Hello Joe, thank you for making such a fair and balanced reaction to my video! Thank you for your kind words and especially for editing this video in a way that doesn’t take me out of context at all. At 6:40, the way you articulated this was so much better than I did and far more nuanced. I admit I cut out quite a bit in the edit and maybe I should have left it in. I also want to assure you that I completely agree that frameworks and processes are beneficial for creativity and I myself have many! I really was referring to folks who are selling a miracle mix cure or a blueprint for a hit song and overnight success. While I haven’t tried your course, I always viewed you as a fair and honest person and wasn’t meaning to group you in with any of those folks. Thanks again! Michael
I have apparaqntely been doing this longer than both of you and I will say this, youo both are great at presentation and keeping thoughts on point and present the material in a way ... for me....... reinforces and allows me to keep my attentions on point .... "im the guy that loves the book that came with the software" and reads help files front to back when learning something" So i dont come in expecting or looking for new knowledge but to reinforce and process compare with you to verify.... NOT that i havent learned a few things along the way as well for sure but when you are looking to "learn" you can learn from anyone if you pick them apart long enough, bUT JOE IS Great as a teacher ....as a teacher should be beacuase the formula for great teaching is = HOW and then WHY. context is everything!!! but you both have the subscriber levels that speak for them selves . I have neither the patience or inclination to teach , my BASS students used to say I was much more effective if i would just shut up and let them watch me play and answer thier questions ..... LMAO gotta love the truth
I think Joe misunderstood what you meant when you said beware of someone with a magic bullet. Repeatable workflow is good but every track needs to be approached with an individual treatment. I think this is what you meant. No magic EQ setting for every time. Listen and process as needed. Love your channel.
I didn't watch Michael's video so I don't have the context but I feel like the point he was making was geared more towards those thousands of videos you see called "The secret tip all the pro's use", the kind of thing suggesting there's a shortcut you can take to avoid experience.
You, Michael Wynne from In the Mix, and MixWithJerry are the three best production channels on TH-cam and taught me probably 90% of everything I've learned.
This is terrific Joe. Thanks again for this and all your other videos. I do have to admit though, that I've watched enough of your videos that there were several places where I knew where you were going to agree and where you would (gently) take issue with what Michael had to say. Which means I have taken your lessons to heart. Mind you my implementation of said lessons sometimes lags behind but I swear I hear GIRATS in my head all the time when I'm recording.
I think that the point of Michael about "methods" was more against all ready made advices kind courses (like always compress / EQ that type of instrument with this very settings). I'm sure you share the same opinion on this point.
1. Totally agree with Joe about making sure the person you're taking advice from is mixing the same kind of music as you. No point in listening to a great EDM mixer if you're looking to mix a slow jazz piece. 2. Courses/processes: I think both Joe and Michael are right. For beginners, having a process or framework to start off is invaluable, otherwise where do you start? Even when you become more experienced, you can still start off with those steps and tweak anything you need to. What's wrong, is saying you should have your compressor threshold set at xx, or increase EQ by nDB at yyyKHZ (as examples) as these will be different for every song. Maybe that's what Michael was referring to. 3. I listen to both channels and I respect both of you and have learnt a lot from both of you. I find it's best to get advice from multiple sources, if you keep hearing the same thing from different people then you have a good chance of that advice being correct.
After a couple of false-starts (falling into the plugin buying/researching pitfalls a few times) , I started my *real* journey into mixing two years ago. Eventually I became comfortable with my tools. Undoubtedly the biggest game changer for me was 1.) buying Joe's Home Studio Mixing Course - and 2.) Mixing the 50 bonus songs that came with the course. Putting in the reps is the *best* way to get better. I've played music for 40+ years - but when it came down to learning *mixing* - it was nice not worrying about the writing/performing piece of the puzzle. I could just focus on mixing Joe's tracks. Highly recommended.
