The Truth About Mixing In The Box - Warren Huart: Produce Like a Pro 

You're the best. Every video you do makes me more confident and able to work on my own mixes. Thank you Warren. Kudos and cheers and other words of encouragement :)

Warren is a legend because he's honest

It's not about the gear, it's about the operator. Always has been. Even a simple portastudio and two 57s back in the day gave us "Nebraska"... but it was Bruce Springsteen singing and playing... We are living in a golden age for artists and producers. Great video Warren.

In the middle of all youtube crap, with "engineers" trying to teach you things, this channel ''produce like a pro'' has drastically changed my way of learning how to mix and the approach Warren has, is freaking good. Thanks a lot for sharing all this with us. Keep up the good work !

I'm basicly doing all my mixing and mastering in the box, and so far I love how it sounds. Plugins have definitely come a long way through the years and there are so many to pick from. I noticed that even the simplest limiters give a different feel when used - some are responding better musicaly, others just chop the signal and anything louder ends up distorted and not in a nice sounding way. Maybe consoles let you do some things quicker like writing automatizations, paning, and the feel under your fingers is a plus for sure. I do everything in the box, but now and then it is good to mix out of the box as well, so the combination of both I guess is the winner here!

It’s nice to know that professionals like yourself are making it easier for students like me to not be discouraged by studios and the mad amounts of gear they use to mix with. I’m close to my graduation and so far I’ve been nothing but nervous when thinking about finding work in a studio because of my lack of knowledge about outboard gear. I’ve always mixed in the box; like you said you did in the early years, and have been afraid that most job opportunities are going to absolutely demand extensive knowledge of outboard gear when it comes to mixing. I’m really hoping this isn’t the case when it comes time for me to look for work.

Plugins today sound so freaking good. Record it well, and mix it to perfection with your computer.

Not only do we mix in the box here, we record in the box. My little old garage is now my studio. There is no room for a console and a full band in here so we use audio interfaces to get all that analog feel the best we can as long as that is what our client wants. I have learned that it really doesn't matter what gear gets used. Set goals, make deadlines, use what you have and give it all you've got! Thank you everyone for all that you do! This community is wonderful!

Once I learned how to use saturation, tape, and analog emulation plugins to color signals, my mixes went to a whole new level and I realized a fundamental to competing with the harmonic warmth analog mixes have. Once I was familiar with a number of vsts, I was able to develop a pleasant system to get there as well(relying alot on analog style compressor vsts just for their coloring, many times not using the compression). Then once thats all done theres still techniques to experiment and tap into fresh new ways of thickening the signal like clipping at the end of the mix, taming harsh high mid digital frequencies with multi-band compression, and adding parallel distortion. Theres so many cool styles to be developed when youre aiming for a style but using completely different methods to "get there". I realized this digital mix era is still very much the wild wild west of opportunities and new ideas when we push things to their digital limits but hold to tried and true analog style coloring techniques while staying in the box. It also adds the fun back into mixing.

Your love for music especially for the great "Queen" makes you an honorary Queen member to me. Queen holds a warm place in my life as well. God bless Warren.

I think nowadays plugin can mostly do anything. However, final summing and some EQ or compression on the final 2 buses still can’t be replaced by software. Therefore, hybrid mixing is the best solution👍🏻

I've been mixing in the box for a couple of years now and am very happy with that work flow. I started following Warren about 1,5 years ago, and listening to his videos. These vudeos has given me the confidence to peruse my love of music making in the box. Like Warren I've gain a little kit as I've earned from recording and producing, this kit is mainly used to fatten the signal whilst recording (wish I owned a fraction of what he does) but it is totally possible to make great music in the box even without the extra hardware it's just an extra step or two using plugins. Thanks Warren your a star xxx

Yes the plugin you need is scheps Omni . But you know that now!. Your advice and information is second to none . Thank you Warrren.

I had a cassette 4 track when I was a teenager. I honestly tried to use it maybe a handful of times. When Pro Tools put out the Digi 001, I was near first in line to buy it. It was instant joy! Just highlight a track and work on it! About the same time, I started running live sound. Outboard effects processors and consoles with tons of knobs to fiddle with. Also instant joy. This has been a continuous dichotomy in my career: I loved the ability to draw automation and make unlimited eq moves in the box and loved throwing guitar solos or vocal delays up with a fader live. Only after all these years have I started to integrate both feels in the studio. Even as plugins have gotten better and better, so have affordable mic pres and eqs and compressors. I can get better sounding recordings in the front end now. I use a simple Presonus Faderport more and more often to automate in the box. Long story only slightly longer, there is no best way other than finding the individual details that work best for you.

