Hardest things in mixing music?
Added 2022-03-31 18:40:51 +0000 UTC📝 I'm doing a Patreon-exclusive post about the most common mix issues (I mix music every single workday), why I think they occur, and how producers could learn to address them, and I'll publish that in April 📖
But I wanted to ask YOU at this point for your input, as I'm very interested in how producers perceive their mixing and the possible struggles at this point.
Simply put: what's the hardest part for you to get right in mixing?
Let me know!
Comments
I wouldnt necessarily chase the very same spot for both kick and bass, but to answer your question, I'd just raise that spot with an EQ? In case your bass does have harmonics there. Try boosting the bass an octave lower AND octave higher than the kick frequencies too.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-22 14:22:03 +0000 UTCFor me its kick and bass in tech house (in this case) for example, if the kick is hitting nicely at 80-85hz, what can I do to make the bass do the same thing to kinda create an harmony between them? these things are making me crazy 😵💫
BEDESCHI
2022-04-21 22:02:30 +0000 UTCI'd say "lofi" works with a more restricted / not-full frequency range. Not necessarily super bassy (then again it can be that) and not that much high-freq content. It kind of varies, but I've worked with some lofi stuff where theres nothing above high-mids or so. What you describe sounds to me like the part of the song, freq-wise, that you hear from the midrange monitors is prob quite ok, but the rest maybe isn't? I mean, the midrange monitors leave a lot of stuff out: all the sub, and a lot of the high sparkle. So I'd *guess* the lows and highs are a bit off then? :)
Janne Hatula
2022-04-04 10:01:54 +0000 UTCI wonder if there are any particular challenges for mixing especially lofi music? For instance - I'm soon going to start working on about 20 short beats made on a PO-33. They don't sound too bad when i play them on mid range speakers, sound bar etc, but they sound a bit rough on my monitors.
Alan Chapman
2022-04-04 09:16:10 +0000 UTCoh and yeah, hihats can get too loud if compressing the break. this is because the louder parts go down and you hear the less loud ones come up. there is no right or wrong in terms of gating: whatever works good for you!
Janne Hatula
2022-04-03 17:54:40 +0000 UTCThis is hard to quantify, but try to make it fat before snappy. Take a good, fat mix and compare it to that. Overdoing transients goes against the fat feeling. i always work on tons of songs at the same time; i did try working on one at a time, but felt too restricted…it all works, as long as you make sure that you only keep the really good ideas and delete a lot of the stuff that isnt that good. brightness: also reference songs…our ears get so used to whatever, we need reminders to get it exactly right. your mixes are pretty good tho!
Janne Hatula
2022-04-03 17:53:45 +0000 UTCYo Fanu, I hope the breakless trance scene is treating you well! First of all: thanks for doing this! My current struggles: dialing in how “fat” the drum bus should be and how much snappiness should there be. How much of the quiter parts should I gate away or keep them for ambience/character purposes? And while I am playing around with this: the hihats can get really mad and loud, so I keep adjusting their volume. Major problem is lack of perspective: I try to finish a song from idea/writing/arranging/mixing. But I work slowly and once I am finally near the final mixing part, my brain is so biased that I can’t judge anymore if what I am doing is good or bad. Breaks don’t seem to help so I need to get faster and need to get more confident. Probably I also need to go back to work on multiple songs at the same time. I too have a problem with judging how bright my drums should be :) I tend to deal with the muddiness problem in the mid range by reducing too much there :) I am also too hard on myself and too problem oriented. So I go back mixing now, make a good enough mix and move on to the next one! :)
hologroove
2022-04-02 18:35:24 +0000 UTCAfter hearing lots of producers' initial mixes, I'd say this often is the case with drums :) Pokey: we have lots of great transient tools, and many producers (not saying you; I havent obv heard your mixes) just way overcook their drums with transient tools…and they become pokey, which goes against this certain fatness and punch AND it makes them stick out. Also there are certain frequencies that have a major role in this "being too much on top" matter. E.g., a lot of house guys have their kick too pokey, and that's often easily solved by cutting the 500-800 range. If you make a "kick" sound with your throat, that's the range...and when one cuts that 3-5 dB, it can make a massive difference. Also shaving the sometimes excessive transient can often help, too, in terms of making the drumsound sit in the mix. The same range often plays a big part on the body of the hihat, and it can be too much. Other critical range is 1-4K for claps, for example. And yeah, I fully agree with pianos: they often cover a large frequency range, and it may need more dynamic treatment here and there to make it sit perfectly. A good example of a really loud piano which – i think – sits well is "Thin Line" by John Summit, that was mixed and mastered by me, and I've often used that as a ref for other house tracks where the piano has to be real loud but still not too obnoxious, heh.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-02 12:36:34 +0000 UTCWhat i often struggle with is getting the drums sit in the mix properly. Feels like they’re always either too much on top and pokey, or burried. Also, piano. Goddamn piano! Always either just messy crap where you can’t tell what’s happening or every single note is hitting your ear. No matter how i eq it, it’s too much and too little at the same time :D
Jukka Karppi
2022-04-02 10:43:44 +0000 UTCThank You
Mr. Dymz
2022-04-02 08:26:48 +0000 UTCThis video should answer everything you need to know about modern DAW gain staging. Any Qs? Lemme know, but check the video first :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxB2eHi_el0
Janne Hatula
2022-04-02 08:25:25 +0000 UTCMostly gain staging ☺️
Mr. Dymz
2022-04-02 08:22:09 +0000 UTCThis may help, so do try it: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63573005
Janne Hatula
2022-04-02 08:20:06 +0000 UTCMixing the top end is something I struggle with as in getting that really nice air and sparkle whether it be from the cymbals and drums or bass or atmosphere. Someone like taxman nails that top end sparkle in their drums 🥰 x
Jarryd Jacobs
2022-04-02 08:03:07 +0000 UTCI do use sonarworks headphone reference to get a flat as response as possible I have started use waves NX too but yeah low-mids kinda take over.
