If you separate all the ingredients of a cake, and taste each one individually, you might conclude that the salt, flour, and eggs have no business in the composition of something meant to be sweet, and you'd end up with a pile of sugar.
Yes, only use Solo for editing. For mixing, turn up the track you're focused on, or turn everything else down, so that you can hear the focus track better but in context.
I agree with this but with a grain of salt, if u are a regular joe guy in a basement studio with not much money behind it and the tracking etc is problamatic, the eq defensive cutting can be awesome to learn how to hear bad or bothersome frequencies and advance u in that way. When u talk about u got to watch pros mix, yeah all the recorded tracks they are mixing are recorded in perfect or near perfect environment , mostly addative eq is great advice, but thats just not realistic for most people on youtube that are watching these videos, i think focusing on the subtractive eq is way more handy in this state and at this level.
@@siahfishin5295 Nice so what if we consider subtractive eq as part of the editing process, and then be freed up to do creative additive eq in mixing.
Recently, I challenged myself to complete a mix without using any plugins with visual feedback, just SSL channels and Analog remodelled stuff and it was my best mix to this day. I had a habit of cutting the resonant frequencies that popped up in Pro Q3 but I just said fuck it, let’s roll. It sounded much better than my past mixes. I also used Sonarworks to flatten out the frequency response of the headphones which was amazing.
Dude this is so creepy! This is the exact thought process I am stuck in at the moment... I am constantly toggling between those two perspectives. Not getting anything done... My Brain was holding me back... I did not dare to break out but my feeling has always been like this. This gives me confidence now to go ahead with offensive mixing and trust into the feeling I already had about this! Thanks so much...
Ive been slowly breaking out of the defensive mode as well. Im realizing that it really all depends, but some of my latest mixes have way fewer cuts. Still gotta remind myself to leave things alone every now and then.
Im not a producer, im mostly a player, but im constantly trying to improve the quality of my demo recordings. And ive learned more in just a few of your videos than from years of noise that so many people "teach" online and in person. You re a great teacher!
This is so helpful for this mixing slump I’m in. I try to remind myself that nobody that’s listening to the song is thinking about the Ableton project and what I’m doing with my plugins. They only care about the noise coming out of their speakers. The song itself is all that matters. That’s the goal, right?
Jack Richardson (notable for recording/producing hits like American Woman and These Eyes.. by The Guess Who) often used to say that he "never failed to get a hit because of a bad kick-drum sound". We all love awesome sonics, but at the end of the day: it's all about the song.
I get your point 100%. I think this may be an example of needing to know the “rules” before you can break them. I think you need to gain enough experience and knowledge to get to the level that you are at. But agreed that sometimes mixing is a less is more exercise. And mixing starts with an excellent source. I would love to see your process on editing tracks before mixing. I don’t think you have any, but I haven’t gotten through all your videos yet. Thanks so much for your insight!
You are 100% correct. I have been mixing for 25 years and only recently discovered subtractive eq was holding me back. I dont even cut low mids out of kick drums/toms most of the time anymore and am getting better drum sounds than ever. Dig your channel man!
I totally agree but I think it comes down to knowing what you're listening to and knowing where to boost. I used to be interested in frequency numbers and rules because I didn't know what to listen for so I started boosting and cutting blindly without knowing what I was doing. Once you get a sense of what you want to hear and where it is everything starts to fall into place. I'm not a pro and I still don't make the best mixes ever but training my ears has made my mixing a little better so I know I'm on the right path. Bottom line, keep practicing and trying things out and eventually you'll get the hang of it.
Its a great point however I must add the caveat that in order to bypass the "fix" mentality, you've gotta have well sculpted and arranged performance stems to free you to be more creative. Bad recordings (not to be confused with colored sounds) do need fixing before shaping.
I’ve been part of a lot of different mixing communities that preach the “theories” that you’re talking about, like looking for whistly frequencies and notching them out or only using subtractive EQ. really don’t know where these guys are getting this stuff, but that was, by far some of the worst advice I’ve ever gotten. people who are watching this and reading the comments because this is going against what you’ve heard elsewhere - this is absolutely spot on advice
It does really irritate me how many bad advices and "rules" I've come across on YT over the years regarding mixing. There are too many people talking about this stuff who lack the knowledge.
I think a lot of that subtractive eq advice is towards the beginner, who is going to have a tendency to boost way too much. I think as you get better, you don't go looking for problems so much. You start to identify problems when they present themselves.
Live sound teaches you to make all these mistakes in the studio. These defensive philosophies really help and ring true in live sound not so much in the studio, two totally different approaches. I really like the offensive/ defensive analogy.