This video is invaluable. Most of us younger guys are accustomed to mixing in the box for obvious budgetary constraint reasons. For the same reason, we are also more likely to use VST instruments instead of live instruments. So many haven't figured out why it's so much easier to mix a composition made with VSTs vs mixing one with live instrument recordings. Mixing audio from a mic source is a totally different ball game. This is why it's a challenge for many when they have to mix vocals into a VST instrumental - the VST sounds already have a lot of processing done to them, while the vocals are completely dry. This video confirms something that I've always believed - mixing in the box requires an intimate understanding of the difference between sounds that are already processed and sounds that come directly from a microphone.

Great video! I've been doing this 40 years and there are no videos to elementary that I can't learn from. I mix in the box because I don't have studio space, can't afford the studio toys and it's convenient. I can pretty much have the studio I used to work in, on a pc. Times have certainly changed since my studio days. I do love these videos and its fun learning and keeping up with technology. Great job Mr. Huart!😀

This video really encouraged me to keep on mixing and striving to create professional level work even with limited resources. Thanks Warren!

As i was told when I started mixing and recording bands: it's not about the gear, it's the ear.. great video!

Tracking on analog of course allows for ITB mixing. A few years ago I had to make albums without any HW at my disposal and mixed ITB as well. Sound just wasn’t there even with some of the best plugs on the market. Now I have a good hybrid system. The console adds something none of my plugs can. I find I don’t rely on emulations now that I have a good chain in HW even going down to Tape via Handsome Audio’s Zulu. (Well worth the effort) I wanted to not rely on HW but it became obvious that I couldn’t get on without it. Plugs serve a great use though.

Being completely blind, for accessibility reasons, I stay completely in the box right now. That way, I can see all of my metering, gain reduction, what my EQ moves actually were etc, but I love the analog feel. So I'm using a Tascam DM3200 to control my faders and pans inside of PT, I'm also doing my fader rides here. I'm also putting Console 1 on every channel and sub buss and using the EQ and dynamics as needed controling with the console 1 surface. I only control plugins with mouse and keyboard when I want a different flavor than what I can get with console 1 which does happen on basically every mix, but the majority of my processing is hardware controled. I would love one day to mix completely outside the box as I'm very hands on, but with the accessibility issue, I don't see myself working in both realms. I either want to be all the way in or all the way out.

One thing not mentioned here if you like the idea of a console or something tactile are aftermarket control surfaces. I've never been blessed with access to large console but back in the day I used more than a few tascams and really missed just being able to turn a knob to get the setting I was after. There is actually something very liberating about that. These days if you look around you can get cost effective stuff from Behringer to uber pro stuff from SSL. I personally use a Steinberg CC121. It's like a universal channel strip and makes life sooo much easier. :)

Spot on stuff here. My vote is for hybrid as well.

Always lovely to hear that the key variable in a process is the individual and his creativity! Often reminds me of the awesome sounding old stuff. Thanks Sir!

Tracking is God if done correct. The project is 80% finished if tracked right. The mixing and mastering process is the final tweak to an already killer sound. Today’s plugins are fantastic when used correctly. If you find yourself frustrated and struggling with a mix, it’s most likely not tracked correctly. It’s called polishing turds. I would like to add though, that polishing turds can be looked at as an challenge. How good can I make this sound? I actually enjoy it. You learn a lot.

In all honesty, this is probably your best video yet. This helped make me feel more confident in the education and experience I'm going to get working with the stuff I already have. Thanks Warren.

To be truthful, I wasn't even aware of this conversation's existence, but I think it's something I needed to hear regardless. Cheers.

Warren you’ve touched upon the missing link in tutorials. Everyone focuses on how to record, mix and master with little explanation on tracking. No mix engineer explains why all the waveforms are blocks of audio that have been tape saturated, compressed, eq’d and limited before even inserting a plugin or how a vocal was layered, timed and tuned. It’s incredibly misleading for students. There’s a big chunk of knowledge and workflow abscent I feel.

