The 4 Fundamentals of a Good Mix (with Dan Worrall)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
- Getting a good mix is simpler than you think... In this video, @DanWorrall explains four essential ingredients of every great mix. Check out Dan Worrall's channel for more videos: / danworrall
00:00 - Intro
00:16 - Tips For A BEDA Mix
01:58 - Balance
08:04 - EQ
12:24 - Dynamics
16:59 - Ambience
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Thanks for having me Kyle, and I hope people find this useful.
My pleasure, Dan! I hope viewers are finding the video helpful. Check out Dan's channel here: th-cam.com/users/DanWorrall
I found every single video you made very useful!
Great video! Two of my favorites teaming up! Love it.
Very useful indeed
Dan is the Michael Jordan (notice I didn't say Lebron) of audio TH-cam.
The idea of pulling the sounds towards you, rather than just raising volume, is a useful concept I'll try to keep in my head
It's a more direct imagining. I guess using sliders in other appliances flipped our image of the sound
I think we'd all be interested in a complete, structured mixing/mastering course by Dan. Make it and we pay.
This playlist is already pretty good for a start th-cam.com/video/_fDg_pgit5c/w-d-xo.html
Yep
I would totally pay for that.
anytime !!!!
Absolutly - I would pay for that too
It took me about ten years to find out all of the info Dan gives in this video by myself. This video should be THE very first thing a person wanting to learn to mix watches. It doesn't bedazzle you with plug in features and things that are useless until you know what the fundamental things a mix should be trying to achieve are, and how to approach them. This video somehow condenses "what is a mix" into less than 30 mins. A job well done I say!
I could not agree more. Focus is all important. Then train your ears through practice. Review mixes with others, discussing will cement your hearing experience. It will help your ability to understand and judge. This concept is valid for many topics from mixing music to 'mastering' your understanding the taste of wine and food (more my field of expertise). I have no knowledge of mixing. I do understand quite a bit of what I hear and why it sounds that way. To understand more is why I'm viewing this and other mixing channels. Stay curious ❤
Definitely. Not ten years for me, but after I've read 2 books on the matter (and finally getting a clue), I find this which sums up the most important things I read there. First TH-cam video I've seen that does this, the countless others I've seen just focus on some detail, as the speaker himself says. I never overpraise videos or stuff in general, but this deserves.
Totally agree. I'm about to start learning how to mix and this is some really valuable information
@@andrewt.winchester3422 If you ever have any questions about it, feel free to drop them here and I'll try to help you out if you need. I doubt I'll be as graceful as Dan at explaining it tho heh.
It’s actually the first thing i see about mixing altho i knew it existed i didn’t look it up until now so ig im in the right track
20 minutes of Dan Worrall talking about mixing, doesn't get any better than that
He’s the David Attenborough of Production 🎉
It does get better than that. For example, 40 minutes of Dan Worrall talking about mixing.
I’m a simple producer, I see Daddy Dan, I click 🤷♂️ 😅
At sound school they made us submit our first mix using only faders and eq (and panning which is also a fader).
I feel as we as engineers advance with daws, vsts, production etc, we forget how powerful are these tools and how everything builds on top of them :)
And like he pointed out in this video, EQ is also a fader. It's just frequency specific. Almost everything comes down to levels. I mean, compression is a fader too, since it's turning down the loudest parts.
Reminds me of my own experience in college. They had us mix on consoles first to appreciate the fundamentals with no option for excessive plugins or digital tweaking.
Made us really focus on nailing the basics.
This Absolutely on point, im a self taught amateur, the moment i got this concept in my head my mixes improved, people underestimate how importante to the sound stage is the ground work
Great video! These fundamentals don’t sit as top-of-mind for me as they should 😅 The latest “soundgoodizer” plugins on the other hand… (Wavesfactory has a new one out today and this video made me think twice about it lol)
I know you :D hello there
Those soundgoodizer thingies can work, this is why people keep on trying them and hoping they will give them the sound they want.