Another really great tip. I am definitely guilty of what you talked about EQ-wise. I'm concentrating more on getting good sounds/tones at the source and staying as simple as I can -- thanks again.
I use frequency analyzers to give me an idea of where things are happening like the fundamental of a kick or the palm mute buildup of guitars, but I ultimately use my ears to determine which frequency to hit
I love this mindset! 'Build with the raw bones and add the feel and excitement' also the chiseling analogy was perfect. I am definitely now playing 'Offence Mixer' and looking to bring the best out of the song.
Maaaan this is so relatable I started out mixing "scientifically " , and trying to FIX and not mix, now I keep it simple and objective and I can honestly say its faster and 20 times more effective.,but I will say I do cut more than I boost but its not surgical at all and it's minimal, everything is much more natural , its really more about determining weather something needs processing or not, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Agree with this 100%. And yes mixing is an art. Almost all decisions are aesthetic, artistic decisions in a mix, all of which are about emotional impact.
I'm a fan of "gnarly" rock sounds. When I sat down and learned to mix for my project, I didn't want to cut the imperfections. Just make it sound even more raw. Your videos helped a lot. Thank you man.
Such a great channel. I tried a bunch of different things at first, mainly doing narrow eq cuts which led to nowhere. After watching some of your videos I grabbed the ssl channel strip and actually tried to listen to what I was doing as opposed to worrying about how much db I'm moving. Keep putting out content man; there aren't a lot of channels that are doing this stuff!
I’ve done some great borderline pro mixes in my 8yrs of engineering but I think after seeing this I’ll only be across the pro mix line. Much appreciated by your videos and help
In this, just as in all things, balance and moderation are needed. The best of both worlds. Sometimes things need to be taken away. Sometimes things need to be added. Try both. At the end of the day, if it sounds good, it is good. Do what sounds good.
Well said. It's the lumps and bumps that add interest. Yes, reel in the excessive ones but don't eliminate them. I think it's also important to record with the same attitude of looking for the excitement and the magic even if it is a bit ugly.
Good video. I always mix this way now. I used to not do it. But, I noticed once I started mixing looking to enhance and push the energy and life of a mix that my mixes got way better.
I get your point, and even though I'm not 100% a "defensive mixer", it seems like this change of mindset won't be easy for me to make. Should I get used to do something to make the transition smoother? Or just to jump right in and go wild?
been producing for only a few years now, and i mix defensively. the first 50% of this video my ego was being stoked and im like ay im doing it right lets go! then i finished the rest of the video - excited to approach mixing less formulaically from here on out :)
I'm still watching the video, but I'd say to Jordan or any of the Hardcore Music Studio guys to exemplify, show the results of Defensive against Offensive mixing procedure. I know this will depend on the engineer, we all think and hear differently. But seeing our mistakes exemplified could help to notice when we go mixing again after watching this video. Take care and thank you for this video, I find it very well aimed.
Jordan, man I’ve accidentally made boost on spectrum eq, on acoustic guitar and it started to sound more bright and colorful lol. Man, your advices are really cool, thank you
Great points in this video! Of course, when you are mixing local bands with subpar recordings, there is going to be some fixing, but overall what you describe as mixing offensively is the way to go.
I use both. First start with fixing frequencies that I dislike - all the fizz and tubbiness and resonance and then use an ssl channel to boost certain character areas like for instance guitars around around 8k to cut through after I have performed some general LPF and HPF if they need it.
You know, I heard this interview with Chris Lord-Alge where somebody asked if he spent a ton of time carving out space for instruments. He was seriously like, “No. I don’t really do that. I’ll cut some rumble; that’s about it”
I think the EQ analysers are great for people starting out as watching them in action can really link the EQ graph to what you're hearing. After a while your ears should get good enough that you can translate what you're hearing to specific frequencies. They're also pretty great for fixing your bass and low mid frequencies which are often getting messed up by your room or monitor speakers. NS10s are great for mixing as long as you have a good mastering engineer but I wouldn't fancy putting a track out that I'd never heard on full range speakers and hadn't checked the high and low end with a frequency analyser.
Think about this. Even additive EQ is subtractive, and subtractive EQ is additive. If you subtract EQ, your subtracting db's, and so then you turn up the track, thus turning up all the other frequencies. You didn't really subtract anything, you added everything else. Same in the reverse - if you add EQ, you add a bunch of db's at those frequencies, and then you end up balancing the gain of that track in the mix by turning it down a little, thus not turning up what you added. In other words, it's all bullshit. All the crap everyone says on how to EQ is bullshit. Just make it sound good, and keep an eye on the gain staging. Good video!