Solid view. The key to mixing ITB really is finding your way with distortion/saturation.

With just a few grand invested in a DAW, a small assortment of pro equipment and some nice plugins I can get the same quality that I could have gotten in a real recording studio 10-20 years ago. And I'm also not constrained by time if I decide I need an overdub etc. 20 years ago I had a tascam portastudio, at it's best it could do an "OK" demo just to show people how you sound or use as reference when going in a real studio. Young musicians are very lucky to have this stuff.

"We have to get past the idea that one is better than the other" The Marvellous Warren Huart

Absolutely agree! Nicely recorded tracks sound amazing even you mix ITB. We're all blessed to have great plugins at an affordable price.

Man, Your videos are great.

Damn true. Unfortunately even artists don't realize this. But what you told is damn true.

I think his very last comment about "If I had to do it all over again..." was probably the best piece of info in that video because the plugins and technology are evolving so fast that your workflow, creativity/originality, along with productivity is more important than the hardware/gear. Now the hardware to make the signal going into the box is a whole different subject!

its all about the song,arangement,melody,voices etc etc the total package counts,most people dont care if it sounds that huge or not,as long they like it

Big Big fan of analog emulation tools, really heavily used on my latest drum and bass album. Which is mainly ITB but with lots of added recorded elements.

One of the most insightful videos on music production. Love the description of adding weight to a track, it seems much more definitive than adding warmth. Thanks Warren

Fan-fricken-tastic... great video!!!

I so agree. In fact I would argue that a console style workflow and even sound can be emulated pretty closely with the right plugins and control surface, especially with the advent of summing plugins like the Waves NLS. I mix with an Icon Qcon pro (it's an MCU copy) and basically set up my session like a console, with an SSL channel strip plugin on every channel. I also agree with the need to add weight. Because of this, 95% of the plugins I use are hardware emulations, as they do more than just eq or compress, they add harmonics and distortion and alter the frequency response. To anyone who aspires to mixing on a console, but can t afford it, I would highly recommend a workflow like this.

Agree. Technology made the trend. From old fashioned way with a bunch of wires, expensive gears, and building to simple yet portable Garageband. From million-dollar Television Broadcaster to RU-vid. The world feels like spinning faster. Everything goes from an expensive and time-consuming process to affordable (if we don't want to say cheap) and amazing one push-button. But.. having experiences like yours is priceless and need time that can be achieved in one night.

brilliant video! definitely very late to this, but as an up and coming producer and mixer, this is still giving incredible insight to millions of kids that want to get into music. I LOVE mixing in the box and have never used any analog to mix, but I have been having a lot of ups and downs with my music, specifically I get frustrated when I don’t have a set list of things to do when I mix, but this video really showed me that I can do this anyway I want! you are a legend ❤

Very, VERY helpful

That was really great hearing you say that you can mix in the box and get great results 😊

When I got the Pro Tools TDM HD system in February of 2002 I made sure I had both 24 inputs and 24 outputs of analog because I was certain that I'd be using it as a Digital Tape Machine coming back into the Console and nothing more, but with all the great Plug-ins that were available by then such as Waves, Bomb Factory and Focusrite there was so little need to break out of the Box for Mixing, save for an occasional Re-amping and maybe send to and return a favorite Reverb or two that couldn't be exactly duplicated. All other outboard processing was strapped across inserts on the Console going in and printed. If I did use that outboard Reverb on a Mix, it would get printed as well (on its own tracks of course). I had a wonderful Control 24 surface with moving faders so there was absolutely nothing lacking in the tactile hands-on experience of conventional mixing with a Recording Desk. By the way, all those extra outputs did not go to waste. At first I ran Stereo, 5.1 Surround and three separate Cue Mixes and later got the Aviom 16 Channel Cue system, which worked like a charm.

Live like you wanna live!

No bullshit. Every video with tips

Further to the Springsteen comment below, Roddy Frame recorded an album on a MacBook in his living room, similar to Nebraska - vocal/acoustic - called 'Surf'. You're probably thinking, 'so what, loads of people do it?' He did it in 2000. Think back to what was available, what it cost and that, though he had commercial success in the 80s & 90s, he was by no means a multi-millionaire. A track from that album was later used as the theme tune to a TV series...