But by the end of the day it much better to know how to do things on a lower level so you can actually have control of what you're doing and have a basic understanding of why it works, instead of just rolling a knob 😂
First of all that name Soundgoodizer sounds weird
@@HaharuRecordsnah, makes the sound good I guess
Im printing a big "BEDA" sign and putting it in the wall next to my pc and monitors. This is top advice
VOLUMES:
- Balance front-to-back depth based on the importance of each element at every stage of the song to direct the focus of the listener.
EQ:
- Can be used to clean and shape tones
- Make sure FQ aren't masking eachother (esp. low end)
- Have a Kick poke through the mix at 50Hz and 5kHz to sound huge while dipping the intermediate FQ a bit.
Have the bass fundamental at 100Hz to hear it clearly
- Each FQ range has a certain quality (warmth, boxy, precence, aggresive, air...). Poke the elements out where you need that quality to shine.
- Train your ears to recognise different FQs
COMPRESSION:
- Macrodynamics: changes in volume at different parts of the song
- Microdynamics: changes in volume within one element
Ambience:
- Our brain substracts the room to hear the sounds clearly
- In modern pop the lead vocal sounds dry but it still has early reflections
I see Dan Worrall in the title, I click. It’s that simple.
MY NOTES:
BEDA: Balance - EQ - Dynamics -Ambience
Most important factor of mixing = volume faders. Controls front-and-back depth.
Common beginner mistakes: vocals & drums too quiet while bass too loud.
EQ: corrects mistakes made while recording, shapes tone of part to your liking, controls balance of each frequency band of mix independently. Takes ear training and practice to get right. EQ helps prevent frequency masking. Instruments that poke out in the mix more = more emphasis.
Dynamics:
Macro: difference between loud vs quiet. Volume automation in the mix. Done throughout the arrangement in a storytelling way.
Micro: high peak to average ratio where transients are very prominent. Main tool to control this is compression. Gives the listener the subliminal feeling of having drums pop in your face.
Ambience: all the reverb and delay effects in the mix, especially the ones that are subliminal where you don't notice until it's missing.
You got to respect a man who won the loudness war ;) =]
In all seriousness, I've come to define mixing as "bringing together the separate elements in order to form a cohesive whole". You have a solid composition/song, a solid arrangement, and a solid set of recordings, then the mixing is really about making sure they "get along together". If you can achieve this with just the faders and pan pots, you are most of the way there. Additional processing - especially EQ and compression - should be used either to address technical issues (frequency masking, addressing tonal balance) or for creative purposes.
Well said, Derek! Thanks for sharing.
Indeed, but unfortunately there are hundreds of TH-cam channels are victims of the clickbait war that bombard users with tips on "How to perfect your mix to get that last 10% bit of polish like Grammy winners", when most of us don't know how to do the first 90%. Generally speaking, videos about fundamental skills don't get the clicks. Everyone's looking for the shiny "extra" bit that for most viewers and newbies is basically irrelevant.
This video is the undeniable proof that, i don't know how, they can read your mind thru your phone because just yesterday i was thinking "I need a video about general concept of mixing by Dan Worrall, it would be so useful to me now". And here we are...
So true... I'm blaming 5G lol its just so creepily accurate sometimes. think about it, talk about it.. BAM! youtube recommends it
@@darkcharmrecords i have not even talked about it
@@mttlsa686 exactly... creepy asf
The creepiest thing is that I'm subscribed to this channel and Dan's, but TH-cam has recommended me about 38 other videos that don't feature Kyle or Dan. It must be reading thoughts that I'm not even aware of. Or maybe it's just an algorithm based on my previous viewing habits.
@@AutPen38 the latter.
Great video as usual from Dan Worrall!
By far the best audio teacher on TH-cam. No name dropping, deep philosophical 'get in the head' of an engineer reasoning, examples to show benefits, reasons WHY things are helpful and HOW they can be used, etc. No one compares. And best of all, no name dropping and filling up time with bs and beating around the bush.
This is single-handedly the most important mixing video I’ve watched in 4 years of making music. Thank you
I felt compelled to respond by two personal experiences. First, as an engineer at MCI 1975-76, I worked on three custom consoles - JH500 series - that we built for Atlantic Records’ recording studios in NYC for which inverted faders were specified. It wasn’t nearly as simple as we hoped as the faders mounting points did not permit a simple flip. Instead the fader’s mechanical mounting was retained but the resistive track element inside was inverted. Even that required some drilling and some amount of time to confirm.
