Boost Your MIXING SKILLS with the Technique Nobody Talks About

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Boost Your MIXING SKILLS with the Technique Nobody Talks About

In this video, we’re talking about one of my favorite, underrated techniques for getting a great mix…
Rough mixes!
That’s right! I know that we all love our massive plugin collections (and can be very useful), but starting your mix without plugins can provide a number of benefits.
You’ll get your levels balanced before you start processing… You’ll gain a better understanding of the arrangement of the track… You’ll be able to focus on the musical aspects of the tracks, rather than the technical aspects of the mix process…
And more!
So follow along as I show you how I go about setting up a great rough mix!
Is this a technique that you’ve used? What do you think about it? Do you have more questions?

Let me know in the comments!

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:05 Starting the rough mix
1:15 How I route & group tracks
4:10 Listening to the guitars
4:20 Listening to the drums
4:28 Adding bass
5:09 Automation on drums
6:30 Looking at the piano track
7:16 Benefits to rough mixes
9:05 My specific reason for using a rough mix

Some of the gear and plugins I use in the studio:

STUDIO MONITORS:
HEADPHONES:

VIDEO FILMING GEAR
Video gear shared in this video

[ohstudiousa]

As a member of MCC I was able to participate in this mix challenge that Chris demonstrates here. Chris didn't mention that he and his partner Jesper took the time to listen to everyone's mix that turned them in and then gave suggestions on how to improve. That's a big big deal. There are other new challenges in the works.

[dorianrudnytsky]

Surprised to see this, and very glad. For years, I had to produce music in a hurry & had no experience at all with plug-ins so learned how to get the music out as required using the same skill-set you talk about in this video, so know intuitively by now what you mean and the invaluable importance of approaching songs or other works via this bare-bones method. Doing this right and getting it as right as possible means that any plug-in work afterwards can only enhance what is already a good basis.

[Phi-delity]

I am member of Chris wonderful MCC community. And to do this excercise - creating a rough mix WITHOUT processing - helped me to get a better mix when putting in plugins later. It was surprising how good the mix actually sounded. Yes it takes time, but it is also fun. Try it!

[Studiomix]

Making a rough mix is always part of my preparation. Also I never mix on the same day, I make sure everything is labeled, balanced and phase checked.
When mixing I like to mix fast and intuitive with fresh ears and take many small breaks for longer sessions.

[korkenknopfus]

As I commented in the MCC forum, with this challenge I learned indeed to give importance to the rough mix. In previous mixes I liked to go fast through this stage, but now I realized that more time and effort invested here will save you time and pain (and even disaster) in the actual mix. And it is amazing how a rough mix with the strict rule of no processing can end sounding very good. After that you can concentrate in fixing issues and some creative and esthetic work. I will handle my future mixes with new workflow from now on.

[natekelmes]

Doing a static mix, without any plugins, is the most important part of the mixing process. A song should be nearly mixed with gain staging, volume, and panning before any plugins are added.

[mr_travismc]

This was interesting... I think you could take it 1 step further.... NEXT CHALLENGE .... Same tracks: but use EQ ONLY in tandem with this.... then A - B them to see what the next level sounds like... but no other plugins.

[johncostigan]

Don't be like me. Too much stuff! You don't want to start with a mix that sounds like a plug-in demo!
If the song doesn't sound good without `em, they surely won't fix it. Merci Chris!

[LittleStudiosOnline]

First let me say great video! I'm in the market for new studio monitors and I've seen your video talking about the Kali IN-8's and I thought, but does he actually use them. Well I see them on your stands. Are they your primary monitors? Honestly, I'm kind of surprised to see the Kali IN-8's and not something like Adam Audio A7V's.

[jp]

This is NOT a rant against Chris, or this helpful video, but I get bummed out when it comes to mixing tutorials - they're all centered around the same musical genre - rock. And the mix consists of drums, guitar, bass, keys and of course, vocals. You'll be hard pressed to find a mixing tutorial without these, and only these elements. What if you're in to contemporary jazz or EDM? What if you play a wind instrument, how do you go about properly mixing that? If I was any good at mixing, I'd make a tutorial for those people, LOL.