17 Noob Mixing MISTAKES to Avoid

In this video, I'm reviewing 17 of the most common beginner mixing mistakes so you can know better, then do better.

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[KSherwoodOps]

Mixing with your eyes was def the hardest habit to break.

[BAwesomeDesign]

This may be the most succinct, clear, honest video there is on mixing. Even as someone who's mixed his own stuff for almost twenty years... and who has gotten audio engineering training... I find that the first ten in your list are at least occasionally still problems for me. Too much surgery, focusing on "cutting mud" instead of leaving low-mids in the mix and hearing them in context of the whole mix on different systems... using a "main reverb" stereo aux channel and throwing everything into it. After watching this video, I went back to a current session I was working on and within 15 minutes, cleared up several problems i had been having over the last MONTH of struggling. Now I'm just down to tweaking a few vocal levels in the mix when listening on my computer speakers/headphones/car. Hats off. Thanks.

[spaldingmcintosh]

When you said watching too many YouTube tutorials you earned my respect. Total honesty even though it could be considered a clash with your own personal gain. Great video,
Cheers

[thejasonblackburn]

If reverb is clouding your mix you can roll off the low end of the reverb return. You'll get quite a bit of clarity back and be able to keep as much reverb as you want.

[cdrums]

Mixing without isolating is DEFINITELY the biggest tip to take away from this. Changed my sound big time (in a good way)

[Sam-sslo]

I used to mix back in the 80's, analog to tape. I had a mentor and was trained. Ultimately, I ended up doing live sound. We didn't have all the fancy tools, there are almost too many choices for a newbie today. They need to be trained to get a good sound naturally first and work with minimal tools until they can achieve some progress. It's a bit like a photographer relying too much on automatic mode and photoshop. Learn the art first. The one tool we did have back then was 'solo', I was trained to use it to find problems, not perfect the sound of a single instrument. The exception being, when trying to get a special sound for an instrument, but again we focused on achieving it naturally at first, then adding effects. Overall, about half of what you talked about was true even back then, especially the plan/workflow, everyone misses this one. Having a solid process you follow each time will take you a lot further faster. Also, I want to reinforce your point that when you're done, you need to listen to the mix in your car and on your phone with earbuds. Average people aren't listening using tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear. It has to sound good on everything. You may have to make adjustments that might seem unnatural in the studio, back in the day, we had to crank the high end to account for losses for the degradation of tape.
Well done. 5 stars. I don't have a project, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate to hire you based on this video alone. It tells me all I need to know about your knowledge of the craft.

[unclemick-synths]

Never committing is another one that's applicable to hitting Record. I went down the "record clean" rathole - it's baking Analysis Paralysis into your process! Pick a sound, audition it within context of the existing tracks and the aims of the arrangement, and lay it down.

[kimkimpa]

Noob mistakes:

0:11 1. Always mixing in solo
0:50 2. Spray and pray panning
1:26 3. Making baby moves
2:00 4. Mixing with your eyes
3:04 5. Band-aid fixes
4:09 6. Never committing
5:32 7. Blurring the mixing and editing phase
5:53 8. No consistent workflow
6:25 9. No standard organization
7:24 10. Smiley face syndrome
8:12 11. Static mixes
9:01 12. Always distracted
10:00 13. Sharing mixes before they are done
10:57 14. Referencing too much
12:09 15. Too much reverb
12:49 16. Too much surgery
13:47 17. Watching too many tutorials

[Nut-K]

No. 12... yes defenetly avoid distractions, but make sure to take deliberate brakes. It's all about paying attention to what you are doing. You can also apply this in other aspects of life too😊. The more you do this, the better your ability to focus on details, without getting stuck on them... In turn this applies when you are mixing as well🤔.

[nbl]

I would like to say: Hi-passing for no reason. A lot of people get it in their head to cut under 100 Hz on everything accept bass and kick. However, I find this can make a lot of mix elements too weak (especially snare). You should only hi pass if you listen to an element that was recorded and go "hmmm, this sounds too muddy and bassy" not just to do it

[peacefulruler]

This is the best producing channel…you’re clear, definite, and correct. You’re saving me years of fumbling and lots of unnecessary tuition payments! God bless you!

[recordingdotpizza]

Great video! The one suggestion I have a slightly different take on is that of eliminating distractions: yes, distractions can rob you of time and progress, and that needs to be avoided, but for years I often found myself becoming fixated on one element of a mix (whatever was giving me the most trouble/challenge), and the more I worked to address it the more likely I would totally miss other elements. I'd listen back later and be shocked by obvious (upon listening with fresh ears/perspective) mistakes or things I overlooked elsewhere in the mix. To address this I eventually put a TV in my studio (sound off) and put it on cable news, so I was always looking up and seeing things that would briefly take my mind off the microscopic thing I was dealing with at that moment. That little bit of distraction, visually, helped me stay on the mix as a whole and keep me from becoming too myopic about any single part. This is, of course, not really what you meant by eliminating distractions, but it's related, and doing similarly may help other folks. Thanks for the video!!

[robertharker]

For beginner mixers, if you want to learn how to mix, you first have to learn how to listen. I call it soloing in your brain. When listening to a song, learn how to hear each instrument separately without reaching for the solo button. Not just the vocal, lead guitar or snare, but the other instruments. What is the rhythm guitar doing? What about the keyboards? What is the horn section doing? How many horns and what types of horns? What are the drums doing? Are the drum fills going up or down the rack toms? What about percussiona? Are there other accent instruments?
If you learn to solo in your brain, you will have a lot less need to reach for that solo button. See mistake #1 to avoid.
You can practice listening almost anywhere. You don't need studio monitors or $300 headphones. A good set of earbuds with rubber tips will work. Just get in the habit when listening to music in your idle time, start listening to the individual instruments in the mix.

[vzvandal]

You've got a new subscriber man, making baby moves and going by what you see rather than what you hear were my biggest issues a few years ago, I couldn't agree more.

[didiermeynders]

Except the reverb tip, they are all great! Reverb is an essential and prominent effect in the music I make (trance), but for sure its a good tip for other styles.

[dtrmnts]

Learned a lot from this and it's interesting cuz most of it goes directly against what i've learned from all of nolly's tutorials but i don't even like his over surgical, clean mixes.

[mrcoatsworth]

I was definitely guilty of most - if not all - of these. I'd like to think I've overcome many of these habits since.
Good stuff, Jordan! Love that you're putting out content regularly again.

[RipYgt]

After 4 years of production I STILL found this incredibly insightful. Thank you! 🙏🏼

[DDRMR]

Dude you are SO spot on, the fact that this video only has 13k views is a shame because many producers absolutely need to hear these tips.

Tip#2: it's insane how much people ask the secret to 'wide mixes' and rely on stereo imaging tools.. Hard Pans are the way to fucking go!

Tip #4: really resonates.. so many people do the whole A/B comparison based on visual reference they will change an entire mix to match without even addressing the change in sound.

[kronik]

Lots of good stuff here, but the band-aid fixes and never committing advice are two opposite suggestions. One says be ready to restart from the ground up if its not working, and the other says commit to past decisions. Obviously you need to find a balance and commit to what is working and be willing to restart on stuff that isnt, but I think deleting tracks is maybe a step too far. I definitely like to hide the old midi or trigger tracks in another area or another project in case something isn't working.