Pop & Country Mixing Masterclass with 7X Grammy-Winner Brian Vibberts [MixCon 2021]

[@SonicScoop]

Be sure to check out the Live Q&A after the main presentation here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ7CamlsmqaAb7c Big thanks to Antelope Audio for helping to make this free to the public: AntelopeAudio.com Enter to WIN free gear at sonicscoop.com/MixConGiveaway

[@PETMUGAN]

mouthwatering giveaway Open to US residents only....OUCH

[@realbourbonniere15]

I'm an amateur mixing "engineer" and I have been watching KZbin's videos for a couple of years now. This is the very first one where I can get a real look at what a real professional is doing. Brian is so "accessible" and simple in the way he is describing his workflow. No "black magic" or "fairy dust". This is so awesome. I just want to thank you for this very interesting session. I will surely look at this video a couple of times, just to grasp all the knowledge that's in there. Thank you so much.

[@marklholloway]

This was awesome! Hard to believe this was free for all to watch and learn. A+ content from a legend.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Appreciate it Mark. Thanks for watching!

[@bombshellmusic1004]

Thank you for highlighting country music. Popular country music is so well recorded, and produced. For those of us that work in this often overlooked genre, it's nice to see a video that addresses some of what goes on there.

[@oddsummusic9110]

this is straight up a masterclass. I'll be sure to thank Brian when I collect a grammy of my own one day (hopefully). Thanks for taking the time to do this

[@nerdtv3636]

this is LEGENDARY CONTENT.....do it again Brian......The world appreciates YOU

[@brianvibberts6898]

THANK YOU! I enjoyed doing this video. It is good to see so many positive comments.

[@neoNOTESdannyp071507]

A big thanks to Brian and SonicScoop for bringing this up. We do appreciate your time and the knowledge that you shared. It was really fun and interesting. We need more.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Happy to hear this! This was a DEEP DIVE into mixing! For more conversations about music and recording and mixing, you are welcome to follow my Instagram page @vibbertsmixing

[@aceedmond8053]

very gracious of you Brian to go into such detail... very much appreciated! Thank you sir.

[@davbunjr]

This was one of the best mixing classes I've seen and Brian just seems like a guy you want to hang out with. Thanks for this video!

[@palecriminal5475]

This video has validated so many of my recent mixing workflows/creative decisions and I'm so grateful Sonicscoop partnered with Brian. Using multiple reverbs/delay busses (plus some individual auxes, which Brian doesn't, but I find they can be helpful), manual automation with a hardware controller -- these two things have genuinely revolutionized the way I work with tracks. This video was so informative, thank you!

[@brianvibberts6898]

Great to hear this! Thanks for the positive comments. There are many workflows that can be used depending on your mixing approach. I agree with you about using individual auxes. I usually use those for a specific effect like widening a synth bass or adding a leslie effect to a keyboard or a special reverb used for a specific instrument.

[@palecriminal5475]

@@brianvibberts6898 Craig Bauer's workflows have helped me a lot and are similar to what you're saying: run tonal changes or additive tonal changes in parallel as an aux, no subgroup processing that inherently changes tone/sound from various non-same sounds (IE BGV bus ok but not Drum Bus unless in parallel), etc. This video echoed a lot of what I've learned from him as well.. Thanks so much for your comment/time!

[@glennianaro6594]

This walk through of a mix is just a GEM of a video. Thank you for being so gracious with your process (and processing) I've often wondered if I am doing "too much" to get a sound on an instrument or vocal for a similar kind of song, but I feel our approaches are similar. This video reminds me that the goal is to get a great sound in the end, whatever way we get there. I wished I would have caught this live as I would have loved to hear you to talk about your attack wall and monitoring.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Hey Glenn. I may have something else coming up in the near future just about the ASC Attack Wall. In the meantime, there are different discussions on music and mixing on my instagram page (Vibberts Mixing) if you're interested.... Re: Whether you are doing too much - I have a lot going on in this song and that is why I chose it for this video. It shows a lot of different techniques. I do not always have this much going on. It all depends on the style of music and the quality of the recording and what kinds of moods are needed to enhance in the song. You are totally CORRECT - whatever sounds good in the end!!

