dB and some at different points in between... now mix a song with that on the mix bus... when you are done and you have the song sounding great, bypass the 31 band EQ and now see what happens to your mix... sounds like complete crap now doesn’t it? That is the same thing that happens when you move your mix from room to room and speaker system to speaker system. The solution is to get good acoustic treatment and set it up properly. And whatever you do, do not use foam for anything... get the good stuff, Owens Corning 703 fiberglass or roxul mineral wool. The thicker the better. If you put those panels in the first reflection points and then put some bass traps In the corners it will transform the sound of your home studio space and you will start hearing little subtleties in your tracks you never noticed before.
Absolutely. Treatment is super helpful. But I've had fairly minimal treatment in my studio for years and have been able to get good mixes that translate. As long as the room isn't horrendous, and as long as there's not a ridiculous amount of reflections, it's possible to get a good mix. Plus you can always mix on headphones and take the room out of the equation entirely.
Joe Gilder Music ....nnnnnnooooooooo...... (in slow motion action sequence style).... Mixing in headphones is always a terrible idea because of the way the ear perceives loudness. Two speakers that are different distances to the listener, even when matched to identical SPL, will sound like different volume levels to the listener. The ear is more sensitive to changes in SPL the closer the sound source is. SMPTE did extensive testing on this in the 70s and 80s. What that translates to mixing is this... a 2dB change in volume when the speakers are 1 in away from your ears will be a significant, noticeable difference. That same 2dB change on the same instrument, will not be significant if the speaker is 4 or 5 ft away. So when mixing and you setup balance and start doing automation the mix done on headphones will sound very flat/dull/boring compared to the mix done on speakers because of how much more you do when listening on speakers than on headphones. A volume ride up if 5dB that sounds great on speakers will usually feel too loud on headphones. Anyway... I would be very surprised if your mixes don’t improve even more from where they are now if you add acoustic treatment behind the speakers (in the book shelf) and hang some overhead if you haven’t already.
That is also why the minimum spec for speaker distance to the mix position in the Dolby dub stage specs is 11’ 6”. As the speakers get closer and closer your perception of loudness is skewed. The Dolby spec is to calibrate the speakers to -18dBFS = +4dBu = 85 dB SPL (c weighted) using pink noise... but only if the speakers are at least 11’ 6” away. Under that you are supposed to use 82dB SPL, 79 dB SPL, and/or 76 dB SPL depending on how close the speakers are because your ears become more sensitive to changes in SPL as the sources get closer.
I'm thinking what happens is a lot of people starting out will get decent studio monitors, and not knowing how to use them yet, or how things are suppose to sound on them, they mix their song until it sounds like music does in their car. Lots of low end, maybe scooped in the mids area, etc. Then when they get the mix to their car, the mix is over exaggerated. Making it sound like poop.
Joe Gilder Music Also two other factors : 1.) Is the room properly treated? (Diffusers, Basstraps, sound absorption) 1a.) Monitor placement 2.) Some people just don’t have a good ear for mixing, you can teach what the tools do : eq/compression/reverb/delay, etc,. (hardware or plugins), mixing broad (faders/panning), explain frequency of what certain voices or instruments “fall in”.... yet if a person doesn’t have a ear, their mixes won’t come out right. IMHO, you can teach someone how to produce/arrangement & songwriting....but either you have a ear for mixing or you don’t.
ldg_ 7th nah thats not true at all. That doesnt even make sense, how could you percieve music like the rest of us if your ears are "off". Also, it comes down to alot of different things but the main thing is, you should mix in the studio with monitors AND comercial grade equipment. Not only that but a wide range of commercial systems. Earbuds, over ear headphones, bluetooth speakers, sound systems etc. Your music is going to be listened to a variety of commerical grade equipment, not just sound nerds through flat settings all the time. You need to learn how different speakers color your mix and only then can you hear how you want things to sound when everything is flat. Quincy jones was known to test his mixes through tinny radio speakers just to make sure it still had its character as it did through monitors.
Jake Ybarra Maybe perhaps you should re-read my post, I spoke of room treatment, not ANYWHERE did I say professional grade equipment isn’t required Seeing that you brought up equipment and somewhere felt as if I’m speaking from inexperience’s.... My Studio A :Mix Room/Post Production 1.) Mac Pro 2.) Apogee Symphony IO 3.) Dangerous Music 2-BUS LT 4.) Dangerous Music Monitor ST 5.) Monitors : 5a.) Focal CMS 40’s 5b.) ADAM A3X 5c.) ADAM A7X 5d.) ADAM Sub-7 *6.) The room is acoustical treated from the building of the rooms (there’s a Studio B also), from insulted walls, solid core doors, to floating floor, the wiring, the room being on its own two separate surge protectors for the rooms, insulation in the ceiling which is pre-wired for 7.2 Dolby ATMOS mixing). 7.) 4 Monster Power Pro 2500 surge protectors. 8.) Sound absorption, diffusers and bass traps. Again, someone can know and have professional grade equipment but not have a ear for mixing itself. They can know the Technologies but when sitting in the sweet spot with the best equipment and the best room but might not be able to mix to save their life.... Again buying equipment and KNOWING the educational stuff doesn’t mean they can “hear” what sounds good as a mix. It’s not a knock just a fact.... or some mixers just aren’t good at mixing various genres but are GREAT at one or two.
Jake Ybarra You brought up Quincy Jones who’s my #1 producer/songwriter/composer/arranger/musician along with Burt Bacharach 1a. Those gentlemen are music producers like Prince & Stevie Wonder...a different breed. Also, putting Ryan Leslie/D.J. Quick in there. Then you take someone like Micheal Jackson, Puffy, Dr. Dre, Jermaine Dupree, D.J. Premier.... All great Artist and Producers in their own right, great ears...they know how to bring the right elements together, arrangement and even composition on some levels.... But perhaps they don’t play instruments at all, nor read music, some of their productions/mixes “might” not come across as polished as the ones that are musicians and can read music, because sonically they aren’t hearing things like a producer who’s also a musician.... that’s all I’m saying. Again, you teach someone what to listen for....but it’s different and difficult to teach someone how to “hear”.
😄😂i really love this Video. Brings back memories. Used to be the same in the "old" days. That's what you get when falling for an "special offer" cheap Studio, or doing a lot of things wrong while mixing and mastering. Great Video Mr. Gilder
using reference tracks though out the production, mix and mastering process is a game changer . More important than the monitoring enviroment in my experience.
pro tip: bring your INTERFACE into your car, and use one of the monitor headphone outputs for audio connecting to the cars aux port. when things dont playback similarly across different speaker types, its usually 50% improper mix environment at your studio, and 50% of the difference comes from a significant difference in playback engine/playback quality. Until you have a properly treated mix environment, just use headphones when EQ'ing. yeah, its kinda a pain in the ass to keep switching back and forth, but until the monitor speakers are in a treated room, your mixes will have huge inconsistencies across different formats + playback devices
I just said that above, and it's so true. There are even a lot of pros with good mix environments who still do this. One thing I also just learned: check the mix in mono. I used to do that sometimes, but man what a reveal for this last mix. The low end was WAY over the top, and in stereo, you just couldn't tell.
