Should You Mix While Producing?

Do you mix too much while producing?
Should you wait until after the arrangement to start mixing?
In this video I talk about some strategies I use to stay inspired and move quickly, I used to spend too long diving into the details before the song was ready. Sometimes getting the song together and fully developed before you dive into advanced mixing can make you feel more productive.
Synth Hacker -
/ @synthhackertv
I've been splitting my sessions into
1)Sound design
2)Production with minimal mixing
3)Full Mixing
I find that working like this saves me time and keeps me focused
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[@inthemix]

FREE FLP Template in next weeks video, be sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss it. Includes Drum samples, Synth Presets, Basses and mixer preset. Also...In The Mix has grown 22k this month which is mad! I welcome all our new members :)

[@rottenapples66]

In The Mix your channel is awesome!

[@yogasiva2009]

In The Mix should I balance my mix before I add the plugins like compressor etc or after that ?

[@harryofficial3743]

Thnx bro

[@NinI-hs8yw]

Yes I agree with you. Creativity doesn't last long in a day. When you are in zone making "music" just keep putting your ideas in it rather being so technical. Passion comes first and techniques come later to support it.

[@vinime4431]

Man you explain everything so perfectly! I'm your daily fan! Cheers from Brazil!

[@AndrewKamenMusic]

Can you make a tutorial on how to achieve the perfect jaw line?

[@shrineofbeats6447]

Don't eat much

[@abhishesh1632]

Eat chewingum

[@leavethebasket7435]

Ikr he's so handsome lol

[@shrineofbeats6447]

@@leavethebasket7435 that's true... Like Robert Pattinson

[@muptezeladam9605]

Mewing

[@MxwlUK]

this is why you are the don you got it bang on heres my producing routine atm: create nice loop listen 100 times tweak sounds better listen 100 times tweak sound sick listen 100 times close FL repeat

[@AnotherMonster]

😂😂😂😂

[@morten1]

:D I can relate. Try putting empty blocks for a few parts (some structure and movement) first and then create the parts without looping too long. Or at least switch between two loop parts. Looping can be so numbing and hard to break

[@__Poindexter__]

Damn.....this is 100% me and I don't like it lol

[@quantumsingularitystudios1772]

Close project. Never open it back up again.

[@armandosoria7993]

@@quantumsingularitystudios1772 i felt that..

[@Weaverbeats]

They teach you in engineering school to keep your production, mixing and mastering all as separate processes. That way you prevent yourself from getting as overwhelmed.

[@RoyaltyProductionsDA]

Weaver Beats the more you mix while composing the better what you picture in your thoughts comes out. And the less work there is to do in the final mix. The mixing engineer may not always interpret your idea correctly.

[@PsychoCaki]

@@RoyaltyProductionsDA agreed

[@peanutbutter1998]

Find balance.

[@nebroskitheraut6705]

Well, that doesnt work for me as I mix a little bit while I produce. This helps me to get a better idea of how good a growl bass, screech, transition, riser, etc. will sound in context with others. When i get most of the producing done i mix the details in. But if your method works out for you then you do you my guy.

[@AndroidGamingApps]

@@nebroskitheraut6705 Exactly bro, i think everyone has a way to work and it's okay. But i usually like to mix while i'm producing i hate to listen to bad sounding drums while i'm making the melody haha

[@jboi2199]

But my only problem with mixing after the track is finished is that you don't know of certain sounds are going to work well together until you add all the effects to make them fit ..

[@inthemix]

Yeah absolutely, adding reverbs and delays early on is often very important sound design :)

[@jboi2199]

@@inthemix ok I see, just gotta practice it a bit more I guess

[@AnotherMonster]

@@jboi2199 It just takes time and practice to know what to add and what to skip. The more you produce you'll find a workflow that works for you and you'll be able to know and quickly implement what each sound needs.

[@MrOri68]

The thing is rules of thumb are confusing. So let's say you've got a track with a kick a bassline and a lead. Your lead in this theoretical scenario has a load of low frequency information. It will sound muddy and maybe even distorted in some cases. If you've been producing long enough you'd know this lead (again purely hypothetical) needs a low cut, so you might throw it on and tune it quickly or decide to do it later based on guess work, if you've developed the skills to do so. On the other hand if you do not have these skills yet you may find the lead obnoxious and delete it even though you had a pretty decent lead. The bottom line is if you don't practice and only count on tip videos which are as mentioned: tips, you won't be able to identify problems or good tropes as easily as people who took the tips for what they are and used their ears and brains over time to figure out what sounds good and what doesn't.

