I'm no expert, but one of the things that has helped me work faster is to take notes as often as I can. From the beginning, when something sticks out that needs to be addressed, I'll write it down. This helps me create somewhat of a to-do list that helps me remain accountable to progress. Without it, I'm easily distracted.
Great tip! I often get distracted by different aspects of the mix and then 'rediscover' things I already noticed before. So there's a lot of double (or even triple or more!) work... writing things down and taking things step by step helps a lot.
0:13 1: Avoid using the solo button 1:00 2: Use simpler plugins 2:04 3: Get a control surface 2:48 4: Get rid of distractions 3:41 5: Commit to a deadline 4:14 6: Use reference tracks strategically 5:12 7: Test it on real-world speakers before the very end 6:10 8: Follow the same process every time 6:51 9: Use a template
Hey Jordan, great video as always mai gai. Request related to tip 3: I would actually love to work with a physical control surface while mixing but not sure where to start or set up. I'm sure it's easy enough, but it would be super cool if you did a quick video on how you set one up. Thanks again for all you do.
I love your videos, they have been such a huge help!! I'm a studio musician and have been working on my own album for 3 or 4 years now (I only get to work on it a few hours a week if I'm lucky) but over the last few months your videos have really helped me improve my speed, quality and organization of my work and the mixes are starting to sound amazing and I really appreciate these videos, thank you! Danny
5:08 this one helped a LOT!! the consumer doesn't sit in the sweetspot with studio speakers. I use a soundbar, desktop speakers and a tiny mono spekaer to finish projects 🔥🔥 great video!
Thanks again! I've been following you for a while now and i can definitely see the improvement in my mixes. I'm about to wrap up recording on my first client song, and starting the mix. Excited to see how it turns out!
He is so right about using simpler plugins, especially if you’re new to mixing. I first started trying to learn how to use compression on FabFilter’s Pro-C2. What a nightmare! I then bought the CLA-76 plugin and learned how to hear and use compression so much easier.
I would like to say just one thing about the solo function, I don't use it as a problem solver as with the sweeping with EQ but mainly tone or shaping as with the EQ, so I get that. I noticed a lot of my earlier mixes, and back in the day, were better than now with all these new plug-ins, and new techniques. So back in the day, I was using 4 tracks with 1\8 inch tape. For my next set of mixes, I will record with more quality control at the onset so I don't have to do as much work with post-production. thanks for all the help and the free EQ sheet.
Nice one Jordan. I went from 3 weeks/ mix to something like 8-10h/ mix in less then a year, mostly because the system (or formula) i use is getting more and more natural and baked-in. Recently, I started to block all distractions, and set up 1h timers...do the most I can, then take 5-10 mins break to reset my ears, then go for another hour. Easy to keep track of the time you spend working. 🤟
The majority of us are working in the box without any assistant so we are doing our mix prep as well. I would advise not to do mix prep then straight into mixing the song once it's been prepped. Wait a day or 2 and come back fresh.
First of all, you're my #1 resource for mixing these days and man thanks for all of the amazing methodology! Question for you: Considering the success of your magic frequency series, have you thought about either adding in the next parts of the chain like comp, saturation,etc (which you kinda have, but I've had to dig), or maybe a full chain for each mix element? Cheers
Jordan, it would be fun to see you doing a 1-hour mixing challenge, where you get (well-edited) DI guitar and bass tracks, (well-edited) raw vocals and a drum MIDI and see your go-to plugins, go-to strategies without any time to overthink anything.
Stopping mixing in solo literally made my mixes better, but I thought it was the way to go because I saw so many professionals do that. Plus, mixing as a whole doesn't necessarily mean mixing everything at the same time, but as long as you're mixing in the context of multiple things as opposed to completely isolated, it helps a lot. For example, I feel comfortable that I know how to make a good guitar sound quick, so I start with guitars soloed, then I add the bass and mix that, then I add the drums one element unmuted at a time, usually starting with room mics and leaving them on, then unmuting the overheads, muting again when I'm happy with them, then moving onto the snare, and so on. I've found doing it that way keeps things in context without becoming overwhelming and 99% of the time, when I'm ready to unmute all the drums they sit together great. Slap some parallel comp on those drums now they're all in and I've cut down what used to take me hours and hours into way less time.
Some nice tips. I started making beats three months ago and have 36 songs that are at varying degrees of completion. Haven't yet mixed or mastered anything as writing songs is very addictive, but I'm looking forward to going back to sharpen up some of my music, mix it and master it too eventually. I appreciate the tips as its good to get into good routines early on. I've picked up loads of good tips. I allow myself time to learn via youtube as its valuable to know as much as possible. Also wanted to say, I got some Adams audio studio speakers and all I've used them for so far is to listen to a bit of Iron Maiden through them to make sure they worked. I struggle with the studio headphones too as I'm just not used to listening to music like that... I usually have to listen to my stuff in work through my headphones, or in the car obviously.
Finish a mix in 1 day, thats what many professionals say. But they are wrong. As a professional you get professional recordings and source material where its easy to mix. But on non professional level sometimes you have to spend a whole day just to arrange and cut the vocals properly, without even adding one single plugin. So mixing can take much longer and there is nothing wrong with the mixing stage. Also sometimes you have to use 10 plugins and tweaking them for hours to fix problems with the recordings And if you want the best possible mix you have to try out many plugins and compare them , depends if you just want a good mix or the best possible mix. On professiona level time is money so most professionals are satisfied with a good mix. But you will never get the best possible mix (according to your own personal abilities)
I think he’s counting just the mixing time, as a separate step after all production and editing is finished. So, optimize the tracks from recording shortcomings. Then render all your tracks to a new session and start your actual mixing. Different mindsets; different time clock.
