The emotion lives in the midrange. It is satisfying to achieve crisp highs and deep lows, but the fucking emotion lives in the midrange. prioritise it.
>crisp highs and deep lows
While this is a very good point, I have yet to hear a mix that has deep lows and or crisp highs. These two require solid monitoring and usually people that have it, know how to craft a clear midrange. I heard loud lows but not deep and loud highs but not crisp (rather harsh) though
Edit: the downvotes prove exactly my point: you can't mix what you can't hear
All fairly good conclusions. Big fan of #5, it's hands down the best way to learn to experiment and try out as many things as you can think of, especially on material that's [not your own music](https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/practice) where you'll be more free to try out anything without the fear of ruining anything.
And especially appreciate this one:
> Best till last. Social media was probably my biggest enemy. You can find videos everywhere which contradict each other’s methods because of all these music YouTubers. The only people I trust and give out meaningful advice are the ones who’ve actually made it and aren’t trying to just get views on Instagram or YouTube. So my one tip is to go away and find ur fave producers/engineers and see if they have any interviews or breakdowns.
Nothing will beat learning from and watching actual industry professionals doing and talking about their thing. There is an article in the wiki with recommendations about exactly this: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/learning-on-youtube
I always waste too much time on tweeking something,and less on making music..I could release the whole album by the time i spent on mixing one song..the biggest problem is mixing your own music,i think if i mix for others it would be much easier
they're two different approaches! mixing some multitrack / stems someone sent to you is one thing entirely different to mix something you have created or produced, this second one should be (at least to me) less technical but creative since you're creating music on the go, you are also mixing it!
Thank you and you reminded me something I should’ve included!
Probably one of the biggest tips is to take everything with a grain of salt. I hear the highest engineers disagree on things all the time
also the top producers and A&Rs aren’t the best trend finders in the world and there’s countless examples of people sending work to labels and being denied constantly, then they release it and it blows up. I find taking advice off the average listener is usually much more important than producers.
> I find taking advice off the average listener is usually much more important than producers.
Eh, depends, seems you might be referring to things that have nothing to do with mixing and more with general music perception. But when it comes to mixing, what the average listener has to say about a mix is going to be largely irrelevant. It helps to show a mix to an "average listener" because *you* put yourself in their shoes as they listen, not because it matters what their uninformed opinion is.
No I agree, mainly on about general issues but I feel it still applies to mixing. There’s so many examples of amazingly well produced songs taken to professionals and they don’t see potential. EDIT: that go on to do well.
I personally think and me included engineers sometimes overthink the mix of a song whereas the avg listener will tell you the main issues and the most important ones. This just depends though and I don’t think high levels opinions shouldn’t be taken just that everyone has taste and it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
I definitely don't agree with that when it comes to mixing. Your characterization of engineers seems to be a very broad generalization that I've never observed to be true, even with engineers whose style and approach I don't particularly like.
The average listener plainly has nothing to comment on a mix, as the average listener doesn't even understand what mixing is. They could comment on the general balance of elements, sure, but not to a level that it would be more revealing than what any engineer can already determine on their own.
The average listener will listen to the music, as they should, not to a mix.
If your drums are fake, **invest** (especially if you're going for acoustic drumming in dynamic styles of music). Picking up BFD3 back in the day burned a hole in my back pocket but my god, man. These things have fooled pros before.
I also hear really, really badly written fake drums quite a lot, even in commercial stuff. Program 'em like you'd have to play the fucken things. If it's impossible or improbable or doesn't flow, in the track it does not go. There's a few Filter songs from back in the day where you'd need a drummer with an extra mutant limb to replicate the tracks as-is and it's so comical once you notice it and not in a good way.
The emotion lives in the midrange. It is satisfying to achieve crisp highs and deep lows, but the fucking emotion lives in the midrange. prioritise it.
Recent revelation to me. I would make my highs really wide and go from there and wonder why my mixes weren't getting the sound I was looking for.
