You Can’t Get Great Mixes Without THIS 

▶︎▶︎ Free Tracks to Mix: www.homestudiocorner.com/mt

The guy who wants six pack abs, but doesn’t wanna change the way he eats. Way to call me out twice in one video Joe.

You are SO right about getting it right at the source Joe. When I started recording and mixing, I would jump to plugins thinking they would solve my problems. I spent way more time trying to fix issues with plugins, then just taking the time to record it correctly.

My AHA moment happened kind of backwards from what you described. I’ve been working for a while now to improve my recordings and I was pretty sure they were getting better, but didn’t really know for sure. Then, in a recent session for a client, several tracks had to be recorded at another studio. When I got the new tracks from the other studio and brought them in to my session, that’s when my AHA moment happened. The tracks from the other studio sounded thin and digital, and reminded me of how my tracks used to sound. My recorded tracks just sounded full and had life to them, and this is all before any real mixing, only a static mix at that point. That’s how it happened for me.

So spot on. I've always thought it was odd how there are so many gurus who want to sell you courses on mixing, but nobody talks about the recording process.

Dude you talking about the process of getting the gear, having fun then realizing “hey this dosent sound too good” is spot on. I’ve been learning a lot from you these past few months. Thanks man!

When you’re recording, break the “I’ll fix it in the mix” thought. When you’re mixing, break the “I’ll fix it in the mastering” thought (aside from maybe limiting). Too often we blend the different processes of music together when they’re meant to be apart. Joe didn’t mention this, but another hugely important thing is editing. That’s part of getting the source right. *Drums and bass sound punchier when they’re in time.*

What's interesting is that even if you are one to use virtual instruments - meaning they already sound great from the start - you still need to get it right at the source. And even if you generate MIDI and you don't have to perform a single note yourself, you still need to get it right at the source. The former is addressed through performance and the latter is addressed through composition and arrangement. After all, it goes composition/songwriting, then arrangement, then recording/tracking, then editing (or can be called pre-mix or mix prep) and *then* you get to the mixing ... and finally mastering.

By far one of the best videos on mixing, with nothing to do with mixing itself. Thank you for making this.

This IS me just now recording with all you have taught me from 2016 & HSC I will concede just recording tracks Newbie & I hear You Joe. Thanks for the years !

Thank you Joe!!

1:49 totally correct

Thank you so very much for your videos! You have helped me tremendously!

Joe! I just recently found your videos, I went to college for audio engineering but have not found any better videos on RU-vid than yours. I have a home studio setup as well and lately your tips and tricks have helped me a lot

My "aha moment" came from you when I learned about top down mixing! I produce electronic music and a lot of electronic producers don't use this method..but I found it to be the heart of getting dense mixes! Thanks again Joe!

Thank you for this raw approach it’s great man!

Cool video! You're a natural teacher and really have the RU-vid tutorial mastered.

Much appreciated

I’ve been making hip hop and electronic music for 20+ years. What Joe is talking about applies to making beats as well. You have to learn to choose the best sounds to compose with. If it’s drum samples, the wrong samples will cause someone to try too hard to mix in order to get it to sound right. Simply choosing the right drum samples for the song, it takes less time to mix it.

Joe, I stumbled into Home Studio Corner while looking to learn about a limiter. Actually I didn't even know the name - I just knew that my mixes were too quiet and I couldn't figure out how to make them louder without clipping. The fact that you have been using Studio One made your videos even more relevant to me. It's just easier to watch you do something in a video and know I don't have to translate to some other DAW command. I'm a big fan of GIRATS ever since I first heard you mention it. Are my raw tracks amazing? Not yet. Sometimes I'm not patient enough to get them "right" before I move on to the next step. But I appreciate you talking about this again (and again). My recording is getting better, and you reminding us about GIRATS will hopefully remind me next time I'm in the recording phase to slow down and get it right. Instead of thinking "I want to hear the dobro part this is good enough." Thanks for these videos.

so far i've struggled in recording one new song lately in my free time when i am not working or doing "things of life"... i couldn't get it right because of my sloppy singing and playing the guitar, my timing. however, on focusing on improving i started noticing imperfections in other bands' singing/instrument recording that didn't bother me but started to bother me! that was the aha moment for me. from now on it's either "these artists are still too far above me" or "ok i see imperfections but i would listen to my music"... and then i can make artistic decisions and not correct sloppy playing and lame instrumentation. thanks Joe for providing methodology for people to get better.

