Mixing Jazz Music MASTERCLASS | ADAM Audio & Rob Burrell

[@hikefishmakemusic]

This by far the best tutorial on mixing multiple complex stems. The key takeaways and sage advice he offers: 1) use your ears not your eyes, don't mix on meters alone 2) micro adjustments at the stem level adds up to big sound at the master bus level 3) music should FEEL good, not just sound good Learning how Mr. Burrell listened to his stems and mix is invaluable to improving ear training. If you carefully study this video, your ear training will improve too. Don't focus on the EQ or compression frequencies he talks about. Instead, focus on his concepts (positioning instruments in the mix, warming or brightening stems, etc) Use a good set of headphones and start/stop/rewind the video many times until you hear what he hears. It may take several hours to go through this video, but it is SO worth it.

[@ogunsan]

Wish I could take a class with Rob. First time I’m hearing an instructor emphasize the simple question “Why?” Why did you tweak that knob? Lots of how’s out there, very little whys. Thanks for this Master class.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

This is a lengthy one, but what are your favorite tips from Rob in this mixing tutorial ? Leave them below 👇

[@MrJessebo]

I have years of multitracks from a monthly live jazz jam. I'm thinking of starting a channel focused around tackling the monumental task of mixing all of these sessions in more of a long format way. I took away a lot from this, thank you!

[@edwardkenemorales]

Looking forward to it! Can't wait to hear about your approach. Hopefully you can also share with us the stems so we can mix along. Please do let me know when you launch your vids and I will be one of the early supporter of the series for sure!

[@88KeysMan]

Same here. 🙏

[@barnpostmedia]

Free ADAM Audio mixing class for professionals. Yes please. I will watch, listen, and absorb as much information as I possibly can. Every video like this one takes me into a different studio, different genre, new producer, and different mixing engineer. There are nuggets of gold to be taken from every video no matter how long a person has been in the industry. I have been producing and mixing for almost 20 years. I learn something new every single day. When I stop learning, I will quit.

[@karthiksathian2931]

I hope you guys can have him over again some time. Rob's passion and knowledge of mixing was a treat to witness. Thank you Adam Audio!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thank you for watching 👍

[@jerrygillgren7635]

Man I love the way Rob describes in detail about each instrument, what was done and why. SO HELPFUL!! Coming from a analog background and new to the DAW world, I do mostly Light Jazz and Hawaiian, and his approach is systematic and organic. Man, I wish I could do a one-on-one course with Rob! Absolutely fantastic tutorial!!! THANK YOU!!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thanks for watching Jerry 👍

[@sundamusik]

Love this one, more like these in diffrent genre's would be great.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi, thanks for watching! We are certainly trying to diversify the music showcased in these tutorials. Much more to come 👍

[@joecrookston]

So in depth and helpful to see and hear the WHY behind so many mix decisions..thanks for helping me get better.... AND THANKS for my ADAM A7x I love them.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi Joe, that's great to hear! Thank you so much for the feedback.

[@audiofaktory]

So I came here cause I’m mixing my first jazz project (I’m a pop producer) and as much as jazz might not be for me, this song is REALLY good!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi @audiofaktory, thanks for watching, happy to hear you like it! :)

[@javiertalavera8112]

Rob, thank you for sharing your art, because now I have more confidence with my decisions at mixing, thanks for the eq tip, (subtractive & adding)!!!great video!

[@HagoAi]

I’m so happy I saw your Instagram post about this vid. Very interesting and inspiring. Thank you, ADAM Audio

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thank you for watching!

[@someHandle95]

Great video! Bought the T5V a few months ago, God I love that thing! Good job on the speaker guys!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

That's amazing! Thank you so much for choosing ADAMs! 🔥

[@MariachiguySol]

What a fantastic video. Very insightful. Thank you

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

phenomenal music, GREAT mix!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thanks Diego 🙌

[@jeremyjames8678]

Excellent tutorial, just what I need for a jazz mix I'm doing. New to the genre so this helped a lot.

[@SeriousTipStudio]

It's always nice to see how others approach a mix. Also seeing what tools others used and how similar some of these tool are to each other. Being stuck in the house this past year it was nice seeing this. Thanks for sharing and taking time to do this. Great track and mix.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi Jay! Thank you for watching! 🥳

[@Sadiquecat]