One could think that the fact that in a car you have a really low RT60 has a lot to do. And also that the car's cabin response should be relatively flat (low volume, absorption from seats, floor and ceiling for the high frequencies and no reflective surfaces for the low frequencies). It should be interesting measuring the car cabin's response.
The best suggestion is this: since most of us don’t have an ideal listening perspective in our home studios - mix under a good pair of Sony headphones BUT get an eq correction plug-in like the abbey road studio. These have the ability to eq correct any headphones even a crappy pair of senheisers I’d been using for years. This will give you a correct perspective of your mix in the cans. This mix will indeed sound correct in any other environment. Trust me this works well !!!
The best trick is to listen a lot of music in the studio. I'm fortunate because my studio is also my class room where I teach guitar for about 8h a day, every day! So I listen to tones of stuff on my monitors and my mixing room every day. I know how music sounds there.
Joe, Thank you for all of these videos. I've been watching them daily and I'm gaining alot of functional knowledge. I just read the cheat sheet and really appreciated that too. Keep it up man, You're doing the Lord's work.
I find I have setup time in my studio prior to getting to work on recording or mixing. Moving gear around... changing cables, general clean up or organization, etc. During this time I usually will listen to some music on my studio system. Not just for the entertainment but also to acclimate my ears to the room and the sound system.
Actually it might be that you mix your songs in stereo which may sound good to the ears in your studio because of the monitors and whatever so when you are in your car the mix is coming to you in mono as you sit closely to one of the speaker the trick here ladies and gentleman is to mix in mono. Thank me later
- Yes, mix in mono. - And when making a stereo mix, convert that stereo mix to mono to review any problems that will show up when the stereo mix is played on mono equipment. There might even be phasing issues, canceling signals when the stereo channels are combined in one channel. - Also when making a stereo mix, review each of the channels individually. Do they miss important signals when the other channel is missing? This might help for situations where the stereo placement of speakers is less than ideal.
Surely everyone has been in this exact situation. Years ago I also had issues trying to get mixes sounding good on my Bose dock as that unit is rather bass-heavy. This video is invaluable and also entertaining
Joe, I marvel at your ability to speak clearly, amusingly and informatively without visible notes. While you're navigating us through a Studio One routine, you don't constantly hit us with that foolish waste of words, "What I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna....". You just explain what you're doing without force-marching us through a trough of word salad, ummm's and unedited onscreen "discoveries". We don't have to endure dozens of repetitions in a single video of "I'm gonna go ahead and..." In others' tutorials I've heard that refrain accompanying a move back to a previous step(!). Often, both phrases are strung together in a continuous mess of nonsense: "What I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna go ahead and...." You just do it. I know, picky-picky. But it's irritating to hear those constant interruptions while the speaker thinks of the next word. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generous gift of thoughtful videos -- we're blessed.
LOL those word salads. "So, what I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna go ahead and begin to actually sort of just slightly modify the EQ a little." Yeah. For some reason that stuff is contagious between videos. I wonder how many hours of you tube are wasted with long-winded rambling. I know it's hard when you're shooting spontaneously, but I'd have to say, use notes, at least prepare a mental outline, and do some final editing. SAVE US ALL from the salad. (This video is salad-free.)
You are too funny. This is so true. Now I critique every radio song in my car. Singing the hoots of the snare drum on a STP song. Or will someone please put a deesser on Alanis Morissette's vocal!!
Have watched many of your vids and this is my favorite. Had me laughing and learning all at the same time. Today I learned my truck stereo may be loud but that does not necessarily mean good. Thanks Joe!
I generally use Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but I wouldn’t argue with Dark Side of the Moon. If you’re making any kind of rock record those are two of the best sounding albums you could find. Mellon Collie is pretty bass heavy, but it has the added benefit of having a wide range of musical styles so it’s particularly good as a reference.
Very nice tips Joe! And tip number 4 is so true. Or to say with the words John Wolfert from JAM creative in Dallas ones said: there's is no formula for mixing, it's takes a lot of listening and creativity.
I’m a beginner, but I always try to create a test track and stream or play across multiple environments (Sonos speaker, car, mobile device, etc). It’s basic and obvious, but it helps me learn ...
Great advise! Recording and Mixing/Mastering is not easy! I've been a musician for 50 years and recorded for EMI in the 80's in different studios. I know what it takes just on equipment, but also on knowing how to use it. For my own home demo recordings I had one go to Benchmark: my BOSE Wave Radio! No buttons to turn, no nothing, so if it sounded good on that, it was good enough. :)
Forgot to mention: People tend to play their mixes at high volumes while they're working on them. Because of this they reduce the lower frequencies [which tend to sound 'louder' than the higher frequencies at higher volumes]; which results in top-heavy tracks without any warmth or depth that only sound good when played loud through good speakers/ headphones.
You can never tire of bands rocking out to the stuff on the big Genelec monitors and the look of confusion and "Why?" when the engineer switches to the Auratones (aka "Horrortones"). Every time.😆
Bizzy Mo Also two other factors : 1.) Is the room properly treated? (Diffusers, Basstraps, sound absorption) 1a.) Monitor placement 2.) Some people just don’t have a good ear for mixing, you can teach what the tools do : eq/compression/reverb/delay, etc,. (hardware or plugins), mixing broad (faders/panning), explain frequency of what certain voices or instruments “fall in”.... yet if a person doesn’t have a ear, their mixes won’t come out right. IMHO, you can teach someone how to produce/arrangement & songwriting....but either you have a ear for mixing or you don’t.
One of the best things I ever did for my mixes was start listening to all music on my studio monitors. I avoided other headphones and speakers for months to recalibrate myself.
you are 100% correct my friend. here are some tips to improve the mix 1.use fewer instruments or sounds to reduce phase issues 2.cut the low end on the instruments to improve clarity 3.practice proper panning techniques to designate particular instrument placement 4.use sidechain compressor/limiters to give priority to the most important part of the track 5.learn which sounds should be stereo separated and which should be merged. 6.watch the master meter to prevent clipping 7.take breaks and give your ears and mind a pallet cleanse 8.compare you mix to other well mixed and mastered songs within the same genera 9.make multiple mixes and apply the parts of the mixes you like into a final mix 10.don't let your personal preference compromise a perfect mix 11.listen to criticism you may have overlooked something important 12.leave a couple of dBs of room so the mastering effects do not put the mix past 0dB 13.keep it simple BONUS TIP!!! (this only applies to those who will be composing the arrangement, mixing it and mastering all by themselves) APPLY YOUR MASTERING EFFECTS FROM THE BEGINNING BEFORE YOU START THE MUSICAL COMPOSITION!! this will keep you from having to remix the levels after mastering.