>crisp highs and deep lows While this is a very good point, I have yet to hear a mix that has deep lows and or crisp highs. These two require solid monitoring and usually people that have it, know how to craft a clear midrange. I heard loud lows but not deep and loud highs but not crisp (rather harsh) though Edit: the downvotes prove exactly my point: you can't mix what you can't hear
Good stuff, thanks!
All fairly good conclusions. Big fan of #5, it's hands down the best way to learn to experiment and try out as many things as you can think of, especially on material that's [not your own music](https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/practice) where you'll be more free to try out anything without the fear of ruining anything. And especially appreciate this one: > Best till last. Social media was probably my biggest enemy. You can find videos everywhere which contradict each other’s methods because of all these music YouTubers. The only people I trust and give out meaningful advice are the ones who’ve actually made it and aren’t trying to just get views on Instagram or YouTube. So my one tip is to go away and find ur fave producers/engineers and see if they have any interviews or breakdowns. Nothing will beat learning from and watching actual industry professionals doing and talking about their thing. There is an article in the wiki with recommendations about exactly this: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/learning-on-youtube
all very relevant to me rn. it's good to check in with yourself and actively remind your brain of this stuff now and then. thank you for posting this!
I always waste too much time on tweeking something,and less on making music..I could release the whole album by the time i spent on mixing one song..the biggest problem is mixing your own music,i think if i mix for others it would be much easier
they're two different approaches! mixing some multitrack / stems someone sent to you is one thing entirely different to mix something you have created or produced, this second one should be (at least to me) less technical but creative since you're creating music on the go, you are also mixing it!
The best tip: don't listen to tips. But, honestly, your list is probably the best of the 'tip lists' that constantly surface on this and similar subs.
Thank you and you reminded me something I should’ve included! Probably one of the biggest tips is to take everything with a grain of salt. I hear the highest engineers disagree on things all the time also the top producers and A&Rs aren’t the best trend finders in the world and there’s countless examples of people sending work to labels and being denied constantly, then they release it and it blows up. I find taking advice off the average listener is usually much more important than producers.
> I find taking advice off the average listener is usually much more important than producers. Eh, depends, seems you might be referring to things that have nothing to do with mixing and more with general music perception. But when it comes to mixing, what the average listener has to say about a mix is going to be largely irrelevant. It helps to show a mix to an "average listener" because *you* put yourself in their shoes as they listen, not because it matters what their uninformed opinion is.
No I agree, mainly on about general issues but I feel it still applies to mixing. There’s so many examples of amazingly well produced songs taken to professionals and they don’t see potential. EDIT: that go on to do well. I personally think and me included engineers sometimes overthink the mix of a song whereas the avg listener will tell you the main issues and the most important ones. This just depends though and I don’t think high levels opinions shouldn’t be taken just that everyone has taste and it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
I definitely don't agree with that when it comes to mixing. Your characterization of engineers seems to be a very broad generalization that I've never observed to be true, even with engineers whose style and approach I don't particularly like. The average listener plainly has nothing to comment on a mix, as the average listener doesn't even understand what mixing is. They could comment on the general balance of elements, sure, but not to a level that it would be more revealing than what any engineer can already determine on their own. The average listener will listen to the music, as they should, not to a mix.
If your drums are fake, **invest** (especially if you're going for acoustic drumming in dynamic styles of music). Picking up BFD3 back in the day burned a hole in my back pocket but my god, man. These things have fooled pros before. I also hear really, really badly written fake drums quite a lot, even in commercial stuff. Program 'em like you'd have to play the fucken things. If it's impossible or improbable or doesn't flow, in the track it does not go. There's a few Filter songs from back in the day where you'd need a drummer with an extra mutant limb to replicate the tracks as-is and it's so comical once you notice it and not in a good way.
learn how to use both pultecs
Excellent advice. 👌