5 Small Changes to Improve Your Mixes Forever

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Grab your free Mixing Cheatsheet to learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes: hardcoremusicstudio.com/mixcheatsheet

[@artie]

There was an engineer from AR Studios who once told me to listen! Just close your eyes and listen. Simplicity has a huge place in music. Even huge hits are so simple that it boggles the mind.

[@JimboJones99]

What if you can’t hear

[@serhii-ratz]

@@JimboJones99 don't make music ;) though I believe modern music is rather a math game. Find loop but to track, setup side chain comp, achieve LUFS. Al that is math, not a music. That's why 50 years later I listen Dire Straits and still sounds cool :)

[@BalashToth]

I f..king love this channel. Hands down my favorite on mixing. Because of videos like this

[@KennethACrashwaggonMusic]

All really good points! One other thing I like to do when getting towards the end of the mix is....turn the computer monitor off and go sit somewhere a few feet away from the mixing position. - forcing myself to really listen and not touch anything while playback is running. I find that helps me to correct only the necessary stuff afterwards. Repeat that process a couple of times and I'm usually done. Whatever's left at that point doesn't really matter.

[@reverbautopsy9093]

Yup same. I play my mix, sit on the other side of the room then play the reference track, sit far away again and compare the two. Helps me fix any issues with the drums.

[@FishloreJimson]

For me, if a fader says 6.2 I simply MUST move it to 6.0. 8.8, move it to 9. I make fun of myself while I do it.

[@adilO.o]

Hahahahaha you are not alone !!! 😂 I have the same obsession !! I don’t know how many times I have found a sweet spot in 7,3 and then I have to go 7 or 8,7 becomes a 9 😅 I have a kind of a weird fetish of always putting my Tube Screamer at 0,8 drive, 8 for tone and 8,08 because you know 808 😂😂 I am so ridiculous

[@evanward4303]

Blame It On The OCD

[@bradylasserre9320]

I used to be this way. I mean literally down to .01 Took a lot of time and effort to get out of that mindset and simply listen, adjust from there. Doesn't matter where the number lands.

[@rmp5s]

Preach. Even if it takes futzing with it for 30 seconds...6.1...5.9...6.1...5.8...6.0...FINALLY. That OCD lyf. lol

[@solarnewborn]

I don’t think it’s that silly Because it makes it easier to remember, reproduce and keep track of For instance if my session crashes, I can just redo my steps without second guessing myself

[@theperiidot]

A trick I've picked up as an alternative to automation is to split the instrument onto different tracks across different sections so you can mix it differently It just makes it easier for me to see what's going on than seeing all these automation channels below my tracks That's not to say I never use automation, but I only use it on stuff that changes gradually over time, like something rising in volume or a filter "opening"

[@Maedara]

getting used to how to use these simple plugins really gets you not only a better but also quicker result

[@MichaelSorrentino1]

I started turning off the EQ frequency visualizers recently and it was definitely a huge improvement for me. It made me more aware of what I’m hearing compared to what I used to see. Great tips!

[@fxd.2881]

As always, a gold mine of information. No competition but I get so much inspiration from you than others, as it makes much more sense and I get stunned how easy it works and how simple a mix should be. Thank you so much for what you're doing

[@andrewarbogast1]

Because of watching your videos, I've started using mostly the SSL, api, 76, and 2a/3a plugins and has changed my mixes drastically. Thank you sir!

[@AP530]

Awesome

[@prod.zainxaidi8155]

I bought NSs10 after watching your content and they transformed my mixing forever.

[@SecretMetalFromAbyss]

Totally agree with the mastering thing, my somewhat mediocre mix was enhanced so much by the hands of a professional mastering engineer. Also the same mediocre mix was the first one when I really used automation and that also made a difference how the energy of the songs were translated. Automation at the end of session is also quite fun 'cus you have everything sitting where you think they should be sitting and you can just listen the songs and make these minor adjustments. Ofcourse the songs need to be good enough to enjoy listening to them over and over again. :D

[@theriffdjenerator2213]

More automation has been a recent eye opener for me

[@MrMockigton]

it all comes down toneq, compression and automation. if you got these 3 down, you are a legit pro

[@noamberger651]

Mixing is so fun for me. Thank you very much for those tips, really helpful.

