The 4 Fundamentals of a Good Mix (with Dan Worrall) 

Thanks for having me Kyle, and I hope people find this useful.

The idea of pulling the sounds towards you, rather than just raising volume, is a useful concept I'll try to keep in my head

I think we'd all be interested in a complete, structured mixing/mastering course by Dan. Make it and we pay.

It took me about ten years to find out all of the info Dan gives in this video by myself. This video should be THE very first thing a person wanting to learn to mix watches. It doesn't bedazzle you with plug in features and things that are useless until you know what the fundamental things a mix should be trying to achieve are, and how to approach them. This video somehow condenses "what is a mix" into less than 30 mins. A job well done I say!

20 minutes of Dan Worrall talking about mixing, doesn't get any better than that

I’m a simple producer, I see Daddy Dan, I click 🤷‍♂️ 😅

At sound school they made us submit our first mix using only faders and eq (and panning which is also a fader). I feel as we as engineers advance with daws, vsts, production etc, we forget how powerful are these tools and how everything builds on top of them :)

MY NOTES: BEDA: Balance - EQ - Dynamics -Ambience Most important factor of mixing = volume faders. Controls front-and-back depth. Common beginner mistakes: vocals & drums too quiet while bass too loud. EQ: corrects mistakes made while recording, shapes tone of part to your liking, controls balance of each frequency band of mix independently. Takes ear training and practice to get right. EQ helps prevent frequency masking. Instruments that poke out in the mix more = more emphasis. Dynamics: Macro: difference between loud vs quiet. Volume automation in the mix. Done throughout the arrangement in a storytelling way. Micro: high peak to average ratio where transients are very prominent. Main tool to control this is compression. Gives the listener the subliminal feeling of having drums pop in your face. Ambience: all the reverb and delay effects in the mix, especially the ones that are subliminal where you don't notice until it's missing.

I see Dan Worrall in the title, I click. It’s that simple.

This video is the undeniable proof that, i don't know how, they can read your mind thru your phone because just yesterday i was thinking "I need a video about general concept of mixing by Dan Worrall, it would be so useful to me now". And here we are...

VOLUMES: - Balance front-to-back depth based on the importance of each element at every stage of the song to direct the focus of the listener. EQ: - Can be used to clean and shape tones - Make sure FQ aren't masking eachother (esp. low end) - Have a Kick poke through the mix at 50Hz and 5kHz to sound huge while dipping the intermediate FQ a bit. Have the bass fundamental at 100Hz to hear it clearly - Each FQ range has a certain quality (warmth, boxy, precence, aggresive, air...). Poke the elements out where you need that quality to shine. - Train your ears to recognise different FQs COMPRESSION: - Macrodynamics: changes in volume at different parts of the song - Microdynamics: changes in volume within one element Ambience: - Our brain substracts the room to hear the sounds clearly - In modern pop the lead vocal sounds dry but it still has early reflections

You got to respect a man who won the loudness war ;) =] In all seriousness, I've come to define mixing as "bringing together the separate elements in order to form a cohesive whole". You have a solid composition/song, a solid arrangement, and a solid set of recordings, then the mixing is really about making sure they "get along together". If you can achieve this with just the faders and pan pots, you are most of the way there. Additional processing - especially EQ and compression - should be used either to address technical issues (frequency masking, addressing tonal balance) or for creative purposes.

I felt compelled to respond by two personal experiences. First, as an engineer at MCI 1975-76, I worked on three custom consoles - JH500 series - that we built for Atlantic Records’ recording studios in NYC for which inverted faders were specified. It wasn’t nearly as simple as we hoped as the faders mounting points did not permit a simple flip. Instead the fader’s mechanical mounting was retained but the resistive track element inside was inverted. Even that required some drilling and some amount of time to confirm. Second, I enjoyed a friendship with Tom Dowd and later his wonderful daughter, Dana, who generously shared her experiences with Dad. Tom had an office right at the front door of Criteria Studios, just 10 steps from Studio D where he made a home for awhile. I grew to know him just from walking through the front door, as he seemed to prefer the social construct over any quiet space and was a great conversationalist. That is very much missed. Tom and I did a remote recording for an artist in which we both shared an interest. He produced, I engineered; the irony did not escape me. He was the perfect collaborator in a musical project, with a keen ear, an open mind, and an always ready good idea. I wish we could have done more. It seems everyone I still regularly see from those days has a beautiful story to relate about Tom. That, more than anything else, is a legacy I want to leave when it’s time for me.