It's definitely a faulty iPhone adapter :D .. Anyway I'll add also to mix others people music this help alot, and not just that but master mixes done by others.
The real answer is that almost everyone has no idea what they're doing and are too lazy to find out and most likely have never really succeeded at anything because they're incompetent. For those that aren't incompetent, unfortunately, the information is so scattered on RUclips that someone would have to watch dozens of the correct videos to know a quarter of the essentials. Also, most everyone can't afford much more than the computer they have to mix on. My advice is to motivate yourself to really try, for once, to be good at something. Then you'll start committing to put in real effort. Expect to invest hundreds of hours...yes, hundreds. Don't like the truth? Then this isn't for you.
I'm asking what you wish to see. The essentials one needs to know varies on the artistic voice of the person. People do spend 100s of hours on this craft and it takes this time to improve. The journey doesn't have to be nearly as painful and I'm curious to what topics should be covered outside of sound design (because this topic has been covered extensively and I'm not worried about the lack of sound design tutorials in the nearby future).
What I think should be covered in an "essentials" video is going to be nothing more than a subjective viewpoint. It cannot cover every genre because what one does for mixing rap, isn't the same as one mixing orchestral, and so on. The art of mixing is better presented in a multi-part series by one producer that knows the physics of sound, engineering of mixing and mastering, and has the gift of translation; this is assuming that everyone has some form of music theory. That person...does not exist and most people going into this have no formal music theory training. I believe, one can still learn the craft crippled by lack of music theory but basic elements of song making can become second nature by simply practicing and learning from experience. So, back to my point...the information is scattered. My advice is to seek knowledge from reputable sources beginning with university textbooks. Look for them on Amazon. You won't learn everything from a book but you will learn what NOT to do. Don't spend money on plugins unless you know how to use stock ones really well and have already created something good with them. But yea...a series. I consider myself an intermediate-advanced user in this craft. I do have degrees in mathematics and physics, 30 years of composing and music theory and I still am learning. Although, what I learn is mostly techniques not really something that I didn't already know. I have to admit, knowing physics really takes a lot of the guesswork out of the technical aspects that destroy great mixes. Math skills help know what my sound is doing because most of mixing is just a function of time.
TheChosenOne As someone with more traditional training and is in university for a degree in this (recording arts and singer/songwriter), the merits you assign to this teacher is absurd. There is a lot to be taught in terms of stock plug ins, but there are many limitations including lack of a solid multiband compressor. There are great stock plug ins that exist. You could teach an entire course on Logic's Alchemy. At some point I'd love to address people's questions in videos. There is loads of content to make outside of showing people how to make a DAW. You can also make videos on helping people make viable melodies for EDM production. I'm curious to what you struggle with as a genuine question. I don't care about how this is all subjective, I'm curious to what YOUR concerns are
Dude- Thank you so much for putting this channel up- your videos are helping me enormously, I Have learned so much from watching how you do your recordings the last few weeks, and now understand why my stuff stands to improve tremendously thanks to your GIRATS concept, and yeah - i never got it right at the source.
I had a different situation. My computer was adding it's own audio enhancements to my exported mixes. It seems like not a lot of people have this problem but my computer was adding things to improve a gamers 3D sound within the audio, creating digital distortion. In your audio preferences there is a tab called enhancements, try shutting these off and export your mix again to see if your computer is adding it's own processing.
Ford Taurus has the worst speakers. They sound different every time you turn the car on. Some days the bass is too heavy and some days the bass is non existent. I even tested it by playing the same file on different days through the same source (aux). Kept car audio settings the same and my phone audio settings the same. No matter what, they always sound too quiet, too tinny, and way too muffled. Not muddy. But muffled.
Using a good reference track while mixing always helps me. I use a song I don't even really like which allows me to concentrate on the sonic qualities rather than the song. No matter how many times I've mixed tunes it still amazes me how your ears can adjust and 'wander off' down a path that's a million miles away from solid, great sound...
Great but you didn't come to the home theater speaker and studio monitors I one guy commented on about.. My mix distorts a bit 1 percebnt .at full volume in smartphones. Any help? Metering is right
reaaaaaaly solid advice. thanks Joe, you gave me many things to think about and i'm better because of you. What I'm going to do immediately after commenting is subscribing, liking and turning alerts on.
I had same issue. I got the free spectral analyzer SPAN used a reference track comparing the SPAN responses to my mix and WOW! That solved the problem. My ears also improved when mixing on monitors because I became familiar with the frequencies of most sounds i use. Get SPAN or any decent SA and you will not be disappointed.
Nice Charlie Brown music to drive the mood home. Good grief!! 😄 I can SOOO relate to this topic. In fact, I just went through this, on my last song. Took about 9 mix iterations until I was happy with the end result.
This is PRICELESS advice. Listen to well mixed music on your monitors. LEARN how they respond to other mixes, just like your headphones (if you use those for mixing). It's just learning how to react to certain frequencies and THEN applying that your mix knowing that they have a dip around a certain frequency and correct it.
Best mix engineer I know uses commercial hi-fi equipment during final mix & mastering. Tracks & mixes intermediate with monitors, then auditions the mix in the commercial stuff. Works a tick. You can do it with monitors, but you're essentially training your ears to hear what the commercial sounds like ON your monitors....you can go direct to the source and mix quite easily. It's just frowned upon, but it absolutely works and it's fast.
You’ve shone the bright light of truth on my musical journey Joe! I’ve tried everything that you mention and you made me laugh 😂 But I’m still plodding through. Thanks for all your advice common sense 👍🎶😊
#2 is a great point, I’ve recently been using songs I love for their production as references, almost to the point of copying them! But it’s mainly just for me to improve my mixing!
Thanks Joe, great advice in this video. I'm in the middle of mixing my EP right now. This is the first time I am mixing on my own and I love the advice. Using references is so important. I haven't been doing that and I need to. Thank you for the reminder.
This right here was the first thing that I learned after making my first edm song. The sub in my truck covered up most of the mids and highs. I didn’t have my sub levels set correctly in my studio. I have found that listening to the mix with my apple AirPod pros at the end gives me a good reference point for other devices like phones, headphones, Bluetooth speakers. I have an awesome system in my truck too (JL audio 13” sub and audio frog components…6x9’s with 2.5” for the highs… running through a mini dsp with JL audio hd900 amp). I typically will listen to the song on all of the above before I push them out to streaming platforms. Big note: never listen to your music over Bluetooth in your car. It compresses the audio. Plug in your phone using lightning bolt or worst case, aux. it’s particularly noticeable on the low frequencies.
Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️ As someone who always loved to play instruments, I started a RUclips channel some months ago, just for the joy of making music and sharing it with others. I began to record myself just with a usb mic and Audacity 😄, suddenly hearing all my mistakes in flute playing (it's so true what you mentioned in point 4), thus getting better with every step. Then, some weeks ago, my way lead me to my first DAW. It was like "woooow, I don't have to use so much real instruments anymore!" 😄 And now everything seems more complicated BUT also more joyful than ever. I made (and will make) lots of mistakes along my way, still standing at the very beginning. Watching my stuff from a few months ago is all other than a pleasure 😂, because I have developed. It is so exciting to see how one's own demands increase with one's ability to do so. When I have finished a recording/video, I listen to my mixes on different devices (mobile, headphones, speaker, TV, etc.), for me this function best and saves me from nervous breakdowns. 😂 Thanks for all the tips to Sudio One, you are helping me a lot. :) Lovely greetings, Meike
Another thing. I have mixed for years and learned to come up with great mixes that translated well across all systems. But that was music with no drums and bass. They were dense mixes that had piano, flute(s), acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard strings and synths and on and on. And I got good at mixing those. Now I feel like I'm back to square one with mixing 100% rock song with drums and bass. I thought, "Oh it'll be a bit of a learning curve, but not too bad." It's BAD....!
I wish there was a video channel just meant for The Music Recording industry, this video production could go viral. Like a movie in the beginning. Well done Brother Joe
better start mixing your tracks inside the car
ive done this a few times its a great exercise
I did that too 😂
Did that lol
I've actually been thinking of that. But how?
I literally do that every time lol
I came up with a simple solution. I brought my car into my home studio :)
Docmansound Music 🤔👍😂
Hahahaha
Gotta get me one of them soundgoodizers. :)
Best solution ever!
loL
Joe:"Has this ever happened to you?"
*jams to country music*
Me: no.
LMAO!
Looool
I think that was Christian music
😂😂😂
Except it’s not country music
I liked the car mix better
😊
Wait that's offensive
@@slurpii4142 you have to admit that the original studio mix is not everyone's style and the sound of the second one is kinda cool with somewhat clean and musical artifacts here. Personally I actually find both mixes sounding great!
Wow thank you so much joe ..I just did an ep that I mixed and master and I was very critical of myself even though I kept on getting all the good feedback from other people that they sounded very good
🤨
I dont even have to do the "car-test" cause my mix already sounds shit on my phone😥😥
BigMike 1017 😂😂😂😂
maybe it's your mix
bro I feel you
😭😂
Phones don't have bass, unless you're using headphones or hooking it up to speakers. I can't stand listening to my songs just from the phone speaker (singular, because there's also no stereo separation on the phone speaker).
i remember the time when i was bad at mixing !! after 8 years i got way better and i was just a producer but now every song i produce includes Mixing+Mastering and more paycheck !!
Eight fucking years???!?!???
mmm yeah ? i was just a music producer making music and now i produce and mix my work !! what is the problem ?
Nice vro... Don't listen to that bitch ass hater, fuck him, we all take different time through out the process, bless up
Mark Angel I wasn’t hating. Just mind blown that (as a beginner mixer) that’s how long it takes to get really good. You took my shit out of context.
Nate David aight cool... Keep working hard and probably you'll take half the time the other guy took... Sorry for the misunderstanding, bless up👊
Spot on the "reason number 2"
I use my NS10s for *everything,* mixing, listening to music, videogame, movies.
The way your brain calibrates on a set of speakers is impressive.
So true!
It's so true - my first produced album seems full of mistakes and not enough understanding about how to mix properly (I'm not judging myself as I recorded and mixed it all alone while studying sound engineering course ) but I noticed how after 3-4 years somehow my knowledge of things increased immensely and even tho I know it's not the end , but production feels miles apart from my first one!
Great advice man
Secret point #6: it could also be your room. If you're mixing in a crappy-sounding room, with no acoustic treatment, this is going to mess with your ability to hear things correctly.
Shal Music/FX ty
Or just wear headphones
Thank you so much for saying that and not just me thinking it. acoustic treatment and consideration of audio reflection is also an issue. remember that a car dont have near as many straight corner surfaces to reflect from. and audio reflects totally different in a car. not to mention all the padding of a cars inside that absorbs some of these reflections
Xpry Headphones will always give a different representation of the sound than speakers, even your 300 dollar sennheisers
For me, they're invaluable nonetheless
I always listen to my mixes as if it were someone else listening to it for the first time. It's a totally different frame of mind, and it's much more about soaking up broad strokes and vibe rather than ultra micro managing tiny details. It's almost like putting mental wool over your ears and stopping yourself zooming in too far.
Good example is the old Bring Me the Horizon Suicide season stuff, the mix is flat out demo-ish yet sold good and was a good record overall, I prefer the raw sound anyways, things have become too processed which is amazing if you can get it but the vibe is of upmost importance.
Yeah.....do the home speakers, headphones, and car test all the time.......
I had to figure this stuff out on my own throughout the course of... 2 or 3 thousand mixes or so... Annnnnd
I just wanted to say it makes me so happy to hear other people saying what I've been thinking for years.
It's so much easier to find bad advice on this stuff than it is to find good advice, everyone wants to be an expert.
That said, you're doing an awesome service to the beginner and intermediate crowd and seriously moving them in the right direction.
Please keep it up.
I loved the opening segment. I call it the "walk of shame" back to the house when the mix sounds horrible in the car. You played the part perfectly. I've made it many times at 1:00 in the morning but I don't have that experience as much these days. I've learned my speakers in both my studio and car by using reference tracks for comparisons. Your recommendation to listen to everything on your studio speakers is spot on and it really works.
Yeah that's the good news, it DOES get better.
I was smiling from ear to ear within five seconds. This happens with every one of my songs! I don't get too bummed because I know I'm not that good, but when I don't know how to diagnose and fix the problem, I end up like Sad Joe. All of your points were spot-on for me.
This is very true actually when u start producing crazy genres especially
I had literal tears running down my face watching the intro to this because I have been living this problem the last week! I think it's just that Inexperience Factor as I'm just learning how to mix properly and that I added a bit too much high end EQ on the masters and killed the drums so now I'm going to try dialing that back and mixing my drums like a saw in your video for that (using a separate Drum Bus). Thanks for this! Gonna watch more of your videos as I go!
After 40 years on stage, and hours in recording studio. I now have my first song with my own home studio. It sounds fantastic because nobody dares to say it sucks. HAHA!
But I'm having a great time. The world of DAW's- pluging's etc. Watched hundreds of videos to get inspired and how to work with your DAW. Learned a lot from your videos how to work in studio one. THX 4 the VID's.
PS: some have no subtitles (I am Dutch)
Even though been doing for many years, I still listen a new mix in my car, but, first I listen to the radio few songs, then swamp to the CD Player (Yes I have an old Toyota), and compare the tone. Radio always sounds louder in my car for some reason (Doh!), so I have to turn my CD up to match.
So why in the car? Well, once my client leaves my studio with a master CD in their hand, first thing they will do is listen on their way home :)
RecordingStudio9.com exactly...