[@borndrumming1972]

I went to the Yamaha website and pulled up the e.Q pattern for the NS10. I own a pair of k r k rocket7 But I place an EQ configuration on my master bus.That mimics the n s ten frequency spectrum. If I want to check the mid-range.I just turn this on and off. I believe you may have showed the audience this trick some time ago as well.

[@1morenote.]

great Advice, I want to get better at it, I know I have already come a ways from my first mix, Thank you

[@HenryhyphenS]

Jordan, I’ve watched so many of your videos and absolutely love your approach to mixing. Completely focussed on the performance and sound and getting it done. One question I have if you get time to answer is I know you use buses but on your master do you mix into a compressor/limiter? Loved the drum mixing session you did and hope the mixing room is going well!! 🤘❤️

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Yup, I mix into an SSL bus compressor (plugin) and towards the end of the mix, i put on a limiter (Slate FGX or MasterPlan). Both are not doing a ton of heavy lifting.

[@HenryhyphenS]

@@hardcoremusicstudio thank you for answering. Yeah I do the same to help glue a mix together. I’ve seen that Nolly is doing less top down than he did before. Great to see work flow from different people. Thank you for all the videos, really great stuff 👍

[@sansproductionlounge8083]

I just had to screen shot your reference list :P thanks again for all the gold Jordan. Love your videos, love your plugins. You’re a champion :)

[@halpearson4226]

Sie-Q is my go-to EQ, because I don't even have choices of bass and high frequencies... and also I can't reflexively cut low-mids (the lowest the mid band goes is 700 Hz). If I can't get the sound I want, sure, I'll go to something else. But the limitations have improved my workflow so drastically that I bought a hardware w295b to bake in that EQ on tracking.

[@dale116dot7]

My mixes got a lot better when I switched to all hardware. No computer, no plug-ins. Just a real two inch, console, compressors, a couple of nice reverbs. I spend less time on computer stuff and more time recording and mixing, I can’t spend time time-aligning or pitch correcting every note now. The musicians need to be ready for working on tape, but they perform better when they know I am not going to piece together their solo.

[@joesmith5617]

Idk man people are used to that sound and usually with out doing these things like time aligning, pitch correction and comping your song will usually just sound unpolished in comparison to modern music although that is a vibe and some people like that way but I think these days the best thing to do is keep up with current tech and be open to trying pitch correction and time alignment like you don't have to make it perfect just closer to the grid and not pushing will help

[@green8923]

One thing to also consider on the topic of those Fabfilter plugins, is that you can turn off a good amount of the visualization. On Pro-Q 3, you can turn off the analyzer graph of the incoming signal (same on ReaEQ), and on Pro-C 2 you can also turn off the graph above the knobs. I still agree that seeing the yellow graph of a big boost or cut can be distracting or make you second guess yourself (and I wish there was a strictly digital style EQ with no saturation or coloration that let me only work with knobs, rather than hardware emulation), if someone really does like those tools and wants to take the visuals down a notch, they can

[@alexhulme6135]

My mixes came on loads once I turned off the visualiser. I have really learnt that eq now and have become much more accurate when finding problem areas or the right spots to sweeten

[@khelmeri]

There's a bit more than just the visuals. SSL channel strip has 4 bands. With Pro-Q you could have something like 40. Fewer bands available equals more important eq moves

[@tgstk2]

First! you're tips always have a direct influence on my mixes!

[@boozalm3715]

Your* Learn English.

[@tgstk2]

@@boozalm3715 Fuck you .. here is some English for you.

[@carterc7442]

Thank you so much for sharing real advice. it’s not sexy it’s not profitable but it’s logical, sound advice. Thank you so much, this was incredibly helpful.

[@yervah9647]

Oh my goodness Jordan you nailed it. I know when I first started to learn mixing I was terrified. I remember I was in a small studio downtown Toronto and I think you're a Toronto boy so you are familiar with some of those studios and this guy had all this stuff set up and he's saying you got to have the proper speakers because if you don't you're not going to mix property and I'm like I don't have money for this so I never wanted to do it. Then venture to metal works and it was the same thing and now I mix in my bedroom in a condo and it's not treated so I said screw it I know what my headphones sound like and I know what my earbuds sound like and I've been using that for years and according to people my mixes are pretty decent. I am so glad you've said that. I wish I knew this a lot longer instead of having to discover it and I'm glad that you just backed it up.