[@matthewmckee6289]

I wouldn't count stuff like that as 'mixing'. You should still be doing basic eq, adding reverb/delay and saturation since they are all crucial parts of the sound. The problem is when you start to spend to much time on one specific effect, something that probably doesn't even make a big diffence.

[@Spizite]

When he's like "Everybody's got stuff to do" and starts listing off daily activities lmao. What a down to earth bloke

[@DeSanKwuh]

dude you've literally unravelled all those voices in my head telling me to stop being a perfectionist and get on with it. Great vid man, definitely re-grounded my workflow/ general approach to mixing. Love the idea of splitting up sessions, definitely going to implement that from now on (y)

[@RoyaltyProductionsDA]

oli de st croix except you’ll forget the idea you was going for around the time you get to the next session.

[@DeSanKwuh]

@@RoyaltyProductionsDA depends how dedicated you are to your craft?..

[@bonobo2181]

Great advice. I used to slap on hundreds of plugins trying to get the perfect mix, and overload my CPU before I was even halfway through a song. Then inevitably I'd lose all motivation trying to work in a laggy project file, and abandon a half finished song. I also used to hate the idea of bouncing tracks to WAV (to save CPU) before I got the sound/midi perfect.

[@AnotherMonster]

same lol. There's nothing worse than trying to finish a laggy track

[@twoshane]

There is only one plugin.... reverb ....

[@XnazxulX]

Less is more. Just remember that, you don’t need 6 million plugins to make a banger :)

[@user-jm2yu6sk7w]

Same this always mess up my idea

[@benja303]

Bonobo had to check the username twice cause this sounds like my experience exactly a few years ago

[@robertjasionek2232]

Basic gain staging, panning and HP/LP is usually what I go with during composition and the creative part of producing. Everything else comes after most of the ideas are already down.

[@abrotherinchrist]

I think this is the traditional way to look at music production as a whole and it certainly has it's place, but I find that the creative process and the mixing process often work together towards an end. Sometimes I might not have a complete vision of what I want to do and need to experiment with different instruments, sounds, or whatever. Sometimes tweaking something in the mix will inspire me to go a certain direction and try something new. If a person lacks creative drive or vision, or are just indecisive, then sometimes they might need to start messing around. Getting input from others who are knowledgeable about music production might help. I consider myself a person that has about half of my vision going into a project and the rest happens while recording and mixing. That random unknown leads to inspiration a lot of the time, and that's what it is all about for me: What inspires. I go back and forth between production and mixing quite often until I reach the full vision and can finish it off in a final mixing/mastering phase. These days allow for that flexibility when you can sit in your home studio, not pressed against the clock and your wallet.

[@chriswellz5993]

I'm a producer and engineer, so the mixing aspect of trying to get a snare right is actually a fun part for me. Because I'm not entirely lost in the sauce, I know what I'm doing and how to get there. So when I'm tweaking a snare, finding out things about the snare is fun to me because I get joy from the learning experience. I don't know, that's just me. But there's a time and place for all of it. It depends on the producer, really. Always remember that what works (for you) is the best option. Same with choice of DAW, choice of workflow, choice of plugins, choice of genre, choice of everything. This is your life. Make music, but above all else, have fun.

[@rewbeat]

Thank you for this video. This is very helpful. Sometimes for me mixing in the middle of the production takes away the fun and concentration to finish the song so I try to leave it for later. Sometimes I even realize that if I have to load up a bunch of effects and I still can't get it right, it might be that I just need to change the sample/preset and that fixed the problem or even made the song sound better.

[@ginotarabotto]

Avicii had the same approach. Produce first, focus on sound later.

[@trollingisasport]

And look where that got him

[@postjw]

@@trollingisasport lmfao

[@rocca717]

J. W. What’s funny?

[@postjw]

@@rocca717 he ded

[@RoyaltyProductionsDA]

Dirk Diggler 😂😂😂😂

[@treehann]

I find myself to be motivated more by my own music if I mix a little bit as I go. I like when it sounds a bit sharp right off the bat.

