The 5 Keys to Keeping Perspective in Your Mix 

I'm going to suggest key #6... When you do take breaks, step outside (literally) and let your ears hear the outdoor ambience. It helps to reset your ears a bit by introducing some completely new sounds. The wind, cars, people, birds, etc, are all these little things that you're not hearing in the studio. Not to mention, just getting some fresh air can help clear your mind for a moment.

I stopped drinking caffeine for a medical reason and all my mixes changed. Music even tended to, generally, sound more “correct”. That is, it sounded more like I remember music sounding as a kid. It was kind of fascinating.

I could not articulate the understanding of it in my mixes, but the zooming in and zooming out thing is spot on. Learn to do that well or better is a key for me. Thanks for the nuggets.

Super useful, thanks Justin!

I know a lot of people enjoy tutorials and sound examples when it comes to production videos but there is something special about the way you do this show in podcast style. It really helps me start conversations in my head and eventually incorporate those ideas into my own work. Very inspiring and motivational, thank you.

"Look less and listen longer" 💯🎶 So true!

15:09 -- "But if you're doing a really long day, you may need to revisit some of your favorite-sounding records, at some point, IN that room, to remind you what 'good' sounds like." Whenever I need to be reminded what 'good' sounds like, I listen to a sonicscoop podcast and let the divine vibrations of Colletti's 24k gold, diamond and emerald encrusted vocal chords rejuvenate my hearing at the atomic level. 🦻💫🦻💫 I feel you on the "take breaks" thing, especially "micro breaks", but it's sooooo much easier said than done for me. I usually don't like to stop until I've atleast reached some kind of checkpoint or milestone where I feel as if I atleast finished off ONE portion of the mix, whether that's balancing bass and kicks all the way through, fine tuning the rhythm guitar tones with EQ and automating their pans if they need to get pulled in a little at certain sections, but... even once I've gotten to the point where I'm now frustrated and actually WANT to walk away without crossing whatever threshold I was working toward, what always ends up happening to me is I'll say "ok, just this one last tweak here and then I'm taking a break, just 30 more seconds...." And I'll do that one tweak in those 30 seconds and then I'll say "well, lemme FIDDLE THIS KNOBBER one more time, 2 more minutes and I'll walk away." 2 mins later, the knocker has been fiddled, and wouldn't you know it? "Now the EQ needs automating on 220Hz from 1:15 to 1:35, that won't take long, let me just hit that, only take a minute and then I'll stop..." And on and on and on and on until next thing I know, a few more hours have flown by and I still haven't gotten up from the desk. Sometimes it works out, I'll make solid progress if not wrap up the whole mix, other times I'll have ended up in an even deeper hole than the one I was in hours prior, which means reverting the mix back to that state, and all those hours of work are vaporized. A complete and total waste of time, no progress made whatsoever aside from I'll be exponentially more frustrated than I was hours before, with no one but myself to blame for it. #TheStruggleIsReal 💩💩💩💩💩💩

I look at images while I listen, to get my brain in a less clinical space and allowing me to 'vibe' with my mix and see when something pops me out of that illusion. Works great for me! Bonus: switch images every now and then to get a fresh mix perspective. I have a bit of synaesthesia too so this helps :)

taking notes!

Thanks Justin for your valuable and great perspectives on mixing. Like the fact that you bring up the softer parts that really makes sense:)

such insightful tips !

Okay, I think this is a very interesting topic so before I watch the video I’m going to go out on a limb and take a guess at the 5 principals-keeping in mind the kinds of things Justin teaches and my own limited experience: 1. Mix at low volumes 2. Mix swiftly 3. Stick to your process 4. Use references 5. Don’t second guess yourself unless you have a really good reason 6. Bonus one: listen first then plan how you want the final mix to sound in your head before you start mixing

Thanks Justin!

OMG REALLY REALLY HELPFUL - Thank You so much. I'm kinda stuck in this independent musician mode between Production and Mixing at the exact same time, and it does effect my fatigue-ness, and my listening through out the day (And the next day). So thank you for the advice and understanding.

I felt as if I was sitting in a doctor's class on mixing music. No pun intended. Brilliant video and all the 5 tips are right on point to the extent that I could relate with each of them very well. Thank you so much! 🙏

That was very helpful! 👍

Hi there, nothing magical or new, but still always useful to remind. Also, coming from a pro like you and so well explained it has much better chances to stay in the back of our head in the long run, thank you! ;-) keep up your amazing work.

It's wild how I can listen to something that has been melodyned to be perfectly on tune and it sound like it's out. Then I have some of my adhd medication and it sounds great 😅

Wow! Great video, thanks for sharing. Did you know that everything you said can be applied to color grading too?

Hi, I met back 1979 a twin brothers musicians that play Beatles very good. I spent a weekend with them at friends house near Woodstock, they’re surname was Coletti. Are you related to them?

"If you dont drink coffee.... have a cup or two before you mix." WTF?! I would literally die.

"Let's dive right in!" * 25% into the video * jk love you Justin

Hi Justin, do you have some tips to protect your ears when doing Jiu Jitsu ? 😄 (I mean cauliflower ears and all that bad stuff)

Do you sometimes or often use (low to high quality) mp3s for reference, or do you stick to/recommend/insist on wav and such?

When using references --- if you imbed the reference into your session, should you mute the master bus processing, or play the reference through the master bus processing? I can see a benefit for both.

I totally rely on my music making progress with the "vibe" i have. Doing music without it just feels tasteless.

FORST!

NO CAFFEINE??!? Dear GOD, man! Are you the DEVIL??!? 🤣🤣🤣