When we cook, we use our senses.
Wolfgang Puck says that we eat with our eyes first, and that's one of the reasons plating is so important. We use our sense of touch to feel the food when we're preparing it.
Then we use our sense of smell and taste to decide whether the food is flavorful enough, and our sense of sight and sound to gauge the crackling of the oil on the pan, to know whether the bread is just the right shade of golden, or whether the steak has just the right sear.
But your senses are useless if you don't use common sense to tell you whether anything you're doing is right.
Common sense comes from practice. From repetition. From gained experience. A novice chef who doesn't know the first thing about cooking has all of the five senses everyone else has, except they lack the crucial common sense needed to make a good meal.
Unsurprisingly, you can say something similar about mixing.
- You use volume and panning to create a rough static mix
- You use EQ to create separation between your instruments
- You use compression to add punch and tightness to your tracks
- You use reverb and delay to create space and depth which makes your song sound three-dimensional
- You add saturation throughout to add sweetening that makes your mixes sound more professional
But if you don't have common sense while you use these five processors, you'll still end up with an amateur mix.
You can have the best, most expensive plug-ins from all the cutting edge plug-in companies, but you still have to know how and when to use each plug-in.
You don't always approach each song in exactly the same way. The order of the plug-ins can change. The need for a specific reverb or effect will vary from song to song.
Sometimes you don't even need compression.
And if you don't have common sense while using these plug-ins, you won't find a workflow that works for you.
Luckily, the 5 Plug-in Framework I teach you inside Mix Finisher Formula has all the common sense I've found from working in the audio industry since 2006.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I have a lot of common sense in other areas of my life, but when it comes to mixing, I've figured it out.
And it all boils down to 20% of the plug-ins you'll find in your DAW. You don't need a hundred premium plug-ins to make pro mixes. You just need good tracks, a common-sense workflow, and these five plug-ins:
- EQ
- Compression
- Reverb
- Delay
- Saturation
I haven't met a single professional mixing engineer that doesn't use these processors on every mix.
And if you'd like to learn how to use them effectively, so that you can crank out quality mixes without buying more plug-ins, then Mixing With 5 Plug-ins is for you.
Here's what a couple of recent students had to say:
"As a complete novice, I spent a lot of time watching miscellaneous mixing-related videos on the Internet, and became completely confused by all the (often conflicting) information. Your course has turned out to be really invaluable in helping to clear up some of the mystery surrounding the process of mixing."
"As a recent student of yours, I also wanted to thank you for the content. You have a knack for getting information across which has allowed me to break down barriers. Seeing some of your 'unconventional' EQ curves has provided me the confidence to start trusting my ears - not the visualizer. I'm now very comfortable employing the strategy that there is no actual convention. Your approach to space and depth has also really helped me understand how to approach
this area of the mix...This philosophy has been the most freeing of them all. I have subscribed to other online courses, and watched many, many hours of YouTube content; but nothing has unwrapped the key to the puzzle in the same way you've been able to...my mixes have improved beyond all doubt. Most importantly, my 'bigger picture' perspective towards the process has shifted towards 'feeling' the whole song instead of getting caught up on the micro-details. I always knew this is what was
required, but I simply didn't have a clear direction on how to achieve it. You have provided that in abundance. Consider me a very happy customer."
If you'd like the same professional results in your mixes from your home studio, you can get 50% off Mix Finisher Formula this week. There's no coupon code needed. The discount is automatically applied when you check out.
Head on over here and get started with the Mix Finisher Formula!
P.S.
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