Totally agree with everything you said Joe. I know Michael is very good but instruction I've followed from you Johnny Geib, Jonny Lipsham and David Vignola have all been very helpful and all of you have a process you follow. That doesn't mean you can't add or subtract ingredients from the cake! 👍
OH MY GOD....(i appologize for always writing a novel, Its a character flaw probably lol).... Im so glad you you decided to do this video, becsause i watched his this video in particular and heard you as you sat on my shoulder watching it with me LOL..... i could hear some of your comments that you actually just said...... (i was LMAO) The whole reason I come back your channel is because I have discovered that most of what I have learned in 25 years of home recording and how I learned it .(which can be heard if you listen to labeled older recordings or just compare the qualities , you can literally hear the progression of improvemants in technologies and processes . Ive had many iterations of my studio as tech has advanced ov the years. ..you have revealled that you also learned these same lessons exactly how I did. Its really quite amazing when you tell a story of how you learned something I have very very similiar EXPEREINCES ....... iVE SAID BEFORE you dont typically teach me anything i dont already know but you are a master at presentation and have a gfrgeat way that you break it all down annd it always seems to refresh and re-emphasize things i need to always be thinking of.... and it for that ...That I appreciate you. My channel purposely not labeled by me at Tutorialistic but rather " this is how I do it and you are a fly on the wall" for me its about the music content as much as the sharing of the process" and this FORMAT i am still develping so my channel is alol over the place as I work on my presentation. Only recently getting completely serious minded about the use of TH-cam as a monetary generator for myself. LOVE YOUR SHOW and LOVE PRESONUS , Im faithful paying user with an FP8 and pro 7 and misc different interfaces. I usewd to sell Pro Audio at SAM ASH and was comped a copy of S1 3pro and have been hooked ever since. LOVE YOUR CHANNELS AND your work
The biggest lesson I ever learned from one of the best mix engineers in the country was to get it right at the source. My aim should be to use little to no EQ. If the microphone selection and placement is correct, you really don’t need to do nearly as much adjustment. This is especially true for anything that phase coherency of the overtones makes a difference. The advice to adjust EQ and other effects in the mix instead of solo? I will disagree to a certain extent. I solo all the time, but for brief moments just to make sure that I understand what is going on and I don’t have anything unusual going on that is getting masked. Just because we can’t hear something in OUR mix in OUR monitors doesn’t mean that someone else won’t hear it with their ears in their environment. Soloing allows us to hear something that’s off that while not immediately audible, will stand out like a sore thumb once you are aware of it. But just don’t live in the solo. Visit it briefly. Your mastering engineer will thank you. Selling courses? You CAN teach basic structure and process. Why else did I go to college for? But specific step-by-step instructions for how to create art? The problem is that most of what we do is “craft” not “art.” Actual art is creating something that has never been created before. Originality. 99% of what we do is NOT art, it’s craft. We use our craft as part of the process of creating art-almost always someone else’s. But let’s be realistic. Just because we work in the “arts” does not make us artists. Craft is structured, art is craft creating new structure.
Hey Joe, my philosophy is you cannot achieve success if you randomly look up how to do things. If you want to learn recording, pick one person that you find trustworthy and follow only them. I follow you on TH-cam exclusively. When I was learning Sony Movie Studio Platinum, there was a person in Australia that I followed. When learning about photography, I follow a person that I know is trustworthy and knows his stuff. When learning fingerstyle guitar, a person to trust would be Tony Polecastro. Stick with one person so you do not get conflicting advice. I would trust Joe Gilder completely.
Loved the points: Have a process for everything (that you do a lot) and arrangement is the often overlooked precursor to a good mix. I had that exact experience of setting the faders on the Audiohaze recreation of Garden Song and realized songwriting, performance, and arranging do most of the heavy lifting in great songs.
after 35 years of playing in bands, sound engineering for major touring acts live and working in my own home studio with pro musicians and singers the biggest issue that nobody is really talking about is the performance. Even many so called “pros” who are making their own records giving advice on their youtube channels who are decent enough musicians/producers/engineers but severely lack in vocal performance/ability. The vocal is by far the most important part of the mix and this is where i hear most amateur music fall flat, without a strong powerful vocal the mix is uninteresting and most people wont listen for very long. I would rather hear a poorly mixed song with a strong vocal than the other way around. Robert Johnsons recordings are sacred but by todays standards are terribly recorded.
Thank you for the video, Joe. I think establishing a few standard processes for mixing/engineering sets my creativity free and allows me to commit more time and energy to having fun. Your videos have helped me build those processes, thanks again for that.
Funny how two of my favorite you tubers on audio mixing and recording differ somewhat in their approaches, yet I get so much out of both of them. I think what Michael means is about formulae, you know, guys that will tell you that if you apply such and such an fx chain every time, your mixes are going to be great. That doesn't make much sense to me. Some people work more with processes. Others don't, and just approach it sort of intuitively and holistically. That's kind of the way I work. There are some tasks that are often repeated that you can incorporate in your templates and such, but every song is different, and even the same song can be approached in many different ways. When I sit down to produce a song, I barely have a vague idea of what I want to do with it. As I go along and start putting it together, I get ideas and inspiration, and so I try different things, and many times I end up with something substantially different than what I had conceived initially. Anyway, that's my two cents worth. Both you guys rock. I've learned a lot from you and others, and hope to continue to do so.