There is no right or wrong when creating a sound in your mix. It's always better to cut a frequency that is running wild than to boost all the other frequencies to even it all out. Also, clearly, if some some frequencies are missing, you boost them. Mixing gets much easier when you learn not to overEQ or overcompress everything just because you feel like you need to. I mean, the band that you're working on surely isn't gonna come into your studio, open your project and start criticizing you for boosting instead of cutting and vice versa.
Thanks for talking to me. I do most of the stuff you talked about. Please does these techniques you talk about work for pop and edm songs? Especially the magic frequency series?
Honestly, I think the the underlying issue with the "defensive" mindset isn't so much about cutting vs adding, but about looking for things to do instead of doing things because you know it's needed. My entire mixing philosophy boils down to: if I think it needs more of something -> I turn it up; if I think it needs less of something -> I turn it down. It pretty much works for everything. Level, panning, EQ, compression, ambience... What does the song feel like? Does it sound how I would want it? Yes/No/why? What would make it sound how I want. That's it.
I thought the purpose of cutting with digital EQs was because it reduces overall distortion. Like you would cut everything except what you want to boost and then just move the volume fader up.
I used to mix in that "less is more" ethos. But since I began mixing otb (though still a far cry from high end) i changed my approaches. Added the kush approach of using the fader as low-mid knob. Sure i didnt abandon defensive moves but these i tend to tackled while recording as well xD
@@paulosenoni oh wow a fellow brazilian como vai? xD It's a snippet from the balanced mix = boring mix, but looking back i'm not 100% sure I took it from that video lol. Elaborating on freq. and volume-dependent depth, contrast... duller or bass-light sounds tend to sound further back. Also I was remembering Tom Dowd's console, whose faders were wired backwards... if he wanted louder/closer sounds he would pull them closer instead of "up".
there are good things in what you say but I do not understand the point of polarizing things ... It all depends on the context. we don't mix hardcore like jazz or progressive metal like indie rock. THE CONTEXT! And sometimes, in an "offensive" session, it is necessary to go through a preliminary cleaning on certain tracks and conversely, in a "clean" mix, it is sometimes necessary to boost rt to compress like a brute. In short, this world is already quite polarized like that, no need to categorize things in binary ways. Context is everything
I spent years trying to learn how to create a solid and powerful kick and bass (Psytrance). Now that I got there, I'm strugglig trying to tone my (now progressive/tech) kick and bass back to match commercial levels haha. Same as you, my low mids are sounding thick and solid AF but I keep feeling like maybe they have too much energy in them. Not sure if I should just roll with it or if they will be a problem in the future playing on bigger systems?
I guess that's my problem too, when recording something relatively flawless or being given decent raw tracks to start with, it's difficult to make it sound awesome when trying to fix problems which aren't there...
Would you be able to do a small video on the different types of compressors (tube, optical, etc) and their uses? Been trying to find a good summary on the topic and it seems to be a topic that everyone already knows about.
Greets! Been using VCAs for a while here. Though im still on lower end (3630s, dbx 166, moving to 160As), these are quoted as fast and (often) transparent, depends on setup. A jack of all trades. The 166 is soft knee and acts even faster in higher settings, it's really mellow. The 3630 despite frowned upon by most, shines on drums (not so much rooms imo) and parallel comp. Ssl comps also used dbx circuitry mind you. As far as other topologies go, can't say much. But you could focus on their characteristics (attack times, hard/soft knee), look up the history of 1176s (FET), LA2A (opto), Fairchild (varimu) and so on, there are many comparisons on YT already... easier to notice on drums. many plugs and hardware are pretty linear when not pushed too hard. idk if you did already but check mags like sound on sound and knock yourself out xD
Mixing is not chiseling marble it is clay. Sometimes you have to throw more clay on the model and in broad strokes and sometimes you need your pull some off to refine
Hi, I like these videos but the music I mix is rarely heavy rock. I like to mix less aggressive dream pop/psych rock like Tame Impala/Beatles/Pink Floyd throwback to the 60s stuff. I also want to stick with a youtube channel for mentorship and not get conflicting stuff from too many channels. I use real instruments though so this content interests me. Will all this advice work for not so aggressive music as well? Just asking before I commit. Thanks!
Thank you! Are there any mixing engineers-err, I mean artists-that get this defensive mixing approach and also teach it, that you would recommend learning from?
i don't really get the appeal of soothe-ing everything and cutting at around 2-4K to make things smooth, have demo'd soothe and to be fair i don't really need it, and for the cymbal tracks i only need to cut at around 5-6K and hi pass it depending on which genre i'm working into. As of Vocals, i also only need 2 or even just a band, and let low cut and hi shelf do the trick...