Second, I enjoyed a friendship with Tom Dowd and later his wonderful daughter, Dana, who generously shared her experiences with Dad. Tom had an office right at the front door of Criteria Studios, just 10 steps from Studio D where he made a home for awhile. I grew to know him just from walking through the front door, as he seemed to prefer the social construct over any quiet space and was a great conversationalist. That is very much missed.
Tom and I did a remote recording for an artist in which we both shared an interest. He produced, I engineered; the irony did not escape me. He was the perfect collaborator in a musical project, with a keen ear, an open mind, and an always ready good idea. I wish we could have done more. It seems everyone I still regularly see from those days has a beautiful story to relate about Tom. That, more than anything else, is a legacy I want to leave when it’s time for me.
Hey Brotha, first I just want to say Thank You for sharing all of that.
Obviously Tom Dowd was/is a legend that far too many of us give credit to.
Every time an engineer moves a fader, he should get a penny added to his Dowd estate.
But your first experience is why I'M compelled to respond!
Though the irony that you have both a personal relationship with the inventor of the fader, AND a personal experience with Re-Installing them "the Right Way" or the Dowd way, is incredible!
My question is this:
Did you actually get to mix on those boards, and if so, Was it indeed more intuitive, or were you already so conditioned that moving the faders in reverse just broke your brain?
Here's the thing, when I first started learning (in the late eighties early nineties), and really started developing my understanding of a 3-dimensional sound stage, I immediately questioned Why the faders go the wrong way. I had a debate with (not quite a mentor) about it as a teenager that resulted in, "that's just how it is".
So if Frequencies are Up & Down, Panning is Left & Right, and Levels are Front & Back, why am I pushing the fader Up to bring the sound Forward?
I have a Lot more I could say, but Thank You for sparking these thoughts!
G.
(Last seemingly random question: Are you a Reaper user by chance?)
God bless you MR. DAN and Brother KYLE, I wonder why most at times we intend to do so much especially on vocals hmm 🤔 but it should be simple 👍🏾
this is actually the best introduction to mixing I have ever seen, accessible, clear, precise and exhaustive. That's very hard to do with a subject as dispersive as mixing. Worrall is great.
It's been 10 years since the first time I learned to use a DAW.
For me, the concepts of mixing is surprisingly simple.
The hard part is to bridge the listening to knowing what's happening.
You already know what sounds good, but why and how do they sound good.
Outstanding. I've been following Dan for a while now and I think he's the most eloquent audio educator I've ever encountered. Delighted that you hosted him for this!
Fantastic collaboration, thank you for your work!
In the late 2000s/early 2010s, I used to lull myself to sleep replaying fabfilter tutorials on repeat, listening to Dan's articulate voice describing techniques as I drift off into dreaming about the next studio session. To this day, every video I've seen from him significantly helps my workflow and approach to visualizing the mix. If the technical parts are over my head, he still breaks it down with philosophical concepts which plant seeds for when I revisit again later. Brilliant, as always Dan. You're truly a legend.
And Kyle, I was really pleased to see that you had Dan on as a guest. I've been following your vids for quite some time too, and you're out here doing the lord's work. Keep it up. We need more channels like yours out here.
It's so heartwarmingly cute how proud you are to have Dan on your show. Beaming from one ear to the other! Brilliant advice through and through as well!
Mad respect for this kind of "free" content. I'm blown away by the quality you guys deliver for such a small return. True dedication for the people.
Bravo.
Keep what you're doing as long as it makes you happy, we'll be there to take all your wisdom with unended gratitude. ❤️
Thank you!
_"I'm blown away by the quality you guys deliver for such a small return"_
goes to show you what has become of youtube, you see youtube was never about the money, fame, succes, it was a tool to broadcast yourself without expecting things in return....
it a persons own choice to broadcast himself but not a *right* to become succesfull.
Dont get me wrong, the comment has a good intention, but it a distorted view based on how social media is nowadays
@@amosamwig8394 I think you need reevaluate my comment and our current society, not just social media, our society, they are clearly trying to live of what they are doing like a lot of other people. Yeah capitalism might be a terrible system but it's what we have to work with for now. So yeah I sincerely wanted to thanks them for their dedication cause they could be making more money going an easier way of locking down their wisdom but they choose to give us a lot without waiting for something in return like a lot would have otherwisely done in their place.