I watched Michael's video when it came out. I think what he was trying to get across, and I do believe there's plenty of TH-cam click bait out there, was referring to producing a "hit" song if you use a specific formula rather than using a measured approach. 🤷🏻♂️
The analogy about Michaelangelo sculpting the head bigger probably came from a hard lesson of finishing the work, looking at it from the proper distance and throwing the chisel across the room and having some choice words about how chitty weeks of work now look and how it's ruined (you can't add marble back to the sculpture). He tried his best and his project ended up as junk. But he learned. So the next time, he knew what the challenge would be and how to avoid issues.
Perhaps you've heard the phrase "there are no 'stupid questions'" (which has an occasional caveat "NOT asking questions is stupid"). So, while you may believe questioning Michaelangelo on the tools he used to create "David" might be "boring" (which is, by far, one of the oddest terms to associate with asking a question, and certainly creates confusion about the way you navigate your thoughts), it's actually quite smart to ask questions pertaining to the tools he used, because, in all likelihood, he didn't use just one chisel (or even just a singular tool - or even a tool with which everyone is familiar or knows how to properly handle/implement for the task), so to understand the tools used and the technique used during the process is to gain knowledge for future application when you, yourself attempt such an undertaking. It's called "education", which doesn't have to come by way of trial/error. It's why we have teachers/educators. There are myriad examples of where you, personally, attempt to impart wisdom from things you've learned, and that helps those who aren't as knowledgeable to sidestep those pitfalls on the way to quickly becoming more educated about the PROCESS. PROCESS. As in totality of something, which, yes...includes inquiries about things which you, personally find mundane. The last point I'll make in relation, is that some people have learning disabilities and REQUIRE greater detail to better/fully comprehend the process of something, so with the primary goal being to lift everyone through educating them, don't dismiss the way someone best learns information just because it isn't necessarily something with which YOU agree, got it?
Great video. I have one thought to add. Honestly, I think the biggest issue I hear in the mixes done by advice givers on TH-cam is the lack of dynamic range. I think a good way to test a mix is to crank it up loud, but not painfully loud. If the mix starts to induce ear fatigue after 30 seconds because it's a constant barrage on the ears, or it sounds like a wall of noise, that'd be a bad mix. There's too much emphasis on getting the mix "loud enough to compete."
That’s interesting. It kinda ties into another point from Michael’s video, where he talks about the Loudness Wars being over. “Loudness won,” he said. 😂 He’s not wrong.
Courses and guides have been very helpful to me personally, so I would agree with you. However, I think what Michael was saying about following others process/techniques is that these processes aren't a magic pill for your mix. There have been many times that I have followed someone's process to get a specific result and it failed. Usually due to my poor execution or it simply wasn't right for what I was working on. Thanks for the vid!
I think he means eq moves that always work and processing chains that will always work or compression settings that will always work. He wants you to learn the tools so you can use them differently every song. He is a firm believer in work flow process though.
point #2 is a thing, people argue about to this day. I think, it's not the gear or the ears. It's rather the knowledge and decisions you make, when mixing and on that purpose given there are only a handful of people that can nail a mix even, with the baddest gear on earth. For example deadmau5, this guy is so impressive, that you could give him a Playstation 1 with Music 2000 and he will manage to make song, that fills the dancefloors, exaggurately speaking
When people already mention at the headline that they have XX years of experience, it makes me sceptical and most of the time i don't watch any further. I'll be 63 in December and I'm still learning this fascinating topic called music and everything which belongs to it, even after decades. This is due to the nature of the subject, especially in this genre. 75%, if not more, on social media think they have experience just because they may have attended a course or might have sniffed a bit of Studio Air and is making them to so-called sound engineers, producers and so on ? At least 85% of their content is advertising (open or subtle) for the how-many-must-i-have-of-them plugins. The ones who really have experience and talking sense are rarely seen on social media or can be counted on 10 fingers. You Mr. Gilder are one of the fingers. Thanks for your content.
I’m 64, I’ve been writing, recording, and performing original music for 50 years. I’ll take advice if it makes sense to me, for my music. Joe often has good advice, or methods. Thank you.
2:53 "It's not the gear, it's the ears" really should be phrased "it's not the tools, it's the skill". And it should primarily be reserved for answering questions like "what's the best plugin for mixing vocals?" and other beginner questions looking for a quick fix without learning *why* a tool is good or bad.
One more for the algorithm; if any of you great gear guys don’t think gear matters, I will pm you my address so you can send me the gear you say you don’t need.
Joe, I have been a subscriber for a looong time. This video finally convinced my to take your 5-step mixing course but I never signed up for your newsletter and I assume I missed your holiday deals (if you had any). Do you have any incentives coming up or any available right meow?