[@glennianaro6594]

Great to hear about the new material to come out. I'm thinking about the attack wall for a new room I am setting up. I followed you on Instagram yesterday and I'll look through those discussions. Looking forward to all the content!

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@glennianaro6594 Thanks Glenn. The Attack Wall was the best purchase I made for my studio. It is so important to have a space that you can mix in that is accurate and translates well to many playback systems.

[@LostInAce]

This was one of the best ones for me. Thank you guys!

[@ethanmaac]

Wow! The vocal bus chain/processing was work-flow altering for sure, thank you!

[@johnsammers]

What a fabulous demonstration. Thanks Sonic Scoop and Brian for this wonderful video!

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks for watching John! I'm happy you found it helpful.

[@jenniferthomas]

Very very awesome, Brian!!

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks Jennifer! You have heard the result of mixing (when I mix your music) - and now you have insight on what kinds of processing I do!

[@jaredstanfield267]

Absolutely amazing! Thanks to all involved. Such a valuable resource.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks a lot Jared!

[@REBELDONOG]

Thank you Mr Vibberts, we do appreciate your time and techniques.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thank you Don! Glad you got a lot out of it....

[@irecki1]

What a great lesson, watched twice already. Mr. Brian Vibberts you’re a Genius.

[@btnonstop]

Yo Vibb. That was fun. Interesting to see the developement/evolution of plugins...Nice Work

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks for watching!

[@okinawajapan1]

Very down to earth, approachable and clear. Than you Brian. I wished all were as approachable as you and so willing to share. I'm going to use that mult vox idea. Sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing the other details as well in different areas of the song and on the mixdown. Very appreciative.

[@brianvibberts6898]

I am happy that you got a lot out of this Masterclass! Please share the link with others....

[@matnrocknroll]

Thank you for this, SonicScoop!

[@brianvibberts6898]

Glad you liked it!

[@1touchproduction]

Thanks to you guys. It was a great time with a lot of knowledge shared.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Yes! I shared a lot from the actual mix session. There was a lot to talk about, hence almost 2 hours. Thank you for watching!

[@1touchproduction]

@@brianvibberts6898 Thanks Brian, its gold

[@truthhurts3479]

This guy was pure gold thank you.

[@davewestner]

Man, I do a TON of automation, but as soon as he got to the bass track I realized that I've got nothing on this gentleman.

[@brianvibberts6898]

haha... Dave! The amount of automation I do changes depending on genre and the recording (acoustic or electric, real player or samples, etc). The manual automation makes an incredible difference. Keep doing what you're doing!

[@davewestner]

@@brianvibberts6898 yes, I do quite a bit, although more on vocal and lead instruments. Bass not so much like that at all......but yeah, whatever works. It's always a treat when I get a tune that needs little to no automation....but that's like 1 in 100. It's so interesting to see the different ways people do stuff. Glad you did this video....was definitely interesting!

[@WildeaboutKipling]

So very good this was. Hybrid mixing on pro tools with a great workflow. Brian seems like such an affable bloke and his plug in list is wonderful for an in the box rookie. I could't help but smile though watching him layer up the drums and the vocals ...when I listen to Van Morrison The Mystic ...probably done on a 16 track studer all in. Different times! Thank you Brian , I know you get my drift...Chris

[@ADVENT_MarkPtak]

Hey Brian - a long road since our Berklee production techniques & mix classes with R. Coxe-Yeldham & D. Van Slyke way back when. 🙂 Glad to see you successful these days. Mix like ya mean it, brother! 👍 Cheers... ~ MP

[@officialDSaro]

Dropping some serious gems here learned a lot especially the vocal bus trick is really interesting and how you use your reverbs and delays great insight and well delivered great job 👊🏽

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks a lot! You're right - a LOT of gems in this one.... it is a very DEEP DIVE into the art of mixing!