[@djw457]

Good simple quick advice, definitely a video to come back to.

[@davidhayman9330]

Thanks Jordan, another insightful video! Just a heads up the "always do this first icon came up about 1 minute before you pointed to it and the arrow appeared... when the arrow appeared the icon was not there to click on... a minor point but an icon was also missing on your last video... so something is going wrong i think??

[@elMatip]

I've done a lot of mixing on some Sony minicomponent system from the 2000's for that exact same reason (2nd one). This is such an overlooked advice. I don't have studio monitors so I have to make the final mix with headphones, but using the Sony speakers (which even has different modes) feels like a huge advantage. I Def recommend using some crazy techniques like this haha

[@CUSTODYIN]

You must do a short video on automation for beginners. I understand the basics of automation, but I only cover track volume and panning. I have no idea how to approach automating compression or EQ for all of my tracks, it seems like a lot to consider. How do you keep all of that in mind in your head while going over every track/instrument? I find it so hard to focus on any one element because when you start to automate one thing, another thing stands out. I find it incredibly difficult to focus and feels like this will lead to another rabbit hole.

[@unity679]

Yes please, I would love this

[@DayBeforeTomorrow]

What a great friggin video! My nomination for the most ridiculously overcomplicated plugin is the IK Multimedia T-Racks Comprexxor. Way, way too many controls. I bought and used it... never! It's quite a silly plugin!

[@Radical_Middle]

I agree. Using visual only if I got a badly recorded track in need of precise surgery.

[@rome8180]

I do a lot of my mixing on $40 Bluetooth headphones. The reason it works for me is that I listen to these headphones constantly when I'm not mixing. I have thousands of hours on them. I still check my mixes elsewhere, but I find if I can get the mix sounding really great in these headphones, it usually translates.

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Exactly.

[@borndrumming1972]

If you think back to how most of the iconic records were recorded from the seventies eighties nineties and even part of the Early two thousands... The recording engineers and mixing engineers did not have a screen.. They had simple outward gear like LA2A 1176s and SSL/Neve/API mixing boardS...no visuals. To be one..ask one. Great advise as always! Thanks Jordan.

[@BARRS007]

about comparison between Q3 and SSL channel i prefer the SSL channel as a GUI but it sounds cracked especially on r&b , hip hop , afro , pop … that’s why i used to work with Q3 warm and versatile even i don’t like graphic eq’s

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

At the start, I thought you were going to say that the SS EQ was the more complicated one! Admittedly, I use TDR NOVA, but it's so much more simple than an SSL, I avoid them because they look so much more complicated than grabbing a node and pulling it up or down! Same with compression. Hit Threshold on the Nova, move the blue line up and down. If, and only if you need to, adjust the knobs. So simple!

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

I get your point, and someone else had a similar comment here. But I think the reason SSL seems more complicated is simply because you're so accustomed to relying on your eyes and having that satisfaction, vs. the harder work of really discerning with your ears. It's not more complicated, it's just unfamiliar and uncomfortable, and it's taking away the instant gratification of the visual feedback.

[@StreetCars101Magazine]

Switching from analog to digital mixing was a challenge to me because I was so used to just turning knobs on mixing boards. I still struggle using Fruity loops when I started with a Roland drum machine. Waves and SSL plugins were easier for me to adjust to compared to the stock plugins in Cubase oddly

[@nigell.8705]

I use a pair of $30 JLab GO Air Pop's. They have three modes: balanced, J-Lab signature, and bass boost. If they can sound good on three modes then im in the ball park. And you can always use a reference track.

[@AlexSaheli]

Authomation is good topic for a separate video. I always use it with volume, compress, reverbs, transient shaprs, soothe Also with automating pitch bends But still I'm curious where else I should use it.

[@Fastvoice]

Did you forget to mention panning?

