Mixing Masterclass with Bob Power [MixCon 2017]

► Want more? Learn to mix better than ever before with our FREE workshop, "The Top 5 Habits of Truly Great Mixers": sonicscoop.com/MixHabits ◀
In this video, go deep with veteran mixer Bob Power as he takes us under the hood of a real neo-soul mix and imparts decades worth of hard-won wisdom and best practices for getting mixes that leave a real impact on listeners.
Bob is a GRAMMY-winning, platinum-selling engineer for the likes of D'Angelo, De La Soul, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Tribe Called Quest, Macy Gray and more.
This video was filmed at the third annual MixCon and made possible by Soundtoys. Check them out at soundtoys.com
Special thanks to Ester Rada for allowing us a deeper look at her track "Cry for Me". Check her out at ester-rada.bandcamp.com
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See more great videos at sonicscoop.com and mix-con.com

[@tyronrossouw930]

I cannot believe what high quality content is here for free.

[@EDMTips]

Totally!

[@trollingisasport]

KZbin shill

[@sjd1446]

Dirk Diggler haha!!

[@beatsbykobra]

shhhh dont expose they gonna charge us soon

[@Processor609]

>For real. I definitely subscribed

[@kristianandreasen3230]

1:55 - start 2:15 - mixing is gain & tonal balancing 3:32 - creating a vibe 3:48 - seeing the producer & artist vision 4:34 - can you hear everything? 5:35 - reflections on all of the below topics 6:29 - dimensions of a mix 10:03 - careful of reference tracks 10:36 - thoughts on mixing for clients 11:45 - trusting your monitors 13:36 - all audio tools can be split into two categories: gain control & ambience 14:44 - what do we do with these two type of tools? 16:38 - genre 17:55 - making room for instruments/resonant peaks 19:40 - do you need to boost? 20:48 - High Pass & Low Pass 22:25 - gain control / compressors 24:23 - tuning (not your job but the producer's) 26:23 - organization 30:05 - presentation of artist Ester Rada 31:43 - figuring out what the mix needs 32:52 - playing the track 35:21 - done playing track

[@trollingisasport]

Go on...

[@Youtubeusee365]

Kristian Andreasen thank you!!

[@ccmickytv7441]

Thx!

[@Etcher]

Wow thank you!!

[@jeffparker469]

Major kudos Kristian Andreasen! thx

[@jewfinigan863]

This is one of the best mix videos I've ever seen. No bullshit, no egos, just a straight up talented dude doing what he loves. Shares his philosophy, then demonstrates it with a mix. Cheers mate.

[@MrLawrence0071]

Hear hear man. Thinking the exact same thing. I truly learnt a lot of stuff from this. What a great down-to-earth guy!

[@maaaquemeseyo]

+1

[@FrostyRRT]

Paul Anstey t

[@AmagrasMUSIC]

+2

[@the-LeoKnightus]

right. I seen him talk before, but didn't waste a word with this presentation.

[@SleepyEyezCarter]

The first part before he went into the song was 100% good information.

[@MrMurrizi]

it was absolutely golden eh ! Almost prophet like

[@liondread777]

The Timbre info in respect to depth was mind opening!Bob is dope!!!

[@dangus5459]

but...?

[@666hobart]

Best rogue presenter ever!

[@timothywanjohi5248]

No buts

[@pennstateyo]

" My career is a result of my clients knowing that I will work much harder than they will" My hats off to you my friend

[@willhelliwell]

Best bit of advice I got from this video: "Carve up the frequency spectrum to hear things in a mix". Most instruments have a resonant peak. It often changes with the pitch of the instrument. Raise up an EQ with a medium width and start sweeping it through the frequencies until you find the weird bit that really sticks out. That's the resonant peak. Pull back the EQ a little bit on those resonant peaks for every track in your session before starting to mix and you'll find there's so much more room for everything else because those resonant peaks won't be masking the other instruments.