You insight was Awesome. I love mixing in the box but felt insecure about it but now it's game on.

I mix in the box, I do not have hardware limitation here. Still a lot to practice and learn. I try to mix as "analogue" as possible, mostly hardware emulation.

Warren... thank you for all you bring to this wonderful pursuit of recording and mixing 🤘🤘

Thank you....

Hi Warren, Really love your vids don't understand why anyone would be so rude as to give any thumbs downs? Many years ago at the studio exhibition at olympia in London my employer Trident had let me off the afternoon to check out the new gear available and to man our stand, 3Ms were there with a revolutionary digital recorder/player on quarter inch tape many of the engineers there and artists thought it was the dogs whatists but I could hear what I termed commutation noise that of the A to D converters others could not hear this? Now in my sixties I can hear latency so everything using the box sounds tainted and yet other people with much younger ears than me say they cant hear it ? Still cannot see how a Mac could ever be better than say a Trident A Series or a Harrison 32/24 as used on many of Michael Jacksons hits by Quincy Jones? Keep up the good work and I hope one day to have seen all your excellent instructional vids, Mike Baker

Hi Warren! Again, you're absolutely right! Whenever I can I work in a hybrid fashion, recording in a nice place with lovely gear and then finish it in my home studio - mixing mostly in the box and then sending it to the mastering. Of course, for a lot of small projects I have to deal with, we don't have much budget so it's almost entirely in the box from start to finish. I kinda got used to it but still, the feeling of faders, the smell of electronics being heated, the glow of those tubes, hmmmm. Lol! (and the sound, of course... ;-) )

Great stuff Warren "as ever"! Seriously, a well rounded perspective that is accurate and unbiased. I personally like tracking through my old Amek console for access to EQ, outboard and for setting up headphone mixes. But I actually prefer mixing in the box for recall and automation. I love having a hybrid system. I also agree that after tracking either through the console (for me typically just during full band sessions or anything with drums) or with nice outboard pres makes mixing in the box not sound so "In the box". Anyhow, great stuff Warren! We appreciate your contribution and wisdom to the audio world! Stay blessed!

Me i 'm an hip-hop beatmaker and i like the ssl workflow but it's more expansive ,so plugin alliance change my life and i finish by mixing in the box with the pluguin alliance vst and the ssl native vst and it's Great !!!

Struck gold yet again with this one, sir! I love your channel and what you are doing as human being. God bless you.

Yeah! I agree with those things. I learned to record basic voice stuff in the mid-90's on an (even then) old Neve and a not-so-old SSL. Tape and razor blades were briefly involved. Almost immediately we started using Pro Tools, and that's how I learned to mix stuff. Then (2001/2002) I had Cubase at home and was doing music mixing in the box (virtual instruments plus actual guitars/pedals.) Now I have native Pro Tools at home, everything mixed in the box, little Focusrite Scarlett on the way in - can't believe how much more efficient AAX plugins are, can't believe the variety of plugins, love the emulations of old stuff (including the Neve/SSL stuff I learned on). HOWEVER! If I had a load of cash and some more room, I would love a big old console as well, and a few fancy hardware outboard things. But what we have available today (and I'm on a £700 second hand Mac Mini) is amazing. I just slightly miss twiddling knobs ;) (Even though I have some Nektar knobs and one PreSonus fader, which is great...) Um, anyway, cheers Warren! I wanted to be in Black Sabbath. Actually I still do.

Really great, informative and inspirational video. Thanks Warren.

Hey Warren, thanks a lot for all your good stuff, ideas and knowledge. They really come a long way. And..........have a marvelous time doing so! :-)

hi warren i mix in the box too with slate digital plugins,focusrite 2i2,krk rokit 5s.i listen to my tunes on my ipod and to tell you the truth i like the results. i,l not fork out for a console but i enjoyed your video it sorted out somethings for myself and many others.