[@mhzbaby6481]

I've been mastering my own mixing for 10 years and I believe they sound pretty good, but I do understand the point

[@artm.366]

I have had the same experience the mastering always beefs up the low and mid and it definitely sounds better lol

[@Eric-dd8bk]

Hello Jordan. I listened to the before and after link in your email adds and I really loved one particular before and after example by a guy named Chris. Would you be kind enough to tell me what the title of the song is in the "after" example of his before and after short sound sample? I'd love to hear the full song. thank you.

[@habemeinennamenvergessen2676]

I like the Pro-Q for it's flexibility. But turning off the Analyzer changed a lot for me. Also try making EQ moves with the band turned off (guessing which frequency you meant instead of sweeping [searching for problems that aren't there]), then turn it on and listen if the sound improved or got worse. This really helps making faster and better decisions. At least for me this helped, it's definitely worth a try!

[@StayFunKey]

How do you get your DAW's output the sound to your ear pods? What gear do you use?

[@borndrumming1972]

A really neat thing to do is to go and listen to one of your favorite mixes in your car.Then go to your friend's car and put that same mix in. There is a noticeable difference even with popular, well produced music.

[@easyrecordsestudio]

Do you recomend using Reference by Mastering The Mix, where you can solo the frecuency bands and change from one song to another?

[@TheMusicPerson]

Do you have a video with tips on automation? I'd like to get more into that, but I don't really know where to begin.

[@jimschnobrich5078]

When mastering - do you hire the mastering engineer and pay for the master yourself and then include that charge when you invoice your mix clients or do you have your clients hire and pay for the mastering themselves?

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Usually I'll select the mastering engineer and handle file transfers etc., but the band pays the invoice. I tell them up front that I don't master, I usually send it to XYZ person and they charge XXX per song.

[@JohnMichaelFord]

How do you do automation at the end of a mix when the CPU load is heavier? The plug-in delay compensation causes the timing between what you hear and the fader moves you make with your hand to be off.

[@AlexSaheli]

I love your plugins

[@hungchannie428]

I feel like every time I try to find a good video on all of the automation possibilities I can never find a good one. Think maybe you could tackle this Jordan?

[@Rhuggins]

great video, I agree completely. Some feedback - your drum gate unfortunately eats the most energetic part of the transient.

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Any way I can see more of what you mean? Silencer has a lookahead feature which allows the full transient through. You can print tracks down with and without silencer on and see that the entire transient is fully intact.

[@Rhuggins]

@@hardcoremusicstudio thats the issue, I think its possible that the lookahead may be too aggressive. If you print a delta of the affected signal, you will find a lot of transient energy that has been eaten up by the processing

[@AlCapwn369]

In my experience with that drum gate, it depends how much sizzle you're taking out with the debleed and obviously where you set your threshold. You might hear the lower energy of the high sizzle being removed when using the debleed feature.

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

yeah, play with the debleed knob. the point is that in the context of a mix you only need that extra top end energy on the initial transient, which is allowed through, but after that you get the midrange/lower end sustain while removing cymbal bleed. Make your decisions in context, not solo! many thousands of people are in love with Silencer... including me :p

[@MrMockigton]

i tried analog modeling plugins after you recommended them, but i just dont get the results i want eith those. you can do exactly the same as an analogue eq if you just listen to what you are doing as opposed to eqing with your eyes. nowadays i boost 20dB in both directions and i am finally getting the results i so desperately seeked. so in essence: ignore rules some youtube mixer told you, just do what feels and sounds good. another one is "guitar tone has to sound a little bit shitty to be good" - no. a good sound sounds good in the final product, no matter what. my mixes finally glued and felt alive once i stopped high- and low lassing everything by default

[@matijadrummer]

Incredible, sir!

[@a.z.recordingstudio3928]

Can you do a video where you explain your entire process of automations on a track?

[@mosstet]

definitely struggle with the 'mixing with the eyes' thing. I don't have OCD but I battle with a need to have everything neat and organised in the DAW. It leads me to round up nobs to whole numbers and other stupid shit like that! Constant fight!

[@carlospacini1744]

Gracias Jordan !!

[@guitarplayer5932]

ssl is my go to…i use fab filter for specific reasons

[@guillaumecachoulet1255]

Please a video about automation !