But car sound systems are very different though
Its because your master isnt good enough
number one secret that changed my mixing skills : reference tracks ! I always have reference tracks in my daw when i produce / mix / master, it helps A LOT to not be in a "subjective perfect bubble "
Good video, touched on most of the points needed but one really big issue was left out...
#6 - you can only mix what you hear.
If the actual acoustic “sound” of your home studio is terrible then your mixes will not translate to other environments.
I am a professional sound engineer and have been for over 20 years. I’ve recorded and mixed over 500 albums professional, have Grammy nominations, etc... I notice the acoustics of the room I am mixing in effects the final outcome of the mix moreso than anything else... I can mix on crappy speakers, good speakers, crappy recordings, good recordings, etc. and I can always get a good mix... but when the acoustics of the room are terrible, no matter what I do, my mixes sound terrible and I can’t hear what I need to do to fix it because it sounds great IN THE ROOM I am mixing in.
A lot of ppl don’t realize that untreated rooms impart a lot of comb filtering into the acoustic sound of the room.... what that means is mixing in an untreated room is like mixing with a 31 band EQ on your speakers and a toddler just decided to move all the sliders for all the bands up and down to make a cool looking shape! Lol.
As an example of what I’m talking about put a 31 band EQ across your mix bus and then just mess it up with some bands up 12dB some bands Down 12dB and some at different points in between... now mix a song with that on the mix bus... when you are done and you have the song sounding great, bypass the 31 band EQ and now see what happens to your mix... sounds like complete crap now doesn’t it? That is the same thing that happens when you move your mix from room to room and speaker system to speaker system.
The solution is to get good acoustic treatment and set it up properly. And whatever you do, do not use foam for anything... get the good stuff, Owens Corning 703 fiberglass or roxul mineral wool. The thicker the better.
If you put those panels in the first reflection points and then put some bass traps In the corners it will transform the sound of your home studio space and you will start hearing little subtleties in your tracks you never noticed before.
Agm Smith thx sir
Absolutely. Treatment is super helpful. But I've had fairly minimal treatment in my studio for years and have been able to get good mixes that translate. As long as the room isn't horrendous, and as long as there's not a ridiculous amount of reflections, it's possible to get a good mix. Plus you can always mix on headphones and take the room out of the equation entirely.
Joe Gilder Music ....nnnnnnooooooooo...... (in slow motion action sequence style)....
Mixing in headphones is always a terrible idea because of the way the ear perceives loudness.
Two speakers that are different distances to the listener, even when matched to identical SPL, will sound like different volume levels to the listener. The ear is more sensitive to changes in SPL the closer the sound source is. SMPTE did extensive testing on this in the 70s and 80s.
What that translates to mixing is this... a 2dB change in volume when the speakers are 1 in away from your ears will be a significant, noticeable difference. That same 2dB change on the same instrument, will not be significant if the speaker is 4 or 5 ft away.
So when mixing and you setup balance and start doing automation the mix done on headphones will sound very flat/dull/boring compared to the mix done on speakers because of how much more you do when listening on speakers than on headphones. A volume ride up if 5dB that sounds great on speakers will usually feel too loud on headphones.
Anyway... I would be very surprised if your mixes don’t improve even more from where they are now if you add acoustic treatment behind the speakers (in the book shelf) and hang some overhead if you haven’t already.
... way the EAR perceives sound.... not war... stupid iPhone auto correct.
That is also why the minimum spec for speaker distance to the mix position in the Dolby dub stage specs is 11’ 6”. As the speakers get closer and closer your perception of loudness is skewed.
The Dolby spec is to calibrate the speakers to -18dBFS = +4dBu = 85 dB SPL (c weighted) using pink noise... but only if the speakers are at least 11’ 6” away. Under that you are supposed to use 82dB SPL, 79 dB SPL, and/or 76 dB SPL depending on how close the speakers are because your ears become more sensitive to changes in SPL as the sources get closer.
Beautiful Explanation Champ! Funny Skit too!
I'm thinking what happens is a lot of people starting out will get decent studio monitors, and not knowing how to use them yet, or how things are suppose to sound on them, they mix their song until it sounds like music does in their car. Lots of low end, maybe scooped in the mids area, etc. Then when they get the mix to their car, the mix is over exaggerated. Making it sound like poop.
Yeeeessss. Totally.
Joe Gilder Music
Also two other factors :
1.) Is the room properly treated? (Diffusers, Basstraps, sound absorption)
1a.) Monitor placement
2.) Some people just don’t have a good ear for mixing, you can teach what the tools do : eq/compression/reverb/delay, etc,. (hardware or plugins), mixing broad (faders/panning), explain frequency of what certain voices or instruments “fall in”.... yet if a person doesn’t have a ear, their mixes won’t come out right.
IMHO, you can teach someone how to produce/arrangement & songwriting....but either you have a ear for mixing or you don’t.
ldg_ 7th nah thats not true at all. That doesnt even make sense, how could you percieve music like the rest of us if your ears are "off". Also, it comes down to alot of different things but the main thing is, you should mix in the studio with monitors AND comercial grade equipment. Not only that but a wide range of commercial systems. Earbuds, over ear headphones, bluetooth speakers, sound systems etc. Your music is going to be listened to a variety of commerical grade equipment, not just sound nerds through flat settings all the time. You need to learn how different speakers color your mix and only then can you hear how you want things to sound when everything is flat. Quincy jones was known to test his mixes through tinny radio speakers just to make sure it still had its character as it did through monitors.
Jake Ybarra
Maybe perhaps you should re-read my post, I spoke of room treatment, not ANYWHERE did I say professional grade equipment isn’t required
Seeing that you brought up equipment and somewhere felt as if I’m speaking from inexperience’s....
My Studio A :Mix Room/Post Production
1.) Mac Pro
2.) Apogee Symphony IO
3.) Dangerous Music 2-BUS LT
4.) Dangerous Music Monitor ST
5.) Monitors :
5a.) Focal CMS 40’s
5b.) ADAM A3X
5c.) ADAM A7X
5d.) ADAM Sub-7
*6.) The room is acoustical treated from the building of the rooms (there’s a Studio B also), from insulted walls, solid core doors, to floating floor, the wiring, the room being on its own two separate surge protectors for the rooms, insulation in the ceiling which is pre-wired for 7.2 Dolby ATMOS mixing).
7.) 4 Monster Power Pro 2500 surge protectors.
8.) Sound absorption, diffusers and bass traps.
Again, someone can know and have professional grade equipment but not have a ear for mixing itself. They can know the Technologies but when sitting in the sweet spot with the best equipment and the best room but might not be able to mix to save their life....
Again buying equipment and KNOWING the educational stuff doesn’t mean they can “hear” what sounds good as a mix. It’s not a knock just a fact.... or some mixers just aren’t good at mixing various genres but are GREAT at one or two.
Jake Ybarra
You brought up Quincy Jones who’s my #1 producer/songwriter/composer/arranger/musician along with Burt Bacharach 1a. Those gentlemen are music producers like Prince & Stevie Wonder...a different breed. Also, putting Ryan Leslie/D.J. Quick in there.