I once did a Remastering job in Pro Tools and it sounded pretty darn good. Just for fun I simultaneously sent the raw material into a pair of Channels on the Console closely duplicating the EQ and whatever else I had done with software. I can't exactly describe how superior by far the analog treatment was other than it seemed to have more 'hair' which made it the version of choice. This led me to believe that as great as in the Box can sound you never really know how great it could be outside the Box. If budgets were available and time be allowed you really need to do both and then compare them for the real truth. Eddie Kramer says he always mixes on Consoles and doesn't use Automation. That seems almost unheard of these days, doesn't it? He also prints his mixes to Half-Inch Tape as well as Digital (and something else he mentioned that I don't remember. Possibly another Analog or Digital Tape format) and then have all three shoot it out in the Mastering room.

Everything I do is mixed in the box. Everything from amp simulations to EQ’s compressors all plug-ins. It’s funny because when I play my stuff for professional studio owners they like to tease me. However I just listen to what they have to say and try to Improve upon my skills.

Excuse me for coming back, but it just hit me. I think a cheaper way of having a hands on feel without having a large console is controllers? These days you get very nice controllers to give you that feeling that you are not in the box while being in the box. I have heard some people say that you can have a more effective mix by actually making the EQ movement while turning a knob and listening. Not looking at a screen and moving something with a mouse. but cool, Thanx again :)

Especially with rock music mixing in the box takes way longer I find, using a bit of hardware and even summing outside of the box makes a huge difference. One thing nobody ever talks about is having to get a mixed done a day or more as professional. Everyone seems to have magical opinions about gear etc..., but when we need to get stuff done quick and efficiently things change. Even on modern pop albums a lot of guys are still using H3000’s, 902, 480l... I won’t be trading my hardware for all plug-ins anytime soon.

agree on all of what you said but imho you should have stressed a lot on the importance of using a monitoring system with the lowest thd possible to be able to understand, predict and dial correctly the distortion/saturation effects, sometimes 1/2db of thoses make a huge difference in a mix and not beeing able to tell yourself when it's too much often bring more problems than solutions (new harmonics, ringings etc....). Nothing impossible with mid priced speakers/heeadphones of course but i found that you absolutely need a decent low distiortion system to learn it (renting a big control room can be a solution). Anyway keep it up with your good work, always a good time spent with your videos. cheers

I'd love to see a Howard Willing mix breakdown when he bypass all the plugins and do more subtle moves. It is something that I think would be enlightening for a lot of us. By the way, I agree with you about the DBX 120, quite unique. I've tried the plugins Lowender, sometimes it works, also the Avid one of sometimes the UAD Precision Enhancer also. For my part I've came from a 100% ITB mix and when I moved to a 100% OTB mix I was so happy and more efficient. Being able to ride my sends by hands, riding my automation on fader, mixing with the hardware limitation and thinking "Well what is NECESSARY now" and not "Hmmm let's throw a fancy analog plugin here" (my first mixing mistake). Also I've still try to find some plugins doing the things that I like about certain piece of hardware (Chandler Zener THD mode, Phoenix compressor, good TLA100A etc...).

Hi Warren. This is great great Yoda-esque sage advice as always. I did my first record the old fashioned way in the early 90s in Australia - old console, tapes, tubes etc. My latest, I am going hybrid. Running largely Logic Pro X but having the luxury of an 1176 and a Pultec for outboard (decadent outboard audio chocolate which I can't give up!) using various portable preamps by BAE, UA and Daking. After a lot of trial and error, I found my own workflow sweetspot for 21st Century. Of course who doesn't like a console though when it becomes available..Bottom line I agree, do what need to for a given project with what you have and listen listen listen...! Have a marvellous and Merry Xmas! Dan

Yep...hardware emulation plugins really make a huge difference. Just like you said...tape, tube, console. It all adds up. One important thing you should have mentioned is to study how to use them and what tidy listen for. You see, mixing on hardware, you learn many secrets of the craft. So when companies like Waves makes emu plugins, you know what they're for and how to use them. The point is...study the craft...study a lot and get a lot of practice...a lot!

I thought for sure those huge studio consoles were a big part of that inaccessible mega quality mega wide pro mix sound, but the more I lean in and listen to people the more I feel like this is a myth. It might be a little true still, I haven't tried mixing with all that gear... but I think it's at least an exaggerated idea that it's a world changer.

Super truth, well put!

Thank you.

