10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Mixing

I'm sharing 10 things I wish I had known when I was a beginner - so you can skip some of the struggle, save time and improve faster in the studio.

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MY FAVORITE GEAR:

Computer / Interface:

Monitors / Headphones:

Microphones:

Preamps/Outboard:

Favorite Plugins:

Instruments / Amps:

[DrProgNerd]

#10) Accept the Journey: After years of gigging, I finally got sick of band drama, and gave it up. But I still love making music - so I bought some instrument plugins and started learning how to compose in a DAW. Being an older guy who's just starting out could be daunting - but the freedom from having to fight for my ideas in a band is just too alluring to pass up. I've hit so many bumps in the road. There's so much I don't know - but screw it - I'm having fun. I just try to learn a couple of new things every day. Your videos have opened my eyes to so much. Thank you.

[Babaksaeedi]

I have over 30 years of experience as a musician and over 13 years of experience in mixing. If you take the time to truly comprehend the advice given in this video, you can save yourself years of frustration and avoid wasting your time. Great video!

[chrisburkhardt]

Tip #10. I absolutely love this. I actually had a mentor tell me this exact thing. She said something akin to "You've reached that point where it's an inverse bell curve. You're going to hate every single one of your mixes even though they are good. You'll keep getting better and better until finally you come out to the other side where you start liking your mixes again. And it'll feel like you can mix happily again. So just ride out the bell curve." And she was right. I still pick apart my mixes and think there are things I want to do better, but i'm starting to like my mixes again.

[risingphoenix]

Most important part of a mix is………THE PERFORMANCE

[randnewiger]

In my humble opinion, I believe 99.9% of the time a great mix starts with a great song followed by a great performance played with feeling. There's always going to be something to find in a mix, but a good song will always stand out no matter what, which is why when I mix a song that just doesn't have it, played sloppily, etc. it is very difficult to craft a good mix.

[jasonthomas]

Performance and editing can't be overstated. The bass, kick, and guitars all hitting at the same time makes an incredible difference

[patrickmckiernan]

Hearing the mix on different speakers outside of your studio is truly enlightening. Like you, I began using my IEMs. I will add that regardless of even the optimal monitoring system, we all can get "ear fatigue". Going back in after a good night's sleep will sometimes reveal the worst blemishes almost immediately.

[davejohnsonmusic]

#9 + #10. Along with that, are session templates and refining them. Every mix I do tends to get better and better, so after it's done, I find myself taking a moment to save/update my tracks presets, bus routing and main template. That way, all the things I learned and refined from the previous mix can be carried over to new projects. It's all about developing a workflow that makes sense to you. Slowly you get to the point when your template has everything you need and your projects get more consistent. That's when you start to see results.

[resington]

You have the best advice man truly! I'm a hobby metal writer mixer etc guy here and I always go with my ears no matter what and when I show my process, I explain and prove everything I say.

[cjthomasmusic]

Totally agree with #6. Its funny. I don’t mix rock myself. I’m more in the classical/ambient world. But there’s one reason I actually watch and come back to your videos. Because you mixed some albums that I “grew up” on in my late teens early twenties (ie Silverstein). There are a lot of bedroom producers on YouTube spewing a bunch of nonsense (or just restating what they’ve heard from another bedroom YouTuber) but when you post a video it’s nice to know that it’s coming from someone that I actually enjoyed his output before discovering on YouTube.

[TheRealCalijokes]

The going bk to older mixes part, almost a life lesson in music why I love this advice

[badra]

I appreciate your time, your work, everything in total that you set aside for this and other videos. Advice is always helpful. THANKS Jordan.😉✌

[elizabethsteele]

Good video . I'm a retired film re recording mixer . One of the things I learned after many years was that often the solution to improving the sound of a voice or instrument lies in removing some frequencies - not always adding or increasing the EQ . And, at least in movie dialogue, less compression and riding the fader like a maniac sounds much better than setting a compressor and letting it go . And how many hundreds of times a director or producer would insist in adding and adding and making everything louder - to no avail, and once in a while convincing them that " we need to pull back a few things, carve out a little space and then we'll have a place to fit in the tire screeches or the bad guy's breathing " .

[mrcoatsworth]

Really cranking out great content lately, Jordan! Love it!
I think of all mixing channels, I probably learned most from you, especially in terms of the mindset. Thank you!

By the way, I think I'm not the only one who would love another of those one hour mix videos! That was so interesting to watch.

[davidhayman]

As always very helpful and insightful video, thanks Jordan...I think your point about tightness and tuning on the way in and the effect on the mix sticks out the most to me...but all 10 points are much appreciated...

[coreyhanrahan]

I really appreciate your channel! Upon my retirement I needed something to keep me sane. I got back in to playing my guitar and then recording and mixing. If I had known how much I love the whole process I think I would have made a different career choice. I felt your comment about starting with knowing nothing then evolving hits close with me. I can go back to when I first started recording (4yrs ago) and hear the amount of progress I've made. I have friends in the music industry that tell me that I'm doing a great job and each song is better than the last. That keeps me going and learning how to find issues and then knowing or figuring out how to fix them is so rewarding!! Please keep making the great content and I hope all goes well for you! Thanks!

[bartf]

'at first you suck but you are happy, then you start to get better and learn more but it starts to feel complicated and depressing, but finally you break through to the other side where there is mastery and you'll be good and happy'

never heard truer words regarding mixing than these...

[BrofUJu]

#3 is so spot on. Editing so your transients and drums line up is so massive.

[frankiesunswept]

These kinds of videos are pretty helpful, thanks man. I love the don't be afraid to go extreme one. I have been a/bing my mixes and noticing how gnarly pro mixes can be. I love bad and good sounds haha

[artie]

The real talk and advice is GOLD! Thank you! I don’t usually subscribe to anyone but your logic and great advice totally got me sold. Everything you’re saying is so true. Thank you once again