At some point I used 60db of gain reduction and that wasn't enough) I turned the knob +6 db)

TBT a great mix is going to take you a few times to go back in after listening on different devices. I just say go for the main things people are listening through . AirPods , mono speakers & car.

Ok. So you recommend amp sims for home recording. And you use amp sims. And you've reviewed amp sims. But you HATE amp sims. Kind of confusing tbh.

Why don't you record the drums in the garage you recorded in before? Those room mics made that kit sound HUGE!

Hey bro! GREAT sounding song. That singer is *chef's kiss* outstanding. Tip. That low end roll off combined with Soothe 2. Trust me. Try it. You'll never look back. It's almost magical.

Be nice if showed how you do it. not just do it and say that's how you do it..

True skill must be when you CAN stack them. The best low end I have ever heard, from "real" acoustic kick and bass guitar, was just that, stacked. Combined not separated or ducked. Both were fairly evenly heard, but not as distinct perhaps as from most recordings. Sure it had to have been the goal from the get during production, as the bass gtr. was locked to the kick, not following the guitars. But talk about Phaticus Maximus when they both hit TOGETHER, that super thick low end rhythm, unmatched by anything I have heard to this day. No download link, no band name, or CD even, as it was stolen, obviously. It was an indie band on an indie label that I picked up on some east coast bar tour we were on back in the early 2k's. The genre was Hardcore. It can be done, I am hear to tell you. If you can do it successfully as they did, you WILL stand out from everyone else.

All sorts of wrong, most are gain staging for plug in sweet spots, and it does matter. Floating point has squat to do with that.

a good friend once said: "you only need eq, compression and reverb. learn to mix with only these before you even think about anything else." that was probalby the best mixing advice I ever got.

This video is gold for me, was never sure what way to process the bottom head .thank you man

I might have to mildly disagree on the pickup issue...So check it out , Bobby... a couple of tracks i re recorded from my old BC Rich with stock pickups with a Rich with EMG's in it. (both warlocks and same year/make/model).. When i A/B it, its a night and day tonal difference... Those stock BC Rich pickups are just extremely scratchy sounding...

Here’s another one - unless you’re a producer, stop saying you are a producer. It kinda sounded important to call yourself a producer 15 years ago, but now it just makes you sound like you sit in your bedroom in your mother’s boyfriend’s house making bleeps and boops. Most ‘producers’ are songwriters, engineers, DJs or maybe rappers. A producer is a musical project manager. You can’t be a project manager if it’s just you. You need to have a team, other people you are managing. It is perfectly respectable to call yourself an engineer, if that’s what you do. Or a songwriter if you’re ’producing’ (as in making) music you record and mix yourself. And although there are producers who do their own engineering, or songwriting, most actual producers do not. They manage people, they herd cats, they maintain a vision and they protect a band from external influences that may not be the best thing for the recording. Whether that’s record company A&R people who’ve decided they want to be part of the creative process or the singer’s girlfriend/boyfriend who thinks they understand the vision when they clearly don’t. Sorry, I’ll get my coat. This stems thing triggered me and ‘producers’ with a copy of Fruity Loops and the idea that calling themselves something that sounds grand makes them grand is another of my bugbears. I am not a producer. I have produced exactly two albums decades ago. Everything else I’ve done I’ve done as an audio engineer, house audio engineer or, for my own stuff, as a songwriter.

Actually this makes me feel way better about my solo album project

I'm working with a guy who wants to have guitars with dimed gain, mega scooped mids, chainsaw slam guitar sound. They get lost in the mix every single time and he gets mad and just says to turn them up. Bro, you aren't the only member in the band, stay in your corner or you will lose the competition with other instruments every single time! So to an extent I disagree about the tone issue

Brilliant. Bang on the mark advise.

Commit and print after a rough mix, the less processors you have of ANY type in series to get what you need, the better the end result will be...try it and see.

I'm new to recording, but I'm trying to record my drums for band demos and fucking around at home. Do all I need to get started is this kick drum and a couple of SM57s initially?

Why do my guitar takes depend that drastically on devices I listend to it through while professional tracks don't seem to have such issues ?

Question: your situation number 3, DI and Amp. If I want to use both signals, real amp mixed with amp sim, will I have phase problems? I mean: I clearly cannot copy and paste the same track and use them with two different plugins. It will sound awful due to phase issues. Is it the same with direct and amp recorded simultaneously or it is ok? I'm considering to buy an amp specifically for recording (at present I have not an amp and I use only plugins).

I always come back to your channel for motivation...

Well said! I know there are some who say only use stock until you know what you need, but we all know that temptation is far too great. How about this instead? Choose two compressors types, one fancy eq, two reverbs and a delay. Sound random? Just think about how all the great music from the last three decades of the 20th century. Most of it was made from limitations like this in hardware. And we usually had to choose only one track (when mixing) so didn’t have the luxury of multiple instances. Unless we bounced and even on Studer a-8xx machines, you could only do that once or twice before the noise became awful and you lost your top end. And make your own limitations. As an exercise. See how you go. If you really need more, by all means. It’s 2025. But I know from my own experience, long and arduous, that knowing your equipment is a key way for me to get the best results. And to truly know something, I need to use it. Over and over.

You went to school to learn how to engineer? You had professors? Well, there’s your problem right there. Apart from the contacts you make, you’ll need to unlearn more than anything useful you’ll learn and it will be counterproductive.