Notes I have taken, not word for word, nor advice per advice, may be subject to interpretation and re-phrasing. -What's the end goal? What's the vibe? -Build the song up / tell a story. Create movement. -Feels good over "sounds good", vibe over technicality id say. -Don't solo individual tracks too much, listen to the bigger picture. Drum bus, Drums with bass, guitars in context to each other, etc... -Mix with your ears, not your eyes. Touch controls can help with that -Ask yourself "why" on everything, have a reason for it! -Make sure the Drums and Bass fit well together. -Mixing bus : Leave a bit of headroom for dynamics and mastering. Techniques : -Next Door frequencies/EQing, removing and adding EQ near if not the same frequency, but with different Q/EQ curves. -Having an idea of what goes where frequency wise, and leaving dips here and there or making things "pop" even if slightly at those frequencies. -EQ space around the important stuff, if they sound good untouched, better make space for it than force it in with additive EQ (Thinking about leaving room for the piano/guitar by EQing shakers snares toms percs and stuff "out". -It's okay to reverb your drums. Probably individually rather than on the bus. -Balanced overheads, for this specific track, he chose to balance the overheads so that they would sound "complete" on their own and have a balanced drum kit from the OV-H. Mainly by centering the kick/snare by having them equidistant to the mics. However having cymbals overhead is an option, just a thing to consider. -It's okay to add creative touch, flanger on an instrument, muting stuff. Adding a little FX flavour if needed. -Don't always mix things individually, bus them together and mix Drums N bass. Pads and percs, pianos and guitars. Especially for adjusting that final feeling and overall vibe. Plugins used : SPL Ivon, Maag EQ, 175B UAD, Manley TUBE, Scheps omni channel, Lexcon 480, Avid Revibe, Trident a Range, Cinematic rooms by Liquid Sonic, Seven Heaven, Studer A800 tape emulation, Korg SDD 3000, TC warm hall reverb. Anecdotal notes : -I have not seen a surgical EQ, nor one that highlighted frequencies played (spectrogram) etc... Most of it was 4 band parametric EQ knobs and ears. -Sometimes plugins were used not for their tools, but for the plugin's timbre. Not using the EQ/Compression, but still going though it. -Different reverbs, and probably timing for stuff, I always imagined there would be a one reverb type to not mud things or have a coherent bigger picture, but as proven otherwise here, chose the appropriate reverb and don't be scared to mix them up. -Having good instruments, mic, composer, recoding environment helps a lot! Many thanks for the wonderful work! I love when brands share tutorials / wisdom and I support that! One of the reasons I got my Adam A7V is because of this :)

[@aldo34]

Really interesting, thank you. Great to hear a break down of a vibey, live band track. Technically enlightening, but as with all the best communicators in this field Rob is all about the art, the feel. And despite what people say - that can actually be taught! At least that mindset can. Thanks ADAM Audio.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thanks for tuning in and glad you enjoyed it!

[@LUCKYKATmeowsic]

Nice Rob. Love your passion for mixing. Learned a lot. Thank you for sharing your expertise! :)

[@_Adrianmorrison]

This is really good. Would love another gospel one ‼️

[@Six2Nine]

Hi Rob. The same story goes for me. Asking me "Why". My old mixes they sounds unique. With charachter. Am I regressing in my skills?

[@myk0l4s]

Great content, that's exackly the type of material that I was looking for: an in-depth jazz mixing example showing the whole process: worklow, concepts behind it, tools, plugins and strategies used. I definitely learned a lot. If you are looking for topics for your next videos guys different genres of music would be much appreciated (like say electronic / pop music fusion). Thanks!

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi Mykolas! Thanks a lot for your positive feedback. Really great to hear you enjoyed the video. Also thanks for your suggestions for topics in future videos! We wrote it down, highly appreciated! 🤩😍

[@srikrshnachaitanyaswami3625]

I appreciate the care given to mic placement. As Rob says, this can avoid some eq moves. I am a bit surprised to hear that Rob records straight from his preamps to his daw. Not even a little compression to help control the levels, Rob?

[@srikrshnachaitanyaswami3625]

Rob, what kind of preamps are you using? How do you use compression? Any compression in tracking?

[@ichdiewurst6153]

Santana Vibes🥳

[@buriedatsea23]

To get the attack feeling on the double bass what do you use? It's nice to use a compressor with a slow attack to get that?

[@gorantovic1473]

Hi! Is there a chance to ask Mr. Burrell in which order he assigned MixHub controls to his Avid Dock (or S1)? Does he use 8 or 16 encoders, and does he assigned them in some specific order and logic? Thanks!

[@kingech_B15]

Lovely

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Glad you're enjoying it 👊

[@piotrzajac3972]

Which is the best option for widest and flatest frequency response without compromising the midrange? T8V, T5V+T10S, T7V+T10S?