From the beginning TH-cam was thought a business.. Founded by ex PayPal employees, a business man and 2 entrepreneurs.. Nothing "twisted" about our view, that's our current reality after all..
I don't really understand your comment sorry..
But I hope you're not struggling in your life and still wish you the better.
Attention seekers unite . Hey , I made a (cheap ) video on youtube , I'm a star !
Maybe one of the most informative and to the point videos about the next steps after getting it right at the source. He not only knows what he is talking about; he is extraordinary at explaining it.
Crammed with sensible perceptions. May you all be finders of great sounding space. Dan's music is gorgeous.
You can't beat Dan Worrall for breaking down a subject to its core. Concise, Precise and Elegant. Just like a great mix! Greetings from New Mexico!
Boom !
this is one of my favorite audio production videos I have ever watched/listened to
Watched/listened to this 4-5 times and improved already! Thank you so much ❤ x
When Dan speaks - you better listen. Looking forward to this!
I tend to be quite skeptical of youtube audio people, but featuring Dan Worrall on this channel may have been the biggest thing you could do to persuade me of your legitimacy. I've seen a lot of people be like "tips and tricks won't help you, you just need this mindset" and while I definitely agree that tips and tricks won't help if you've got the wrong mindset (and also a great deal of tips and tricks videos are useless), Dan's tips and tricks have probably done more for my mixes than any of those guys' videos except for the one that outlined the principles in this video.
Thanks. I just gave my first real go at mixing without just meandering in the dark and it came out really good. Love when I get access to the actual basics, from cued in teachers.
Love the down-to-earth approach to the video. It is easy to get lost in all the details of mixing, so it's nice to zoom out get back to resolving the core problems.
Thank you for this. The explanation by Dan was simple and effective. The principles of a good mix were explained with clarity and depth. Thank you very much for this. Your generosity as a channel ad for Dan is much appreciated for those of us, who have never gone to school for audio engineering.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I thought wisdom comes with age ?
After so many years of mixing by ear and playing with so many different plug ins, I’ve found that doing the least possible gives the best results. Just having a solid sound to start with and small adjustments go such a long way
I agree, I’ve found that if I make a big change and it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Yup, to me the more plugins it has, it feels like it had a veil separating you from the song
I’ve made a similar discovery. Just little small incremental changes eventually lead to a great mix. Not that I’m against large sweeping changes but usually it doesn’t accomplish what you need
@@karlludwigsenmusic982 yeah I think nowadays depending on your genre alot if samples/sounds/synths we use are already clean cut and solid, you can eliminate a lot of the mixing issues by simply changing you’re sound to a better one rather than trying too hard to fit it into the mix
You knows what's really crazy? The same applies to images. It's crazy similar both are.
1. Record to a raw format that has no/minimal amount of processing to the signal after the analog to digital stage.
2. Get the cleanest analog signal with the least amount of noise. Make sure everything is technically good on set rather than fix it later.
2. If all wen't well the only thing you might have to do is fix contrast, exposure and fix the color balance slightly.
4. Voila you're done
kept smiling and nodding all the time...thanks for sharing!
Always great content on your channel Kyle and respect to you for introducing Dan to those of your audience that weren't aware of him.
Both of you have a great understanding of the technical side of recording (and I've learned so much from both of you) and explain it really well.
One of the points made that might slip past a lot of people is that the best mix starts with the arrangement. An individual has it easy limited only be their ability to play or program an instrument but when you're working with a band then that's a whole new dimension. Them triangle players always want to be higher in the mix!
That was awesome. Very comprehensive and filled with yes and a ha moments, plenty of new insights plus some of those things you didn't know that you knew. Nicely narrated!
Excellent primer. I've never heard a better summation of building a mix. Your emphasis on the difference between visual levels (metering) and perceived levels is a great call-out. Thank you for keeping it real in a sea of...
