The SECRET of my MIX - Ken 'hiwatt' Marshall

[@groundtodust]

Dude! Thanks so much for answering my question. I really appreciate it.

[@groundtodust]

@sean grant I'm the early stages of a new EP, so nothing really from that to show yet, but it's a remix/b-side follow-up to the album I put out last year: groundtodust.bandcamp.com/album/hypernothing

[@jackalberson8729]

@@groundtodust this is great, man! Throwing this on the Bandcamp wishlist immediately!

[@roo288]

"Room for everyone, including you" thank you! Always an inspiration.

[@Trig242]

When I was in recording school I once asked about what I called a "Creative Engineer". Meaning someone who was more involved with the production, though not a producer. Needless to say I got some odd looks at the time from my instructors. What Ken does is essentially what I was talking about. Using that experience and earning that trust to make positive changes for/with the artist

[@jackalberson8729]

Definitely! I love the potential for the producer-as-creative-collaborator. Not in a way that might dominate the creation, but someone who can work sympathetically with the artist and also contribute something beyond a little EQ and compression.

[@cloud9savagehenry]

HiWatt your constant energy is truly inspiring. At this point I compose/record/mix edit all my own work. And I'm still way at the bottom for quality. But the one thing I take from this is to always be excited about the process. Like when you're a kid and you learn that first chord on guitar. It's a great feeling. And that guitar stays with you the rest of your life. I never would have dreamed I'd learn to program and produce my own work. Stay excited about production everyone.

[@jasonchambers6787]

I think if you take those risks, push those limits, you come in to your own as a brand. I mean, your work, to me is not just a mix, it's essentially mixing, re-mixing and co-production in one package. If you want a standard mix, anyone can make a pretty correct albeit unremarkable mix if you have the ear for it and any mix engineer should have those skills to one degree or another. Now when you have a brand as a mix engineer, artists come to you because they DON'T want a generic standard mix, they want a Ken Marshall mix. That is how you make a name for yourself, though there is certainly nothing wrong with being the person that just sets the levels and pan knobs, the key difference is your willingness and competent ability to make great choices to support your client. That is what's called "going above and beyond" and makes you worth every penny you charge. I am continually floored by the A/B comparisons in these videos. You literally turn lead into gold in some examples. Just outstanding talents!

[@InvisibleASPS]

Great video. You do a lot of A/Bing with your original vs. the mixed tracks, which is very insightful. I'm curious if you have, and if so, what tracks you use get your ears ready for mixing and use to A/B against as a benchmark of where things should be? And then, do you you use your own tracks or someone else's?

[@nikht0]

I am so glad to hear it isn't just me who has pissed someone off by making changes that I thought were vast improvements. I once mixed a demo track for a friend. I spent a couple days replacing their simple drum loops and fake bass with much better samples and a real bass I recorded myself. I also cut the song down from 5 minutes to 3 by removing two repetitive verses and choruses. The song and mix sounded SO much better. But when they heard it they were so upset they actually unfriended me, despite the fact I did all of that for them FOR FREE. I thought I'd made a big mistake, so seeing this video has put my mind at ease.

[@projectnemesi5950]

You did and didn't make a mistake. You need to discuss big changes with your clients. Changing the length of a song is a big deal. In EDM music, it can make the song unplayable at festivals and clubs, because you need extra time at the beginning and end of the tracks for DJ's to beat match properly. (thats why trance tracks are so long, transition times are a big deal at music festivals). I wont deny that the song was probably way better though.

[@nikht0]

@@projectnemesi5950 I understand that in the context of a professional relationship. But in this case it was a friend who asked for feedback and help. I didn't say "this is how the song MUST be", I did all that work to simply demonstrate how it COULD be. And they flipped out at me, which I thought was selfish given that they specifically asked for help to improve their song. Having said that, given a similar situation I would ask first. But then again that horrible experience seriously bummed me out and made me leery of future collaborations. Thanks for your input.

[@magusreaver]

@@nikht0 some people ask for help, but what they are really saying is "just tell me this is correct".

[@nikht0]

@@magusreaver I know, and yet I still don't get it. You want to record shitty-sounding overly-long songs that nobody wants to hear? Have at 'er. But if you truly want to get better then you first have to be honest with yourself. I dunno. Maybe the fact I am super critical of my own art and push myself really hard to get better is why I am better off working alone. 😉 Thanks for your reply.

[@Pete_Logic]

Holy HiWatt!! I hold this as gospel ! Thank you for the pure honesty! You are beyond real brother! Thank you Sonic Sensei!!

