ProdSecrets MIXING CHECKLIST 10 STEPS FOR FIXING A BAD MIXLearning how to achieve high quality mixes is easier than ever. WORE a CME ELEC CnC Rete BT unt SCT aC) Cee cre ee eee nt ano cm Coan ke but something just sounds off. It's not quite hitting right and you don’t know how to fix it. DR Recs Pen eo Ate amen En Reece teem Pees lea Rone nC a Ree 4 RSE RC Recs Rr Scone ait eet uns a a Re On cl In fact, one of the most popular questions people send to us is: how can | get a better Te Renee Renee chen cao bringing your musical vision to life so others can connect with it more deeply. Ne CR a CR te ese Ee TR with Drew over the last 5 years. Producing and mixing hundreds of records during this time, as well as collaborating with countless industry specialists, has helped me develop Bee kee tue eerie Rn seen ean Cons RUS mare CRON See Eee esc ee ae follow every time you need to mix your song, FOR Se ca Ree Oecd CeCe eee een ae aR eg mixes and simplify the process. And I know they will help you too. ter ardStep #1: Audition and choose the best possible sounds for your mix. SU ee tae RMU ee ec Cam een mec er) Ree Re es The first thing a chef will want to do is make sure they're working with good, fresh ingredients. If the ingredients are spoiled, the entire dish will fall apart (no matter how Peto Seu ey RO ee gee eee processed and don’t work well together, no amount of subsequent mixing will save you. Make your life easier by choosing great sounds and samples right from the beginning. Pe EM eC CMR emse ees a CNet ese Rr PO ei a ae no eee ene eta une ects POR nm gee ee eae eg ae a ee don’t be afraid to load up multiple tracks that all have different kick drums, then turn Fee ICE ROC a ec ae eanoeStep #2: Avoid over processing your sounds. Oe MMR a ctu e eet numer RC a esa Neg ee tae Dee CU eee oe eka PE Ce CeO anes ec eR nent cs Pr enaces TRUM Ree Re eee ec processed by professional sound designers -- so adding too many extra effects on top Co err Aan To recap: keep it simple. Find good sounds from the beginning that work in your mix and Cee een Lene ene cu ee ne Caceres ee Renta cece Step #3: Remove unnecessary layers & elements that are muddying up your mix. Cee a ete ue ee neers RC aa es ad ONeg eae soe ae aa oe eka Pre Ras Cen Montane ta ge ae un eer o Pras eC ee processed by professional sound designers -- so adding too many extra effects on top Ctl aR To recap: keep it simple. Find good sounds from the beginning that work in your mix and Cen ge ee Len Rae ecu ne CRC e eras eR eute e ees ProdSecretsStep #4: Make sure relative volume levels in your song are balanced properly. Cent ase Ree ee Ras ec Rn) some gain staging. Gain staging is a term that is often used very frequently in the mixing world -- and for good reason. Ere eee eS RES eee eure cat AD Penance chun nCi erratic name auton Pees ae But proceed with caution here, because just turning everything up to sound louder isn’t the goal. The key word is “balanced”. You want to make sure that each element is Rete ere Raunt accuten Sete Rana RCE aCe Puen Sea RCTS n gee Pea cn Cea Rta ciety ene Rue Rea cee RecN et ae Rn) cre Ree can our ea ea ee eC) Pee eee nen Mae csc mea Rca et) ACR U Ue a Rare u een Cassar mel cn RC) TUT er eR me CNS CLT Regen Re cie E Ru e anea eR rece rote Css une um eam ne Re ie RuCe nee aa tee Seek ee ha ton eee cre UMN te Ca enue te Suu Ru ceed Every song and genre will have different levels and gain staging methods, so eee eu RCN ees Eee a ACN CTE Crime St ne on eee ee een Ra a ae man NIC mu tacks Ma Sa arias tela aca ait Pr ese Ries mel amt acca ee Having a trained ear for this kind of thing will help you understand those more EER Cents Claes ter ardStep #5: Identify any undesirable frequency clashing or clutter and tame it with EQ. Now