There are TOO MANY %"#$"# options!

Published: Wed, 05/17/17

One of the things I absolutely despise is figuring out what you want to watch on Netflix these days.

There are just so many $%"% options that you end up sifting through pages upon pages of movies, tv shows, and documentaries for over half an hour.

And before you know it, your soup is cold, your bread is stale and you still can't decide whether you want to watch a long, drama-style shows a la House of Cards (you can actually just watch the news these days as it seems to be the same thing...) or a quick comedy pick me up sitcom.

It's the most entitled, Millenial, bullshit first-world problem decision anxiety ever and I hate myself for it.

At least I don't have the same problem when it comes to mixing.

Thank god there's not a new plug-in to try every week.

I'd never finish a mix!

Nope, I stick to the five processors that always work on every mix:

  • EQ
  • Compression
  • Reverb
  • Delay
  • Saturation

These processors take on different shapes depending on what I need to do. I don't always use the same EQ plug-in, but I tend to limit myself to about two different plug-ins for the task.

Otherwise, I'd be scrolling through that Universal Audio list forever!

Here's what I usually have on my mix template as my go-to starting point:

Image

They all serve a specific purpose, whether that's trying to mix the drums to get the fundamental frequencies out with EQ, multi-band compression to get the right thickness in the lows while keeping the highs breathing, or just routing all the instruments to the same effects to glue them together and make them sound like a balanced mix. 

Because I've already made my plug-in decisions based on what I always use over and over again I can skip the decision anxiety and get right to work. I know these plug-ins are going to help because they are the most important ones every skilled engineer uses. 

For me, it was about finding the ones that felt right for me to use. Then it became a matter of mastering them over time to get great mixes. I can mix any genre with these plug-ins and you can too.

I can mix any genre with these plug-ins and you can too.

We're mixing a lot of different Folk, Rock and Singer/Songwriter-style tracks inside the Mixing With 5 Plug-ins community already, but next week I'm adding a brand new Hard Rock Masterclass that tackles a completely different genre and how to use the same type of processing to get a kick-ass sounding rock mix.

So if you're having problems getting a clear mix in the frequency spectrum; struggling to mold everything together and getting a fuller mix; or just need a step-by-step process to finishing your mix, then join Mixing With 5 Plug-ins this week and finally earn the confidence you need to create mixes you're proud to release.

Check out the details of the new bonuses and the Hard Rock Masterclass when right here.