Ah -ha named their band after that moment 😊cheers Joe allways great information…

Thats difficult to understand for me. I had a lot of this Ahaa moments when I went to any profissional Studio and listen they raw tracks. Otherwise, I never listened in this places a impressive Pop/Hip Hop/Modern mix, was kinda embarrassing because my reaction was like "you dont know How to pop songa? This sonds too Fluffy :/"... Well, before this experience I get frustrated and lost my hope to learn with those producers... Later, I realized that I was wrong, because the problem was my expectations, not their songs. So I started to hear "bad songs" of great albuns, and exercise myself to separate emotional and profissional. And the point finally for me is: Just make something that can be listened, if my clients like it, is the most important thing. Whatever, what i'm trying to say here is that get right at the source sometimes is like accept what you have and keep going! Thank you so much for every tip and really game changing lessons! You are my favorite teatcher that i never meet :)))

Hey Joe I've recently picked myself up one of the studio live 16 USB units and upgraded from my audio box USB 96... I'm finally able to record enough inputs to get decent audio for everything that I need for both live and studio applications. The last thing I cannot seem to figure out is how do I get my new professional audio onto my phone without sacrificing channels on my mixer and also without making some funky homemade cord like these guys do on RU-vid. I keep seeing this iRig stream device which seems interesting but I'm not sure if this is the best route or if I want to get a dedicated live stream/video camera... But then I'm running into a whole new set of problems of trying to figure out how to make my camera pair up to my phone or my computer and try to still hook up to live stream platforms... I just want the simplest way... I'm assuming it's through the monitor out or the headphone out or one of the aux outs in my mixer at least just to get the audio out to my phone... I know if I want audio from my phone I'll need to use a real input channel.. I have 2 phones one android one iPhone and I keep seeing Android sucks for this task but android is my preferred phone. Any ideas as to what I should do?

Hey Joe, Do you have videos that explain every…function available on basic Studio One effects? Specifically I’d like to understand all the parts of the compressor, EQ, level meter…

I always mention this as a point for differentiating 'Demo'ing' from 'Tracking.' It can feel redundant, but you can gain a ton of insight about how you should record your parts once you've completed a rough "overmixed" demo. i.e. 'I ended up eq'ing the hell out of my drums & it made the mix sound better.. Maybe I'll try to get that sound from purposeful mic choice & placement, instrument tuning, player performance, & physical location when I re-track it.'

Getting it right at the source is key! It doesn't even only have to be the mic position for your source but it could simply be how the source is played too. Drums with bad heads and tuning will sound bad no matter how expensive the mics are or the placement. Even if the drummer plays with no dynamics, that can effect the sound/mix as well. And this is recording in studio as well as live applications! lol

The real Aha moment is when you listen to a 1980s Norwegian band.

I already got my 6 pack abs using only virtual instruments!

Bro! This is the gospel ! I just recently did a mix contest with plap and i had the aha moment and did i enjoy mixing the tracks for sure! But the biggest take away for me was the raw tracks ( wav files) I started comparing the inside kick with my inside kick , no plugins , outside kick to mine , etc etc. It became so clear. Now I have a really good grasp on the getting it right at the source . And my recordings have really improved leaps and bounds. Thank you again for just being real .

Seems like my esses are too harsh no matter what i do, any special suggestions for thing to try to avoid that sibilance at the source?

Hey joe, and in the case when we use compression for tracking vocals, if we still not getting things right at the source would be better to turn off compression?

Hey Joe, long time subscriber here. I have been out of it for a couple of years. Do you still use Studio One?

Hallo joe, als erste muss ich danke sagen. Deine videos sind der hammer und waren mir schon öfter eine große hilfe. Danke für die schöne arbeit. Habe grade deine musik auf spotify angehört und muss sagen saubere arbeit. Jedoch fehlt mir, wie im allgemeinen heutzutage die freiheit neue wege zu gehen, zu schöpfen. Ich denke, nur meine meinung, es wird sich zu sehr auf musiktheorie konzentriert. Dadurch entsteht so eine art baukastensystem, jedoch nichts neues. Wenn ich an die kreativen 60er bis 90er jahre denke, da klang nicht nur jeder musiker anders sondern auch jeder song. Es ist so schade das heute nur noch auf technik, theorie und copy und paste aufgebaut wird. Das ist fast schon wie malen nach zahlen. Entschuldigt bitte, ist nicht böse gemeint aber im moment gibt es fast nur masse und keine vielfalt. Echt schade wie ich finde. Nicht böse sein.

Yeah, but many times I'm not responsible for the source, 'cause I wasn't there. Or I'm mixing things that I recorded in less than ideal situations, like recording drums in an attic bedroom. Then I have no choice but to make things sound good in the mixing process.

I create my songs while recording. So if it sounds bad it don't happen. I can't get inspired otherwise. " se cret....a..gent man ........"

GIRATS- in the actual songwriting work, in the arrangement and production process First, then the recording. Hours spent intentionally on those save multiple hours (days maybe😅) of mixing time

Okay, I get that. But my guitar sounds great when I record it. The real issue for me is getting the MIDI to sound great. I don't have violins, viola's, pianos, cellos, or drums. How do I get the MIDI to sound great?

Great advice, thanks for sharing! This advice mirrors in the EDM world too with production and sound design; here's Luca sharing his 2c on the topic as well! ~ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5jIkY3nqwPA.htmlsi=CjeSosNQEeYyv-R8&t=1132

As they say, “fix it in pre”.

I learned the secret a long time ago: have someone else do the mix.

You said start at the source with recordings. You said you have free videos. I only see free mixing videos.nothing about recording. Am in the right place?

Oh I really do hate clickbate sooo much 🤦🏽‍♀ Why? Seriously: why? .... "Without THIS" ..... shame!!!

Bro I'm still frustrated 😅

Polish diamonds, not turds.

Joe, did you start a second channel? I’m only asking to make sure it’s actually you and not an imposter looking to make money off of your content.