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

So beautiful... Thank you very much! Wow, had to add that the more I hear the song, the more I like it!!! Really beautiful, and really beautiful mixing crafting work... A piece. WOW... Kerry Lynne on vocals, I could see. "Other side" But I could not find the song, no matter what... 😞 Was this song published?

[@boomlab3000]

thx to to sonic scoop, mr. coletti and of course mr. brian vibberts, a very sympthatic guy ....for this great content...keep it up!

[@brianvibberts6898]

Glad you enjoyed it Pat!

[@uptobatentertainment]

Great video 🔥💪 lots of gems in this video! He does the whole 9 w summing and clocking etc .. 65% enhance mode is adding a lot plus the 2 dB on the print for limiting.. I know he is only sending that as reference but the enhance feature at that setting will alter the original mix.. he has a great monitor setup so I’m not sure why the need for that much “ enhancement “ ( enhance feature adds saturated harmonics to the mix )

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks - I appreciate it. The enhancement varies from song to song. Sometimes it is 5%, although usually around 15-20%.

[@dpinskey]

Thanks for the tip on freezing the plugins to free up processing. I’ve been doing something a little different where I get the elements of a track sounding the way I want with all of the applied plugins and flavors from external hardware and then route that track to another channel where I record a new track - fully flavored and processed - then deactivate the original track until I might need it again if I might want to change something, thus preserving the original track and saving it from any destructiveness while giving me a new track to use and abuse (haha jk) any way I like but sans cpu robbing processing and allowing my system to operate more freely without bogging down. Granted it adds more track and channels that you must keep organized but if you then hide the original tracks that aren’t being used, then you can lessen the clutter and navigate around better.

[@brianvibberts6898]

Yes Dave! This is an EXCELLENT way of doing it as well. I often do that with external gear. Great technique Dave! (especially having in still there in the session in case you need to go back and change something...)

[@dpinskey]

@@brianvibberts6898 awesome. Means a lot getting validation on a way I wind up doing something from such an über talented pro as yourself 🙏🙏🙏

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@dpinskey We all learn from each other! Happy mixing..... :-)

[@edtcaliber]

Super interesting way to mix lead vocals! I definitely respect it

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks a lot Edwin!

[@BRIANDARNELL]

Fascinating process. Thank you.

[@charlesrobichaud-parahawkm4088]

Thank you so much this is amazing.

[@brianvibberts6898]

You're welcome Charles. Glad you got a lot from this video.

[@ROQSTAR]

Great content and tutorial. Keep it up!

[@brianvibberts6898]

There are so many great Mix Con videos.... I'm happy to be a part of this!

[@etlifeform]

Thanks!

[@brianvibberts6898]

you're welcome Donald!

[@HuffakerBrothers]

That steel guitar is so moving..

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

It's a beautiful song. I couldn't find it anywhere... ...any tips?

[@MrJessebo]

Antelope antelope antelope...

[@Handsomize]

I love this song...

[@funktionwebweb6735]

@11:22 The demo sounded better to my ears. But I guess it wasn't loud enough, and that's the only thing that matters.

[@apriljoy6177]

brian vibberts. wow .

[@CarlosGunX]

At 56:40, the Pultec bandwidth control affects the high band boost, NOT the low frequency..

[@brianvibberts6898]

You are correct. The way I said this seems a bit misleading. The bandwidth only affects the high band boost. The low band has a variable Q (I believe) that changes depending how much the frequency is being boosted. Thanks!

[@INNERGYKEYZ]

How vital is analog summing in acquiring the tonality of this mix ?

[@zip7806]

yeah!