Funny your get it right at the source comment makes me think of the fact that I have always complained there are a zillion mixing videos on TH-cam but very few recording videos
Growing up I didn't have the solo habit simply because we only had mutes on our console which meant to hear anything standalone you had to either put it on a VCA alone or mute everything else and with 24 to 46 tracks that wasn't easy to do. The only time we did it was if we could not pinpoint a ringing or something that was sticking out badly.
Joe, I’m with you on the gear question, though there are nuances that might be useful. Are there any special combinations of tools you find helpful to craft certain processes. VCA in front of a Vari Mu, EQing and or de-essing reverb sends, for instance. Your description of mixing in solo is very funny. I think many of us experienced this early on. As always… Thank you, and Happy Holidays
I was thinking! Your notebook is always in hands reach. Do you take notes when mixing. I find when putting something down on paper it sticks to my brain and i give it more love.
Solo mixes are fine....for solo mixes. I sometimes make a solo mix of a part just to get it out of my system. It will never go anywhere near the final full mix, but it helps me hear what I am looking for when the entire mix is happening. But that track in the big mix ain't the solo mix version.
if GIRATS is so important, and I know it is, no doubt, then I wish you would do twice as many videos on recording than on mixing, but somehow most recording channels talk about mixing but maybe they should give tips on recording. It's easy to say "change things until your raw tracks sound good", but how and what and how and why and how? Would be cool if this topic becomes your new content. This gives new material for the next 2 years. Show us what you hear and why and how you move the mics or dial in the amp settings. thanks ❤ Sending love from Europe.
I agree with your point #2. Tools are important but skill is more important. It's kinda like the guys that spackle walls. The good guys make it looks so easy and you say to yourself that looks easy I can do that. You go buy the same stuff the guy is using in the video and your walls come out like sh*t because you don't have the skill.
Oddly, I was subscribed to both these guys before this video... I feel vindicated! I think the things Joe disagrees with are more about syntax than concept
Like the meme said, it’s usually people with loads of great gear that tell the rest of us that the same great gear is not necessary. Like a very wealthy person telling a broke-a** like me that money isn’t everything. Sure. He’s not worried about making the rent, and the great gear guy has better tools. Sorry, but they are both wrong.
The biggest issue I see with his advice is that he’s too rigid and makes definite statements that are only sometimes true. He’s not wrong, but he’s also not right all the time either. I hope that makes sense.
I don't think that you and Michael contradict. I think you complement each other. I'm pretty sure that Michael isn't opposed to a framework like your 5-step-mixing process, but to more strict - as you called it - paint-by-numbers rules.
I have seen this video in my recommendations. But I have refused to click it, because it's so click baity. I guess that's what you have to do to get over million subscribers...
Unfortunately click bait titles and thumbnails just kinda became part of this territory. That being said, avoiding stuff just for that reason can keep you from learning from great teachers.
Regarding point 1. Agree. What would make Studio One great to stop the mixing in solo issue is to have a DIM SOLO feature which lowers track volume when you solo a track rather than muting them
@ZackMester yes but it makes hearing your changes whilst you make them against the music bed. Sonar used to have it and I never mixed in solo because of it
Why do I never get a link for your 5 step mix guide when I try your links? I give you my email address, hit enter, and end up on a page to buy a course. I don't get anything via email either. I've tried to get the guide 5 or 6 times. I just tried again about 5 minutes ago.
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▶︎▶︎ Free 5-Step Mix Guide here: www.5stepmix.com
Hello Joe, thank you for making such a fair and balanced reaction to my video!
Thank you for your kind words and especially for editing this video in a way that doesn’t take me out of context at all.
At 6:40, the way you articulated this was so much better than I did and far more nuanced. I admit I cut out quite a bit in the edit and maybe I should have left it in.
I also want to assure you that I completely agree that frameworks and processes are beneficial for creativity and I myself have many! I really was referring to folks who are selling a miracle mix cure or a blueprint for a hit song and overnight success. While I haven’t tried your course, I always viewed you as a fair and honest person and wasn’t meaning to group you in with any of those folks.
Thanks again!
Michael
That makes sense! Thanks for being a voice of reason in the sea of nonsense. 🤘
I have apparaqntely been doing this longer than both of you and I will say this, youo both are great at presentation and keeping thoughts on point and present the material in a way ... for me....... reinforces and allows me to keep my attentions on point .... "im the guy that loves the book that came with the software" and reads help files front to back when learning something" So i dont come in expecting or looking for new knowledge but to reinforce and process compare with you to verify.... NOT that i havent learned a few things along the way as well for sure but when you are looking to "learn" you can learn from anyone if you pick them apart long enough, bUT JOE IS Great as a teacher ....as a teacher should be beacuase the formula for great teaching is = HOW and then WHY. context is everything!!! but you both have the subscriber levels that speak for them selves . I have neither the patience or inclination to teach , my BASS students used to say I was much more effective if i would just shut up and let them watch me play and answer thier questions ..... LMAO gotta love the truth
Joe is a Presonus lapdog . . . .