[@leongargan6024]

Man I feel like you're reading my mind lately. I always get super frustrated when making music because I know exactly what I want to do with a track but I just don't have the sound design skill/knowledge to make the "perfect synth". I sometimes spend 2-3 hours tweaking a synth, that I end up scrapping. This video has made me take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

[@OnlineGuitarCovers]

In my opinion, the best thing is to not do any mixing at all when producing. Many of which are the reasons you mentioned here. I think it's great to focus on chords, melodies, arrangement, and sound selection. At least that way you know that once it's mixed it will sound amazing as it should already sound great before any mixing work is done. After listening to many un-mixed multi-tracks from big songs, they all sound very close to the final mix before any post-processing.

[@MrCJ-lc9ru]

Why do you think that is? That they sound almost like the finished mix. I found this to be true also.

[@2GooDProductions]

Since I started using FL Studio a couple weeks ago, I have found that mixing while producing is very quick to achieve, and allows me to get sounds tuned to where I want them in the frequency/stereo field so I can better fill it out as I continue on adding layers. And thanks for the videos, I have learned so much from you.

[@gabekrug5399]

I know this is a late comment but I’m so glad I found this video. I’ve just started in making music and I’ve been relying A LOT on your videos. They help me out so much but the funny thing is that I’m part of that same percentage of beginners who try to mix their music while producing it and holy crap you have shed so much light. Since I’ve started producing my first song, the time that I have spent on it has just dwindled down slowly as the days go because I’m trying to do two things at once and the motivation just keeps dropping, but after finding this I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. I’ve also noticed I haven’t spent much time on the sounds to where I’m satisfied with them with my song. I often find myself tweaking the sound while I’m mixing and producing and it’s honestly a headache lol. Sorry for this comment being so long but you have helped me so much in the past week of me starting music production and I can’t thank you enough. Keep up with AWESOME work and can’t wait for more content.

[@TheSinlessAssassin]

I needed this today. After my first week with FL Studio, I feel like I'm already burning out because I got too concerned with learning how to EQ and edit waveforms. Now I realize I should plan certain sessions as you say rather than doing a scatter of each little thing per session.

[@aaronmetz8707]

I remember listening to a UBK (house of kush) podcast a long time ago where he explicitly talked about how he mixes while he produces because otherwise he'll be tempted to add too much stuff to the production if the elements that are already there aren't sounding right for the production/vibe. I think it all just comes down to just how much mixing you are doing while producing. Tonal shaping/Sound design to make a sound fit a vibe seem like totally reasonable things to do while producing so long as you aren't tweaking a sound for more than a couple minutes and that's precisely what UBK was advocating for. The thing that's worth noting though is that you should go in and properly mix those sculpted sounds once the general writing/producing phase is over. The big takeaway that I got from listening to that podcast is that even if the sounds have the right vibe once you shape them you still have to sculpt them to make them play nice together so it's not really that you aren't mixing but rather that you are using mixing tools as part of both processes (producing and mixing).

[@williamf.9615]

I wouldn't say I'm mixing during the production phase, but I do add effects, fix balance issues and gain stage in the in-between times. I think this thinking all stems from times past when studio time was expensive, so everything was compartmentalized to save time and money. The way we work has changed. Now we all have DAW's at home and we work when we want. So I'll have days where I just can't be bothered to set up mics or play an instrument etc. and I'll just listen to my production so far and while the potatoes are cooking on the stove or it's half-time at football, I might decide to perfect the eq on the drums or put a delay on the guitar. It might actually inspire something for the vocals or a synth part. For me personally, the better it sounds during production the more interest I keep in it.

[@djvar94]

Very well said mate. I understand you as me too struggle very hard with this. Though it is getting better for me because I recognized already that this kind of workflow was very bad and counterproductive so I am working really hard in changing my approach. I must change that as if someone doesn't change this approach you will end up in having your whole arrangement and your sounds so polished up and so perfected that eventually you will not want to touch not even the smallest bit of your project anymore for fear that as you tweak or add things you might ruin your polished work. It becomes in many ways your perfect incomplete thing that shall not be touched whereas instead if you let your imagination flow through your brain and let your creativity have no limits that really will be in the majority of the cases so much fun and will let you learn far more things along the way. I always notice that, whenever I start a brand new project always with carte blanche (blank project) I really start throwing things out and my God do I enjoy that all the time. It's such a wonderful feeling and the production quality is so much better because your creativity is pushed in such a far more positive way and you have no boundaries. And you have fun too. That is EXACTLY the way production for most people should be. Mixing and polishing comes after you are happy with your arrangement and composition. It's the 'cherry on the cake' bit, before mastering of course.

