Mixing Start To Finish: A Step by Step Guide to Balanced Mixes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this video, I turned the camera on while mixing to show you the steps I took to get a balanced mix. I use an approach called "Top-Down Mixing" where I start by setting a static mix before adding effects and automating. These techniques can be applied when mixing many types of music. Feel free to ask me any questions about these methods in the comments below.
►The song is called "You" by The Workday Release. Listen to the final mix here on TH-cam: • The Workday Release - ...
The final mix was done by Andy Toy (@andytoymusic), a brilliant engineer and mixer. I am using the stems in this video because I wanted to try my hand at the mix too.
►Gear/Software used:
DAW: FL Studio 20 (all DAWs have similar function)
Free Plugins: TDR Kotelnikov, Nova Dynamic EQ, Molotok Compressor and Slick EQ
Interface: Lynx Hilo
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro 250 Ohm
Speakers: PSI A23-M
0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Listening to the stems
2:00 - Top-Down mixing
5:50 - Vocal Reverb and Delay
8:55 - Piano and Guitar
11:40 - Backing vocals
13:00 - Vocal Effects
14:40 - Bass and Drums
18:50 - Adjusting more tracks
20:35 - Vocal Automation
22:30 - Take a break
23:20 - Listening to the mix
23:45 - Vocal editing
25:45 - Side-chaining
26:50 - Listening to the mix
27:15 - More automations
29:20 - Global EQ
30:45 - Final thoughts and revisions
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"You Pull Me Back"
Michael - *pulls back fader*
14:03
hahaha I noticed the same
12:56 "Let's just see how the song pans out"
Watch out: Next time hes *"Pulling your Leg!"* 😄
😂
I wanted to point that out too hahahahah
You could literally charge us hundreds of dollars for these tutorials that you share for free.
Thank you , you're an angel : )
Don't tell him!! 🤣
@@theworkdayrelease 😅
this is what youtube was made for
👼 Angel 😂😂😂?
@@theworkdayrelease Oh no ! 😂😂
It's so impressive when after a break you realize you can hear so much more details, nuances on the song that you didn't perceive before due to the ears that needed a rest for around 15 minutes maybe, just wow. Now I can clearly see how important is to put our ears to rest very often.
You’re right dude!
Another thing to consider doing is mixing at low monitor levels.
Not only will it save your ears from some fatigue, but you’ll also be able to hear transients better and get a more accurate sense of your volume balance.
After all, if you have to blast your speakers to hear something, then the balance is probably off!
The only exception is low end because humans are less sensitive to them, so it takes more level to hear them… not a problem if you’re mark zuckerberg
I wrecked my ears this week. But frustrating having to take some days off with so much to do. The tinnitus is screaming... Had it for around 40 years and almost total loss of hearing in my right ear after years of gigging back in the day. Makes recording ....and mixing....so damn difficult now... But, hey, ho...press on... PROTECT YOUR EARS WHEN GIGGING!
@Peter Daltrey Sorry to hear that, this must be really hard for a dj/producer. You are amazing 👏
Hey! I offer Quality Mixing and Mastering at Affordable prices, if you're interested, feel free to contact me!
I learned everything from Michael. Who's with me?
Oh absolutely! And I keep getting back to his previous videos!
Oh I'm with you alright
Not everything, but a large majority
80% is from Michael
@@neilmaile2442 I agree
"There is no point in doing this in solo" - this is such an important advice. Most amateurs forget about the fact that no one will listen to your song in solo. Thank you! Great mixing tutorial!
No one will listen to your song at all : )
@@rockinrobin ^
@@rockinrobin ΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗΑΗ
@@rockinrobin xD
It was a bad day and your “welcome back to the channel” with that smile brought me a smile on my face, you’re a saviour ♥️ we all love you
This Michael dude so good that when the ads came in, i watched all length of them just as a way of giving you back.
I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but watching you mix this beautiful song and seeing the enjoyment you're getting out of it was honestly really touching. I love mixing, and getting a good mix just feels so nice and fulfilling, especially when you follow your instincts and do thoughtful things that have an impact you notice. It sounds super nerdy but I don't care cause I love it!
It’s so fulfilling solving those problems!!
