What was the most important technique/trick that put our mixes to the next level?

[tuflek]

Listening and analyzing work of great mixers,running songs thru eq and tearing them apart trying to figure out what and how they did it.

[biggator6]

A lot of people have mentioned using distortion at mix time...

Anyone want to get specific on what they use and how they like to use it?

[u b k]

Originally Posted by biggator6

A lot of people have mentioned using distortion at mix time...

Anyone want to get specific on what they use and how they like to use it?

a tiny little bit in multiple stages on every thing, or damn near everything. get it where i can... tape, trafo's, line amps, guitar amps, pedal, plugins, whatever.

or, a whole lot on a (real, not duped) double; take that second vocal track and distort it to hell, lowpass the fizz, tuck it up under the main vox.

same with bass.

same with... whatever you got.


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[Jason Poulin]

1. Hearing the end result before mixing. It's easier to reach for something than to experiment and hopefully find something cool.

2. Know what you want

3. Know what your gear sounds like

4. Less is more

5. Make sure you listening room is well treated.



Jason

[dbbubba]

Some people have shown a bit of irritation when people talk about how important good players are to the process, but it is really so much the source material (the stuff we are recording) that influences the final product.

Good players tend to have good instruments, kits and rigs. They have technique that helps the recording. They know how to play for recording. This stuff helps make a mixer's life so much easier. Things just move quicker and you don't have to waste your creative energy and time on players who can't play the parts accurately or with groove.

There have been moments when the light bulb went off over my head though.
1.) not using dBx NR Type I (1975)
2.) not using bad sounding reverb even if it is the only reverb available (1975)
3.) not filling every track because it is open (1977)
4.) using room tone instead of reverb (1981)
5.) printing to tape hard (1986)
6.) double tracking rhythm GTRs (1986)
7.) stacking BG vocals (1986)
8.) not tracking an entire piece in one night! (1979)
BIG THINGS:
NOT USING FAKE SNARE AMBIENCE! (1991 thru 1995)
Mixing in sections and assembling everything later (1989)
Not using every piece of gear in the rack

My thirty years of mixing have yielded moments where the "mix lightbulb" went off over my head, but in most cases I came to realize that something worked really well after a period of time. Some realizations came as much as a year or years later!

Eventually, these moments of "vision" became practice.

It is a slow process.
A lot of little tricks that add up to THE BIG PICTURE.

Danny Brown

[shack jonz]

Originally Posted by biggator6

A lot of people have mentioned using distortion at mix time...

Anyone want to get specific on what they use and how they like to use it?

The last mix I did, I bussed a couple of things(Kick/Snr/HH/Gtrs/Bass/Vox/Pads) into a SansAmp plug in and printed it. BTW, I put a snare at the front and lined up the printed Distortion track. I found that even with Delay Copmpensation in my PT HD2 rig I heard a touch of phasing so the manual line-up worked much better. Really helped the mix alot.

[dokushoka]

Originally Posted by biggator6

A lot of people have mentioned using distortion at mix time...

Anyone want to get specific on what they use and how they like to use it?

I think Spike Stent's mixes are a wonderful study of the use of distortion in a mix.

[Watersound]

I just have to say, this is a really exceptional thread and I am reading and re-reading through it. This to me is what the essence of Gearslutz.com is about- sharing with each other what we are learning- music needs our help! Thanks to all of you- I have learned a lot and I am very greatful for this wonderful resource. One great thing I have learned recently is don't be afraid to make a decision and stick with it. Just because you can recall (if you have the ability to) doesn't mean you should worry about it later. With computers it becomes even easier to put off until tomorrow what you should do today. Happy mixing!!

John

[stevep]

What was the most important technique/trick that put our mixes to the next level?

Using no compression and letting the music use all the available dynamic range

[lpkyer]

Originally Posted by stevep

Using no compression and letting the music use all the available dynamic range

This one is no easy one
I'm currently on a compression cure. I will limit myself to 4:1 on bad players.

[stevep]

Originally Posted by lpkyer

This one is no easy one
I'm currently on a compression cure. I will limit myself to 4:1 on bad players.