Then you take someone like Micheal Jackson, Puffy, Dr. Dre, Jermaine Dupree, D.J. Premier....
All great Artist and Producers in their own right, great ears...they know how to bring the right elements together, arrangement and even composition on some levels....
But perhaps they don’t play instruments at all, nor read music, some of their productions/mixes “might” not come across as polished as the ones that are musicians and can read music, because sonically they aren’t hearing things like a producer who’s also a musician.... that’s all I’m saying.
Again, you teach someone what to listen for....but it’s different and difficult to teach someone how to “hear”.
I just checked my first final mix😆 in my car. Not bad!!! Just need to tweak a few things! Thanks for your help in these videos Joe!!
I can't believe you made this video! 😱, I was afraid I was the only one experiencing this... Thank you!
Everyone knows how it is. Lol
Same
Loved this video!!! When you walk back to the studio with your head down. We have all been there!!!
Just bring your car into the studio... and mix with your car there... problem solved
😂
😄😂i really love this Video. Brings back memories. Used to be the same in the "old" days. That's what you get when falling for an "special offer" cheap Studio, or doing a lot of things wrong while mixing and mastering. Great Video Mr. Gilder
Who else here loves sad Joe? The hanging head walk is priceless!
Totally stole that idea from Arrested Development
Even so, perfectly executed...
Yup, I dig the Vince Guaraldi...
yes! I really felt for him. haha
Oh, yeah, especially to the the peanuts Christmas Song.
using reference tracks though out the production, mix and mastering process is a game changer . More important than the monitoring enviroment in my experience.
pro tip: bring your INTERFACE into your car, and use one of the monitor headphone outputs for audio connecting to the cars aux port. when things dont playback similarly across different speaker types, its usually 50% improper mix environment at your studio, and 50% of the difference comes from a significant difference in playback engine/playback quality. Until you have a properly treated mix environment, just use headphones when EQ'ing. yeah, its kinda a pain in the ass to keep switching back and forth, but until the monitor speakers are in a treated room, your mixes will have huge inconsistencies across different formats + playback devices
I just said that above, and it's so true. There are even a lot of pros with good mix environments who still do this. One thing I also just learned: check the mix in mono. I used to do that sometimes, but man what a reveal for this last mix. The low end was WAY over the top, and in stereo, you just couldn't tell.
One could think that the fact that in a car you have a really low RT60 has a lot to do. And also that the car's cabin response should be relatively flat (low volume, absorption from seats, floor and ceiling for the high frequencies and no reflective surfaces for the low frequencies). It should be interesting measuring the car cabin's response.
Video starts at 2:00
The best suggestion is this: since most of us don’t have an ideal listening perspective in our home studios - mix under a good pair of Sony headphones BUT get an eq correction plug-in like the abbey road studio. These have the ability to eq correct any headphones even a crappy pair of senheisers I’d been using for years.
This will give you a correct perspective of your mix in the cans. This mix will indeed sound correct in any other environment. Trust me this works well !!!
The best trick is to listen a lot of music in the studio.
I'm fortunate because my studio is also my class room where I teach guitar for about 8h a day, every day!
So I listen to tones of stuff on my monitors and my mixing room every day. I know how music sounds there.
That's awesome
Joe, Thank you for all of these videos. I've been watching them daily and I'm gaining alot of functional knowledge. I just read the cheat sheet and really appreciated that too. Keep it up man, You're doing the Lord's work.
For point #2, "HDTracks" is an amazing resource for referencing high quality professional and modern music/masters
👍
I find I have setup time in my studio prior to getting to work on recording or mixing. Moving gear around... changing cables, general clean up or organization, etc.
During this time I usually will listen to some music on my studio system. Not just for the entertainment but also to acclimate my ears to the room and the sound system.
Actually it might be that you mix your songs in stereo which may sound good to the ears in your studio because of the monitors and whatever so when you are in your car the mix is coming to you in mono as you sit closely to one of the speaker the trick here ladies and gentleman is to mix in mono. Thank me later
that sounds like a quote from that guy from recordingevolution
- Yes, mix in mono.
- And when making a stereo mix, convert that stereo mix to mono to review any problems that will show up when the stereo mix is played on mono equipment. There might even be phasing issues, canceling signals when the stereo channels are combined in one channel.
- Also when making a stereo mix, review each of the channels individually. Do they miss important signals when the other channel is missing? This might help for situations where the stereo placement of speakers is less than ideal.
It's not imperative to mix in mono, CLA has always said he never mixes in mono. It's all about what works best for you
At least, always check how a stereo mix sounds on mono equipment.
Ratelzwatel Oh definitely, if you've got the option then it does you no harm
Surely everyone has been in this exact situation. Years ago I also had issues trying to get mixes sounding good on my Bose dock as that unit is rather bass-heavy. This video is invaluable and also entertaining
Mix in mono, problem solved
passpace10 even vocals?
The Polygamist If you want your vocals to sit well in the middle of the mix, they should be in mono
@@jtan484 soo your saying switch to mono on vocals not stereo
@@jmizzbeatsj-jigga7888 by default, vox should always be on a mono track
@@jmizzbeatsj-jigga7888 vocals are alwayss in mono
Great info and presentation. Love the walk back from the car… eerily familiar.
1:05 Priceless Look 😂🤣😂 totally been there
I tried stereo spread plugin on stereo out. Also mastering will help
Does mixing in general make y'all depressed af?
Yes. Yes it does.
By far the best mixing tip video on RUclips.
Thanks! I'm buying a car now!
Joe, I marvel at your ability to speak clearly, amusingly and informatively without visible notes. While you're navigating us through a Studio One routine, you don't constantly hit us with that foolish waste of words, "What I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna....". You just explain what you're doing without force-marching us through a trough of word salad, ummm's and unedited onscreen "discoveries". We don't have to endure dozens of repetitions in a single video of "I'm gonna go ahead and..." In others' tutorials I've heard that refrain accompanying a move back to a previous step(!). Often, both phrases are strung together in a continuous mess of nonsense: "What I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna go ahead and...."
You just do it.
I know, picky-picky. But it's irritating to hear those constant interruptions while the speaker thinks of the next word.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generous gift of thoughtful videos -- we're blessed.
LOL those word salads. "So, what I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna go ahead and begin to actually sort of just slightly modify the EQ a little." Yeah. For some reason that stuff is contagious between videos. I wonder how many hours of you tube are wasted with long-winded rambling. I know it's hard when you're shooting spontaneously, but I'd have to say, use notes, at least prepare a mental outline, and do some final editing. SAVE US ALL from the salad. (This video is salad-free.)
@@dwcapture Well said, Danny. I'm glad there's at least one fellow sufferer out there. Thanks for the reply!
You are too funny. This is so true. Now I critique every radio song in my car. Singing the hoots of the snare drum on a STP song. Or will someone please put a deesser on Alanis Morissette's vocal!!