I think Joe misunderstood what you meant when you said beware of someone with a magic bullet. Repeatable workflow is good but every track needs to be approached with an individual treatment. I think this is what you meant. No magic EQ setting for every time. Listen and process as needed. Love your channel.
I've been watching both your channels and I think you both give stellar advice and I've learned a lot! So thank you both :)
I didn't watch Michael's video so I don't have the context but I feel like the point he was making was geared more towards those thousands of videos you see called "The secret tip all the pro's use", the kind of thing suggesting there's a shortcut you can take to avoid experience.
You, Michael Wynne from In the Mix, and MixWithJerry are the three best production channels on TH-cam and taught me probably 90% of everything I've learned.
This is terrific Joe. Thanks again for this and all your other videos. I do have to admit though, that I've watched enough of your videos that there were several places where I knew where you were going to agree and where you would (gently) take issue with what Michael had to say. Which means I have taken your lessons to heart. Mind you my implementation of said lessons sometimes lags behind but I swear I hear GIRATS in my head all the time when I'm recording.
I think that the point of Michael about "methods" was more against all ready made advices kind courses (like always compress / EQ that type of instrument with this very settings).
I'm sure you share the same opinion on this point.
This is how I took it and was about to comment the same.
1. Totally agree with Joe about making sure the person you're taking advice from is mixing the same kind of music as you. No point in listening to a great EDM mixer if you're looking to mix a slow jazz piece.
2. Courses/processes: I think both Joe and Michael are right. For beginners, having a process or framework to start off is invaluable, otherwise where do you start? Even when you become more experienced, you can still start off with those steps and tweak anything you need to. What's wrong, is saying you should have your compressor threshold set at xx, or increase EQ by nDB at yyyKHZ (as examples) as these will be different for every song. Maybe that's what Michael was referring to.
3. I listen to both channels and I respect both of you and have learnt a lot from both of you. I find it's best to get advice from multiple sources, if you keep hearing the same thing from different people then you have a good chance of that advice being correct.
After a couple of false-starts (falling into the plugin buying/researching pitfalls a few times) , I started my *real* journey into mixing two years ago. Eventually I became comfortable with my tools.
Undoubtedly the biggest game changer for me was 1.) buying Joe's Home Studio Mixing Course - and 2.) Mixing the 50 bonus songs that came with the course. Putting in the reps is the *best* way to get better.
I've played music for 40+ years - but when it came down to learning *mixing* - it was nice not worrying about the writing/performing piece of the puzzle. I could just focus on mixing Joe's tracks. Highly recommended.
Totally agree with everything you said Joe. I know Michael is very good but instruction I've followed from you Johnny Geib, Jonny Lipsham and David Vignola have all been very helpful and all of you have a process you follow. That doesn't mean you can't add or subtract ingredients from the cake! 👍
OH MY GOD....(i appologize for always writing a novel, Its a character flaw probably lol).... Im so glad you you decided to do this video, becsause i watched his this video in particular and heard you as you sat on my shoulder watching it with me LOL..... i could hear some of your comments that you actually just said...... (i was LMAO) The whole reason I come back your channel is because I have discovered that most of what I have learned in 25 years of home recording and how I learned it .(which can be heard if you listen to labeled older recordings or just compare the qualities , you can literally hear the progression of improvemants in technologies and processes . Ive had many iterations of my studio as tech has advanced ov the years. ..you have revealled that you also learned these same lessons exactly how I did.
Its really quite amazing when you tell a story of how you learned something I have very very similiar EXPEREINCES ....... iVE SAID BEFORE you dont typically teach me anything i dont already know but you are a master at presentation and have a gfrgeat way that you break it all down annd it always seems to refresh and re-emphasize things i need to always be thinking of.... and it for that ...That I appreciate you.
My channel purposely not labeled by me at Tutorialistic but rather " this is how I do it and you are a fly on the wall" for me its about the music content as much as the sharing of the process" and this FORMAT i am still develping so my channel is alol over the place as I work on my presentation. Only recently getting completely serious minded about the use of TH-cam as a monetary generator for myself. LOVE YOUR SHOW and LOVE PRESONUS , Im faithful paying user with an FP8 and pro 7 and misc different interfaces. I usewd to sell Pro Audio at SAM ASH and was comped a copy of S1 3pro and have been hooked ever since.
LOVE YOUR CHANNELS AND your work
thanks for doing content on Michaels content.
The biggest lesson I ever learned from one of the best mix engineers in the country was to get it right at the source. My aim should be to use little to no EQ. If the microphone selection and placement is correct, you really don’t need to do nearly as much adjustment. This is especially true for anything that phase coherency of the overtones makes a difference.