[@JanGames100]

thank you so much for doing less but higher quality videos :) i really enjoyed your "the sound of" videos. so many people go for the opposite and i don't think anyone is content with the whole thing in the end. the viewers don't learn as much or maybe nothing at all and the content creator probably is not as proud of his work.

[@inthemix]

I'm so glad you agree :)

[@SamSine]

Hey man, you just popped up in my recommendations. I clicked out of curiosity and your videos are really professional. I’ve subscribed for the support :) I just wanted to bounce back on what you said regarding taking too much time to clean up the sound while producing. I agree with you, I used to be like that too. I would write a song and start producing it and instead of putting everything together first, I would write the bass line and then already trying to clean it up and polish it with hardware/plugins. Now, I focus more on the production aspect and less on the mixing which I tackle later. I think the reason a lot of people do that (why I used to do it anyway) is that, for example, you’d pick up a bass and think to yourself that it sounds good. And while mixing a few days later, you realize that the bass doesn’t sound good in that prod, so it tends to shape a bad habit in future producing sessions to clean up the bass and putting whatever effects on it to kinda have a preview if the bass will fit or not in the prod. Same for drums, I would spend time selecting a kit and working with it, only to realize during mixing that the snare ring is clashing with an element of the prod or the bass drum is too full or too hollow for that type of prod. I think this is the case for a lot of starting producers, they worry that the sound might not be fitting, and you can only know until the sound is properly shaped. Now with my 15 years of experience, I don’t have to worry about shaping the sound while producing because I already know, by just hearing the “raw” bass, drums, whatever…, if it will work or not. I guess you progressively lose the habit with experience :) And I think it’s important to have two separate sessions for producing and mixing. I actually have 4 templates for my DAW (songwriting, producing, mixing, mastering) and each one of them are optimized for their purpose. For example, my mixing template is already loaded with my routing and group buss and my most used plugins. Time saver as well. Again, great channel man!

[@CounternoiseMusic]

You have a very relatable way of passing on experience and advice. Even stuff that's not new by itself comes across from a new and convincing angle. Thanks for that. Two comments: 1) Often times I get lost in the details like you describe, but it's worse than that: when that happens, I think I'm getting lost /because/ I don't the big picture, so the causality is backwards. So I guess my hope then is to see the big picture once the details are right. 2) Getting lost in details bears the danger of over-exposing yourself to the track, and you loose the distance. It can only go south from there.

[@easylisteningdave]

Just wanted to thank you for helping me for a couple of years trying to get a handle on FL Studio.

[@matt2sanders729]

Thats so true and some times you tweak something and it sounds good until you add more and realize it doesn't fit anymore

[@travelcousticrecording5108]

I think that, if you have a decent amount of experience on how EQ's and compressors work, you can already use them while tracking, which gives the artists you are working with more confidence and a better feeling than just hearing the raw recordings and it makes mixing easier as you are starting with already good sounding and controlled tracks. Of course you shouldn't do too much, as you can't undo it later :)

[@ryusbubbles5236]

Mike is the humblest teacher ever! Wish you peace my man!!

[@Chris-rr9ud]

Hahah i realized yesterday after 1 year of producing that overmixing while puting down ideas was killing the momentum and creativity for me,better late than never i guess :3 :Nice content 👌

[@SuperMrOtto]

You’re not late in any way If you figured this out after only have been producing Music for 1 year

[@jamesstika]

Yeah, I agree :)

[@scryne5578]

I'm literally crying, I'm so exhausted, I had really good song, been working on it for over 60 hours, it sounded crazy good, but I missed a bit cleaner sounds so I decided to mix more... Biggest mistake I could have done, as I was mixing for about 7-8 hours I was also doing other important stuff... After 8 hours I took overall listen (I was listening thru out my work but not full and overall song) and well... I was speechless, everything sounded just like absolute *****... I tried to fix it... Now nearly impossible, I'm so so disappointed, sad and really want to cry... I hope this video is about it

[@slence7676]

An imperfect finished Beat is better than a perfect one sleeping on the plate. Keep that in mind, I'm having trouble finishing my beats, because I do the exact opposite, so I can't tell anyone anything really. But this is what got stuck to me on watching this video. A phasing wave you dont like (yet) can actually move the track further for others and push a bounce into the track. Hope I could help. Dont overstress. You know you need to work it, but music is still blood of your heart. So, try to keep it fun and dont crush yourself while learning and doing. Have a great day!