Thanks Dan and Kyle. This is an invaluable framework for learning mixing. Excellent explanations and musical examples. Thanks for sharing
This is my first mixing video and I'm attentively taking notes! Thank you so much for all the valuable information!
This is exactly what I needed to hear! I’m just a home studio nut, and have too many plugins for my own good. I’ve tried just about every YT tip, trick, and tutorial out there. My mixes still sound dull and lifeless! I’m definitely going to apply this method. Thanks for making this video!
Thank you Dan and audio university for the great education
Such a great video. I've been formally trained and mix engineering for 3 years, but a well communicated reminder of the basics is so valuable!
A match made in heaven
Bro 💯 💯
its so wild because the first minute of what dan said is spot on. combing through your videos and rewatching the david gibson video helped my mixes significantly more than dans at the time cuz it helped me get the fundamentals down. only NOW i feel ready to digest some of dans stuff and seeing dan talk about the basics is splendid
Had a moment of "whoa..." at 4:45, realizing there was a much simpler way to think of faders than what I've been doing... Had to pause the video and reflect before continuing. Top notch info, very happy to have come across it
You can't lose getting Dan on your channel. For some reason we all love that dude 🤣👍🏾
Much love Dan and Kyle! Really appreciate knowledge.
Top notch. I've been struggling with clear mixes, despite having minimal inputs to begin with. I think I need to start again from the basics, and this certainly delivered.
Congrats on 300k, Kyle! Great content as always, Dan, thanks!
Thanks, Ed!
I Loved how you didn't disregard some of the more nitty gritty stuff just because it's complicated, sure you didn't go into depth about it which is great for people like me, but you also told people who didn't know about it that they should learn about it and know why. This is the approach I take to many things not just audio, learn how it works on the most fundamental level that you can give your own bounds, knowing it on such a small level let's you conseptulize what your doing much better and will help you problem solve when an issue does occur.
I’ve been hobby producing for about 6 years and you called out my noob tendencies. The way you then explained the fundamentals of pushing things back was so elegant and understandable that I know things will be different moving forward. Thanks a ton
Thanks for this amazing video! Pleasure to listen to your voice as well,
I've been needing this video for like 10 years
When Dan was talking about how a recording of a concert or something sounds bad compared to it sounding good in person, it occurred to me that it must be for that reason that binaural, head-shaped microphone setups exist. So the recording will contain all of the cues we normally get in person from the shape of our head and such, so that when listened back to on headphones, our brain is able to correct for the room reverb/eq and hear the mix as it would be in person.
Great explanation of the basics. While I know them, it serves me well to be regularly reminded.
Thank You Very Much Sir!
🙂🙏
Brilliant concise presentation Dan. Thanks so much for confirming what has taken me many years to understand.
Can't believe how much I just learnt over a cup of coffee. Incredible video, thank you!
Definitely the best video on mixing that I've seen on youtube so far...
Great philosophical advice from Dan. When I'm putting a track together, I don't touch any eq or reverb as I'm going along except for filtering out with low and high pass filters. If something is not sitting in that monitor mix I'll change the sound, for example if the kick is lacking low end, I'll layer in a sample to add it in. When I get to mixing, I find I don't even have to eq some parts and the mixes sound more natural.
This is amazing. Definitely one of the most inspiring videos I've watched. Makes me go to mix some stuff immediately! :D
Oh wow!! What precious tips especially when we have so many information that can misslead us. Thank you very much.
Thank you for supplying so much detail!!❤
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you.
What a wildly fantastic video. You guys rock.
Dan - is a legend! Thanks so much Kyle for this video! Love your channel - learning a ton from it.
Glad to hear that!
That Tom Dowd thing about the faders was super-interesting. Thanks, great content as always.
Absolutely amazing, a must watch for everyone trying to really get a good sound out of their music, hadn't seen an explanation so well, keep it up!
Only a few minutes in, but this is excellent already. Thanks for featuring Dan on the channel!
Thanks to Dan for accepting the invitation! Glad to help!
Well, that was phenomenal. I can tell when I'm going to listen to something 10 times through again and enjoy it every time. Dan might be the David Attenborough of music.