The advice to adjust EQ and other effects in the mix instead of solo? I will disagree to a certain extent. I solo all the time, but for brief moments just to make sure that I understand what is going on and I don’t have anything unusual going on that is getting masked. Just because we can’t hear something in OUR mix in OUR monitors doesn’t mean that someone else won’t hear it with their ears in their environment. Soloing allows us to hear something that’s off that while not immediately audible, will stand out like a sore thumb once you are aware of it. But just don’t live in the solo. Visit it briefly. Your mastering engineer will thank you.
Selling courses? You CAN teach basic structure and process. Why else did I go to college for? But specific step-by-step instructions for how to create art? The problem is that most of what we do is “craft” not “art.” Actual art is creating something that has never been created before. Originality. 99% of what we do is NOT art, it’s craft. We use our craft as part of the process of creating art-almost always someone else’s. But let’s be realistic. Just because we work in the “arts” does not make us artists. Craft is structured, art is craft creating new structure.
I love Michael, just as you so helpful.
I love both of them..
They both are my online teacher.🙏🏻👍❤️
Hey Joe, my philosophy is you cannot achieve success if you randomly look up how to do things. If you want to learn recording, pick one person that you find trustworthy and follow only them. I follow you on TH-cam exclusively. When I was learning Sony Movie Studio Platinum, there was a person in Australia that I followed. When learning about photography, I follow a person that I know is trustworthy and knows his stuff. When learning fingerstyle guitar, a person to trust would be Tony Polecastro. Stick with one person so you do not get conflicting advice. I would trust Joe Gilder completely.
Loved the points: Have a process for everything (that you do a lot) and arrangement is the often overlooked precursor to a good mix. I had that exact experience of setting the faders on the Audiohaze recreation of Garden Song and realized songwriting, performance, and arranging do most of the heavy lifting in great songs.
There is a level of gear quality that does make a difference. If you can’t hear it, you can’t mix it.
Now that I own high level preamps (api, neve), 3000€+ mics, hw compressor, I am very sure that gear matters.
after 35 years of playing in bands, sound engineering for major touring acts live and working in my own home studio with pro musicians and singers the biggest issue that nobody is really talking about is the performance. Even many so called “pros” who are making their own records giving advice on their youtube channels who are decent enough musicians/producers/engineers but severely lack in vocal performance/ability. The vocal is by far the most important part of the mix and this is where i hear most amateur music fall flat, without a strong powerful vocal the mix is uninteresting and most people wont listen for very long. I would rather hear a poorly mixed song with a strong vocal than the other way around. Robert Johnsons recordings are sacred but by todays standards are terribly recorded.
Thank you! 🙏🙏
Love Joe's advice been watching him since I started recording
Thank you for the video, Joe.
I think establishing a few standard processes for mixing/engineering sets my creativity free and allows me to commit more time and energy to having fun. Your videos have helped me build those processes, thanks again for that.
Funny how two of my favorite you tubers on audio mixing and recording differ somewhat in their approaches, yet I get so much out of both of them. I think what Michael means is about formulae, you know, guys that will tell you that if you apply such and such an fx chain every time, your mixes are going to be great. That doesn't make much sense to me. Some people work more with processes. Others don't, and just approach it sort of intuitively and holistically. That's kind of the way I work. There are some tasks that are often repeated that you can incorporate in your templates and such, but every song is different, and even the same song can be approached in many different ways. When I sit down to produce a song, I barely have a vague idea of what I want to do with it. As I go along and start putting it together, I get ideas and inspiration, and so I try different things, and many times I end up with something substantially different than what I had conceived initially.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth. Both you guys rock. I've learned a lot from you and others, and hope to continue to do so.
I watched Michael's video when it came out. I think what he was trying to get across, and I do believe there's plenty of TH-cam click bait out there, was referring to producing a "hit" song if you use a specific formula rather than using a measured approach. 🤷🏻♂️
You're probably right. I just wanted to clarify that having a system/process isn't inherently non-creative.
True. We have too many people recording music nowadays and not enough musicians.
There is a process. That's why there are templates and presets to make something like we do all the time, a process, faster.
The analogy about Michaelangelo sculpting the head bigger probably came from a hard lesson of finishing the work, looking at it from the proper distance and throwing the chisel across the room and having some choice words about how chitty weeks of work now look and how it's ruined (you can't add marble back to the sculpture). He tried his best and his project ended up as junk. But he learned. So the next time, he knew what the challenge would be and how to avoid issues.
100% agree with the gear crap lol, I see so many people obsessed with gear that produce 0 music
At least they can show their expensive gear with their online "friends".