Have watched many of your vids and this is my favorite. Had me laughing and learning all at the same time. Today I learned my truck stereo may be loud but that does not necessarily mean good. Thanks Joe!
I was in tears @1:01 🤣😭😂💀 bruh you funny af man good shit
Thanks dude. 👊
I love the way you put this video together. I have no choice but to subscribe.
3:08 Solution: simply listen to darksideofthemoon and immediatly go back to your mix
I generally use Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but I wouldn’t argue with Dark Side of the Moon. If you’re making any kind of rock record those are two of the best sounding albums you could find. Mellon Collie is pretty bass heavy, but it has the added benefit of having a wide range of musical styles so it’s particularly good as a reference.
@@godofspacetime333 Thanks pal, will give it a shot!
Edit: mellon has some 350-400hz bump. Try billie jean(@pasadena march 25 1983)
Very nice tips Joe!
And tip number 4 is so true.
Or to say with the words John Wolfert from JAM creative in Dallas ones said: there's is no formula for mixing, it's takes a lot of listening and creativity.
The reason is that you spend your money in the studio, not on a car! Greetz
Ha ha ha. Busted.
Hakuna Matata
3:49 what's the difference between using low budget studio monitors and ns10s or mixcubes ?
Try to make sure ur decibel's aren't too high
I’m a beginner, but I always try to create a test track and stream or play across multiple environments (Sonos speaker, car, mobile device, etc). It’s basic and obvious, but it helps me learn ...
Instructions not clear enough I just bought a new truck with a system in it....
Great advise! Recording and Mixing/Mastering is not easy! I've been a musician for 50 years and recorded for EMI in the 80's in different studios. I know what it takes just on equipment, but also on knowing how to use it. For my own home demo recordings I had one go to Benchmark: my BOSE Wave Radio! No buttons to turn, no nothing, so if it sounded good on that, it was good enough. :)
i know why your mixes are sound bad..look at your room and your speakers...wtf is going on
Forgot to mention: People tend to play their mixes at high volumes while they're working on them. Because of this they reduce the lower frequencies [which tend to sound 'louder' than the higher frequencies at higher volumes]; which results in top-heavy tracks without any warmth or depth that only sound good when played loud through good speakers/ headphones.
Why does your car have a ringmodulator ? :D
You can never tire of bands rocking out to the stuff on the big Genelec monitors and the look of confusion and "Why?" when the engineer switches to the Auratones (aka "Horrortones"). Every time.😆
- Know how to Mix/ Master: Bass
Bizzy Mo
Also two other factors :
1.) Is the room properly treated? (Diffusers, Basstraps, sound absorption)
1a.) Monitor placement
2.) Some people just don’t have a good ear for mixing, you can teach what the tools do : eq/compression/reverb/delay, etc,. (hardware or plugins), mixing broad (faders/panning), explain frequency of what certain voices or instruments “fall in”.... yet if a person doesn’t have a ear, their mixes won’t come out right.
IMHO, you can teach someone how to produce/arrangement & songwriting....but either you have a ear for mixing or you don’t.
One of the best things I ever did for my mixes was start listening to all music on my studio monitors. I avoided other headphones and speakers for months to recalibrate myself.
'Life is one big disappointment'
👍
you are 100% correct my friend. here are some tips to improve the mix
1.use fewer instruments or sounds to reduce phase issues
2.cut the low end on the instruments to improve clarity
3.practice proper panning techniques to designate particular instrument placement
4.use sidechain compressor/limiters to give priority to the most important part of the track
5.learn which sounds should be stereo separated and which should be merged.
6.watch the master meter to prevent clipping
7.take breaks and give your ears and mind a pallet cleanse
8.compare you mix to other well mixed and mastered songs within the same genera
9.make multiple mixes and apply the parts of the mixes you like into a final mix
10.don't let your personal preference compromise a perfect mix
11.listen to criticism you may have overlooked something important
12.leave a couple of dBs of room so the mastering effects do not put the mix past 0dB
13.keep it simple
BONUS TIP!!! (this only applies to those who will be composing the arrangement, mixing it and mastering all by themselves)
APPLY YOUR MASTERING EFFECTS FROM THE BEGINNING BEFORE YOU START THE MUSICAL COMPOSITION!! this will keep you from having to remix the levels after mastering.
Christmas tiiiiime is heeeeeere...
😂😂
0:22 that weird spiral cover. It's that book about writing your goals down isn't it? My uncle gave me one of those!
YES!!! Written by Seth Godin and lots of stuff from Zig Ziglar.
haha :D nice! (also the algo blessed me with recommendations to your channel today! bless the algo!)
It's definitely a faulty iPhone adapter :D .. Anyway I'll add also to mix others people music this help alot, and not just that but master mixes done by others.
I take my mpc live to the car regularly now during mixing to avoid the disappointment of the exported track fail
The real answer is that almost everyone has no idea what they're doing and are too lazy to find out and most likely have never really succeeded at anything because they're incompetent. For those that aren't incompetent, unfortunately, the information is so scattered on RUclips that someone would have to watch dozens of the correct videos to know a quarter of the essentials. Also, most everyone can't afford much more than the computer they have to mix on. My advice is to motivate yourself to really try, for once, to be good at something. Then you'll start committing to put in real effort. Expect to invest hundreds of hours...yes, hundreds. Don't like the truth? Then this isn't for you.
What do you think isn't covered by these channels, I'm curious.
RyanWisemanMusic You would have to watch them all to find out. That's my point.
I'm asking what you wish to see. The essentials one needs to know varies on the artistic voice of the person. People do spend 100s of hours on this craft and it takes this time to improve. The journey doesn't have to be nearly as painful and I'm curious to what topics should be covered outside of sound design (because this topic has been covered extensively and I'm not worried about the lack of sound design tutorials in the nearby future).
What I think should be covered in an "essentials" video is going to be nothing more than a subjective viewpoint. It cannot cover every genre because what one does for mixing rap, isn't the same as one mixing orchestral, and so on. The art of mixing is better presented in a multi-part series by one producer that knows the physics of sound, engineering of mixing and mastering, and has the gift of translation; this is assuming that everyone has some form of music theory. That person...does not exist and most people going into this have no formal music theory training. I believe, one can still learn the craft crippled by lack of music theory but basic elements of song making can become second nature by simply practicing and learning from experience. So, back to my point...the information is scattered. My advice is to seek knowledge from reputable sources beginning with university textbooks. Look for them on Amazon. You won't learn everything from a book but you will learn what NOT to do. Don't spend money on plugins unless you know how to use stock ones really well and have already created something good with them.
But yea...a series. I consider myself an intermediate-advanced user in this craft. I do have degrees in mathematics and physics, 30 years of composing and music theory and I still am learning. Although, what I learn is mostly techniques not really something that I didn't already know. I have to admit, knowing physics really takes a lot of the guesswork out of the technical aspects that destroy great mixes. Math skills help know what my sound is doing because most of mixing is just a function of time.