Great video, thank you very much! However, I don't think this is actually good advice. While, I understand and agree with your concept of "fixing" and "passive mixing", the suggestion that the opposite will get one closer to "pro" level isn't necessarily true. If the session is well recorded ( this is the big difference between "pro" and rest ) 80 - 90% of the information of each element - instrument is there. You just have to bring it out without ruining it, most of the times "smartly" and "gently". A little goes a long way if you know how and when to do something
I can’t tell you how many accomplished audio engineers teaching students at places like full sail or IPR preach the subtractive method.. that being said I think both approaches are valid .. but never ever mix in solo unless you are doing hpf / lpf
I'm hardly a great mixer, but I call this surgical cutting layer caking. It simply doesn't work at all. It's a real bummer that many people give this advice.
The method is correct, but you should only subtract narrow Q's like this if you can HEAR a ringing... Taking too much out like you have shown here makes things sound lifeless as you're taking away all the harmonics in a sound. A good tip for people if learn microphone techniques... that way you won't need to fix half the shit in post.
SPOT ON. I have been mixing for over 20 years, and was once a defensive mixer, but over time, I became an offensive mixer because I just liked the sound I was getting by not overthinking anything, and just using great sounding plugins and gear for their character. On my channel I get criticized to death from defensive mixers who think I should be more "detailed" in my approach to mixing, but I tell them, I don't care, and I like the sound I am getting. You just come to realize over the years that the narrow cut at exactly 200Hz to reduce mud with a tight Q is not really audible, and is not necessary.
A major caveat here is that Pros use high end gear, a great room, console and other stuff to get a great core sound to start mixing from. They usually dont need to fix things vs just going mic, cheap preamp straight to daw. There’s a lot of tone shaping- and controlling processing you’re missing as a ”home studio novice”.
This is something people wouldn’t understand. I’m a musician and it applies to me as well... I enjoy the live music making with all my “subtle” errors to the point of other musicians looking funny at me. 🤨 That said, they laugh but they really do enjoy it that way. 😂 Music is about having fun and playing with your heart & soul. ✌🏼😉
I’m still a relative newcomer to mixing; I’ve been at it a few years, mostly mixing my own bands. I’ve gradually come to this realization on my own. I do find that I mix defensively in the very earliest phase, just dealing with poorly recorded sources. But I do this at the same time I’m doing tempo mapping, time alignment, and editing. It isn’t the “art” portion. At this point I’m in what I call intern mode. The actual fun comes when I’m done with all the chores. So my eventual goal is to improve my recording to the point where I don’t have to correct and my tracks sound good as soon as I’m done recording them. When you’re working on a budget that part takes time.
well, I can only speak for myself, don't do "offense" or "defense", I just listen and the mix itself takes me to to boost or cut, the real magic is in the routing of things......
If you separate all the ingredients of a cake, and taste each one individually, you might conclude that the salt, flour, and eggs have no business in the composition of something meant to be sweet, and you'd end up with a pile of sugar.
that's a brilliant analogy
Yes, only use Solo for editing. For mixing, turn up the track you're focused on, or turn everything else down, so that you can hear the focus track better but in context.
I agree with this but with a grain of salt, if u are a regular joe guy in a basement studio with not much money behind it and the tracking etc is problamatic, the eq defensive cutting can be awesome to learn how to hear bad or bothersome frequencies and advance u in that way. When u talk about u got to watch pros mix, yeah all the recorded tracks they are mixing are recorded in perfect or near perfect environment , mostly addative eq is great advice, but thats just not realistic for most people on youtube that are watching these videos, i think focusing on the subtractive eq is way more handy in this state and at this level.
@@siahfishin5295
Nice so what if we consider subtractive eq as part of the editing process, and then be freed up to do creative additive eq in mixing.
lol nice one
Recently, I challenged myself to complete a mix without using any plugins with visual feedback, just SSL channels and Analog remodelled stuff and it was my best mix to this day. I had a habit of cutting the resonant frequencies that popped up in Pro Q3 but I just said fuck it, let’s roll. It sounded much better than my past mixes. I also used Sonarworks to flatten out the frequency response of the headphones which was amazing.
Dude this is so creepy! This is the exact thought process I am stuck in at the moment... I am constantly toggling between those two perspectives. Not getting anything done... My Brain was holding me back... I did not dare to break out but my feeling has always been like this. This gives me confidence now to go ahead with offensive mixing and trust into the feeling I already had about this! Thanks so much...
was the same for me as well! Thanks for the knowledge
Ive been slowly breaking out of the defensive mode as well. Im realizing that it really all depends, but some of my latest mixes have way fewer cuts. Still gotta remind myself to leave things alone every now and then.