[@andres.giacomini]

Especially in the range of 100 to 500 hz

[@gt3shredz510]

This is huge, but not as simple. When I first learned about filtering and subtractive EQ, I thought the more I filtered the better. Turns out that will result in a thin weak mix. Only filter if it’s necessary. If there’s a resonant peak, but there are no tracks competing with it, I’d try to preserve that information if I have no issues with it tonally.

[@jorgepeterbarton]

Its a good idea. But sometimes you can go overboard with about 8 notches for EVERY resonance. And it might even take away character. If you mute and unmute you can tell what is masking what and remove the one thats masking. Maybe its where you felt you needed to boost the masked instrument? You can also use a dynamic EQ if you really want I. I remove the resonance ONLY when its actually there. And high Q of course. Its also one area where eyes rather than ears are useful with a good graphic analyser. You immediately see peaks and get them exactly.

[@gt3shredz510]

@@MrGeekymusic Always start with the levels, try to optimize the frequency spectrum with them first, and then use EQ if you still don't like what you're hearing.

[@MrGeekymusic]

@@gt3shredz510 Thanks I agree with you - it's the removing of resonant peaks before starting a mix that I didn't.

[@jakobole]

My sound-quality went way up, when I discovered removing those resonant peaks. Game changer for me

[@kingrobwinslow5807]

same same

[@jakobole]

@@redlikewater2453 Get them eradicated BEFORE they hit any other plugin such as comps. dist, reverbs etc - everything will become easier hereafter.

[@jakobole]

I mixed this using that principle together with parallel comp on anything BUT percussive stuff - the rest bussed and sharing a comp. A more natural sound emerges from this. It's the "Andrew Scheps way" It's a demo og a Korg Mono/Poly kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHWZeZSYipqHm7M

[@jakobole]

And far fewer comps/cpu-horsepower needed

[@jakobole]

@@redlikewater2453 no. First high-pass, then de-resonate. :)

[@JERJES58]

1:55 What mixing really is? 6:28 The dimensions of the mix 10:04 About using reference tracks 11:10 The quality of the recordings 11:45 Trust your monitors! 13:35 Building blocks in mixing 14:38 How to use them 16:38 The importance of genre 17:53 Making room: the resonant frequencies 19:39 About the boost 20:48 High pass and low pass 22:27 About gain control: compression and more... 24:25 Tuning and Autotune 26:26 Organization Issues 30:08 About the singer Ester Rada 32:39 BOB'S MIX LISTENING 35:20 General comments about this mix 35:54 About grouping instruments 38:26 DRUMS 41:33 Tips about compression 46:29 Tip about boost 49:00 Tip about how you can listen better what you are doing 50:00 Percussion wich is driving the song (bongos, etc): tape compression and more... 52:18 About ambience reverbs 53:00 ''Snare'' 55:41 About harshness and high frequency equilibrium 56:30 Snare delay effects and more... 57:11 Work in touch!! 1:01:14 Hi Hats: Devil-loc plugin and more... 1:05:06 Claps: why use pitch with them? 1:08:16 Shaker 1:08:55 Name your buses!!! 1:09:41 Toms 1:10:27 Be careful with the panning!!! 1:12:01 Be careful enhancing the attack 1:12:51 About using well known tools 1:14:34 Background vocals: eq tips and more...

[@SonicScoop]

🙌

[@nathansoundz883]

This is a basic education in fundamental mixing. Three years and hundreds of videos and VST"s. Ill add 1000's of Recording Sessions to that as well. I 15 minutes in and If this was the first thing I ever watched, Id been where I am today 2 and 1/2 years ago. Putting this on repeat. Thanks a ton for this video.

[@10HW]

same here man

[@uhoh252]

True the rest was mainly less is more and do what sounds good

[@philsideorchestra]

Awesome

[@maxreaper25]

Wow glad I clicked this

[@goldiamondmusic]

That's how you know you're being taught by a master. Masters help 'compress' (no pun intended) the learning time.