Andrew Hollis
2022-04-01 17:42:25 +0000 UTCThe mud can be tough, if you mean low-mids: low-mids are prob the hardest thing to get right in any acoustic space…and in esp. untreated space, it can sound messy even with really well mixed songs. Flat headphones may help, and obv some room correction such as Sonarworks.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:29:09 +0000 UTCIf if's very subby, obv its gonna be heard well from big speakers, but not so well from smaller ones. That's where harmonics matter a lot (so smaller speakers have something to play back, too). For mixing sub, only the speakers that can reproduce that matter. Of course different speakers may have different freq ranges and have diff boosts on low-mids etc.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:27:51 +0000 UTCUsing reference songs is a HUGE deal in this. Get some really good songs and learn to know how they sound…and go after that, in any space. If I had to mix/master wherever, I'd take a few trusted ref songs with me. I only use one source: my Genelecs/studio, where ive heard a ridiculous amount of music…knowing the sound of any space well (and reference songs) is very important.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:25:59 +0000 UTCTheyre good. But I might even recommend their much cheaper little brother, LCD-2 more…cheaper, and the sound wasnt really that much more inferior imho.
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:24:25 +0000 UTCI always say, inspiration and song content first, because that matters more to the general listener. Do the mixing last. It's fine to mix a bit as you go to get the vibe, but be prepared to mix it all again once the song is done – and once youve taken some distance. And sometimes too much is too much (i know it from my own productions where i always seem to prefer a really thick texture…simply cant make everything heard when theres a lot of stuff).
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:23:52 +0000 UTCI guess a good Q would be, why do you lose dynamics when mixing for power? :) Loud and dynamic are not mutually exclusive. Don't smash your dynamics when going loud. Sorry, I know this sounds simplistic. When I want to make things loud, I use saturators, boost the phatness frequencies where it matters etc. Hard to say more without hearing!
Janne Hatula
2022-04-01 17:22:11 +0000 UTCEcho that. Be able to produce a mix that doesn't have the bass just suck all the energy out the speakers on smaller devices. Also being able to remove mud and add sheen. A lot of my stuff seems to lack clarity and seem dull.
Andrew Hollis
2022-04-01 06:21:23 +0000 UTCFor me its getting the sub loud enough but not overpowering the rest of the song. It sounds good on my monitors but not so on other speakers. I go through the process of adjusting, mixing down and testing on other speakers numerous times. It would be nice to get it right first time.
Jonathan Thomas
2022-03-31 20:07:11 +0000 UTCAlso, just being able to hear what the mix really sounds like. The woes of mixing in an environment that does not have the acoustic treatment. (but I do listen on as many sources as possible during the process)
Shane Newville
2022-03-31 19:31:41 +0000 UTCBtw, how do you like those headphones in the pic? Are they worth the investment?
Shane Newville
2022-03-31 19:29:13 +0000 UTCWhen my mixing and production sessions are done at the same time everything becomes an overwhelming mess. DAW spaghetti. Basically trying to make sense of the aftermath of the creative process leading up to final mixing time. Makes it tricky to pin point where issues are. Large number of tracks and individual samples and track routing. Simple changes affect other channels, etc. Consequences of bad habits. But sometimes the mess is necessary because inspiration can be fleeting.
Shane Newville
2022-03-31 19:26:41 +0000 UTCWhen I mix for headroom, I usually end up with "acoustic music" mixes (i.e relatively clear but low loudness, no definition in mid bass, and little power in percussion). When I mix for power, I lose most of the dynamics. Headroom can be seen in the analysers, but can't be heard. How can I find the sweet spot?
cinder
2022-03-31 18:48:35 +0000 UTC
