When you mix hard rock you may have a tendency to mix too hot from the start but unfortunately, that'll just force you to turn things down later. It might be better to just keep the levels tame from the start and turn up your monitor controller instead if you want to rock out.
Don't get too discouraged if a mix isn't working right away. Sometimes when the mix isn’t working you just have to give it a rest for a sec. Go to the grocery store, get something to eat. Change out of your work clothes, have a drink or whatever.
Also, as I say in Step By Step Mixing (http://www.StepbyStepMixing.com), make sure you do the dishes before you start cooking in the kitchen! It's the same with mixing. "If you clean up your tracks before you start mixing you'll have a more enjoyable experience. You don't want noise from the vocal tracks creeping in during the solo.
So before you start mixing, do these two things:
- Trim the regions and delete the "noisy" silences between parts.
- Add fades to all the regions so they don't abruptly pop in.
Trimmed regions with fades to eliminate noise in between instrument parts
Going back to the “doing the dishes” analogy, if the kitchen is clean I know where everything is and I can grab it immediately. If I leave the dirty dishes in the sink, I'll inevitably have to scour through the dirty dishes to find that one utensil I specifically need for my cooking.
If you don't edit your tracks first, you'll run into similar problems. You'll notice an annoying click somewhere, a misaligned drum hit, or background noise you should have edited out. This hinders your workflow because you're constantly going back and forth between the mixing and the editing phase."
And finally, watch my gated kick drum trick with the transient designer to see how you can get rid of unnecessary low-end bleed from the decay of the kick drum envelope.
Mixing With 5 Plug-ins - More Affordable Than Ever
One of the benefits of being an Audio Issues customers is that you can attend the live mix streams as well as submit your song to be featured in one of them.
One of the best ways to gain access to that privilege is to become a Mixing With 5 Plug-ins member and this weekend I'm making it more affordable than ever.
From now until Monday morning, you can take advantage of the exclusive payment plan I created to join Mixing With 5 Plug-ins and get started for only $9!
Here's What You Get When You Join:
6-Module Mixing With 5 Plug-ins Course:
- Module 1 - Getting a Great Balance and Static Mix
- Module 2 - Creating Separation in Your Mixes With EQ
- Module 3 - Creating Punch and Tightness With Compression
- Module 4 - Adding Depth and Space With Reverb and Delay
- Module 5 - How to Add Sweetening With Saturation
- Module 6 - How to Make Your Mix Translate to Every Speaker
- All modules are delivered via video with in-depth written content as well.
Plus, two free bonuses:
- Free Bonus #1: Parallel Processing Masterclass PDF and Video Series - How To Use One Single Mix Technique to Add That Final 10% Your Mixes are Missing ($29 Value)
- Free Bonus #2: Advanced Mixing Techniques from the "Crazy for Me" Mix Walkthrough Video ($29 Value)
If you'd like to get the inside scoop on all the mix streams while learning to mix your songs with the 5 Plug-ins method that helps you understand exactly how to use the five most important processors you have in your DAW, click this link to take advantage of this limited-time payment plan offer.
Remember: this offer ends on Monday so make sure you grab it now.
Have a great weekend,
Björgvin