Perhaps you've heard the phrase "there are no 'stupid questions'" (which has an occasional caveat "NOT asking questions is stupid").
So, while you may believe questioning Michaelangelo on the tools he used to create "David" might be "boring" (which is, by far, one of the oddest terms to associate with asking a question, and certainly creates confusion about the way you navigate your thoughts), it's actually quite smart to ask questions pertaining to the tools he used, because, in all likelihood, he didn't use just one chisel (or even just a singular tool - or even a tool with which everyone is familiar or knows how to properly handle/implement for the task), so to understand the tools used and the technique used during the process is to gain knowledge for future application when you, yourself attempt such an undertaking.
It's called "education", which doesn't have to come by way of trial/error. It's why we have teachers/educators.
There are myriad examples of where you, personally, attempt to impart wisdom from things you've learned, and that helps those who aren't as knowledgeable to sidestep those pitfalls on the way to quickly becoming more educated about the PROCESS.
PROCESS.
As in totality of something, which, yes...includes inquiries about things which you, personally find mundane.
The last point I'll make in relation, is that some people have learning disabilities and REQUIRE greater detail to better/fully comprehend the process of something, so with the primary goal being to lift everyone through educating them, don't dismiss the way someone best learns information just because it isn't necessarily something with which YOU agree, got it?
Always the + Joe. 👍
Michael is the who showed me that FL Studio can be sexy. Love this dude
Great video. I have one thought to add. Honestly, I think the biggest issue I hear in the mixes done by advice givers on TH-cam is the lack of dynamic range. I think a good way to test a mix is to crank it up loud, but not painfully loud. If the mix starts to induce ear fatigue after 30 seconds because it's a constant barrage on the ears, or it sounds like a wall of noise, that'd be a bad mix. There's too much emphasis on getting the mix "loud enough to compete."
That’s interesting. It kinda ties into another point from Michael’s video, where he talks about the Loudness Wars being over. “Loudness won,” he said. 😂 He’s not wrong.
Courses and guides have been very helpful to me personally, so I would agree with you. However, I think what Michael was saying about following others process/techniques is that these processes aren't a magic pill for your mix. There have been many times that I have followed someone's process to get a specific result and it failed. Usually due to my poor execution or it simply wasn't right for what I was working on. Thanks for the vid!
I think he means eq moves that always work and processing chains that will always work or compression settings that will always work. He wants you to learn the tools so you can use them differently every song. He is a firm believer in work flow process though.
point #2 is a thing, people argue about to this day. I think, it's not the gear or the ears. It's rather the knowledge and decisions you make, when mixing and on that purpose given there are only a handful of people that can nail a mix even, with the baddest gear on earth. For example deadmau5, this guy is so impressive, that you could give him a Playstation 1 with Music 2000 and he will manage to make song, that fills the dancefloors, exaggurately speaking
Yep, but I think that's a given. People don't literally mean "ears." They mean skill, insight, experience, etc.
When people already mention at the headline that they have XX years of experience, it makes me sceptical and most of the time i don't watch any further. I'll be 63 in December and I'm still learning this fascinating topic called music and everything which belongs to it, even after decades. This is due to the nature of the subject, especially in this genre. 75%, if not more, on social media think they have experience just because they may have attended a course or might have sniffed a bit of Studio Air and is making them to so-called sound engineers, producers and so on ? At least 85% of their content is advertising (open or subtle) for the how-many-must-i-have-of-them plugins. The ones who really have experience and talking sense are rarely seen on social media or can be counted on 10 fingers. You Mr. Gilder are one of the fingers. Thanks for your content.
I’m 64, I’ve been writing, recording, and performing original music for 50 years.
I’ll take advice if it makes sense to me, for my music.
Joe often has good advice, or methods.
Thank you.
2:53 "It's not the gear, it's the ears" really should be phrased "it's not the tools, it's the skill". And it should primarily be reserved for answering questions like "what's the best plugin for mixing vocals?" and other beginner questions looking for a quick fix without learning *why* a tool is good or bad.
Joe, show us an example of 2 sounds competing vs not competing when they occupy the same frequencies… 👍🏼
One more for the algorithm; if any of you great gear guys don’t think gear matters, I will pm you my address so you can send me the gear you say you don’t need.
Now THAT'S a good strategy.
His mixing advice is definitely solid for beginners but not really for more advanced producers
Joe, I have been a subscriber for a looong time. This video finally convinced my to take your 5-step mixing course but I never signed up for your newsletter and I assume I missed your holiday deals (if you had any). Do you have any incentives coming up or any available right meow?
The biggest thing right now is that my VIP membership is back open: www.homestudiocorner.com/vip
@@HomeStudioCorner Merry Christmas to me... Merry Christmas to me (sung to the tune of 'Happy Birthday'...)