Brother, it's not like jumping off from a bridge. No one will get hurt! Try, try again.
Im not a producer, im mostly a player, but im constantly trying to improve the quality of my demo recordings. And ive learned more in just a few of your videos than from years of noise that so many people "teach" online and in person. You re a great teacher!
He has good general advice.
This is so helpful for this mixing slump I’m in. I try to remind myself that nobody that’s listening to the song is thinking about the Ableton project and what I’m doing with my plugins. They only care about the noise coming out of their speakers. The song itself is all that matters. That’s the goal, right?
Jack Richardson (notable for recording/producing hits like American Woman and These Eyes.. by The Guess Who) often used to say that he "never failed to get a hit because of a bad kick-drum sound". We all love awesome sonics, but at the end of the day: it's all about the song.
I get your point 100%. I think this may be an example of needing to know the “rules” before you can break them. I think you need to gain enough experience and knowledge to get to the level that you are at. But agreed that sometimes mixing is a less is more exercise. And mixing starts with an excellent source. I would love to see your process on editing tracks before mixing. I don’t think you have any, but I haven’t gotten through all your videos yet. Thanks so much for your insight!
You are 100% correct. I have been mixing for 25 years and only recently discovered subtractive eq was holding me back. I dont even cut low mids out of kick drums/toms most of the time anymore and am getting better drum sounds than ever. Dig your channel man!
So substracting the EQ for solo guitars is a bad idea and should be avoided until I have everything recorded?
I totally agree but I think it comes down to knowing what you're listening to and knowing where to boost. I used to be interested in frequency numbers and rules because I didn't know what to listen for so I started boosting and cutting blindly without knowing what I was doing. Once you get a sense of what you want to hear and where it is everything starts to fall into place. I'm not a pro and I still don't make the best mixes ever but training my ears has made my mixing a little better so I know I'm on the right path.
Bottom line, keep practicing and trying things out and eventually you'll get the hang of it.
Its a great point however I must add the caveat that in order to bypass the "fix" mentality, you've gotta have well sculpted and arranged performance stems to free you to be more creative. Bad recordings (not to be confused with colored sounds) do need fixing before shaping.
I’ve been part of a lot of different mixing communities that preach the “theories” that you’re talking about, like looking for whistly frequencies and notching them out or only using subtractive EQ. really don’t know where these guys are getting this stuff, but that was, by far some of the worst advice I’ve ever gotten. people who are watching this and reading the comments because this is going against what you’ve heard elsewhere - this is absolutely spot on advice
It does really irritate me how many bad advices and "rules" I've come across on YT over the years regarding mixing. There are too many people talking about this stuff who lack the knowledge.
I think a lot of that subtractive eq advice is towards the beginner, who is going to have a tendency to boost way too much. I think as you get better, you don't go looking for problems so much. You start to identify problems when they present themselves.
Live sound teaches you to make all these mistakes in the studio. These defensive philosophies really help and ring true in live sound not so much in the studio, two totally different approaches. I really like the offensive/
defensive analogy.
Mixerman says in his book, "mixing is an agressive art form". There's a lot of truth in that.
Mixerman also called a kickdrum "kik". I kinda hated that quirk.
Another really great tip. I am definitely guilty of what you talked about EQ-wise. I'm concentrating more on getting good sounds/tones at the source and staying as simple as I can -- thanks again.
I use frequency analyzers to give me an idea of where things are happening like the fundamental of a kick or the palm mute buildup of guitars, but I ultimately use my ears to determine which frequency to hit
I love this mindset! 'Build with the raw bones and add the feel and excitement' also the chiseling analogy was perfect. I am definitely now playing 'Offence Mixer' and looking to bring the best out of the song.
Maaaan this is so relatable I started out mixing "scientifically " , and trying to FIX and not mix, now I keep it simple and objective and I can honestly say its faster and 20 times more effective.,but I will say I do cut more than I boost but its not surgical at all and it's minimal, everything is much more natural , its really more about determining weather something needs processing or not, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Agree with this 100%. And yes mixing is an art. Almost all decisions are aesthetic, artistic decisions in a mix, all of which are about emotional impact.
Only notch cut I do are for guitars, or for big groups (like massive choirs or other multiple similar things) where spikes quickly add up.
I'm a fan of "gnarly" rock sounds. When I sat down and learned to mix for my project, I didn't want to cut the imperfections. Just make it sound even more raw. Your videos helped a lot. Thank you man.
Such a great channel. I tried a bunch of different things at first, mainly doing narrow eq cuts which led to nowhere. After watching some of your videos I grabbed the ssl channel strip and actually tried to listen to what I was doing as opposed to worrying about how much db I'm moving. Keep putting out content man; there aren't a lot of channels that are doing this stuff!