[@CaldoHits]

Ideally, I would love to have someone else master my music but I can't afford that yet. Without a doubt, nothing would beat solely focusing on mixing.

[@ShreddingDragon]

Interesting that you feel the SSL channel strip is visually simpler than Pro-Q. One reason I love FabFilter's stuff is that to me, it is indeed visually simple. By contrast, to me Waves' SSL channel strip is an absolute visual mess. I like how it sounds but I can't stand how unintuitive and confusing it looks.

[@everyonexist]

the more we tried plugs, the more we realized we did not need much. much love! -PREXENTS #prexents

[@AudioReplica2023]

Simpler eqs. This is the reason why I love so much API equalizers. 3-4 knobs ..lets go.

[@musicmaestrodj]

Lez go! 💪

[@gameon2000]

😂 I tell you even more: 1999 I went digital mastering with IK Multimedia T-Racks 1 click mastering software suite. That was an under $500 1-time investment! 😂 All my mastering needs eversince were met fully and then some! With just 1 click! Again, that was 25 years ago! 😮 I still use it to this day on my 30 y.o. Macintosh with Peak Audio Recorder on my 16-bit Digidesign Audiomedia III and Emagic Audiowerk 8 soundcards. 😂 Kid's toys by today's standard, I know. But 99% people listen to music in 128 MP3 (320 MP3 tops!) I never was a sound engineer type, I wanna spent my time making music, not pulling endless knobs. And its not just my opinion. All clients are happy with my radiostation lvl masters, nobody cares for your gear! 99% normal non sound engineer people wouldn't be able to tell any difference anyway between $1000000 of hardware and a $100 plugin.

[@ReddenDoom]

Aw yeah Son of the Morning!!!!

[@snowandcoal]

You can also actually close your eyes when settings up EQs and compressors. No matter what style the UI is.

[@DominicSJarrett]

That's what I do. I bring the threshold right down and the ratio really high. Then I set attack and release times since it doesn't matter if you can see what's happening; only your ears can tell you what the attack and release times are doing. Once the atk and release are set, I then decide on a ratio and move the threshold back up to 0db. Then I close my eyes with my finger on my mouse holding the left button down, and I slide the mouse down until I think it sounds good. The reveal is kind of exciting. Doing this also taught me that I can only hear compression with a minimum of 3db gain reduction. Anything less, I can't hear it. This is good if you are trying to control certain peaks, but you don't want to hear the effect. I know I can get away with up to 3dB of gain reduction before it starts to become audible.

[@Darkest_of_Winter]

I wish I could afford your course

[@jayarecordsofficial]

Thanks

[@CarloCabiling-r6r]

For me both useful. using my ears and eyes

[@dissonantgrooves]

also ssl plugins are loads cheaper than fabfilter and thats the nail in the coffin for some.

[@melvinkeys]

If you put ssl and fabfilter into doctor plugin, you will see ssl boosting the frquencies even in the default state. Fabfilter doesnt do that. So, Ssl will naturally sound better even if the reality is the oppossite. I go for fabfilter.

[@BcBaxley]

So, record like you cant mix, mix like you cant master 🤔 Master Yoda type $hit 😎🍻

[@luxuriousfir]

Word.

[@synapticschism]

What if I told you I had a mix mastered by a well-known KZbin mastering channel that didn't translate anywhere but my studio headphones? I ended up mastering it myself... again. I'm not saying you are wrong, but there's nuance in your "stop mastering yourself" point. If I didn't know how to master, I would have been fooled by that master. I think it's important for bedroom producers like myself to learn how to master and that they should do it even if they send their mix to be mastered professionally.

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Best way to find a good mastering engineer is to look at the credits of albums you love the sound of!

[@synapticschism]

@@hardcoremusicstudio fair enough, but then we have another conversation about cost. :)

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

i've been getting pro mastering from guys who did my favorite records for $100/song or less for over a decade. Cost is not an issue when it comes to mastering.

[@synapticschism]

@@hardcoremusicstudio not everyone can pay $100 and not everyone is willing to pay $100 given their context and circunstances. Your assumption that cost is not an issue (or a factor) is baffling to me.

