Creating Dynamic Contrast in a Mix - Mixing With Mike Mixing Tip

[@therhinoceros1]

Your channel is the equivalent of mixing courses that people pay for. Its almost a cheat code! Thanks Mike

[@randallprentice8747]

Another great tip. Beautiful use of "ear candies."

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@Pjaysusity]

Great vid

[@mrtrixterathotmail]

Thank you.

[@priyankeshuparihar1151]

This is an amazing tutorial and such small yet GOLD information... thank u so much for this! usually this kind of information is available only in studios.. and not given out free.. thanks for telling this! :) i don't subscribe easily.. but you earned me :)

[@mixingwithmike]

+Priyankeshu Parihar Cheers!

[@entrancemusicofficial8550]

Thank you for this, much love

[@SimPwear84]

Thank you for this

[@mixingwithmike]

+Simphiwe Tebe Thanks Simphiwe!

[@evanb.3886]

Awesome imaging with this mix.

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@AudioReplica2023]

damn...never see it this way. thanks

[@gordonturner9251]

Thanks again for another great video. I always get a bit confused about how many reverbs to use in a track. A lot of advice says to keep the number of different reverbs to a minimum, so all the instruments sound like they're in the same space. I think that's a little bit different from what you're saying here? How many would you use 'typically' in a track like the one in the video? I might be limiting myself more than necessary.

[@mixingwithmike]

+Gordon Turner Hi Gordon, It is a great point and perhaps worth a deeper explanation. The number of reverbs is less significant than which ones are 'heard' and which ones are 'felt'. Putting everyone in the same space is great for certain styles of music where a 'live' performance vibe is the intention. In this case, I will duplicate the same reverb for each set of instruments so i can tailor the drum reverb a bit differently than I do the guitar or keys reverb. The subtle variations of predelay, rev time, shape, diffusion, etc... give you the best of both worlds while still providing the appearance of a the same space being used. I do this a lot with early reflections. The verbs in this example are more felt than heard and tie the instrumentation together. The verbs that are heard may be the snare verb, vocal verb and piano verb. In this case having a unique reverb for each allows them to be heard distinctly from each other without interference. The 'felt' reverb provides the feeling of space and the 'heard' reverb provides the air and openness. Every song is unique and needs to be approached accordingly, but the basic principles I just discussed will still apply. Hope this makes sense. Cheers! Mike

[@gordonturner9251]

+Michael White Thanks Mike. I feel like I've just figured out how to do a Rubix Cube. That explanation has unravelled the mystery of why my reverb plugins have got so many presets, even though I was only supposed to be using a couple of them. It's 'Air' and 'Openness' all the way now. Thanks for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it.

[@mixingwithmike]

Somehow, I knew it would be worth the lengthy explanation! Cheers!

[@MikeHeebz]

Most think I'm crazy when I say I'm leaving the verb or delay so low that I can only feel it. It seems most want to be able to hear it which is good for vocals & certain instruments & depends on the song or intention of the beat, but I tend to use it more for a feel than for a distinct sound or for putting everything into a certain space. I still have lots to learn & will never stop learning...all your videos have been extremely valuable so far, Thanks for sharing Mike!

[@mixingwithmike]

Thanks for sharing. I call reverb that is felt "dry reverb" and reverb that is heard "wet reverb" for exactly that reason. The idea is that the sensation of a space is created so that the "objects" in the mix have a place in that space. The contrast helps to set up the effectiveness of the wet reverb. Cheers!

[@MikeHeebz]

Awesome. Thanks for putting it in those terms. I'm newer to mixing as I started about 8-9 months ago. I've been watching a lot of videos & so glad I found your page, it has been invaluable. A lot of these videos, tutorials, etc. out here on youtube confuse &/or contradict each other & it is hard to learn what is right/wrong or if it really doesn't matter when learning mixing. Anything you would recommend or something you wish you would have been told early on in your mixing career that would help, please let me know. Another thing I'm really trying to grasp is the RMS & Peak levels. How to get a good crest factor, have a good dense mix, that can be HIP HOP standard loud, yet not lose all it's dynamics. Thanks again Mike, really appreciate all your valuable videos & knowledge!

[@mixingwithmike]

The reason I created this channel and my website was to be the mentor that most people will never get in audio the way that I did working in pro studios back in the 80's and 90's. I have no regrets about missing anything, I had many great mentors along the way and much of what I teach is an ode to their wisdom. That said, the one bit of advice i can give is that you will only get as much out of anything as you put into it. Mixing and production are art forms that require consistent practice and attention to get good at. No video or online course is going to give you that unless you put the necessary effort into it.

[@ojreal925]

thanks

[@mixingwithmike]

+O J Cheers O J!

[@TimeMarchesOn]

I find myself doing the Nashville (drum) eq roll off trick (pre reverb) on 60-70% of all the tracks, so things like low piano notes or guitars verbs don't create muddiness . Any thought there?

[@mixingwithmike]

+TimeMarchesOnBand That idea fits perfectly with what I am talking about in this vid. I'm not sure that approach would work with a big rock track but is a great way of bringing out the richness of a piano in a mix. Everything depends on the needs of the song and what needs to be featured. Cheers! Mike

[@DoubleAMrTone]

are VEQ4 and VCOMP other "Glue elements" ? i've seen that you put those plugin in many tracks