Legends are liking the video and saving to their playlist before watching 😅
Exactly👌😂
I just saved the video to my playlist and saw your comment lmaoo
Haha😂
After all we are watching in the mix..😁
@@lester1984 😂👍🙏
God bless this guy, both mixing and mastering from start to finish videos are gold
He deserve everything for teach us this for free .
dude... ive been doing this on and off for 15 years and you taught me more in 30 mins then any of they other "mixing" videos i've seen on yt in the past 15 years. well done is all i have to say. definitely subbing.
The unmixed stems already sound better than anything I've ever mixed. It must be nice to start with great recordings.
very important for sound selection and clean raw vocals before even starting.
Production is the key to great song
@@mrvron No, the music is what counts. Without the raw sounds, there would be nothing to produce. Real producers are only there to enhance what the artist has brought to the table. An original artist is key. Production is only the key when it comes to self drawn EDM.
@@Alex-Defatte they probably meant that, there's been a bit of a semantics issue in music over the past couple years where the line between artist and producer have blurred significantly
@@Alex-Defatte an audio engineer and a producer are not the same...
Haven't commented on any of your videos before, but man, these videos you do, are straight up fantastic, and useful. I make a living doing production and mixes, and so much of what I knew, didn't know or thought I knew, has been upgraded and solidified by watching one of your videos. Love the efficiency of you delivery style and the thoroughness with which you approach these. You should do a collaboration with sage audio.
You two may be the absolute best thing on TH-cam for producers.
Thanks so much!
Absolutely Nigel - completely agree, see my post!
Michael is the boss I have learn a lot from him. We truly appreciate everything he does for is beginners 👏
I absolutely love these start to finish tutorials. I bet it feels good to know that you've helped so many thousands of artists improve their craft
Frankly your mixing is just top tier 👑. I have never seen this workflow before but you just made mixing look so much easier without thinking too much about where you touch next. 🌟💰👏💖
i have literally tried learning mixing and mastering for vocals for about 2 years now and you are the first person to explain it in such a way that makes it easy to learn. i feel like i actually understand what to do with mixing and balancing, so thank you so so so so much for your videos!
showing us how to get high quality mixes on FL studio whilst using mostly free plugins is the most noble shit anyone on the TH-cam engineering community has done. thank you fr.
Thank you so much for FREE top tier tutorials and information. You inspired me to actually dive in to the mixing and mastering part of my songs.
This was the best mixing tutorial I’ve ever watched! Everything from the song to the way you talk with your audience was top notch!
Dude you’re literally the best. You helped me through earl my problems that occurred when I am producing, I watch all your videos and I really enjoy them 💜
Super-useful, as always. I really like the top-down approach, and how you're focused on the overall mix and work not to get caught up in the cycle of chasing small changes. Thanks, Michael!
I'm glad I took the time to watch this. I think it cleared up several things that were keeping my mixes from coming out clean.
Watching this video for 20+ times now. Whenever im confused about mixing,back to this video and everything on this channel. Thank you teacher
by far the best tutorials on mixing I've ever seen, never seems dragged out and it always makes sense to me
I'm so grateful for all of Michael's tutorials! They're so professional and well explained and carefully edited, always helps me a lot.
Your timing Michael is always so uncanny yet satisfying because I literally just took a break from mixing a song and I just kept thinking how I’m going to mix it. And this video pops up!
Michael , thank you very much for this amazing content, you’re definitely one of the best music production channels on TH-cam!!
I loved your expression at 25:05 when the pad sound finally fitted in, just the way you wanted! This feeling is what I'm looking for 👌🏻
Michael you save me every time i feel I can't deliver what the artist needs.
You're my production saviour...as soon as I get my break dude am sending you a huge pay check for all you keep doing
The much awaited video has finally arrived... this will solve the hardest part of being an amateur and broke producer. Thanks my mentor. You will be remembered for generations
th-cam.com/video/9dULeWBfPeY/w-d-xo.html
Its just so funny the vocals singing "You pull me back" and Michael pulling the volume and stuff back
This presented some really valuable insight.
As someone who doesn't mix, and is really just messing around with FL studio to explore a little creativity, I'm so damn thankful I stumbled onto this video.
I have so much respect for the mixers of music now. It's an overlooked process but it's so critical to the listeners experience. I also learned a lot of great info that I can put to use eventually.
You make it seem so easy when it's not, which is a sign of your skills.
I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge, not just that, but the way you explain everything so people like me can appreciate it and understand it without feeling overwhelmed.
Superb.
I don't usually comment but what you're doing is truly amazing. Thank you for making these videos, they are incredibly helpful.