I’ve done some great borderline pro mixes in my 8yrs of engineering but I think after seeing this I’ll only be across the pro mix line. Much appreciated by your videos and help
I almost quit because I was mixing defensively - and you are so f*cking right Jordon
In this, just as in all things, balance and moderation are needed. The best of both worlds. Sometimes things need to be taken away. Sometimes things need to be added. Try both. At the end of the day, if it sounds good, it is good. Do what sounds good.
Well said. It's the lumps and bumps that add interest. Yes, reel in the excessive ones but don't eliminate them. I think it's also important to record with the same attitude of looking for the excitement and the magic even if it is a bit ugly.
Good video. I always mix this way now. I used to not do it. But, I noticed once I started mixing looking to enhance and push the energy and life of a mix that my mixes got way better.
I personally like just being subtle with both. I have always hates doing the sweep technique I never do it unless I hear in problem in mix context.
This is such a great vid that so many beginner and intermediate mixers need to learn and understand!
I get your point, and even though I'm not 100% a "defensive mixer", it seems like this change of mindset won't be easy for me to make. Should I get used to do something to make the transition smoother? Or just to jump right in and go wild?
been producing for only a few years now, and i mix defensively. the first 50% of this video my ego was being stoked and im like ay im doing it right lets go! then i finished the rest of the video - excited to approach mixing less formulaically from here on out :)
I'm still watching the video, but I'd say to Jordan or any of the Hardcore Music Studio guys to exemplify, show the results of Defensive against Offensive mixing procedure.
I know this will depend on the engineer, we all think and hear differently. But seeing our mistakes exemplified could help to notice when we go mixing again after watching this video.
Take care and thank you for this video, I find it very well aimed.
Jordan, man I’ve accidentally made boost on spectrum eq, on acoustic guitar and it started to sound more bright and colorful lol. Man, your advices are really cool, thank you
Great points in this video! Of course, when you are mixing local bands with subpar recordings, there is going to be some fixing, but overall what you describe as mixing offensively is the way to go.
I use both. First start with fixing frequencies that I dislike - all the fizz and tubbiness and resonance and then use an ssl channel to boost certain character areas like for instance guitars around around 8k to cut through after I have performed some general LPF and HPF if they need it.
This is an important lesson. Thank you!
You know, I heard this interview with Chris Lord-Alge where somebody asked if he spent a ton of time carving out space for instruments. He was seriously like, “No. I don’t really do that. I’ll cut some rumble; that’s about it”
I love these videos so much. They get me so motivated
I think the EQ analysers are great for people starting out as watching them in action can really link the EQ graph to what you're hearing. After a while your ears should get good enough that you can translate what you're hearing to specific frequencies. They're also pretty great for fixing your bass and low mid frequencies which are often getting messed up by your room or monitor speakers.
NS10s are great for mixing as long as you have a good mastering engineer but I wouldn't fancy putting a track out that I'd never heard on full range speakers and hadn't checked the high and low end with a frequency analyser.
Yes! These days i see a frequency response chart of, lets say an amp, and can immediatly imagine what it probably sounds like
Wow. What a great video. Well articulated and on point. I completely relate to all of this.
3:15
"Searching for problems" is the new "looking for trouble". Or was it old, I got confused...😆
Think about this. Even additive EQ is subtractive, and subtractive EQ is additive. If you subtract EQ, your subtracting db's, and so then you turn up the track, thus turning up all the other frequencies. You didn't really subtract anything, you added everything else. Same in the reverse - if you add EQ, you add a bunch of db's at those frequencies, and then you end up balancing the gain of that track in the mix by turning it down a little, thus not turning up what you added. In other words, it's all bullshit. All the crap everyone says on how to EQ is bullshit. Just make it sound good, and keep an eye on the gain staging. Good video!
your work is are amazing man heaven sent from South Africa
Cymbals.... I can't ever seem to get those right with defensive OR offensive mindsets. They always sound (paradoxically) too loud AND too quiet.
Love this video Jordan, awesome thought process to ultimately keep those mixes as good as they can be!
I get what you mean, but it’s different in electronic music world. Where the line between sound design, mixing and making music is really blurry.
There is no right or wrong when creating a sound in your mix. It's always better to cut a frequency that is running wild than to boost all the other frequencies to even it all out. Also, clearly, if some some frequencies are missing, you boost them. Mixing gets much easier when you learn not to overEQ or overcompress everything just because you feel like you need to. I mean, the band that you're working on surely isn't gonna come into your studio, open your project and start criticizing you for boosting instead of cutting and vice versa.