[@Vyansya]

This video is so simple but very game-changing. Mixing really drain my creativity and workflow, idek why i havent think of this before.

[@kbs752_]

I treat them as separate processes, it's my preference. You prefer otherwise well toodles to you, whetever works efficiently for you go with it.🔥🔥🔥🙌

[@eviloutionise]

It's the best way to do things. I think as producers beat makers it's important to remove our egos. We need to appreciate while it may seem easier to do it all as one stage. When in reality each stage is like a juggling act. What happens is you end up biting off more than you can chew, even if you manage to balance the different tasks of producing, mixing and mastering. It won't be done to your best ability.

[@STRAYDOGSAKI]

Dont worry about mixing as much i got my first placement and they had theyre own engineers mix and master it just mix and master it enough to where it sounds presentable. Let the proffessionals make it perfect.

[@charliekarlston]

I needed to hear this so bad, thanks man. You don't win grammys with perfect 16 bar loops.

[@artmiriji]

This is probably one of the most important video for many people to see, especially with the overwhelming amount of tools, techniques, sounds, genre's, and phases of music production in our modern world. Its easy for people to get lost polishing that one element, that then requires you polish every element, and that is orders of magnitude less time efficient at the very least. I think this is a sound theory, by any measure.

[@NebulousWyatt]

You're the man! We understand a lot of this music stuff is subjective but your videos are very high quality, very well put together and you explain things in depth which is always better than leaving it out because here in 2020 we can always tap forward.

[@MuhammadArif-hp8jj]

My workflow 1. 4 Bar loops • Drums • Bass • Pad • Synths 2. Split it and do composition 3. Mixing 4. Automation 5. Final Mixing 6. Leave that track about 1 week. So you will not get board with your track and end up deleting (but also start another project) 7. Mastering

[@AnotherMonster]

Great video as always! I just want to say I do my sessions in pretty much the same way as you and it really works for me as far as staying on task and also getting the best final result. I like to get my mix as solid as possible while I'm producing without spending too much time with sound design etc. The better I can get my mix as I'm producing the easier and better the track turns out in the actual mixing session. I just want to add that when I first started producing I would try to do everything as quickly as possible. I was way too impatient and would try to lump the creation process in with the mixing process and just bang out track after track. It's important to make sure you give yourself a few days off from your session when you do your final mix. This is a mistake I used to make. Thanks for the video man! This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about recently.

[@sankaranand503]

This is how any tutorial should be.. Big fan of your explanation.

[@Aleks.n]

Yeah, I am also dont carry about kick and bass relationship, perfect reverb amount and perfect panning, if it sounds interesting, beautifull and logical, I keep it

[@ELMCinc]

I definitely agree with your advice and love that you take the time out to explain multiple things in details so your viewers can have a better understanding Thanks

[@davecharette2812]

its all good no need to apologies,you do your stuff at your own speed and time. have a good one

[@morten1]

It's good to be as free as possible when making music. Be an engineer later. Prince almost never had focus on mixing/mastering/sound-details. Sometimes he didn't even care at all about the technical polish stuff. "Dorothy Parker" was recorded on a malfunctioning mixer console, hence the slightly dull sound without high's. But he just went along and made it work as part of the music, like a foggy dream. Keep some forward-going focus on the essence, energy and musical output.

[@MusokeMSK]

Very very important advice! It happens to me all the time. Start producing - tweaking on 1 instrument till i think it's perfect. And then all my creativity and drive is gone.

[@ashcast1480]

i USually Mix while i am producing and it quite works for me !!!

[@MilesHoppus]

I'm the opposite :D

[@ashcast1480]

@@MilesHoppus Actually Same right now...It's been a Year and Now I Mostly Try to Not Mix while Producing so it gives me more accurate results and stuff

[@rohitgupte5028]

AshCast digging the full 180 😂

[@ashcast1480]

@@rohitgupte5028 yea well , we still growing 😂😂

[@rohitgupte5028]

AshCast well I just learned this tonight myself so 😂

[@kevdude]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with getting bogged down in little details.