Great video Joe. I would be very interested in a video about your process of making youtube videos.
Funny your get it right at the source comment makes me think of the fact that I have always complained there are a zillion mixing videos on TH-cam but very few recording videos
On "It's not the gear, it's the ear," I would adjust that to "It's not the gear _as much as_ it's the ear."
Yeah, that's better.
Growing up I didn't have the solo habit simply because we only had mutes on our console which meant to hear anything standalone you had to either put it on a VCA alone or mute everything else and with 24 to 46 tracks that wasn't easy to do. The only time we did it was if we could not pinpoint a ringing or something that was sticking out badly.
Damn good vid
Joe,
I’m with you on the gear question, though there are nuances that might be useful.
Are there any special combinations of tools you find helpful to craft certain processes.
VCA in front of a Vari Mu, EQing and or de-essing reverb sends, for instance.
Your description of mixing in solo is very funny.
I think many of us experienced this early on.
As always…
Thank you, and Happy Holidays
Yeah, I agree with Michael when he said you need the right tool for the job.
Great video
I was thinking! Your notebook is always in hands reach. Do you take notes when mixing. I find when putting something down on paper it sticks to my brain and i give it more love.
Solo mixes are fine....for solo mixes. I sometimes make a solo mix of a part just to get it out of my system.
It will never go anywhere near the final full mix, but it helps me hear what I am looking for when the entire mix is happening. But that track in the big mix ain't the solo mix version.
16:02 -- AMEN!!
if GIRATS is so important, and I know it is, no doubt, then I wish you would do twice as many videos on recording than on mixing, but somehow most recording channels talk about mixing but maybe they should give tips on recording. It's easy to say "change things until your raw tracks sound good", but how and what and how and why and how? Would be cool if this topic becomes your new content. This gives new material for the next 2 years. Show us what you hear and why and how you move the mics or dial in the amp settings. thanks ❤ Sending love from Europe.
Point taken. A lot of that is covered in my recording course and VIP membership.
I agree with your point #2. Tools are important but skill is more important. It's kinda like the guys that spackle walls. The good guys make it looks so easy and you say to yourself that looks easy I can do that. You go buy the same stuff the guy is using in the video and your walls come out like sh*t because you don't have the skill.
Oddly, I was subscribed to both these guys before this video... I feel vindicated! I think the things Joe disagrees with are more about syntax than concept
Like the meme said, it’s usually people with loads of great gear that tell the rest of us that the same great gear is not necessary. Like a very wealthy person telling a broke-a** like me that money isn’t everything. Sure. He’s not worried about making the rent, and the great gear guy has better tools. Sorry, but they are both wrong.
The biggest issue I see with his advice is that he’s too rigid and makes definite statements that are only sometimes true. He’s not wrong, but he’s also not right all the time either. I hope that makes sense.
LoL 😂 I've definitely listened to some youtuber's music and decided not to take their advice because their songs/mixes were not to my liking.
Orthodox SamplePack
I don't think that you and Michael contradict. I think you complement each other. I'm pretty sure that Michael isn't opposed to a framework like your 5-step-mixing process, but to more strict - as you called it - paint-by-numbers rules.
Hahah Joe got butt hurt😂😂😂 sell your course brother 😁 it's all good 😊
😂 Nah it's all good
FIRST!
Just don’t buy a course from Ken Tamplin 😂😂
Is that the dude who sings really high?
I have seen this video in my recommendations. But I have refused to click it, because it's so click baity. I guess that's what you have to do to get over million subscribers...
Unfortunately click bait titles and thumbnails just kinda became part of this territory. That being said, avoiding stuff just for that reason can keep you from learning from great teachers.
@@djentlover he is very good.
this kid is a predator. he preys on the inexperienced.
100% disagree.
If the end product sounds good to the listener, that’s all that matters. I think you need to back off
I can't believe someone uses FL Studio.
Everything about him is robotic.
Regarding point 1. Agree. What would make Studio One great to stop the mixing in solo issue is to have a DIM SOLO feature which lowers track volume when you solo a track rather than muting them
Not really because every tweak you make should help fit in the context of the full-volume mix. That’s an interesting idea though.
@ZackMester yes but it makes hearing your changes whilst you make them against the music bed. Sonar used to have it and I never mixed in solo because of it
Why do I never get a link for your 5 step mix guide when I try your links? I give you my email address, hit enter, and end up on a page to buy a course. I don't get anything via email either. I've tried to get the guide 5 or 6 times. I just tried again about 5 minutes ago.
Hmm…weird. Did you check your spam folder?
No offense but muxing is an art. All and evety youtube audio person should be taking with a grain of salt