You're one of the best out there Michael, thank you for sharing your knowledge for free with us
You put together a really good tutorial by letting your audience eavesdrop on your thinking out loud and showing us how to remix and why we should do certain things to make it better. I like the way you bring out elements of the mix that serves the song best. Great job. I learned quite a bit. Thanks.
For those who still aren't using busses while mixing, It's a game changer, definitely give it a shot!
I personally love to set the tone of my mixes by EQing and Saturating my busses. Saturation also eats up some nasty peaks, which helps a lot with getting louder mixes!
complete game changer for me 👀
I've just started learning and I can say that Michael is the best educator out there with confidence...
I like how measured your explanations are. You rarely make blanket or unquantifiable statements, reminding people to not just overuse techniques you did in your video based on them just so happening to be of use multiple times in this single project of yours. This is really refreshing, because, usually, tutorials end up being useless, not giving precise enough justifications for the exact steps taken and more of an insight into the character of the presenter than anything else. Yours, on the other hand, are interesting, even if one is already aware of most of the technical aspects discussed and here for more than just the usual manufactured iillusion of a magical, black-box mixing process. You're teaching the actual process and function of things, not just to set dials a specific way for no apparent reason. It is reassuring to be hearing the same problems and thinking of similar solutions. Thank you for posting!
Thanks for sharing your process Michael. You’re a great teacher and this is a beautiful song.
This format of doing something from start to finish works so great! I can't stress enough how much it helped me understand every point that you've taught me in your older videos, whether if it's how compression works, why you should reduce frequency bands instead of boosting them to find problematic areas, and most importantly, why you don't need to mix in mono, that point you really made clear when you talked about planning how the track will sound and listening to it from a "top-down view".
I really really want you to continue making videos in that format, it's giving us, the viewers a practical example of how each tip could be used in the context of the whole mix and I have few suggestions for the next videos:
- Producing a track idea/draft Start To Finish
- Recording instruments/drums/vocals Start To Finish
- Sound designing Start To Finish (I'm not talking specifically about how to create basic sounds, but rather how to make a sound that will fit a certain mix or song)
Thanks a lot for all of these videos :)
Wowwww. 😮 The high-pass on the instruments for that last chorus just opened everything right up and made everything really clear and pop. Beautiful. 👏 28:14 vs 26:50
You are a gem, Michael! And In The Mix is my top go to channel! As a beginner producer I am so grateful to you! Thank you for sharing such invaluable knowledge man! 💙
Michael, thank you so much for these videos, you are a LEGEND!
Love the editing man, you’ve stepped up.
First one❤️❤️❤️❤️, i am seeing your tutorials for about 3 years and i can say everytime u upload a video, its something very informative and helpful , keep going on .🔥
Thanks for this. Watching how someone else approaches a mix can be illuminating and instructive to varying degrees. A fresh perspective is always welcome and you did a very good job of explaining what you felt was excessive or lacking and how you remedy accordingly. Mixing is definitely more art than science. Well done!
Your channel is unbelievable. Every video is incredibly well structured, no nonsense and highly informative. You explain things with clarity and detail, and you clearly spend a lot of time making these videos. Your content will help thousands (hundreds of thousands given your stats) of musicians to produce better music. WHAT an incredible achievement. You are an inspiration and an asset to the music production community. MERCI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was almost like an experience as if i was there mixing with you even though i wouldn't have moved anything i could almost feel i was connecting with the process as well.
Its so awesome that he’s doing this stuff for free! There are so many people selling masterclasses just to give the info that InTheMix is giving in this video.🙌🏻
This is so great, I basically learnt FL Studio and how to produce from your channel alone. Thank you so much for all your content Michael! 😊
I don't know where i would be right now without Michael's tutorials, i'm really excited to start working on some new tracks!
It's been only 5 mins since uploading and the video is 32 mins long. I'm still commenting. I know it that the the video is great already.
Some high powered audio engineers know their craft, but don’t have the ability to teach others. Michael has the bases covered on both fronts. Your mixing and Mastering videos are excellent. The best I’ve found to date. Thank you for taking the time and effort it took to produce them.
Can I learn from you Mark
Up to now, as a learner, I have learned the most from this channel.
Be blessed for sharing such precious information!
Just switching to cubase pro from ableton and studio one.. absolutely amazing software, comes with all the required and high quality mixing plugins out of the box!!