[@djofftheshit]

Great advice. Personally for me I prefer to mix along the way as that can (for me) drastically change the direction I take each track. I’ve have enough years of experience with both design and theory that I’m able make those processes much faster (without sacrificing quality), therefore I’m able to do those process side by side. But I agree I often see many producers and engineers (regardless of how many years they have under their belt) get stuck focusing on one aspect to the point that the track doesn’t seem worth completing

[@Najstefaniji]

i like to mix my stuff along the way. i really like that kinda approach. thats like buying stuff for your house, you can place them along the way, or put everything in one room and rearrange it later, i like the first way :)

[@rnavratil8487]

I'm really thankful for all of your videos. I'm a beginner myself and I can't even explain how much these videos help. Thank you!

[@donlocosmocos]

Saw Many videos about everything. Your channel is the best well compressed info about music production for beginer.

[@XiyuYang]

This is a great topic, here's my take: it depends, mostly on the music genre/context There are genres where mixing itself is inherently a critical link of production. There's no way you don't think about mixing when you are doing sound design, moves like shaping your 808 transients, saturating your basslines, syncing your delays and reverbs, sidechaining your compressors/expanders locked to the tempo of the project etc, are all parts of both production and mixing. For genres like EDM, IDM, ambient, techno etc, the line between mixing and production is really really blurred. However there are also genres where composers strictly follow the workflow of writing, arranging, recording and mixing. They don't even touch the instrument before finishing the score, and they never touch the faders before tracking is done. Jazz, fusion, chamber music, contemporary classical etc fall into this camp. And then there are improvisational music - there are models to follow, sure but that's about the only rule in a jamming session. And there's only so much a producer can do in settings like this: they place the mics, adjust the faders, then hit the record button. For me personally, I mostly work with media composers, metal bands and singer/songwriter/indie bands, so production and mixing are mostly done in different sessions.

[@bjrmusic24rabz81]

I love you Michael... No homo. I RARELY get the sound that I wanna achieve but watching your videos gives me hope man. Everything in me doesn't wanna give up this music this but struggling as much as I do is just wearing me out.

[@888MisterX888]

I like to compare that with the way my gf and me are working things out: My gf: first imagine the whole picture, then figuring out the details Me: start with many details, bring them together until I get a better picture and then finetuning them afterwards. I guess it can be the same with production :) Very nice Video, cheers!

[@ladyshaymusic_official6922]

Love the video. Congrats on your o Upcoming projects. You had made mention of your bass sound where you started with just an EQ and a Saturation. I think this is a great way to build any project. Being "seasoned" or not. Alot of producers will start at that blank canvas throwing way to much in and not really getting the ideas out fast enough. When I start on a new project, I usually start with just a sound and an idea. From that idea I build it might not be overnight or in the first 20 minutes but the important thing to note here...is the original idea of that sound and direction is kept through the entire process of creation. Thank you again for your time. -Shay.

[@ladyshaymusic_official6922]

Thanks for the love man. I appriciate it when, like minds come together.

[@epictoasty2211]

I really loved this video, and I look forward to having a creative perspective that allows me to really grasp it and benefit from its implementation.

[@maroangel8525]

I don't mix but I set the space and position of each instruments. space can be adjusted by reverb, delay. position is adjusted by volume, pan, eq, transient. yes. it's the mix we can do as a songwriter. we must see what's happening in our music because we make the video(real-time story or movie or whatever) using sound. can you imagine the music? can you see the people, acting, nature, place, air through the music? if not, you need to practice how to see the music. do you know why most player close their eyes during performance? because they're seeing the music. they are translating music, visual to sound. or we can say they're acting.

[@HeyZeus096]

This is a great video. I think it's important to think of things like dialing in a guitar tone: Spend 5 minutes figure out what pedal you have on, or what level of overdrive you're pushing, but don't spend 45 minutes getting your EQ and compression perfect. I usually get a good tone going for the creative space I want (spacey with delay and reverb, heavy with distortion or fuzz, etc) and then come back and properly mix once the demo is 95% done.

