Mixing vs Producing | What's the Difference?

A lot of home studio musicians get confused when it comes to mixing and producing. What is the difference? In this video, I'm explaining the difference between mixing and producing.

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Sample Libraries I HIGHLY Recommend:
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[nothingnothings]

As a professional mix engineer that's worked with high profile music. I always ask to be present during the production stage. And if that's not possible. 9/10 times i will just ask for all the dry tracks and start fresh and use the producers rough mix as a reference. If the producer does make a completely unique effect using some kind of vintage gear for example I just asked them to print the effect and bounce it to its own track. There's a certain professional level where almost everyone has input during the production phase. I often work with the recording engineers and producer while recording things like a string section to give my input. I know this video is more focused on home studio production but in the upper level its pretty different when there's lots of potential money on the line.

[davidscanlan]

Me:
"Ok, time to focus on producing this song."

Me, 1 hour later:
*got distracted on sound design for a synth, wound up writing another song and currently trying to mix a bare guitar track*

[SimonFlames]

The man here spitting not what we want to hear but what we need to hear 🔥

[agentofalienation]

I'm relieved I found this. I produced and mixed myself a couple of projects and until now I was unsure I was doing the right thing... I would make a rough mix while producing but then when printing the stems I would undo most if not all the processing that to me belongs to mixing stage, as well as panning and leveling. I always thought this wasn't the best or most practical way to go about it, even though it has worked well for me. I'm glad seeing someone reaffirming a workflow similar to this. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[RuneLightLovely]

Audio combiner in our opinion: Audio (primary) to audio (secondary) to audio (combined, with primary and secondary, like a remix, but not too long, just normal audio length, for example, initially, primary audio appears, later secondary audio appears, then primary audio appears, later secondary audio appears, and even later, both appear together)

[mgmthegrand]

You've been dropping gems for some time now. Glad I finally discovered your channel.

[shuttleworth]

A video I need to watch once a week as a reminder.

[ilknurcengiz]

Hey Nathan, great videos. I've been watching you for couple months and you changed my perspective
thanks for that! Also you might wanna mention that sometimes I got caught up to choose right sound for a kick, snare, or a synth etc. it takes so much time and eventually i can not create my product. How do you handle that situation? I know these kind of things take time, it is related to the experience, still hope you have some tips to share. Thanks again! Keep what you are doing.

[ShivaMaharajMusic]

Best explanation of this I’ve ever heard. Game changing

[lupobarbini]

And I also would really appreciate a video about sound design ( not specifically about synths, but also for example on DI bass or guitar and experimental techniques ) 😊

[saxmanash]

This is a really important video and has really helped me make better decisions. Thank you!

[georgemalcolmtv]

Dope stuff.. Thanks for this!! Needed it!

[bryndayy]

Just found you and you are 100% the voice I needed in this moment. One question - you didn't mention much about automation here. Level automation especially, but others as well. Where does that fit? It feels like it should be part of producing (especially when it's defining which elements should be the focus, movement towards transitions, etc.) but won't doing changes in levels and such cause problems with compressors and stuff in the mixing phase? Going to check out your session breakdown and maybe that will help me answer this question.

[salaam]

Great video. I agree with you on pre-mixing, it definitely helps a lot.

[andrewjacksonmusic]

Great video and has really opened my eyes to the process. Thanks 🙏

[DystopianTofuTV]

Wow exactly the “tutorial” i was hoping to find (to hear stuff i already vaguely know :) thank you! Very well said.

[tomfromwinchell]

Thumbs up, man. This is the video I didnt know I needed.

[m.a.stough]

Thanks! You are very clear at describing the facets of music production. I will give it a try with your offer.

[jellewierda]

According to your previous video about mixing. The right sound selection has improved my 'mixes' dramatically. But there is a nother thing about watching mixing videos. It's addictive! Same for me as watching fitness tutorials. In the time I watched all this videos I could have published lots of tracks and become a hulk....

[bigeddie]

Blessed video. Tons of value!!! Thank youuu!!!