[@LianExfeind]

@@synapticschism I'm with you here. I also had different experiences and the best success at doing it on my own after leaving the mixes for a while. There was never a complaint and Spotify curated those that I mastered myself for their playlists, so I guess it's absolutely fine as long as you know, what you are doing. It's not rocket science.

[@kleeo1991]

7:28 Didn't know my JBLs are $5k worth XD Jokes aside, good advices!

[@adriangrodecki-qj3rh]

Do u use sub with ns10?

[@gamzprismyt]

I don’t think so as the point is to not have tons of bass

[@ignadrs]

i'll even go to say that if you don't understand the basics of compression, and how to eq WITH non visual plugins, you shouldn't go to plugins with visual elements, until you get to the point where you're not making desicions based on any visual thing, and you just know what you want to add or take out!

[@rjsrox07]

When you start paying attention to 1db moves you're on your way.

[@Fishplants]

3:30 Yes! Devin townsend uses the ssl uc1 and he said when he mixed using the noobs he was like "I would never boost that much if i saw it with my eyes" but it sounded great Wierd huh

[@BrokenCompassRecords]

Wow the airpods part could get you killed by "the pros" 😂

[@radneyspot]

Word

[@JunkanooImmersionScience]

Lol. Dude, how did I just find you, man?

[@iamhavingagreattime2219]

The first tip is generally good advice for professional mixing engineers who are working in a well treated room with nice monitors, but for producers or engineers working in sub par rooms or using headphones, visualizers (spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes specifically) can be extremely helpful.

[@thisismyaccounthandle]

Hi Jordan, You keep recommending the NS10s because they don't really have the low/top end and thus make you focus on the midrange. What about simply mixing with a hi/lo-pass on the master bus to achieve this without getting a pair for it specifically?

[@Fastvoice]

It's very likely impossible to mimic a certain speaker with just two bandpass filters.

[@thisismyaccounthandle]

@@Fastvoice I don’t see why you’d have to mimic the speaker. If the goal is hearing less top/low end we can achieve this with an EQ - he doesn’t state that it’s the specific way in how the NS10s have less top/low end that’s beneficial.

[@leonardojobst6784]

thats why use UC1 with ssl 4000... only move knob and ear! nothing more

[@oyoyoyubilinegra]

5 small changes. FIrts one: change the way you mix completle

[@GC-nd1lp]

Not using an analyzer on an EQ is completely changing how you mix? You can just turn the analyzer off on most EQs.

[@oyoyoyubilinegra]

@@GC-nd1lp i can, but the thing that i need to do that and i can undo that - is ruining that work

[@GC-nd1lp]

@@oyoyoyubilinegra I'm not sure about other EQs, but with Pro Q 3 you can just save the default preset with the analyzer turned off.

[@alrecks619]

digital eqs tend to punish you for making big moves whereas analog emulations or the real stuff will pat you in the back for your good taste.

[@oyoyoyubilinegra]

Everything you need to know on eq: is it working or not. Everything else should be done with your ears. Why? Because eyes cannot hear!

[@CobblesteinSwobblepop]

Biggest difference between Slash and Clapton's national anthems is they are two different national anthem's...

[@JunkanooImmersionScience]

LOL @ not mastering your own stuff. The more serious I am about a song, the more I do NOT wanna master it

[@Wstarlights]

I think unless you're being un-innovative and cookie-cutter catering to convention, it's important to 'glitch the hell out' this day and age. DAWs are not only the production of the future, they are an instrumentation of the future. All the music you ever loved was prob innovative, I doubt there's many Spice Girls fanboysvin the comments. All these mixing and mastering tips can all be applies or re-applied post experimentation. Don't hold yourself back! "I love getting a good masterbach" ~ don't we all 🎉

[@federicgubsburn]

First!

[@kadiummusic]

9:00 Just a thought, maybe the mastering engineer is highlighting bass deficiencies in your mix because your mixing on NS10's and Airpod's? 🤔

[@daviHuggMonster]

funny I see a lot of crap on YT and it is getting ridiculous....so who is right? actually none of you. I made my choices...via budget and I DO like visual in a plugin. No knobs and hardware emulations that actually do the same thing....in fact rather get real hardware then instead of a hardware looking ones. *rant over*