[@gabrielrf1]

Watched this to appease the KZbin algorithm. Was not disappointed

[@SonicScoop]

Few are! It's a good one. Thanks for stopping by! :-)

[@michaelmichael1450]

Hats off to the "rogue presenter", who preferred to share brilliant advice with everyone, so we could understand why he does what in the mix later! And thanks to the guys in the background for not cutting him off :)

[@Exitof99]

This was awesome, my major takeaways: 1. Always use high pass and low pass for a clean uncluttered sound. 2. On drums, dip just above the boost to make it snap better. 3. Add some pitch shift down to handclaps to make them meatier. I actually was struggling with handclaps before, glad to get that tip.

[@MrZapperific]

49:00 the blind compressor A/B test... GOTTA LOVE IT! Mr Power is truly aware of the psychology that goes on in this work. You have to fool yourself sometimes to stay humble enough to actually IMPROVE what you are doing!!!

[@JamesonTabor]

Unlimited gems in here. Basically watch this thing 1000 times and you never have to go to school again. Bob Power is a boss!

[@mfesusbeats1087]

this man is a LEGEND...a mix god! "Bob Power, you there?(Yeah) Adjust the bass and treble make my shit sound clear(echo)" --Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest btw 332 clowns disliked this video because he wasn't using Fruity Loops smh

[@prospectnyc]

"Do this because of xyz, don't do this other thing because abc" - this is the best kind of masterclass! So much better than other lectures that focus on "me me me my my my, I'm famous because of me me me."

[@alias-_unknown9999]

😂😂😂

[@johnmathews2022]

I can not believe the thumbs down on this. They must not like the fact that he knows more than they do.

[@TheSIGNSFICTION]

I come back every year to this video to watch and learn from this legend

[@tsquire87]

"...and an...auto...release. I don't know. I just got the piece and was messing around with it." what a legend

[@janminor1172]

Not only a skilled mixer but also an excellent and very engaging speaker/presenter/teacher! 👏

[@RogerBarraud]

Absolutely! Gonna have to go grab *everything* I can find from Bob now :-)

[@MitchellRoad]

This is randomly one of the most cinematic, well shot seminar type videos I've ever seen, (that wasn't for an actual movie). Usually these videos looks terrible. kudos to the camera crew.

[@davidleeroth357]

Bob Power is a LEGEND. ATCQ used to shout him out all the time in their music. I was amazed to find out he had mixed an produced so much classic R&B. I learned a ton from this video. Thanks Sonicscoop

[@chrisjordan8789]

"Bongos Bathroom? That wasn't very helpful, so I didn't use it" - made my day! You the man, Bob! Thanks for a great maaterclass

[@10HW]

"ultimately, a great recording is a compelling performance of a great song" enough said

[@gomesdiogo]

49:04 - best tip of this video, and there is a lot of them

[@davidbarnardmusic355]

as someone with 0 mixing experience, this has been so much more than helpful. I look foreword to watching this over and over again.

[@MCEEZR]

This is a ‘watch it every year’ kind of video

[@RoyMaya]

I truly enjoyed this. I feel like the first 30 minutes was the most important part. Great video!

[@garrykingmusic]

100% agree mate

[@mindflux1445]

Yeah loved that to :)

[@keithrichards4296]

As well, we can see an api 2500 while he says "guys thank you..." - probably they cut the part when talks about the mix bus.

[@zekelocke]

DEFININTELY!! That first 30 mins set the entire context up for the rest...this was so awesome!

[@artsmadeit]

I could watch this guy for hours. Lots of knowledge delivered in casual way.

[@projectseventyone]

this was by far the best audio mixing video I've ever seen

[@natejessee]

"Cause that sucks when that happens" talking about reverb and delay to discrete instrument groups. Not sure why, but that quote just came off so realistic and genuine.

[@BrandonRaehl]

I love how he explains everything instead of just jumping into plugins. This is real wisdom here. Much appreciated

[@JimmyFlame]

Resonant peak… THAT’S what it’s called. And… taking away frequency competition. Brilliant stuff. Oh, and, now I’m gonna find a Devil-Loc. Thanks for sharing all this stuff!