TheChosenOne As someone with more traditional training and is in university for a degree in this (recording arts and singer/songwriter), the merits you assign to this teacher is absurd.
There is a lot to be taught in terms of stock plug ins, but there are many limitations including lack of a solid multiband compressor. There are great stock plug ins that exist. You could teach an entire course on Logic's Alchemy.
At some point I'd love to address people's questions in videos. There is loads of content to make outside of showing people how to make a DAW. You can also make videos on helping people make viable melodies for EDM production.
I'm curious to what you struggle with as a genuine question. I don't care about how this is all subjective, I'm curious to what YOUR concerns are
Dude- Thank you so much for putting this channel up- your videos are helping me enormously, I Have learned so much from watching how you do your recordings the last few weeks, and now understand why my stuff stands to improve tremendously thanks to your GIRATS concept, and yeah - i never got it right at the source.
Your voice sounds like James Hetfield's voice :v
I had a different situation. My computer was adding it's own audio enhancements to my exported mixes. It seems like not a lot of people have this problem but my computer was adding things to improve a gamers 3D sound within the audio, creating digital distortion. In your audio preferences there is a tab called enhancements, try shutting these off and export your mix again to see if your computer is adding it's own processing.
oh man, I was watching myself in this video..hihihi
Like
:)
Definitely subscribing. Your one of the few people who actually talk about this part of mixing
My car has ass speakers lol
Haha. Mine too
Ford Taurus has the worst speakers. They sound different every time you turn the car on. Some days the bass is too heavy and some days the bass is non existent. I even tested it by playing the same file on different days through the same source (aux). Kept car audio settings the same and my phone audio settings the same. No matter what, they always sound too quiet, too tinny, and way too muffled. Not muddy. But muffled.
A good mix will sound good on crappy speakers. A poor mix sounds crappy on all speakers.
Using a good reference track while mixing always helps me. I use a song I don't even really like which allows me to concentrate on the sonic qualities rather than the song. No matter how many times I've mixed tunes it still amazes me how your ears can adjust and 'wander off' down a path that's a million miles away from solid, great sound...
Haha......every time!!!
The struggle is REAL!
Great but you didn't come to the home theater speaker and studio monitors I one guy commented on about.. My mix distorts a bit 1 percebnt .at full volume in smartphones. Any help? Metering is right
What is this white dad music?
a. I am white. ✅
b. I have kids. ✅
makes sense
You nailed it, bro.
reaaaaaaly solid advice. thanks Joe, you gave me many things to think about and i'm better because of you. What I'm going to do immediately after commenting is subscribing, liking and turning alerts on.
Thanks!
0:50 So glad that The Mars Volta are back in the studio!!!
LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS VIDEO! YOU JUST GOT YOURSELF A NEW SUBSCRIBER ✨
I had same issue. I got the free spectral analyzer SPAN used a reference track comparing the SPAN responses to my mix and WOW! That solved the problem. My ears also improved when mixing on monitors because I became familiar with the frequencies of most sounds i use. Get SPAN or any decent SA and you will not be disappointed.
Nice Charlie Brown music to drive the mood home. Good grief!! 😄 I can SOOO relate to this topic. In fact, I just went through this, on my last song. Took about 9 mix iterations until I was happy with the end result.
Nothing but facts. All spot on. Thank you!
Great advice! Other way around for me since my car has Focal Utopia and my home studio is just head phones lol.
This is PRICELESS advice. Listen to well mixed music on your monitors. LEARN how they respond to other mixes, just like your headphones (if you use those for mixing). It's just learning how to react to certain frequencies and THEN applying that your mix knowing that they have a dip around a certain frequency and correct it.
Best mix engineer I know uses commercial hi-fi equipment during final mix & mastering. Tracks & mixes intermediate with monitors, then auditions the mix in the commercial stuff. Works a tick. You can do it with monitors, but you're essentially training your ears to hear what the commercial sounds like ON your monitors....you can go direct to the source and mix quite easily. It's just frowned upon, but it absolutely works and it's fast.
You’ve shone the bright light of truth on my musical journey Joe!
I’ve tried everything that you mention and you made me laugh 😂
But I’m still plodding through. Thanks for all your advice common sense 👍🎶😊
#2 is a great point, I’ve recently been using songs I love for their production as references, almost to the point of copying them! But it’s mainly just for me to improve my mixing!
I love your humor and comedy at the start of the video
Thanks Joe, great advice in this video. I'm in the middle of mixing my EP right now. This is the first time I am mixing on my own and I love the advice. Using references is so important. I haven't been doing that and I need to. Thank you for the reminder.
The first time I put one of my songs on the stereo of my car and heard it sounded good, my face was: I fuc*ing did it
Pricless feeling
This right here was the first thing that I learned after making my first edm song. The sub in my truck covered up most of the mids and highs. I didn’t have my sub levels set correctly in my studio. I have found that listening to the mix with my apple AirPod pros at the end gives me a good reference point for other devices like phones, headphones, Bluetooth speakers. I have an awesome system in my truck too (JL audio 13” sub and audio frog components…6x9’s with 2.5” for the highs… running through a mini dsp with JL audio hd900 amp). I typically will listen to the song on all of the above before I push them out to streaming platforms.
Big note: never listen to your music over Bluetooth in your car. It compresses the audio. Plug in your phone using lightning bolt or worst case, aux. it’s particularly noticeable on the low frequencies.
Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️ As someone who always loved to play instruments, I started a RUclips channel some months ago, just for the joy of making music and sharing it with others. I began to record myself just with a usb mic and Audacity 😄, suddenly hearing all my mistakes in flute playing (it's so true what you mentioned in point 4), thus getting better with every step. Then, some weeks ago, my way lead me to my first DAW. It was like "woooow, I don't have to use so much real instruments anymore!" 😄 And now everything seems more complicated BUT also more joyful than ever. I made (and will make) lots of mistakes along my way, still standing at the very beginning. Watching my stuff from a few months ago is all other than a pleasure 😂, because I have developed. It is so exciting to see how one's own demands increase with one's ability to do so.
When I have finished a recording/video, I listen to my mixes on different devices (mobile, headphones, speaker, TV, etc.), for me this function best and saves me from nervous breakdowns. 😂
Thanks for all the tips to Sudio One, you are helping me a lot. :)
Lovely greetings, Meike
Another thing. I have mixed for years and learned to come up with great mixes that translated well across all systems. But that was music with no drums and bass. They were dense mixes that had piano, flute(s), acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard strings and synths and on and on. And I got good at mixing those. Now I feel like I'm back to square one with mixing 100% rock song with drums and bass. I thought, "Oh it'll be a bit of a learning curve, but not too bad." It's BAD....!
Yeah it happen to me too .....love this tuturial
I wish there was a video channel just meant for The Music Recording industry, this video production could go viral. Like a movie in the beginning. Well done Brother Joe
😊 Thanks Alpha.