Mixing A Song Start To Finish: Can You Hear The Difference?

In this video, I show you my approach to mixing and mastering a song step by step. There are lots of tips and techniques you can apply no matter the music you are producing or mixing.

Focusrite has invited me to join forces with guitarist @ChrisBuckGuitar and singer-songwriter @iamkarramusic in a three-part series exploring the journey from a guitar loop to crafting a fully mixed song using their new Scarlett 4th Generation interfaces.

You can watch the full series here on YouTube.

Discover Scarlett 4th Gen:

0:00 - Series Overview
1:15 - Rough Mix
3:25 - Drum Mixing
5:05 - Bass Mixing
7:07 - Guitar Mixing
8:20 - Vocal Mixing
14:20 - Mastering
15:32 - Before and After

#mixing #mastering #musicproduction

[iamkarramusic]

Thank you for making my recordings sound amazing 🤩

[thetrashpanda]

This is a perfect example of how a solid performance can make so much difference for the mixing and mastering process. Micheal, Karra, and Chris are all so masterful!

[DrumNBassed]

It’s amazing how much confidence a little bit of compression brings to the mix.

[legionofboombap]

Sidechaining the delays so the tail ducks down on the transient hits is brilliant! This one tip alone was worth the watch. Your vids and advice are always excellent!

[DJPastaYaY]

These more in depth and walkthrough style videos I always find super helpful. Just so much detail and insightful tips that you can't really get in a 2 minute video. Keep up the great work Michael!!

[brandybraxtone]

Self-taught producers such as I appreciate your work🤝. My journey with Fl Studio started right here 5 years later...a certified sound engineer😄. Much love from Kenya.

[ChrisBuckGuitar]

This was awesome! Thank you Michael; smashed it mate!

[DaniCorbalanSpain]

Here we can see a professional doing a brilliant mixing & mastering session for free. Personally I would make the long vocal reverb a bit larger, the vocal sounds a bit dry in the full mix in my opinion. I don't know if you used it because it isn't in the video, but I always sidechain a little all the instruments and sounds except for the kick and sometimes the bass with the vocals, this glues the vocals and the instruments together. Anyway, wow, the difference between the raw and the final master is incredible. Will save this video to watch it every time I start a mixing session, thanks for your work :)

[CamiloMusicOfficial]

I loved how you side chained the delays with the vocal very clever. Makes the vocals more clear! The vocal performance was amazing! Really good song I would listen to it a million times.

[larswillsen]

Thanks, mate! I typically keep the vocals quite simple, usually just one direct voice, perhaps with a few choir voices. I've come to realize that experimenting with doubling and panning might yield better results. I'll give it a try tomorrow. Thanks again for the inspiration! 🙂

[wxlli]

Brother ive been watching you since i was a teen. Over the years ive tried learning on my own without the help of these videos. Recently ive gotten to the point where i simply want to extend my knowledge further from just knowing what works well. I watched many before coming to this one and by far the first 5 minutes of this video has taught me more than any of the others ive watched on yt. I never knew a slower attack on a drum kit makes it sound closer. Or that a fast attack would make it sound farther. I also didnt know putting a lowpass when compressing drums would make the kick stand out more. Its these little bits of information im looking for. Great video man.

[jondilliom]

This is the best mixing video I've seen in a while. So many ideas

[weezyzone]

Love this kind of videos!! So much to learn and you also make it look sooo easy, very helpful!!!

[OUTSHADES]

Literally the balancing and leveling part in a smooth playthrough really helped me understand it a little bit more, I've always struggled with leveling and it takes me quite a while to get it right. What I find hard is keeping the volume difference between the verse and the chorus fairly minimalistic yet choruses have to sound energetic and secondly keeping the drums at a level where they are not too prominent but at the same time loud enough to be exciting and not sounding dull!

[KevinMerinoCreations]

Great video! I am completely new to mixing in so this is perfect for helping me understand what I need to focus on while I learn. Thank you, Chris Buck @ChrisBuckGuitar, and Kara for sharing your talents! 👏👏👏

[BrandonShere]

I love that you used Karra's vocals!! You both are great to watch!

[HaniHashiya]

The mix and mastering really add depth to the guitarist and singer's awesome performance!!

[Makzin_Makza]

The tutorial I've been waiting for ❤❤ thank you

[furiobisotti]

Wow... Extremely useful path for a beginner amateur like me. I appreciated a lot compression and eq, which saved the original groove from musicians. It makes everything professional in a hifi mode (not easy to be found nowadays). Bravo!

[matthewmargetts]

It's invaluable to see you going through the thought process and applying processing. I have saved this video and can see myself coming back to it time and time again. Thank you.