[@MrGuitarist9891]

I was there, it was a truly great presentation. So glad I can watch it again. Thank you SonicScoop for posting this. Can't wait for other videos from MixCon.

[@SonicScoop]

Great to have you there! More coming soon.

[@curtisjudd]

"D-Verb...It's so trashy that I've really gotten to like it..." 😂 So much great info here, thank you Bob and SonicScoop!

[@Mixingmachine774]

curtis you're in a wrong section .You make video graphic works man .:D

[@curtisjudd]

@@Mixingmachine774 ? Sound for film is my main focus.

[@Swissco9665]

amen!!!!!!!!!

[@gard3n743]

@@Mixingmachine774 oo km j o o njmmomk

[@dustamanjazz]

THANK YOU SOUNDTOYS!!! THAT'S WHY I PURCHASED SOUNDTOYS 5!!

[@Royal22]

Stop scrolling through the comments and pay attention

[@lez-gelm4561]

Haha sorry... I will look @ the old guy. 😁

[@JohnnyAllen_]

yo i literally paused the video before looking at comments because i was hanging on every word

[@amp_unlimited]

🙂

[@s.w.3604]

😆 Dude, you totally busted me...

[@abbasahmedlp]

Okay okay..... I am sorry 🙏

[@danielkisel5661]

Thank you SonicScoop, Bob and Soundtoys ! I applaused in front of the screen... lol ;)

[@zachary963]

22:10 i had a track once, where I couldn’t get anything to sit right. Then I lowpassed the bass guitar at around 2k, on this advise by Bob, and suddenly EVERYTHING opened up. Everybody talks about don’t high/lowpass too much, and I always think about what Bob is saying here at around 20 minutes. I live by it. The first thing I do, after gain staging, is take out any frequencies I don’t like, including high and low pass. And it makes my life so fantastic

[@KeniInExile]

Nice presentation! Thanks Bob!

[@johnchase3920]

Have to give props to Bob Powers. Such a great teacher, who explains with a style easily understood. Thanks, folks!

[@peter_erdei_music]

What I really like about this is that Bob doesn't try to sell you plus-ins instead he gives you technical hints.

[@GRAVYBEATS]

Just discovered your channel and started binge watching all your videos. Absolute gems, thanks for sharing 🙏💯

[@SonicScoop]

So glad to have you tuning in! -Justin

[@jamestucker457]

"Allowed the fast release on the compressor so it would recover quickly for this song". Excellent! Bob's ability to express good habits, mix dynamics, and importance of client relationships shows how much this guy knows how to not only achieve great results, but teaches the student such essentials. Hearing you Bob, and "Thank you" brother. Fellow New Yorker from the Apple.

[@negromister]

Two things. A) That guy really looks like Tom Skerritt. B) He knows his stuff. What he said about arrangment as "legislating levels of importance for the listener" blew my mind.

[@jamesfullwood7788]

I think he looks like John Malkovitch with hair....

[@MoonmanD]

And i think he's more of a Jeff Kober look alike...

[@originemusic9350]

Or an older Kevin 🥓

[@Zebadane]

he looks like Jeff Bridges more

[@missingchannel]

@@Zebadane LOL Damn. The Dude. The Dude abides.

[@P.Gillett]

watched this a year or so ago, it changed my mixing, for the better! soooo much better, thanks man

[@hmanfilms]

5 and a half minutes in and I'm blown away by how captivating he is in the way he describes music and sound. Such an articulate and prestige way of viewing what other people just think of as "sound." It's a beautifully rich and complex arrangement of sounds. "Can I hear everything? Of course, the right arrangement and proper perspective... but can I hear everything?" is now one of my golden rules of mixing. Thank you, Bob and SonicScoop!

[@tontyrutinel7680]

I almost cried thinking of all the files I've lost when he said "back up.. dont even think twice about it"

[@safenafe1]

Just came across this vid. Absolutely brilliant. Very inspirational thanks for this

[@brunosorgus8031]

audio/video quality is unusually good for these kind of things

[@adamhenderson4349]

The second he said about being in service to the song and the artist, I slapped that like button. Wisdom straight off the bat.