[@stevecarrAB]

I searched "automat" in the comments with no results and don't have time to watch every second of this video nor the other Q&A video. What did you use to write all the "micro" automation moves on such things as the bass gtr subgroup? Thank you

[@brianvibberts6898]

Hey Steven - thanks for the question. I would encourage you to watch when you have the time since there are a LOT of mixing techniques discussed, but the answer to your question is this: ALL of that automation is done manually, with faders (from my Avid S3).

[@stevecarrAB]

@@brianvibberts6898 Thank you for the response and information.

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@stevecarrAB you're welcome!

[@rome8180]

What was the name of the modeling mic? I backed up that section multiple times and still couldn't tell what you were saying.

[@SonicScoop]

Axino!

[@apriljoy6177]

i wish i was your freind. i love this

[@davidasher22]

Idk man.. listening to the initial mix, what is the deal with the music ducking when the kick drum hits? It almost sounds like an EDM side chaining effect. Guess I have to watch the rest of the video but something doesn’t sound right. I wouldn’t think you’d want pumping like that in an acoustic country song. 🤷‍♂️

[@eaccin]

Yep, low end need some tweaking on compression

[@mochs3869]

I was wondering the same thing - listening with headphones it pumps like crazy and you can hear how compressed everything is...wonder how much of that is KZbin....

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@mochs3869 I agree with you - this seems like a KZbin thing. I would not want pumping in the mix.

[@mochs3869]

@@brianvibberts6898 I figured it was. It probably isn't doing that when in your studio :)

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@mochs3869 not at all... sigh....

[@RS-pp7ng]

could ANYONE find anything about that singer or that song?

[@SonicScoop]

Find more from here here: instagram.com/kerry_lynne_music/?hl=en open.spotify.com/track/1SYUKO48q6qoh6veJZDYQl?si=5j3FORiqSm6GONJCaca6cA&dl_branch=1&nd=1

[@RS-pp7ng]

@@SonicScoop thank you!!!

[@brianvibberts6898]

The official release is in the fall. We were very fortunate that she allowed us to use the song before it's release! SOON!!

[@anotyne]

Loved it but I don't understand why he dosen't ride the drums. I started doing it too and it works nicely, why not going all the way "playing all the instruments" ?

[@toneyrockstv]

That steel is so gorgeous. Haunting and so tasty

[@brianvibberts6898]

YES!!! Very well played. Great musicians are such a pleasure to mix!

[@kensmechanicalaffair]

The best.

[@garethde-witt6433]

Nice

[@Jaburu]

how is he able to work with so many genres? I have problems feeling styles I don´t like, like this particular one, or even worse rock music

[@supersonicsroots]

That's what makes great engineer. Open your mind and feel the music, not the style. Essentially, a lot of things are universal. And that's from a mixing perspective, not a producer of course. For example, I could mix EDM but I could never produce it (thank god).

[@Jaburu]

@@supersonicsroots EDM is a good example. let's say the producer wants a heavy compressor pumping on the track. how do you dail it in if it sounds wrong to you? also how do you balance genres that to your ear sound unbalanced in general? It isn't all math (engineering) after all

[@supersonicsroots]

Yes you're right, but I was referring to this as an exaggerated example. This man mixes pop, rock, country and jazz.. not EDM. I could definitely mix all these styles, I'm sure. And I could even mix EDM with some reading into. It's not all math, but a lot of things are easily transferable.

[@brianvibberts6898]

This is a good question. I only mix music that I listen to and understand. I listen to a LOT of different kinds of music (rock, pop, country, jazz, classical, world, R&B, hip hop, more), but as an example, I would not mix an Opera. It's just not my thing. I don't listen to Opera so I don't choose to mix in that style. If I HAD to, I could.... Each genre has it's own "specs". You have to understand what the genre is to mix it properly.

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@supersonicsroots Yeah, this makes sense. A lot is universal as a mixer. Things that are different are whether the kick drum is "above" the bass frequencies or boosted "below" the bass, in different genres. Also - vocal level (louder in pop than in rock)...