25:03 Michael priceless face after eq the pad hahaha. Thanks for the video, mate. Your content is so good, more than many paid videotutorials. Keep going: the 1M subs it's on the road :)
This video is my ultimate reference track for mixing my stuff from now on.
Thank you for the video.
Man I'm loving these videos!! Thank you so much for all the helpful videos!
You are the best i swear to god, i just commented about a mixing tutorial in your mastering video , thank you so much ^_^•
I'm so unbelievably thankful for these videos. Do you have anything similar to patreon?
I have a TH-cam channel members feature, beside the subscribe button. I had a pateron for a short while but disabled it as I wasn't too happy with how it worked.
@@inthemix of course! Thanks for reminding me of the YT member system.
Fantastic content as usual. Thank you for what you do for the community!
So much knowledge in one video. I love the last words even more. Thank you Michael✊🏾
Great work man! I would love to see HOW you can achieve a recording like this. Everything sounds so even, that made this mix easy (in terms of what Im used to mix because of the audio some artists send me)
Great mixing tutorial, lots of gems! I can't get over how similar the vocal melody is to "King Of Carrot Flowers". Anyways, have a good one!
Sure does. Was driving me nuts
right !? took me two seconds to be like wtf that is way to similar
You're a blessing 💯. Sending much appreciations from Kenya.
Great time learning with you brother ! Keep it UP ! BIG THX !!!
I wish I was the creator of this extremely beautiful song. I love everything of this song, the melody, the instrumentation and arrangement, the voice, the balance the mixI would be extremely proud of being able to make such a song. Congrats to everybody who is involved in this song. 👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻
The song Is really beautiful❤❤
Thank you 😊
Really simplified things for me!! Thank you!!
You are a great Teacher and you are raising a lot of future artists. Thanks a Lot Michael. Love u Buddy
I play and release harp instrumentals and finding a way to properly mix my songs has been an equal challenge to the recording process itself. So fingers crossed I’ll be able to utilize this for better mixes 🤞🏻
1 hour ago, I'm a mixer newbie. Now, I'm still a newbie but motivated to learn a lot more.
Michael is an excellent teacher and I appreciate the free youtube tutorials Sir!
you are the best brother, so young yet knows so much about music and no one explain things better than u on youtube!
12:51 "Let's see how the song pans out" no pun intended. 🤣
Dang, this video is one of those I'm going to have to watch a dozen times. Would grouping things up in Ableton be similar for the different groups you're consolidating?
b
Yes it's exactly the same. Makes it much faster to do things like sidechaining, eq, glue compression etc. You can also make groups inside of groups in ableton for even more control!
Can anyone recommend some music producers i can follow on twitch or something? I follow some i want some more variety so i can maybe learn more
This man is a blessing. Thank you for everything, Michael!
THE BEST TUTORIAL out there. Really thanks for all :):):):).
"A mix doesn't has to be perfect balance for low,mid and high,it has to be the right balance for that song".
-In The Mix
I've watched a lot of tutorials but man your tutorials are the most detailed. Amazing work! I can come here and take notes confidently.
What you are doing for us is unbelievable. I've been learning so much in the last two years (when I've discovered your tutorials). Keep it up and take care! Ciao from Italy 🇮🇹😀
I really like your mixing technique. BTW that song sounds very nice. Congratulations!
Been waiting for such a video...Thanks Michael!!!
i really appreciate these vids! its nice to see how others go about mixing
This guy is on his game......I haven't got a clue wat he's on about but he keeps me watching until the end. Brilliant:)
Thank you for sharing this process. Pure gold mate!
Since 2018 I've been doing infact improving since I started watching these tutorials thanks for having you 🙏keep on with good job we appreciate your presence
Amazing tutorial. Thank you so much!
Honestly, I respect and appreciate Michael for these uploads. You won't find such detailed tutorials anywhere like and further more.... "FREE".. Like no one else would go through there mixing or mastering sessions and even if they do it's not so circumstantial.. Thank you!!!
Thanks a lot!!! Gonna stay tuned for more!!
Thank you! I'm learning so much with you
they're not criticizing you. they're trying to help you understand their intent. I may have gotten a few words wrong, but this is a powerful message. thank you.
Thank you for these videos. So much knowledge here!
Thank you Michael, very cool.
absolute masterclass thanks for the value
One of the most complete mixing tutorial...you are amazing!!! 😊
You always deliver! Just listened to the song on Spotify and it sounds wonderful, thanks for taking us through the process teach!!