Thanks for talking to me. I do most of the stuff you talked about. Please does these techniques you talk about work for pop and edm songs? Especially the magic frequency series?
Great way of looking at mixing! Challenge accepted!
Honestly, I think the the underlying issue with the "defensive" mindset isn't so much about cutting vs adding, but about looking for things to do instead of doing things because you know it's needed.
My entire mixing philosophy boils down to: if I think it needs more of something -> I turn it up; if I think it needs less of something -> I turn it down.
It pretty much works for everything. Level, panning, EQ, compression, ambience... What does the song feel like? Does it sound how I would want it? Yes/No/why? What would make it sound how I want.
That's it.
I thought the purpose of cutting with digital EQs was because it reduces overall distortion. Like you would cut everything except what you want to boost and then just move the volume fader up.
I used to mix in that "less is more" ethos. But since I began mixing otb (though still a far cry from high end) i changed my approaches. Added the kush approach of using the fader as low-mid knob. Sure i didnt abandon defensive moves but these i tend to tackled while recording as well xD
hey! Could you elaborate or give a link about this Kush approach? I love his tips but I missed this one. Thank you =)
@@paulosenoni oh wow a fellow brazilian como vai? xD
It's a snippet from the balanced mix = boring mix, but looking back i'm not 100% sure I took it from that video lol. Elaborating on freq. and volume-dependent depth, contrast... duller or bass-light sounds tend to sound further back.
Also I was remembering Tom Dowd's console, whose faders were wired backwards... if he wanted louder/closer sounds he would pull them closer instead of "up".
This concept have had a huge impact. Amazing!
there are good things in what you say but I do not understand the point of polarizing things ... It all depends on the context. we don't mix hardcore like jazz or progressive metal like indie rock. THE CONTEXT! And sometimes, in an "offensive" session, it is necessary to go through a preliminary cleaning on certain tracks and conversely, in a "clean" mix, it is sometimes necessary to boost rt to compress like a brute. In short, this world is already quite polarized like that, no need to categorize things in binary ways. Context is everything
Excellent advice. Thx!
You're the best, Jordan! Thank you for doing what you do.
Awesome tips! Kinda blow my mind! My very question is: do you cut off tha low frequencies like under 50 hz on a bass or under 100hz on a voice?
Thank You ma Bradah ...4rm South Africa ...
I spent years trying to learn how to create a solid and powerful kick and bass (Psytrance). Now that I got there, I'm strugglig trying to tone my (now progressive/tech) kick and bass back to match commercial levels haha. Same as you, my low mids are sounding thick and solid AF but I keep feeling like maybe they have too much energy in them. Not sure if I should just roll with it or if they will be a problem in the future playing on bigger systems?
I guess that's my problem too, when recording something relatively flawless or being given decent raw tracks to start with, it's difficult to make it sound awesome when trying to fix problems which aren't there...
Thank you!
Cheers!
Great tips!
Great Prespective! Thanks and keep up with the great videos!
Would you be able to do a small video on the different types of compressors (tube, optical, etc) and their uses? Been trying to find a good summary on the topic and it seems to be a topic that everyone already knows about.
Greets! Been using VCAs for a while here. Though im still on lower end (3630s, dbx 166, moving to 160As), these are quoted as fast and (often) transparent, depends on setup. A jack of all trades.
The 166 is soft knee and acts even faster in higher settings, it's really mellow.
The 3630 despite frowned upon by most, shines on drums (not so much rooms imo) and parallel comp. Ssl comps also used dbx circuitry mind you.
As far as other topologies go, can't say much. But you could focus on their characteristics (attack times, hard/soft knee), look up the history of 1176s (FET), LA2A (opto), Fairchild (varimu) and so on, there are many comparisons on YT already... easier to notice on drums.
many plugs and hardware are pretty linear when not pushed too hard. idk if you did already but check mags like sound on sound and knock yourself out xD
This is huge!
Thank you again!!!
As they say, Let chaos reign, then rein chaos
Mixing is not chiseling marble it is clay. Sometimes you have to throw more clay on the model and in broad strokes and sometimes you need your pull some off to refine
Dude, this video saved me.
Hi, I like these videos but the music I mix is rarely heavy rock. I like to mix less aggressive dream pop/psych rock like Tame Impala/Beatles/Pink Floyd throwback to the 60s stuff. I also want to stick with a youtube channel for mentorship and not get conflicting stuff from too many channels. I use real instruments though so this content interests me. Will all this advice work for not so aggressive music as well? Just asking before I commit. Thanks!
Hey! This is a great content! Tips and informations are really helpful! :)
I find I am more on the offensive when mixing. But reductive EQ can also be powerful at times when there is that one thing that detracts.
