Mixing tips for a beginner?

[bcwarlock]

I'm just starting to learn how to mix. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good starting exercise or technique that is the most important(Something that I must know, that I can then build up from). Also any good you tube videos anyone has seen that might be of help. I know some about compression and have screwed around with the Eq 8 somewhat,and I know HOW side-chaining works, but cant really pull it off right in practice...just looking for friendly advice is all

[H20nly]

bcwarlock... so are you mixing guitars and such or electronic dance music?

[102455]

How about this for starters? http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun98/a ... 0tips.html

[H20nly]

sprinkle some of this on your melon too

http://tarekith.com/timeless-tips/

http://tarekith.com/helpandsounds/

[bcwarlock]

bcwarlock... so are you mixing guitars and such or electronic dance music?

Electronic music

[beats me]

To match the levels of today’s pro producers your mixed and mastered track waveform should look like this.

[H20nly]

[Tarekith]

I've had to make so many sausages in the studio this week that looked like that.

[sowhoso]

over the last 10 years i have read and watched a ton of stuff. i highly recommend these sources for anyone starting out...

Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio by Mike Senior
http://www.cambridge-mt.com/MixingSecrets.htm

Mixing Audio by Roey Izhaki
http://www.mixingaudio.com/index.php

i also highly recommend the videos by Kenny Gioia at Groove 3. He's very very good at mixing and teaching. He's a regular over at the Gearslutz forums.
http://www.groove3.com/

you can supplement these by searching youtube. particularly good are videos by Dan Worrall: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQnz5mUTDkGwKvIQ9uyqiXw

i enjoy watching Pensado's Place too
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCno8mYpnGhTA9COSW9sP8gQ

there are other books, like those by Owsinski which are really just interviews with big-time mixers. they are a bit useful but disorganized in terms of "mixing" content and they are 80% fluff (how did you start? who have you worked with? what was it like?). i say that considering they are advertised as mixing manuals. they should be advertised as human interest first, mixing as a distant second

[Winterpark]

Use subtractive EQing.

Give everything a space of it's own in the mix... both in terms of soundstage and EQ.

Balance your mix so the most important parts of your track are obvious to the listener.

[bcwarlock]

Thanks everyone!

[störgeräusche]

to me mixing is more than setting levels, EQing, Comp and Fx:

1/3 of the mix is SOUND DESIGN.
get your sounds right from the beginng, some kind of bass and some kind of kicks will never sound good together, period.

1/3 of the mix is ARRANGEMENT
leave space for each sound in arrangement, to have less troubles combining sound sources

1/3 of the mix is LISTENING
listen, listen and learn to listen, analyitically listen. don't watch too much, listen, try to get a midi controller to move your faders (you'll get less distracted than with the mouse) close your eyes and listen.

don't mix at loud levels, give your ears rest, 10 min each two hours works for me, find your own "limits" and respect them.
take your time, post your mixes and get feedback, use it to improve your mixing. it will be a long journey!
acoustical treatment will be your best friend... no use to mix in an horrible sounding room, mixes will never translate well: head to gearslutz.com, there is a section dedicated to acoustic treatment, how to build panels etc, DYI is the way to go... cheap and fast.
good luck!

[reeloy]

...that's not a saussage....that's a brick....!

....don't mix too hot....

....the loudness war saussage comes after all....anyway.

....the more elements you got, the harder it gets to make them shine....
....so less is still and always more...
....kill your darlings...sometimes you must take things away, even if you like them....
....never hear too loud...
...best way to find things that are too loud in the mix....listen to the mix at very low level....
...each single element of your mix has it's own frequencies you want from it....and frequencies you don't need at all there...
...a mix has six floors....sub...low....low mid....hi mid....high...air....
...and there is always only space for ONE first violin....clearly to define for each floor....
...sub is the feeling...air is the breath...
...inbetween is all the rest....

[bcwarlock]

What about leaving at least -6 db below zero for the whole mix to be mastered at, is that a necessity?

[Tarekith]

Not at all, just a safety net to ensure there's no accidental clipping.