[@jasabasenara8124]

This is so true. I've found myself starting to tweak as I'm going along. Your right, it was taking me ages to move on with the mix. Don't know why I started doing it as I always tweak after. Need to get out of this habit now.

[@morten1]

Yeah first create, then edit. I have made a little side spot away from the computer, where I have a few instruments and a hardware multitracker. So I can be more simple and direct/spontaneous without all the computer visuals, browsing, editing etc. There I can find/test some basic ideas and later transfer to the computer via cardreader and continue working there. Often the computer workflow can halt my creativity, so it's good to have various ways to be creative.

[@synthestesia654]

This video hit every single problem I've been having while mixing. Thanks so much Michael!

[@karanagarwal282]

This was really helpful I might be doing this IDK.... but after 9 hrs of job what I think is exhaustion from that might just be working like this coz I always have cole, dre, sez, farasat anees and all these guys that I'm listening to in the back of my mind.... Thank you...

[@sathvikbyri2800]

Man i was abt to make the same mistake but after watching i understood what kind of a mistake i was abt to make and i love this channel cus this is very unique from the others, always straight to the point and very interesting. Thankyou soo much.

[@Arthur.H.Studio]

It's exactly the same with visual art, and what they actually train you to do. Put the basic shapes and colors down, then work the whole piece and refine it until done. Most beginner artists will start a piece and stay on a little part for a long time paying way too much attention to detail, way too early. It actually hurts the finished piece.

[@Danieln17manu]

Thanks for the advice. I have like 30 potential good songs but all unfinished. The day i release i will come back and thank you again! Much love, keep it up!

[@kennyfenny8435]

FL,s built in 3 band eq at the end of the channel plugin chain is great for doing simple quick EQing and just trying stuff out and speeds up things loads and saves CPU. Then when at the mix stage and happy maybe then use a EQ plugin if you want more control.

[@laishrambikramjit2429]

This must be the first video that every bigger should watch !

[@BrianSevintin]

My friend. Yiu know what is funny. That your videos are always linked to my strugle i find while putting my fingers on keyboard and mouse. Its amazing that its right on the spot. That is a hero to my ears. Thanks man!

[@vicious797979]

Here's the absolute truth. Do whatever keeps you on your creative train. That's what you should take from this. I don't do it like in the mix, but i do follow his logic.

[@progrocker84]

Great video - I wish I ran into this years ago! Too much analysis up front can really kill the vibe.

[@v3zMedia]

I've been mixing while producing for years. It makes you even more creative over time.

[@xandy9727]

Sometimes i'd say it's necessary though, the main reason i might spend a lot of time tweaking something instead of getting on with the arrangement is that i'm not sure if that element works, and need to see whether its just the sound or the midi information that needs to change... :)

[@oleglarshin2618]

Totally agree. Been there many times.

[@roydavenport2469]

A much needed video for me. I been struggling with exactly this for a little while now and i didn't even notice till a few days ago. Then you release this video. I like the idea of having different sessions. Definitely gonna give that a try.

[@fortheloveofgaming-ftlog2484]

You perfectly described what I'm living right now. Breaking it down into particular sessions is a good idea... I've spent ages trying to get a good kick drum created... Wasted time at this point. Thank you for making this video.

[@peraz968]

Thanks dude! You sounds like so smart and wise especially for yours pretty young age. I appreciate all that. Keep going sir, you make great tutorials! Ps. Greetings from finland!

[@subramaniamchandrasekar1397]

You speak very honest and open minded. Regards.

[@NoOne-hx9ir]

The best advice I got from this is to have a separate practice for scales and for chords lol Wasn't looking for guitar tips, but I now know why just learning songs alone isn't getting me the skills I want. Thanks!

[@mitch150]

I feel way better after watching this and seeing the comments. I keep trying to mix the intro I fleshed out and get everything perfect and by the time I’m halfway through writing/mixing the drop I’m sick of the song I’m working on and don’t wana work on it. What I’m trying now is sound designing a bunch of loops I would want to use for a specific theme I have in mind. Then purely arrange on bad speakers. Gonna see how this goes :)

[@expedidor]

I stand with you on this. Motivation is key to perfect a mix and what you said applies to it so well.