[@GingerDrums]

"Bongos - Bathroom, It wasn't useful I didn't use it". this dude is suuuper relatable.

[@samukeloi.s.s.c2945]

been a while since i enjoyed a session this much especially the first 30 minutes and the rest was a big big bonus

[@edgenovese]

Really smart, to the point and Humble! You could have talked down to everyone, but instead, it was more like a good friend stopped by to help you at home. You make learning clear without the listener feeling embarrassed for not knowing this material. Amazing job !! Thank you for sharing your talent and skills that took so many years to Hone. I need to find more of you on the Web. All the best Ed Genovese Composer

[@JohnnyAllen_]

LITERALLY EVERY SENTENCE IS GOLD

[@rafaelmarchanteangulo4582]

I'm so glad i stumbled upon this talk

[@bovictorious2380]

I literally had to pause this masterclass and drop to the floor on my knees pumping my fist, hollering, "Bosssssss!" Because this was just what I needed in language I can understand! Big ups to MixCon, SonicScoop, and Bob Powers. This masterclass lifted me up and gave me the wisdom I needed to move forward with my mixing in confidence.

[@Kristofergoeransson]

Wow incredible! Bob is a real genius. Thanks a lot.

[@theostragonidis7548]

Incredible stuff, I'm humbled.

[@toolondaboards]

Took 33 minutes to get to a song but it was all gold! Great gems given!

[@TopShockers]

Thanks, Bob. This information is gold.

[@IntercomFPV]

This guy is AWESOME! Thank you Bob Power!

[@diasslo]

Excellent work by sharing this, thanks for the knowledge and keep on doing it

[@BradDollar]

What a great class! I'm amazed by this journey in music and how constant the learning is.

[@deadscenedotcom]

Agree with all of Bob's plugin comments!

[@NormanBird]

An actual free Masterclass, in every sense of the word. I loved this! Thank you for sharing.

[@QNTM-_LUXXX]

This information is PURE , TIMELESS , GOLDEN WORDS . It’s all about the vibe , and stop representing your self with the million dollar studio , having a respectable balance of a mix is quality enough and people love seeing growth . One love to all my pioneers , I needed to hear this in my early 20s .

[@Simonewhitesim-1music]

I am back. I Needed this inspiration again today. Love the part making your clients know your listening.

[@aparimitus11]

Simply, the best session ever on sound production!

[@That1Guy]

Best compression explanation ever, for me anyways. Also that eq stuff was enlightening

[@rij2392]

That tip for resonant peak was brilliant. Thank you soo much.

[@brenobraga5037]

THIS IS THE BEST MIX VIDEO I EVER SEEN IN MY WHOLE LIFE

[@MrVleker]

"A lot of monitors under $10.000" lol. Here I am with my $300 pair xD

[@swingset1969]

And if you look at the quality of the speakers that some of the most legendary tracks of all time were mixed on? Junk by today's standards. Trusting the monitors is as much about getting to know them as their ability to render everything neutral (which, frankly, has limited functionality. It's the indian, not the arrow.

[@perciejackson8799]

Here I am with my $10 pair :(

[@MrVleker]

@@perciejackson8799 Oof, next investment maybe?

[@FahadAbdulaal]

Well you can't expect to have a pro setup for peanuts lol. Under $10k is really not all that much when setting up a studio. Think about the total cost of audio interface, room treatment, outboard gear and / or software.... The list continues. All that said, it's still much more attainable than it ever was

[@MrVleker]

@@FahadAbdulaal true, but then again most people have a homestudio and they don't start out with 10k. I have 2 JBL 305's a focusrite studio bundle, a keyboard and a guitar and I do everything in Cubase. That's far from 10k, but I believe I can make good sounding songs with it, so you don't need 10k. I'm slowly upgrading over time though to get better gear :)

[@myrecordcorner5328]

Great Content for all DJs out there!!! Thank you for this Video!!! :-)

[@mixflame9078]

Very great seminar! Thanks!