After so many years of mixing by ear and playing with so many different plug ins, I’ve found that doing the least possible gives the best results. Just having a solid sound to start with and small adjustments go such a long way

This is single-handedly the most important mixing video I’ve watched in 4 years of making music. Thank you

'Bass too loud' was a problem I faced a lot in the past. Since my monitoring system back then (only 2x KRK Rokit 6) couldn't represent the bass I wanted to have in my track. So I pushed it to the limit to feel it the way I wanted it. Since I added a KRK Subwoofer to my monitoring I really feel the -10 db bassline and don't have to push it to -3 db~

A match made in heaven

I tend to be quite skeptical of youtube audio people, but featuring Dan Worrall on this channel may have been the biggest thing you could do to persuade me of your legitimacy. I've seen a lot of people be like "tips and tricks won't help you, you just need this mindset" and while I definitely agree that tips and tricks won't help if you've got the wrong mindset (and also a great deal of tips and tricks videos are useless), Dan's tips and tricks have probably done more for my mixes than any of those guys' videos except for the one that outlined the principles in this video.

Great video! These fundamentals don’t sit as top-of-mind for me as they should 😅 The latest “soundgoodizer” plugins on the other hand… (Wavesfactory has a new one out today and this video made me think twice about it lol)

Great video as usual from Dan Worrall! By far the best audio teacher on RU-vid. No name dropping, deep philosophical 'get in the head' of an engineer reasoning, examples to show benefits, reasons WHY things are helpful and HOW they can be used, etc. No one compares. And best of all, no name dropping and filling up time with bs and beating around the bush.

When Dan was talking about how a recording of a concert or something sounds bad compared to it sounding good in person, it occurred to me that it must be for that reason that binaural, head-shaped microphone setups exist. So the recording will contain all of the cues we normally get in person from the shape of our head and such, so that when listened back to on headphones, our brain is able to correct for the room reverb/eq and hear the mix as it would be in person.

When Dan speaks - you better listen. Looking forward to this!

this is actually the best introduction to mixing I have ever seen, accessible, clear, precise and exhaustive. That's very hard to do with a subject as dispersive as mixing. Worrall is great.

In the late 2000s/early 2010s, I used to lull myself to sleep replaying fabfilter tutorials on repeat, listening to Dan's articulate voice describing techniques as I drift off into dreaming about the next studio session. To this day, every video I've seen from him significantly helps my workflow and approach to visualizing the mix. If the technical parts are over my head, he still breaks it down with philosophical concepts which plant seeds for when I revisit again later. Brilliant, as always Dan. You're truly a legend. And Kyle, I was really pleased to see that you had Dan on as a guest. I've been following your vids for quite some time too, and you're out here doing the lord's work. Keep it up. We need more channels like yours out here.

Mad respect for this kind of "free" content. I'm blown away by the quality you guys deliver for such a small return. True dedication for the people. Bravo. Keep what you're doing as long as it makes you happy, we'll be there to take all your wisdom with unended gratitude. ❤️ Thank you!

kept smiling and nodding all the time...thanks for sharing!

By far the best video I have seen about mixing❤ Most tutorials on youtube are for those who already knows about mixing. They shows their mixing workflow rather than explaining what's a good mix and what they are trying to achieve with all those plug-ins. This video answers lot of the questions I had in mind. Thanks.

Crammed with sensible perceptions. May you all be finders of great sounding space. Dan's music is gorgeous.

You can't beat Dan Worrall for breaking down a subject to its core. Concise, Precise and Elegant. Just like a great mix! Greetings from New Mexico!

That Tom Dowd thing about the faders was super-interesting. Thanks, great content as always.

This guy is like the David Attenborough of the audio engineer world 😂👌🏻

Thank you for this. The explanation by Dan was simple and effective. The principles of a good mix were explained with clarity and depth. Thank you very much for this. Your generosity as a channel ad for Dan is much appreciated for those of us, who have never gone to school for audio engineering.

Maybe one of the most informative and to the point videos about the next steps after getting it right at the source. He not only knows what he is talking about; he is extraordinary at explaining it.

Thanks. I just gave my first real go at mixing without just meandering in the dark and it came out really good. Love when I get access to the actual basics, from cued in teachers.

I don't normally comment on videos unless absolutely neccessary. I just wanted to thank you for creating this video. Of course everyone and their brother has their beliefs on what makes a good mix. And with opinions being like assh0les, there are plenty of them. I've been producing going on 30 years now and whereas my need for tutorial videos regarding audio related subject matter is little these days, I still don't claim to be the repository of all knowledge. I just wanted to say kudos for posting what I think to be the most concise explanation of these fundamentals for attaining a good mix. Of course thank you @DanWorrall for explaining these fundamentals so eloquently. These are not just your opinion but truly at the core of mixing and mastering. Truly well worth my time and should be the first video up and coming engineers should be clicking.