Or just limit your tracking to good players LoL

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

Mixing in sections and assembling everything later (1989)

yep.. use computers for what they're good for... editing.

if you mix in sections you can get more extreme with sounds because you're only using that sound for one part of the song... i love working this way... but it's a PITA to convince other ppl of this.

[picksail]

Confidence.

[b-magical]

Radical EQing!!! Abandoning pre concieved notions of what things should sound like and making them sound how I feel they should sound that's appropriate for the mix.

[Ravian]

constantly training the ear.
know the freq. in the spectum with your ear. before you eq.
train your ear every day.
if i go in to a room i listen to the room's acoustic.
o nice reverb. or a lot of 500 hz build up etc. ect.
i do it uncounsious now.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by noiseflaw

Well I've nearly done that a few times, but not with the intention of getting a great mix!

Also sometimes that is what I feel like doing when I think I've got a great mix only to return to the studio in the morning to realize it sucked............

lol

sorry - not meaning to be offensive. i mean no disrespect to anyone.

i really don't. and my stupid joke was NOT anti-muslim.

i was just stupid and silly, and anyone who wants to take it seriously

can certainly do this, if they want to get all riled up,

but, it's not worth it - and they will be wasting their time,

because i respect all people of all faiths, races, colors, sexes, etc.


and, as for those gear-concerned, despite the fact that i often

"clown around" here, i've also got tons of serious posts,


so you felluz are:

a) not doing thorough research AND making generalizations

b) taking yourelves too seriously


it's just, these threads are typically repetative and predictable,

and i get bored with how seriously everyone takes themselves,

that's all.


let's not fight. i apologize for saying anything

offensive to anyone - it was not meant that way.

i really do not wish to hurt or belittle anyone here.


that said, i wish you all a great holiday.

sorry for the OT, back OT.

..

[picksail]

Originally Posted by b-magical

Radical EQing!!! Abandoning pre concieved notions of what things should sound like and making them sound how I feel they should sound that's appropriate for the mix.

And it sounds soooooooo good!!!!

(Brian, charge the damned phone!!!!!)

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by Sqye

i was just stupid and silly

Yes you were, the question to ask yourself: is it necessary to be stupid and silly here on GS? If you care about the discussions here you could show some respect.

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by RainbowStorm

Yes you were, the question to ask yourself: is it necessary to be stupid and silly here on GS? If you care about the discussions here you could show some respect.

the guy was obviously joking... dont spike the ball.

[firby]

Musician/Project/budget studio here.

1. Track and mix every day. New Project. I mean track it and then mix it, then go to bed. Then do it another one tommorow.

2. Parallel compression.

3. Mix on a console baby !

4. Know absolutely every nuance of your gear. There is more mileage left in your less than stellar gear than you realize.

5. If something sounds odd try embracing it!

6. In a project studio, often getting sounds on the way in is more key to getting them in the mixing process.

7. Don't get hung up on creating a masterpiece every time you compose. Just make the muse sound how it wants to sound and the masterpieces will come.

Merry Christmas!

[Midlandmorgan]

Some things that have really helped me in the past few years:

- use the absolute minimum number of tracks to get the job done
- pan positioning has gone from all over the map to L/C/R, and let the natural ambience of the instruments fill up the spaces
- If going for a live feel, place all the instruments (vox included) as if you were listening at a small jazz club, no PA...(of course for jazz)...this means hard panning all drums...
- layering reverbs when needed to create an ambience lost in the tracking process
- not forcing my personality/preferences onto the final product, but adding them in small doses, and remembering that the engineer is not the reason for the recording.
- countless hours of experimentation, research, comparisons, etc...then roadmapping out how it all will get done...
- running entire mixes through 1/2 in tape, then back in, auditioning several different compression schemes on the way to the tape, and examining the interactions....
- understanding that at some usually well defined point, mixes don't get better, they just get different.

[six_wax]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

...

My thirty years of mixing have yielded moments where the "mix lightbulb" went off over my head, but in most cases I came to realize that something worked really well after a period of time. Some realizations came as much as a year or years later!

Eventually, these moments of "vision" became practice.

It is a slow process.

Awesome!

[six_wax]

Latest:

1. Bass is an illusion.
2. Wideband reverb = mud. EQ sends & returns relentlessly.
3. Perfectly balanced is perfectly boring.

The distortion thing is pretty huge as well...