[@manishforreal]

This guy deserves million subscribers and likes.. #salute .. love from india🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@Fusion42Music]

I can only speak for myself, but I do mix a bit in the beginning. With that said, I am now doing less and less mixing and EQ in the earlier stage. Basically, I only mix / EQ if it sounds REALLY bad, and I usually don't add a whole lot other FX, other than for sound design purposes. I try to have the general structure of the song, or at least the different sections, figured out first (verse, chorus, drop, vamp, etc) and once I have those in the playlist, then sometimes I take a break to start tweaking and mixing, and usually this is also where I add transitional FX and sweeps and such. Then I'll fully finish the arrangement portion, and take another run through of the EQ and mix. I will export to .wav from there, and THEN do mastering. I will also say, a benefit of not over-mixing in the beginning is that you leave yourself flexibility to change the sounds later. When I was a beginner, I would EQ and mix as I go, but then way late in the game I would want to change a particular sound. It creates a lot of headache when you've already carved out the EQ and FX for one sound, and then your new (possibly better) sound won't fit since the rest of the song was already built around the old sound.

[@InterWarp]

Fusion42 Music what is vamp?

[@rpm4679]

Here's how I do the job. When I build an instrumental using instrument plugins, I export them all as audio wav files into an orgazined folder structure without any effects. Then I import everything in a new session then I begin mixing, EQ/COMP/FX, ETC. this is the best way to work in my opinion. Once you're organized you can only go forward. It's allways best to mix and use effects plugins on actual audio files rather than vst inst. This helps for a faster workflow and acurate sound egineering.

[@davidpardy]

I do both, I'll do a bit of producing and then listening back make tweaks here and there as I go. Some days I'll only produce, other days I'll only mix depending on how I feel. But great advice!

[@kunaldarji8940]

i always go on mixing while producing it actually works for me.

[@vincentforest4074]

Same

[@djofftheshit]

Me too

[@theqwertyone100]

Same here

[@XnazxulX]

He hit the nail right on the head we are trying to emulate a big money studio and it won’t work that way.

[@RoyaltyProductionsDA]

Same

[@xIanBx]

Love your videos man. Thank you for putting in the effort required to make quality informational content for the producers and engineers out here!!

[@TheWaveFiles]

Focus and organization written in big letters like a mantra on my wall.Like your work.cheers

[@davejohnsonmusic]

Mixing on the go... used to be more of a problem for me, but I've learned restraint. Lol. I mean my session template is loaded with my current favs per track source, but almost everything is inactive whilst I'm in the song creation and arrangement process. I may put on console emulation on the mixbus and I'll add verb to my rhythm guitar because I primarily use just one panned hard one way, so it helps to hear the verb hard to the other side for balance. Other than that, maybe some slap delay on the rough vocals, but that's about it until I'm pretty set with the arrangement and just about ready to mix. Plus, you want to put a static mix together with no processing first anyways and build from there, so you have a reference of where the track started. I always go back to my static mix during the mixing process, so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

[@familymember2795]

I needed this video. You are one of my biggest inspirations man 👍💙💙

[@maxmartiny9049]

This video Makes My Whole day...I've been really struggling with capturing my ideas the right way and this video was basically exactly the thing I needed! Thank you so much.

[@carterulery]

2:35 bro im watching this over 5 years after and literally got JUMPSCARED literally my favorite song and band like

[@AnymMusic]

I really think it depends on the person. I prefer sound designing, mixing, arranging, etc. as I go instead of seperating it in different sessions/projects. it might for others, it might not.

[@suhitgurung9159]

I gotta say.. My best tracks are those that I create in one quick session where I lay down all my creative elements that i've been storing in my head. Yet when i make projects where i tweak my sounds to death I often get bored and lack the interest to further progress the track. As a consequence all those ideas that I have stored slowly fade and im left with nothing.

[@SVNSET]

Thank you for this. I am currently producing but I can't help mixing it in between 😅 Glad I stumbled on this video 🙏🙏🙏

[@amorx36]

this is so true! THanks for sparing me for wasted time create now,polish later and :D

[@PsalmsMixerIDJ]

Man dude I'm out here in America and I really appreciate the words you have shared here is some good advice thanks again 4 all ur work and Tips bruh!!!!!

[@MisterTrayser]

Such a great question!

[@gabbajon5654]

Its also probably worth mentioning that not mixing until the track is finished allows you to bounce the stems and save on cpu