Beyond technical mixing

[Ef NervaParticipant]

Hello, Warren

This is going to be a broader suggestion/request than just a question.

You have done an exceptional job teaching us a lot of great engineering tips, concepts, and how to apply different techniques.
This has led to a point where many of us have a fairly deep knowledge of how to apply different techniques to accomplish various tasks. I've found that the power of these skills is mostly hindered by my ability to choose what I want to achieve and identifying what is best for the song.

As a fairly technical person, I love to dive into deep audio concepts and sometimes go beyond what is needed to make great mixes and music.
Although the technical knowledge helps, it doesn't necessarily equate to a great mix. There's more to mixing than just the "how".

There's a saying that "If it sounds good, it is good" - okay, but how do I make it sound great? Maybe I did a mix that sounds really good, but that may not be the best way to present the song. In a video, you talked about mixing a live concert recording, but the band didn't like it for it sounded like a studio recording. Sounded good, but not a great mix.

Let's take a drum sound. I could make it sound like, as some examples:
* Tight
* Airy and open
* Slammed
* Natural
Achieving that sound is just a technical question, but making the choice of which is the best for the song is a whole other story.

Then I would also have to make the other elements in the mix make sense. Slammed drums sound great, but the other elements need to feel connected. If the rest of the mix has fairly light compression and sounds natural, then drums that are slammed (although may sound and feel really nice), wouldn't make a lot of sense.

A great progressive rock mix might give you chills, but a great lofi hip-hop track would instead stay in the background without gaining too much attention. Identifying the desired sound is sometimes a very difficult process.

To the point 😀

In general, practice makes perfect, but I personally would really benefit from videos that talk more about how to choose the desired outcome. It's a skill that experienced engineers tend to have a better grasp on than new ones.

The feedback Fridays help with that, and the mix breakdowns are also really helpful already. But maybe a few tutorials on general decision making?

 

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 3 years ago by Ef Nerva.

[Nicholas JacksonParticipant]

Just wanted to say - good call Ef, in fact my request is sort of linked... and coming up..

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