I fell in love with iZotope plugins some years ago because I really had a hard time developing a good workflow with so many different plugin windows and so on... Just love how they put basically everything you need in just one plugin like Alloy 2, or its successor Neutron for instance. It's just a breeze to work with these clean plugins... Also making custom project templates and fx-chains really helps to get things started and done faster. As for real world checking... that is one thing I still kinda overdo regularly. Most of the time I check on 2 different headphones, 1-2 different in ear headphones, the car, a cheap soundbar, 2-3 smartphones, 3 different hi-fi systems and also my PA system in the rehearsal space... Should really boil that down to just 2-3 things 😅
@@revan9903 Yeah I do the real world checking when I think I'm close to finishing. Normally I start with 2 hi-fi systems, headphones and my phone and when something seems odd, or good on all of them, I go to the others just to be sure. Like I said, kinda overdoing it.
Hey Jordan I've been following you for a few years now and have learned heaps from your channel. I have definitely noticed a massive improvement in the production of your videos I would be super interested in learning about how you configure audio routing when you create a youtube video, especially when playing music off Protools and recording your voice.
Knowing what you are doing helps a ton, but the most important thing is being decisive and moving on. Working with indecisive artists slows you down too!!! 😂
I don't know how to realistically finish a mix in a day. Firstly, I get ear fatigue very quickly and so I need to use frequent breaks to keep on going. Secondly, I sometimes feel like I am trying to hear problems where they may not exist, which leaves me second-guessing myself. Thirdly, since I mix my own music, I sometimes may find during mixing process that some parts of the drumkit or something else doesn't quite work that well in a mix and so I may have to swap it out or otherwise enhance it, which again steals time. And finally, I try to cross-check the mix on multitude of sound systems and every check takes considerable time due to frequent switching between the systems which naturally requires time for ears to adapt. I am also not mentioning comparing the mix to reference tracks and making sure that everything works properly. It's a really grueling process, at least been so far with how I approach mixing.
I mix my own tracks. No clients to worry about. I always take my time. Doing few things daily. I feel fatigue? I stop and continue the next day. Thanks for the tips though. Will come in handy when i work on a paid project. 👍
Apologies if you've already covered it but following the same mix process is actually something I struggle with. Do you have a video on your process? Thanks for the content!
@@hardcoremusicstudio I'm seconding that, it would be interesting to have more instruments belonging to a rock / pop context (piano, classic electric pianos and organs, but also percussions) in the cheatsheet.
question number two about the tip number 4, yea , I leave my phone far away to me, but.....with my little children's? what should I do? haha, greetings from Argentina
Hi Jordan! You did two mix tutorials for Pro Mix Academy some time ago but I can no longer find you on their website. Are those courses still available somewhere else?
i hate that first piece of advice/observation...and that's how i know it's correct! the number of mixes i have thought i was making better, come back to the next morning and-fuck...or accidentally heard a quick mix i did from years ago and-whaddya know-it's x100 times better.
In regards to the solo button option, what would you say in terms of building a mix up? So, for example, I prefer to mix in the order of Drums, bass, guitars, vocals and leads. Would you say to leave everything unmuted and do levels/adjustments as and when or would you folder everything, then unmute as you get to the next instrument in the mix order?
I really have a problem with blanket statements like "you are doing it WRONG if you spend more time than 8h mixing a track". It always to me sounds like a statement from a bubble, from a person who really should know better - that there are more genres than yours you are working on. There is super complex stuff, I am mixing 12 minute tracks with 160 channels and a million elements and details. I am doing it WRONG because I spend weeks dialing all theese details crafting a mix thats impressive to the listener? Its impossible to create some detailed electronic music in under 8h and expect any quality result. You are forgetting the world around you my dude. Speaking for your kind of work that you know, you might have a valid statement - but there is so much more out there which applying this statement on just doesnt make any sense, at least to me. I think this has to be differiantiated on each case a lot more than this. Peace
I think the essence of this is, if you can't do it in 8hrs you probably should finish the song as it is and move on to the next project. You can't put something into a mix you can't do right now or don't have the ability yet. If I wanted to carve a statue out of a marble block and I'm not good at it, I will not get a David out of it even after 34 hrs. Only practicing and finishing more helps. That's all, I guess.
@@tommyapocalypse6096 Then you are like him unaware of how it works in the real world with music that is a bit more complex than your average 5min commercial rock track ^^ Which is not a problem at all. But he is telling a whole group of people they are all doing it wrong. Seems like a dunning kruger type thing to me tbh. Which sound maybe a bit hard, I think he does great pro work in his field, but applied to my world it seems like an ignorant bullshit statement.
@@NotActuallyCleo Man I wish there were more quality mixing channels about Forest and Dark Psy :D But I mean this is kind of my point. Its about language and blanket statement. If this statement only applies to a certain field in the whole music world, SAY IT, be precise with your language. I think this is very important, but sadly often I am pretty alone with that. Just have to observe a lot of people then who are confused because they heard blanket statement that should have been bundled with a few more sentences so everyone can correctly apply the message to their own world, working field. Its awesome if you can say simple but powerful stuff, but cases for that are limited. But for many things its just impossible to simplify complex situations with blanket statements.
Problem is... You have 100s of mix engineer on here that says everything and it's opposite every day. Do this, don't do that, this is best, this isn't. You'd save yourself time to take a mix engineer course in an actual studio with someone...
Безумное время для занятий музыкой, но, возможно, только это и спасает меня от безумия. Да, я в живу в распадающемся путинском режиме. Делай музыку, а не войну. Большое спасибо!