[@MannyXO]

The neck pain though? 😬 great insight either way

[@brianvibberts6898]

haha. You must be referring to the computer monitor being elevated - that is due to the center speaker :-)

[@supersonicsroots]

@@brianvibberts6898 and you must have good eyesight as well 😉 But thanks for this inspiring masterclass, loved every insightful minute of it!

[@RedMedicineRecording]

Hi, why dither your drum sub limiter?

[@Seigfreidmusic]

it would have been a good video. if you could hear the playback

[@thaddeuscorea]

I really like the technical explanations and appreciate Brian's hard work,,, BUT,, for me this video is simply not usable. The volume of the music tracks is very very low. There wasn't much point in continuing to watch because I have to adjust the volume knob up and down 20 db everytime you speak.

[@anthonynunez1664]

Why do the highs seem off?

[@brianvibberts6898]

I wonder if there is any strangeness from KZbin being introduced (?)

[@anthonynunez1664]

@@brianvibberts6898 how long have you produced for?

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@anthonynunez1664 I have been recording and mixing since 1991. I started producing around 2000.

[@anthonynunez1664]

How can I make my music better?

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@anthonynunez1664 This is a very general question. As an artist or producer, you should create music that resonates with you and that you are proud of. Listening to your favorite artists also can spark ideas (bringing an older technique back in new music, cool rhythms, vocal phrasing, sounds...).

[@boomish69]

Analog summing :)

[@brianvibberts6898]

Yes, I love my Chandler Limited summing.

[@troyrose6102]

@@brianvibberts6898 great job on this video I know it’s 2years late lol I was curious as to how and where in the chain you are routing that? Now obviously you have a ton of I/o but if you had only 16 channels would you just send it out as groups would that be worth it?

[@TheChrisAvalos]

🤘😎

[@brianvibberts6898]

Thanks Chris!

[@TheChrisAvalos]

@@brianvibberts6898 thank you for sharing your wisdom! Extra cool!

[@brianvibberts6898]

@@TheChrisAvalos I'm glad you found it helpful.....

[@Guitarwizardjoinme]

Over compressing everything. Perfect example of how trying to make everything "brighter, louder, phatter" does not work, especially on a laid back country tune like this. Less is more. Hard to believe this is what "Grammy winning Engineering" sounds like. Wow...

[@brianvibberts6898]

Follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/vibbertsmixing for more conversation!

[@danb1942]

Loving the softsell on the plugs and gear... not much "informative" instruction...

[@brianvibberts6898]

Well, this is not a video that tells 100% of everything about mixing. It would be much longer than 2 hours... LOL I did give a lot of different techniques along the way - probably much more than other engineers show and talk about. Maybe there will be shorter, more focused information in the near future.

[@surgicalaudio8829]

Feeling we are listening through some weird speakers.. this mix doesn't sound good to me (in this video at least..) Also sounds almost mono

[@brianvibberts6898]

It is DEFINITELY far from mono (the actual 96kHz 32 bit mix). I am wondering if a KZbin algorithm is altering it (?) - if so, that makes it difficult for critical listening. - Thanks for watching.

[@wolfhard2420]

Too much pumping on the main bus for my taste

[@musicproductioncentral4540]

That mix sounds like an over compressed mess.

[@surgicalaudio8829]

Agreed.. And unpleasant to listen regarding tonal balance

[@guitart]

Agreed... I like the demo much more!

[@stevebeye1585]

He’s doing a mixing demonstration. A Lot of compression might be used, no?. Please forgive him him for sharing his knowledge of using these things. What an asshole. 😂😂

[@frederickkrug5420]

Yeah Doesn’t sound good at all

[@musicproductioncentral4540]

@@stevebeye1585 He's demonstrating how to make it sound bad? He's not an asshole, but he's not helping anybody either. But the fact that you jump right over to "What an asshole" tells me who you are. LOL