THE VERY MOST IMPORTANT THOUGHTS ABOUT MIXING!
I feel attacked. 😂
Loved this one 🤘🏻
Best channel
Thank you! Are there any mixing engineers-err, I mean artists-that get this defensive mixing approach and also teach it, that you would recommend learning from?
Have you checked the rec revolution and home studio corner? :)
Keywords... glue, excitement and energy.
i don't really get the appeal of soothe-ing everything and cutting at around 2-4K to make things smooth, have demo'd soothe and to be fair i don't really need it, and for the cymbal tracks i only need to cut at around 5-6K and hi pass it depending on which genre i'm working into. As of Vocals, i also only need 2 or even just a band, and let low cut and hi shelf do the trick...
Great video! 100% troo!
I left out a tuna fish sandwich on the counter all day wonder if it's still good. Think I'll risk it
It’s like painting a picture
put the background music even lower
Hey Jordan, what are your thoughts on Periphery and Adam "Nolly" Getgood?
Bach got pretty scientific with his compositions and I dont think his music sucks.
Can you make a shirt that says "turn it til it sounds good"
Great video, thank you very much! However, I don't think this is actually good advice. While, I understand and agree with your concept of "fixing" and "passive mixing", the suggestion that the opposite will get one closer to "pro" level isn't necessarily true. If the session is well recorded ( this is the big difference between "pro" and rest ) 80 - 90% of the information of each element - instrument is there. You just have to bring it out without ruining it, most of the times "smartly" and "gently". A little goes a long way if you know how and when to do something
I can’t tell you how many accomplished audio engineers teaching students at places like full sail or IPR preach the subtractive method.. that being said I think both approaches are valid .. but never ever mix in solo unless you are doing hpf / lpf
Yep, the cut works well in certain circumstance. I always heard a lot of this nonsense. When your ears tell you something else you should listen.
"Scientifically" - coming from autodidact
Artist create, you improve.
I'm hardly a great mixer, but I call this surgical cutting layer caking. It simply doesn't work at all.
It's a real bummer that many people give this advice.
Great video but the music is really distracting and makes the whole video a bit trashy 😅
The method is correct, but you should only subtract narrow Q's like this if you can HEAR a ringing... Taking too much out like you have shown here makes things sound lifeless as you're taking away all the harmonics in a sound. A good tip for people if learn microphone techniques... that way you won't need to fix half the shit in post.
Screw the rules, use your ears
Background music super distracting! Had to stop watching.
SPOT ON. I have been mixing for over 20 years, and was once a defensive mixer, but over time, I became an offensive mixer because I just liked the sound I was getting by not overthinking anything, and just using great sounding plugins and gear for their character. On my channel I get criticized to death from defensive mixers who think I should be more "detailed" in my approach to mixing, but I tell them, I don't care, and I like the sound I am getting. You just come to realize over the years that the narrow cut at exactly 200Hz to reduce mud with a tight Q is not really audible, and is not necessary.
So true words, after I stopped the defensive way, two things raised: My client base & The fun in mixing ! Enough with -0.7dB of 578Hz haha
Are you crazy? 0.7dB is way too much! 0.5dB is the absolute maximum. I’d also never cut at 578Hz since 578 is not part of the Fibonacci sequence!
@@julianb4333 And never compress more than 1 db per compressor!
A major caveat here is that Pros use high end gear, a great room, console and other stuff to get a great core sound to start mixing from. They usually dont need to fix things vs just going mic, cheap preamp straight to daw. There’s a lot of tone shaping- and controlling processing you’re missing as a ”home studio novice”.
This is something people wouldn’t understand. I’m a musician and it applies to me as well... I enjoy the live music making with all my “subtle” errors to the point of other musicians looking funny at me. 🤨 That said, they laugh but they really do enjoy it that way. 😂 Music is about having fun and playing with your heart & soul. ✌🏼😉
I’m still a relative newcomer to mixing; I’ve been at it a few years, mostly mixing my own bands. I’ve gradually come to this realization on my own. I do find that I mix defensively in the very earliest phase, just dealing with poorly recorded sources. But I do this at the same time I’m doing tempo mapping, time alignment, and editing. It isn’t the “art” portion. At this point I’m in what I call intern mode. The actual fun comes when I’m done with all the chores. So my eventual goal is to improve my recording to the point where I don’t have to correct and my tracks sound good as soon as I’m done recording them. When you’re working on a budget that part takes time.
well, I can only speak for myself, don't do "offense" or "defense", I just listen and the mix itself takes me to to boost or cut, the real magic is in the routing of things......