It's been 10 years since the first time I learned to use a DAW. For me, the concepts of mixing is surprisingly simple. The hard part is to bridge the listening to knowing what's happening. You already know what sounds good, but why and how do they sound good.

Hooray it’s Dan! Can’t tell you how important ambience is in making any track sound alive. I read many many years ago about Depeche Mode tracking in Hansa in Berlin, using the building as FX sends. And since then i have always taken ambience very seriously. The level is very important of course. Just a taste creates depth. Too much creates a mess.

this is one of my favorite audio production videos I have ever watched/listened to

God bless you MR. DAN and Brother KYLE, I wonder why most at times we intend to do so much especially on vocals hmm 🤔 but it should be simple 👍🏾

Outstanding. I've been following Dan for a while now and I think he's the most eloquent audio educator I've ever encountered. Delighted that you hosted him for this!

Excellent primer. I've never heard a better summation of building a mix. Your emphasis on the difference between visual levels (metering) and perceived levels is a great call-out. Thank you for keeping it real in a sea of...

It's so heartwarmingly cute how proud you are to have Dan on your show. Beaming from one ear to the other! Brilliant advice through and through as well!

You can't lose getting Dan on your channel. For some reason we all love that dude 🤣👍🏾

Mixing means: balancing different volumes and sonic elements in a pleasant and communicative way.

Fantastic collaboration, thank you for your work!

Always great content on your channel Kyle and respect to you for introducing Dan to those of your audience that weren't aware of him. Both of you have a great understanding of the technical side of recording (and I've learned so much from both of you) and explain it really well. One of the points made that might slip past a lot of people is that the best mix starts with the arrangement. An individual has it easy limited only be their ability to play or program an instrument but when you're working with a band then that's a whole new dimension. Them triangle players always want to be higher in the mix!

I’ve been hobby producing for about 6 years and you called out my noob tendencies. The way you then explained the fundamentals of pushing things back was so elegant and understandable that I know things will be different moving forward. Thanks a ton

How many of us are here for the "advanced tweaking techniques"? Love it and thanks Dan!

Thanks for this amazing video! Pleasure to listen to your voice as well,

Love the down-to-earth approach to the video. It is easy to get lost in all the details of mixing, so it's nice to zoom out get back to resolving the core problems.

its so wild because the first minute of what dan said is spot on. combing through your videos and rewatching the david gibson video helped my mixes significantly more than dans at the time cuz it helped me get the fundamentals down. only NOW i feel ready to digest some of dans stuff and seeing dan talk about the basics is splendid

Only a few minutes in, but this is excellent already. Thanks for featuring Dan on the channel!

Dan - is a legend! Thanks so much Kyle for this video! Love your channel - learning a ton from it.

That was awesome. Very comprehensive and filled with yes and a ha moments, plenty of new insights plus some of those things you didn't know that you knew. Nicely narrated!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I’m just a home studio nut, and have too many plugins for my own good. I’ve tried just about every YT tip, trick, and tutorial out there. My mixes still sound dull and lifeless! I’m definitely going to apply this method. Thanks for making this video!

I am going to start absorbing this content like water, I am at a point where I am too comfortable doig really simple easy stuff, and I havent challeneged myself with new ideas in a while

Such a great video. I've been formally trained and mix engineering for 3 years, but a well communicated reminder of the basics is so valuable!

Thank You Very Much Sir! 🙂🙏

Watched/listened to this 4-5 times and improved already! Thank you so much ❤ x

Thanks Dan and Kyle. This is an invaluable framework for learning mixing. Excellent explanations and musical examples. Thanks for sharing

Dan never disappoints! This is awesome

the music used as examples in this sounded very awesome! also it was a very informative video, thank you for that

I Loved how you didn't disregard some of the more nitty gritty stuff just because it's complicated, sure you didn't go into depth about it which is great for people like me, but you also told people who didn't know about it that they should learn about it and know why. This is the approach I take to many things not just audio, learn how it works on the most fundamental level that you can give your own bounds, knowing it on such a small level let's you conseptulize what your doing much better and will help you problem solve when an issue does occur.

This is my first mixing video and I'm attentively taking notes! Thank you so much for all the valuable information!

Congrats on 300k, Kyle! Great content as always, Dan, thanks!