A key takeaway from this lecture is just how important it is to listen start to finish when engineers like Mr Worrall address a particular topic, as opposed to cherry picking a presented strategy and ignoring the entire context of the lecture. It’s a key mistake many aspiring engineers make- and in combination with being self taught it can be futile trying to apply any strategy if the underlying problem is not listening completely. This channel marriage is a great offering for deciphering the skewed world of YT amateurs who make tutorial videos without having the first clue as to what they are even talking about. Thanks Kyle and Dan for your part in setting the world of YT audio lectures on its proper axis. Efficient informative effective content.
✌️
What a great explanation. And the music is fantastic. Thanks
What an amazing guest! Thx for keep on making great content Kyle!
Dan never disappoints! This is awesome
yes he does lmao, this was a huge disappointment, nothing compared to his fabfilter vids, fk all you yes men and back patters.
'Bass too loud' was a problem I faced a lot in the past. Since my monitoring system back then (only 2x KRK Rokit 6) couldn't represent the bass I wanted to have in my track. So I pushed it to the limit to feel it the way I wanted it. Since I added a KRK Subwoofer to my monitoring I really feel the -10 db bassline and don't have to push it to -3 db~
How long have you been producing
@@frane_29 for about 8 years now
Getting the bass sorted is one of _the_ primary challenges in any mix that isn't just a remake or following somebody's hit-maker formulae.
In most genres t's a key skill which separates the disciplined learner from the perpetually clueless.
It's no different from being a painter that understands how to use the first layer of underpainting to establish and convey weight, 3 dimensional depth, momentum and balance of figures in motion, perhaps also time passing - and cram it all into a single 2D image... without bringing attention to the fact that you are.
_Take care of the foundation, and all that goes on and around it does better at their 'job", too._
Anyway,
A couple years ago I started making a habit of checking my mixes in both
a) a car system (or two) and
b) a small-med size portable bluetooth speaker - or anything comparable weighing no more than 5 lbs so it struggles to stay loud under 50-70 Hz
Since then my mixes have been consistently _far less cringe-inducing in regard to_ how balance and energy translates on any other system from cel phone to 100+ kWatt club systems.... in much fewer attempts. Now my guitars are often _thin as hell_ when soloed, but with complimentary bass part mixed in the guitars sound better than ever.
I feel you need a different system that can better reproduce bass. I have a stereo system that I plugged an old bass cabinet, it's not great for mixing mid range because it's not that clear and sharp (I mostly use Senheiser headphones for that), but it's great for judging the overall balance of the mix, specially the bass and the rest. Most speakers that are great for "mixing" (mid range), as NS10s, have almost no bass
Very helpful content here as far as creating a professional sounding mix. Thank you
This was, without any doubt, the best video I've seen on this topic.
thank you both. Very useful review and reminders.
Thanks Dan and Audio Uni, so-o helpful!
By far the best video I have seen about mixing❤
Most tutorials on youtube are for those who already knows about mixing. They shows their mixing workflow rather than explaining what's a good mix and what they are trying to achieve with all those plug-ins.
This video answers lot of the questions I had in mind. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Psychoacoustics is a huge factor in audio engineering work. The more one understands it, the better they can mix IMO. This is a great basics video for amateur as well as professional engineers. Thanks Audiouniversity and Dan Worrall.
Lovely breakdown
Such a well put together video, I would definitely pay for a course from Dan
Thank you so much for your insight. Very eye opening for those of us new to the game!
Thanks for the 4 and half tips, both of you...!
We needed this video, plus collabo with Dan!!!!! awesome content thank you so much
This channel just keeps getting better and better
Bravo !!
The collaboration i didnt know I needed
Superb video to my liking. Basics don’t mean unimportant, but solid foundations. Nice and structured explanations. I have learned a lot here! Thanks!
what a wonderful video, thanks for such valuable information.
...a blessing - to have this knowledge structured, delivered and available like this - golden stuff, a lot of people here going to bed wiser and more confident tonight after these 26 minutes :)) Thank you dear sir!
Awesome. Looking forward to Dan’s reverb-as-eq vid. Thanks
Thanks guys!
That was excellent. Thank-you.
I needed this in my life 12 years ago, excellent video
one of the more helpful videos I’ve watched this is good stuff
Thank you for this.
Down to earth, love it.