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by 3rd world order

the guy was obviously joking... dont spike the ball.

Yeah the joke was soooo funny! tutt

[blackwatch]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

There have been moments when the light bulb went off over my head though.
1.) not using dBx NR Type I (1975)
2.) not using bad sounding reverb even if it is the only reverb available (1975)
3.) not filling every track because it is open (1977)
4.) using room tone instead of reverb (1981)
5.) printing to tape hard (1986)
6.) double tracking rhythm GTRs (1986)
7.) stacking BG vocals (1986)
8.) not tracking an entire piece in one night! (1979)
BIG THINGS:
NOT USING FAKE SNARE AMBIENCE! (1991 thru 1995)
Mixing in sections and assembling everything later (1989)
Not using every piece of gear in the rack

It is a slow process.
A lot of little tricks that add up to THE BIG PICTURE.

Danny Brown

nice!

When I learned:
LISTENING is an active event.

Twist the knobs and listen to what they do.. Don't over think it.

JUST Twist and listen. Let your ears tell you what's true, Don't go by what you "think" you should hear, or what you expect to hear when you twist the knobs.


DON'T OVERTHINK IT.


And as my friend above said.

CONFIDENCE. You have to know you can do it before you start.

[doubledecker]

One of the most important tools at your disposal is the mute button.
When used creatively it can help balance frequencies, it can create space and movement, it can create dynamics, and when in experienced hands it can help better the mix simply by removing channels that somebody less experienced have put there in the first place.

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by no ssl yet

When I learned:
LISTENING is an active event. Twist the knobs and listen to what they do.. Don't over think it. JUST Twist and listen. Let your ears tell you what's true, Don't go by what you "think" you should hear, or what you expect to hear when you twist the knobs.

I think this is a very good trick/technique. This is pretty much the same focus I got when I started to think in frequencies. I needed to understand two things:

1. I can't see the sound or see what I need to do in order to hear the frequencies I need.

2. I don't always know what frequencies I want or what frequencies I am able to get from what I have, I need to explore

So by letting yourself free by twisting and listening is a good way of reaching the next level. Great advice no ssl yet!

[picksail]

Originally Posted by no ssl yet

When I learned:
LISTENING is an active event.

Twist the knobs and listen to what they do.. Don't over think it.

JUST Twist and listen. Let your ears tell you what's true, Don't go by what you "think" you should hear, or what you expect to hear when you twist the knobs.


DON'T OVERTHINK IT.


And as my friend above said.

CONFIDENCE. You have to know you can do it before you start.

You got it my brutha!!!!

Much love to you back home.

[DeathMonkey]

Originally Posted by JP11

The funny thing is...

if all the other crap is in place, how hard is mixing really?

For those of us in non pro situations...the thing(s) that make it hard are fighting all the less than stellar issues...

if you're working with lousy intruments, a lousy room, weak mic collection, mediocre monitors, mediocre songs/arrangements, average singers, crappy computer, uncomfortable chair, stuffy room, neighbors making noise, and on and on...mixing is going to be pretty much a bitch all the way around...

if you're in a pro environment with top gear and top musicians and top songs, how hard is it to set the faders and pan some shit and snort some coke and scoop up the sloppy seconds...

I'm going to +1 this. While I do some mixes for my clients on smaller budgets, I am a firm believer in the idea that as each step in the chain gets better, the cumulative effect is greater than the sum of it's parts, and understanding one's role in said chain is important.

I want to learn how to do it all, but I understand that I have gifts and limitations, and that there will always be people who specialize in certain things to which I just don't have the time to devote.

So I learned to do what I am good at - getting decent sounds (more importantly envisioning effective sounds to fit the song), getting good performances, shaping songs, coming up with parts, and helping artists get the best expression of their vision onto the disk. And that means getting the help of good recording engineers, good mixing and mastering engineers, and giving them the best raw material I can so they can do their job, and instead of fixing all of my mistakes, they can instead take that time to really make the stuff shine.

I think for the person on the brink, this is such an important lesson. Good people can make you look good, and part of being a producer IMHO is having the humility to say "I know who can do this thing as well as it can be done" and the courage to do it. Then you have more time to do coke, play with faders, and bang the fat chicks the band doesn't want. thumbsup