[@Anthony-dw3jb]

Honestly can't believe this is free, thank you.

[@NeopolitianNPLTN]

Great video. Thank you for posting!

[@bayboymusic1]

Good Tips and Reminders! Good pace, not too fast and not too slow.

[@mixerinc]

Thank you soundtoys and Bob Power - you speak clearly and with wisdom. Cheers

[@stebanarias]

Thank you for share this seminars! You are so helpful!

[@felipesancho]

this guy's onomatopeia is spot on!

[@rockabluesy60]

this is richer than a mixing mastering class that I paid back in 2019, thank you

[@tuxxie2]

Nothing I've heard so far (on the subject) is even close to how informative this is.

[@JunkyardSam]

This is probably the best mixing tutorial video I've found on KZbin, yet! Thanks SonicScoop & Sound Toys!

[@OrangutanTradeSalesmen]

This must be the most recommended mixing vid on youtube. Definitely mine. The info here is unreal. Worth learning and re-learning. Watched this several times now and its always a lesson. Thanks fellas

[@patrikfloding7985]

Thanks so much for mentioning Ester Rada! Amazing! (Never heard of her before)

[@RYRICKSIFY]

Such an amazing Masterclass! Thanks for sharing!!

[@h.n.r_funi3324]

Every single word he says makes perfect sense. I needed to hear them

[@flxsiff.6463]

He's dressed like we're about to look at some lions lmao

[@veinteduece6625]

😂 😂 😂 😂

[@manmakesfirenotenki]

But that mix is deadly 💀

[@m00se67]

Fløxsiff. have to say that was one of the funniest things i read lately on youtube ..so simple so funny ..cheers

[@NeoPest]

think how grey his hair would look in a navy blazer

[@ericwilson4901]

LOL

[@itsnopez]

Easily the most informative video on mixing I've seen.

[@paranorml]

"Resonant peak" break down was brilliant. Bob this the best!

[@GrandpaTheobald]

After watching this and taking a lot of notes, I went back to a mix I started a couple of weeks before and started redoing all the EQing from scratch. I decided to dive back into mixing 3 months ago, since it's always been my weak point in music production. I keep coming back to this video, even just a couple of sentences of his are like a mantra which will let me focus in my next session.

[@justjakki]

I can't even handle how much gratitude I have in my soul for this absolutely incredible master class!!! Im self-taught and it's been very frustrating to not be able to explain or discuss music with people when I've never been properly trained and educated. Again, thank you so much for this.

[@lordshiva83]

Thanks for this video, Soundtoys!!

[@ronaldgordon982]

If you really listen, and listen again until you get everything he's sharing, this one video can take you to another level!

[@doons8914]

WHAT THIS VIDEO IS, a perfect simplification of music mixing. Nowadays, we literally overdose in useless information that in the end confuses the fk outta us making us think we know so little about making our music sound professional. The moment he broke down that the only things we have at our disposal is gain control vs ambience generators the more everything made sense about what I've learned in the last few years... ik its an hour but JUST WATCH IT

[@budgetguitaristcom]

I've done a ton of recording over the the past 30 years and this is one of the best talks I've ever heard. Very very good stuff! Time Machine should be turned OFF when recording because it'll steal CPU cycles and hard drive/SSD speed. Turn it back on when done. I agree with manually backing up all music projects to multiple drives - I have four.

[@masteroutlaw100]

Don't make the mistake I did and put your hard drives too close together. They have internal magnets that can damage and corrupt other hard drives if placed too close to one another.

[@budgetguitaristcom]

@@masteroutlaw100 That's good advice!

[@DatAnydeks]

Watched this a year ago, and now again in 2019. What a great video. Bob communicates so generously. Thanks again 🙏

[@akshatuniyal4867]

I love this man and i want to thank SonicScoop for taking the initiative and uploading this here for free.

[@JakeBarraza1]

my biggest take away: magnify the vibe