Dear Warren, put up some links on in the box mixed records. Meaning, without outboard stuff. I would love to blind-test 4 or 5 tracks from your "best sounding mix-in-the-box" combined with Neve, API or MCI mixed records. Or just 4 box mixes and 1 console mix, not done on an SSL i might add, as that one sounds pretty similar to a box. Although it was not really difficult to get a 100% score on the Protools v.s. SSL mix that Avid had put online a few years ago. There's just this thing, listening to too many box mixes alters your perception of great sound. I find that colleague mixers in my circle, slowly but gradually lost their sound doing in the box things, and them getting unable to hear what makes a console mix tick.

And thank you for your videos very well made and smarts.

Warren, you should do a video on the Softube Console 1! It sounds great! Record it right though, and you don't even have to mix it!

Most people who listen to songs don't think about how it was recorded. Its about the quality of the songs But I would say that I only have a mac and stock plugins.

You know what Warren? Bless you for making these great videos! :)

Great video. One day I hope to see you interview Brian May. I know it's not exacly the focus of this channel but it would still be nice.

Thanks....it's great to have people with credibility drop the pretence that you need $50000 worth of gear

As always great tips!!! I like working with computers, I like workflow and I like plugins! They sound great nowdays! I remember 15 years ago, especially reverbs didn't sound as good as hardware boxes.. One thing to mention. It's just my opinion.. I don't like software synths. I know that there are some excellent emulations of analog synths but I prefer hardware digital synths. I like using analog pads from my Yamaha XF, they sound big and massive to me.. bigger than software synth pads… just my opinion.. :) Thanks for the tips, Warren!!!!!

That is the secret to good mixes having the outboard gear to bring fluidity, depth and real harmonic distortion sparkle. It cuts out alot of competition for a Mix Engineer. LOL I totally agree about the quality of the recorded tracks making ITB viable as they already contain the goodness from valuable sounding gear. I haven't been mixing for a couple years now so I might be surprised and my opinion could very well be outdated. But prior I found that Quality recording chains to be the key to an expensive sounding record after the Artist performance. For a while now most entry to mid priced interfaces have had very clean low noise preamps and when used only for recording makes a rather sterile sounding or "still water" I like to call it; same old same old. Recorded sound really needs some ripples and eddies and some motion or you get still water. The problem with too many plugins as every alteration of the origional recording is an ever so slight degradation and less is more is easily recognizable by the number of times your mix sounded better when you just threw the faders up. LOL What goes in is paramount! Good video and Well done!

Thanks for this Warren! I finally got to prove this with my personal project. We tracked an entire single through a beautiful API 1608 for guitars and room mics and then a mix of 1073’s and other neve revisions for everything else. In a beautiful room with great outboard. Now I’m mixing it in the box at home on the monitors I like and it’s SO much easier!

Fantastic advice.

So, mixing in the box means mixing ONLY using a computer? as opposed to a console? Is that right?

What a great video! I mix on a console from tape and this just helped justify my insanity. I do love the aesthetic of a console and moving faders with my band mates to get the song just right - we have a blast doing it!

Thanks so much for your excellent videos, I learn so much each and every time, and I agree this is honest as can be. Thanks again

Did you get a new camera, Warren? The quality of the video looks better than I’ve seen before on your channel!

Always on point.

Thank you Warren!!

Spot on, Mate

Nice one Warren 🙌

thanks for the romantic idea of working on machines! We need good music with good sound no matter the way it is mixed!

Very nicely put, no hype pseudo like so many others indulge in thank you Warren :-) I prefer both worlds via the hybrid Venice F24 console + a minimal hardware rig just because of the workflow as I am from the analogue era***

I mix in the box using a Presonus faderport 8. I get the feel of a console without the huge expense involved in getting a console or the small expense of console I can afford degrading the sound.

Great insight and suggestions. Thank you Warren

Always an inspiration to us.you are the best.

Reason prevails! Great video as always Waren.

You are a great motivator ..thank-you ever so much ..

I have beat myself up for years trying to get fat clear tracks going direct into the interface, no dice. Time for high end front end, i will not give up !

Brilliant balanced advice as usual Warren!

theres still a part of me that misses the sound of analogue I listened to some old cassettes and vinyl the other day and after not hearing any non digital recordings for ages it smacks you in the face. ive still got my old teac 80 8 half inch its been in storage for years keep meaning to get it out just to remind myself what it was like before the box .