that you have good quality sounds that are balanced properly, we can finally Se tee eee ce ee PT RSS mr Rene kN Rae Ree Ce Ree a etal oan Sono eel Coe a Etec as aa Cena e CRC ons RR etc ee eee Re Coste eters temas ieee Se Me Regen eee ems Me nease hte ner u Racca ecig ee eee ER Mn ogc s Casa Rete Rae POUR col Seamer ect eu ear ae es Ry eee etcetera Renee ne od Ce eRe ed un un og eee Ce Pee een e nee cc Sr Un etec os Rm un eta CN) Biase RC ea e tata CR eee aoe cg eV can use EQ to remove certain frequencies of a sound, freeing up space so another Per RT aoc oe aR eee The goal here isn’t to cut everything though. Some frequencies are necessary to Eee RCC NE e he CCe ROU ke seem ec ee Us aC coms ae oi ata oc ek er Fe een eu ec Rete CN ge eR ete Comte eS ete ea cs Selo Led ter ardStep #6: Take advantage of the stereo spectrum and spread sounds out using panning and imaging to create more space. COT ener RN See age ASR re eae TT COM Cease ie ORL OM COUR OM AL NR LeretCOR UE Cciko (-1(e E)eL- Lela felr the left and right “sides” of your mix) where you can place different elements through Seas Cee ne Cae Reon Run might want to widen some elements and make use of the extra space you have on the eRe eure eel emt ec enced Ree ae mee re eee Rona EIR There are a number of free tools you can use to assess and adjust the “width" of your Pe RO Ici eee ae a eee) ae Rate ter ardStep #7: Identify any dynamic inconsistencies and tighten them up using compression. When we say inconsistent dynamic range we're referring to situations where certain Ret ea een CR eateries a eee loud or soft at certain points throughout the song For example, you may have a vocal track where certain words are quieter and hard to hear, while in other sections the singer is too loud. You can control these peaks and dips DR cee Essentially the goal here is “level out” the volume of the sound so it’s consistent SR et Rea et ea eee ee oo! See MCR ee Me ewe eo cy Seen un MM ur eta hems eee) Reece nea areca as Aloe TCHR mal Lace Ly audio clicks & pops - fix them with fading or automation. SSS Oe er aed ema cee nec cy en Cae ee mt ec ee ee ee eee Rese CO eae econ Acie ten Re aa Cea ee eset a eeeeec that run too long into other sections that need to be shortened or controlled through automation. Ree oe ana ee eee eee ee ae oe Pe une nae eRe ee Een ue cnt Og ane Ream Una terete At first, it might be difficult to really identity and rectify these problems -- but don’t TE aC ur aL es cacti cur Reet Nels the more you'll understand how all of these concepts work and fit together! Which brings PRC es Rese ProdSecretsStep #9: Compare your mixdown to a commercial mixdown that you like and adjust it accordingly to accomplish a similar result. Now that you have a nicely balanced mix and you've ironed out some of the more eeu om eae ee an RN mR eas Un) Pe MR Cu Rt acne Racca Rea cesar ec reas Te OCI ie aa aun cia Cu ROR ecm ee ca eS ee na ay Step #10: Listen & compare your mixdown versions in a variety of different environments. If something sticks out, go back through the checklist and make the necessary adjustments. eens een Rec u nn RES ee erg Nene nn eee RCS ko a ea RC Reese Cee ees emer he eee Ete ee Cee ec canoe And your job when mixing is to make your music sound as good as possible in all of these different environments. When you're listening to your song through different speakers, eR NV AIL Lele N Te ol RCL CMa Mol Lela el aloo (0) Rela Roelil) -1f ELA) Ce Sa RCo cet at eR eon rE Renae ure eee ecm Teg ten e ORC oe ee ae Ren coe enn Pee Ree Cae OME eee to aaa! NOE Nam ete een Re un een aaa ceca DEIR Renee merce a ee cae toate Te een ea en et cree oan R ct) CleMi Rol RR MU mL BU A Ma ROR CR Racers ek ey PT nea et Senet te a eR eter ie Rte te aL RR mld ProdSecrets