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi Piotr! All of the options you mentioned are great choices for achieving a wide and flat frequency response. However, choosing the best option for your specific needs will depend on several factors such as room size and personal preferences. If you're looking for the widest and flattest frequency response without compromising the midrange, the ADAM Audio T8V might be the best choice. The T8V has a frequency response of 33 Hz to 25 kHz, which is wider than both the T5V and T7V. Additionally, the T8V has a larger woofer (8 inches) than the T5V (5 inches) and T7V (7 inches), which can provide better low-frequency response. That being said, the T5V and T7V are also great options and may be more budget-friendly depending on your needs. If you're looking to save some money, the T5V+T10S or T7V+T10S bundle might be a good option to consider. The T10S subwoofer can provide additional low-frequency response, which can be helpful in larger rooms or for music genres that emphasize bass. Ultimately, the best option for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. If possible, it's always a good idea to listen to each option before making a decision to ensure that you're choosing the one that sounds best to you.

[@niklashedstrom762]

“The maestro says it’s Mozart’s, but it sounds like bubblegum”

[@dillonvado]

A lot of great tips in here... loved the preamble and I absolutely resonate with the message of "know WHY you're doing a thing"... but I must say when he rolled the track, I was really disappointed. As somebody who plays jazz and jazz-adjacent music for a living, trying to teach myself some mixing techniques and things, there's definitely some helpful things here, but this ensemble is nothing like what most "jazz" players are going to be playing in. Also doesn't have as many of the same challenges that come with that. Specifically I mean the electric bass and prevalent distorted electric guitar, also the many many layers of keyboards, organ, and other patches on top of the grand piano... I mean this type of song has it's own challenges to be sure, and the engineer here clearly knows what he's doing. But to make an almost two hour video about jazz mixing and have that be the source track was just kinda missing the point for me. Also I understand if you throw the term jazz around, it could include a lot of different things and there's some "jazz" that would fit this sound world for sure. But to me it's closer to sounding like a Santana record or something which is honestly mixed more like a pop or rock record in the end anyway... Tips on mixing upright bass, or drums with a huge dynamic range like somebody going from brushes to sticks on the same song, or any horns at all, maybe a vocalist even if there were a couple different tracks to look at. Just some of the things that are VERY common in "jazz" (heavy on the quotation marks there as I understand that term to be so broad it's almost useless in the present time) which I would have liked to have some input on in this video that are missing. Anyway, still great stuff in here throughout so I appreciate that and the time it took to make it, just wanted to offer a perspective that there's huge pieces missing if "mixing jazz" is the point.

[@televisionshow8485]

Hey Rob.. I just got 2 Adam A7x and 2 Adam Sub7's... How should I connect them to a stereo source and use both subs? It's VERY confusing. . Thank you.

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Hi Rob, thank you so much for reaching out. We recommend the following procedure: The left audio output goes into the left sub input and then daisy-chain the left monitor via the left output of the sub. Now you just have to repeat this for the right channel. Hope this helps. Have a great day!

[@televisionshow8485]

@@ADAMAudioBerlin So I'm understanding.. Use "Left" for Both channels (R/L) both sides use the above config. .. Trying now. Thanks.

[@MrRosadoGaming]

Does anybody know where I can find this song?

[@niklasott1316]

too bad the screen looks like 144p nonetheless top notch content

[@ADAMAudioBerlin]

Thanks for tuning in Niklas, and we apologize for the low-screen resolution. We'll be sure to adjust that going forward.

[@AudioPervert1]

About 80% of all such videos feature a white guy, aged between 21 to approx 55. However, there are as many good producers who are not from the above, never showcased given the hegemony and bias of mainstream culture. What masters, and what class!

[@l3gendbaap963]

Are you black?

[@pedroahets]

This is a kind of "latín fusion" not jazz

[@evanmartin4749]

Sorry dawg if you open a cla plugin i immediately lose interest

[@magikk78]

23:38 Unfortunately this guy completetely desn’t know Spl Iron controls, tries to explain them though. Rectifier doesn’t color the sound, it introduces different sets of attack/release values for respective controls. As for AirBass and tape roll-of it also a bit different, first one boosts both lows and highs, the latter one rolls them off. All this info is in the manual online, with value charts and response graphs…shame, Rob, people trust you. Shame Adam audio for low quality content.

[@spaceraverz4326]

OMG @ADAM Audio nothing to say ?

[@robertopistolesi2735]

All this introduction and then it's not jazz music, come on!!!

[@demolinertom2981]

Foreign influences, improvisation... Sounds like jazz to me. Latin jazz if u want

[@robertopistolesi2735]

@@demolinertom2981 naaaaah maybe if you live in LA

[@zakaroonetwork777]

age of aquarious Rip Off

[@MattCollisMusic]

Great mixing tips but he could have chosen a better song.... this kinda elevator fusion jazz is annoying .... some interesting changes but musically boring and not that melodically strong either.... just cause it has some theoretically impressive jazz changes that doesn't just make it 'good'