My opinion….The gear manufacturers tell people just spend $200 and make hit records on your toilet 🚽. The truth is the learning curve is massive. It’s a long term commitment.

Hrmmm... this is perfectly valid for writing music with guitars, drums, etc. But when doing EDM, you're basically in the box the whole time, so the pre-production process is done in the same place that you're doing the mixing. And the sound design process sure feels a lot like the mixing process. Bit the advice still applies. Great video

Great video man 🙏

Maaaan your Zombie logo is from my favorite horror flick all time! Seen it at the movies as a kid. I will be 52 in March. That’s dope!

What mics do you prefer for cymbals?

wow sound great

Sir, I really appreciate your help with these videos, you are doing what other people are afraid to do. You are talking with the truth with no interest in being superior. It seems that every KZbin creator out there tries to either sell you something you don't need or treat you like a dumb for not doing what they do. Now, I'd like to ask you something. What about DI input levels? I'm confused on how to capture a good and healthy DI signal. A couple of years ago, everyone said that you should strum your guitar as hard as possible and increase the gain up to somewhere it is not clipping. Now, even the plugin manufacturers say it is incorrect and nobody ever said to do that. Even after uploading videos telling you to do it. (Neural DSP). Honestly I'm confused. I feel strange by recording guitars with the interface preamp at zero. What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you.

1:41 video start

Over the past couple years I’ve gotten so much better at mixing drums, bass, synths, sound fx, clean and acoustic guitars…. But I still struggle so much with overdriven guitars, whether lead or rhythm (but especially rhythm). Which is ironic because I’m a guitarist mainly playing overdriven lead and rhythm guitar… they’re always too harsh. So I try to tame the harshness and then it’s too dull, and I can never strike the right balance between harsh and dull. And yes I’ve tried Soothe.

This is massively helpful but I do have a question. We’re you able to use in ear monitors with the Behringer while recording?

Bro. I feel attacked.😂

Just ordered these. It’s telling when you can hear the bass on a KZbin e example. I can’t wait to get them.

What xlr cable do u use?

Well, the short answer is that I use both in the studio. If a client wants to use their amp Ill oblige. But I also always take a direct line from the guitar and record that. Bottom line guys, if you are a serious studio trying to earn money, and you have people wanting to use their own guitar and bass amps, you can either oblige or convince them to come around to your way of thinking. I personally find that convincing is better, but takes more time. Id rather just oblige and cover my a$$ by recording a DI line. In this case, I can rescue the project if need be later. Also, and I cabt recommend this highly enough. If you are recording amps, get one of these. It might save you a ton of time. Power is a part of the equation that nobody really wabts to talk or think about. But it is absolutely a factor in the amp sound. Go get one of these AmpRX BrownBox Tube Amplifier Input Voltage Attenuator - Brown | Sweetwater search.app/ftu92QGYnegVj1JJA

I’ve constantly made progress in the last 25 years. Sometimes big. Often small steps. I’ve also taken steps back a few times but turn it around to an improvement eventually.

Natural is different to shit. I’m pretty sure people confuse the two.

Great advice. Learned a long time ago, not to record "final "or "non-demo tracks" until the entire drum track from first note to last note, was recorded. I have been recording for over 20 years and I can absolutely assure you that Bobby is right on all these points. Pro results = arrangement, performance, accuracy, editing and basic mixing. NOT gear, plug ins or some "this one trick..."

My takeaway from this is that I need to have the basic framework of my songs down (as in the guitar, drums and lyrics/vocals) before I start even double tracking the rhythm guitars.

Man, I've just used your crisp n clear heavy mix formula PDF for my Cinema Bizarre type track This is insane! It feels like I've took a vacuum clear and mix became more consistent! Mix sounds like Dead By Sunrise - Out Of Ashes album, mixed by CLA. Kick sounds sooo deep! You made my day, I send you rays of love! <3

Are people not demoing anymore? I always demo. Work out the structure of the song and how I want the performance to go, without worrying about good sound or perfect playing. Then I record it again. If the tempo of the demo is right, the re-record might involve just replacing all the scratch tracks with good ones.

Having good songs, guitars being in tune and singing with good pitch is 90% of a good sounding recording.

I'm wondering if post production would be a valid extra step in the process ( before mixing?), or would it fit into something there already? For example if I wanted to have a grainy, old tape like effect on part of a track or other fx and things that add to the atmosphere rather than be an instrument or something directly? Or I guess that could be under pre-production, not sure. It doesn't seem important to add things like that at that stage.

i mean i was stuck in a hole for over 2 years, just to figure out, editing (timestretching) to a grid was what did the trick for me, it wasnt a secret setting on a compressor or anything, those things were dialled pretty good. But now it actually sounds like a modern metal record, so in essence: my playing was too bad, not my mixing :D as the saying goes, cant polish a turd to make it look like gold :S :D

Music is hard

I used to use sleep over mastering until I found out that Iron Maiden skips the mastering stage altogether

Im a metal head but I do my own hip hop production. Sm57 into Antelope discreet 4 into logic pro and a well treated bedroom and the results are pro!... Basic gear, just know how to use it👌

I've always used a lot of compression on vocals just because it sounded better in the mix. I wasnt really sure if it was the right way or not because this was before youtube and the days of googling everything and i didnt have anyone to learn from. Moral of the story is dont be afraid to try something, if it sounds good then its probably right. If it sounds bad try something else.