I've been needing this video for like 10 years

Thank you for supplying so much detail!!❤

This is amazing. Definitely one of the most inspiring videos I've watched. Makes me go to mix some stuff immediately! :D

Turns out the most important thing in mixing is mixing at low volumes and what that really means is that you lower the master volume of windows to low volume like 30% and now because you can't really hear the sounds, now you can raise the volume of you monitors to a decent level. If you mix with headphones you need a headphone amplifier because the volume in your interface isn't enough usually. (Your daw also has a separate master volume in windows application volume settings. You should leave that at 100% it's probably on 100% by default. This effects mic recording volume. Windows mic gain should be at around 40-70%) depends on your gear. What does this windows master volume do? The master volume controls perceived loudness. It prevents you from listening your audio too hot which effects... well everything, the way you actually hear the sounds and this effects the way you mix. Now because your master volume is lower and your sounds are not too hot, you get less ear fatigue but also more importantly your sound dimensions, dynamics and stereo images behave like they are supposed to. You will hear this difference in gain staging, track clipping (you get actual warm digital distorsion when you clip) and putting reverb on different instruments and make different reverbs (or any effect for that matter) to sit in your mix. Meaning.. that this is THE correct way to mix. If you've been mixing with windows master volume at 70-100% you've always mixed too hot. You should've seen my face when I realized this. No wonder you've struggled with getting anything to sit in a mix. When your done with your mix. Lower your the master fader of your daw (because otherwise its gonna be loud). Now raise the windows volume back to 100% and now with the master fader in your daw set the final level of your mix it's usually as loud as your original mix was. Now export and your done. Funny how nobody seems to mention this.

This is an all-star collab

Well, that was phenomenal. I can tell when I'm going to listen to something 10 times through again and enjoy it every time. Dan might be the David Attenborough of music.

Much love Dan and Kyle! Really appreciate knowledge.

Top notch. I've been struggling with clear mixes, despite having minimal inputs to begin with. I think I need to start again from the basics, and this certainly delivered.

Absolutely amazing, a must watch for everyone trying to really get a good sound out of their music, hadn't seen an explanation so well, keep it up!

Great philosophical advice from Dan. When I'm putting a track together, I don't touch any eq or reverb as I'm going along except for filtering out with low and high pass filters. If something is not sitting in that monitor mix I'll change the sound, for example if the kick is lacking low end, I'll layer in a sample to add it in. When I get to mixing, I find I don't even have to eq some parts and the mixes sound more natural.

When I see Dan Worrall, I click.

Great video... concise & informative.

OMG the RMS meter example 🤣🤣🤣 This is excellent teaching and simultaneously hilarious!

Great video. Love your channel and love for the recording arts.

haven't heard of either of you and I don't know why, I've been working on mixing my own tracks for a few years now. This video got me to sub to both of your channels. Thank you for this, it gives me a good direction on why my mixes aren't quite right. I used EQ, but I didn't know how to EQ a mix, so I need to go WAY back to basics haha

HOLY SHIT DAN IS ON HERE!!! THE GOAT 🐐 himself

What a wildly fantastic video. You guys rock.

Awesome. Looking forward to Dan’s reverb-as-eq vid. Thanks

Had a moment of "whoa..." at 4:45, realizing there was a much simpler way to think of faders than what I've been doing... Had to pause the video and reflect before continuing. Top notch info, very happy to have come across it

Very helpful content here as far as creating a professional sounding mix. Thank you

I said everything; as you'er saying it. I know I'm n the right track. Thank you... Let's go! From: So LethaL

Brilliant concise presentation Dan. Thanks so much for confirming what has taken me many years to understand.

...a blessing - to have this knowledge structured, delivered and available like this - golden stuff, a lot of people here going to bed wiser and more confident tonight after these 26 minutes :)) Thank you dear sir!

A key takeaway from this lecture is just how important it is to listen start to finish when engineers like Mr Worrall address a particular topic, as opposed to cherry picking a presented strategy and ignoring the entire context of the lecture. It’s a key mistake many aspiring engineers make- and in combination with being self taught it can be futile trying to apply any strategy if the underlying problem is not listening completely. This channel marriage is a great offering for deciphering the skewed world of YT amateurs who make tutorial videos without having the first clue as to what they are even talking about. Thanks Kyle and Dan for your part in setting the world of YT audio lectures on its proper axis. Efficient informative effective content. ✌️

As usual, I have listened to this a couple of times, and will listen a couple more in the future. Thanks for this great, helpful video.

What an amazing guest! Thx for keep on making great content Kyle!

Thank you Dan and audio university for the great education

Fantastic video. Thank you! 🎛️

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you.

We love Dan the man , He's the man !

Such a well put together video, I would definitely pay for a course from Dan

This was fantastic info! Thanks for sharing!

We needed this video, plus collabo with Dan!!!!! awesome content thank you so much

I wish more beginner mixing videos would emphasize this more, but my biggest mixing aha moment that led to a significant jump into pro mix territory was a very simple thing. Mix in mono FIRST. If your mix sounds great and well balanced in mono, it will it likely sound stellar in stereo.

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for the refresh!