[@pseudonym9238]

The part where you talked about learning by "winging it" really resonated with me as someone whose ability to play instruments and produce music is largely self-taught. It can sometimes feel overwhelming that there's no one correct answer on how to do things but I guess that's the beauty of it - you're free to experiment until you find out what does work for you. Keep up the good work Ken, love your videos!

[@ElectronisoundsAudio]

LOVE what you did to that first mix example! You got the music right where it needed to match that vocal! BOOM! 😀 👊

[@jackalberson8729]

I'm almost never where I can comment when I watch these (read: the KZbin app on the cable box) but wow, Ken! This is such an amazing resource. Your insights are really helpful in my own production decisions, definitely. Thanks for sharing what you've learned.

[@marshallpotter818]

Excellent video Ken. Sometimes I think our band throws too much into the mix too soon. We could benefit from an expert producer helping us with our arrangements. Blows me away how good your instincts are. Amazing work on those productions!

[@patbreacadh]

“It's not about the Hi-Hat” -- now that's a statement that resonates with me.

[@tonyduncan4416]

By far the best video you’ve done to date!! Very inspiring!! So let me ask this question... when one is doing all the mixing and arranging, how do know or how self measure your own arrangement?

[@nichttuntun3364]

Yeah, this is a most interesting and inspiring channel. Very glad you do this your way. Stay safe and sound.

[@maxmatson1578]

Some of the album's you mixed. I would love to know how much you had involved with the arrangement. Most particularly skinny puppy "last rights" And download's "eyes of Stanley pain". I love the Deep sense of control chaos, that feels like it's un quantize yet in sync and a rabid and feral sense of rhythm. Track like last lights "knowhere" and Stanley Payne's "Collision"🎹🎧💫😵 BrAp oN!!¡!✋

[@slowfallwithus1250]

Great advise and super inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge - your work is incredible :)

[@jacka55penguin]

Another awesome Sound Bite Ken. So where do all these collaborators meet up? If any of you read this comment, is there a Facebook group or something similar where we can meet each other? I feel like an island out in the middle of a vast ocean.

[@jackalberson8729]

I agree with @ArcaneAudio Discord is perfect for this idea!

[@stonejudas]

Another awesome video! Thank you, sir.

[@BinauralBae]

Thank you for this video. It was a much needed kick in the ass.

[@testube]

Thanks, Ken, for this insight. One of my biggest challenges is that my raw working mix gets me super excited but when I go to "master" to make the mix translate into various environments I find that it sometimes kills that initial special feel.

[@Distracted93]

Cool session, Hiwatt

[@Atatsounds]

You are so inspiring!

[@hiwattmarshall]

Thanks stefan, so are you my friend! It’s such a big deal that you stopped to share here, and I appreciate it very much 🙏 Stay safe, and have a great weekend! -hw

[@tonynekrews]

Your seemingly endless enthusiasm and energy are truly inspiring. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@ransbarger]

Great content! Great job Ken.

[@andreassandberg9336]

Thanks for another great video! This inspired me to dare more! :D

[@yorkie_pudd]

I feel arrangement is everything, sometimes something as small as moving where the vocals come in can make a huge difference

[@rolandmarckwort]

I think you draw the line as far as "treating the project for what it is" and a lot of that goes with styles and genre.

[@jamespingel8730]

That's really helpful for me. I make mostly deep house, sometimes ambient, so while I'm not beholden to verses, choruses and such, arrangement and coming up with a sensible track structure is still the thing I struggle with the most after doing this for five years as a hobby. I'm happy with my mixes and masters (always looking to get better, but happy with where they are), could use a little work on my sound design sometimes, but I can still drop a real stinker if I don't think and re-think my song's structure over and over. Anyways, love the channel and the vids, keep it up.

[@haujobbperfect]

This is a really great post this week. Your ability to pull out and introduce emotion into electronic music is top notch! I love the honesty. How often do you send something back?

[@bandcontroversial]

I'm going to give it one more go to ask you if I can send you our latest CD. I'm looking for people to mix the next one. Cheers!

[@redmondartwork]

"a bunch of tracks...playing them all at once" ive noticed that about myself..fixed my own shit. .but hearing it said in that way explained exactly what my brain was dissolving shit into. i havent watched all of your videos yet... heres my Question- do you think a lot of these mistakes, crowding tracks etc, comes down to ear fatigue? ive noticed if i let songs sit for a little while i can go back and hear it differently. and wonder WTF i was thinking. and realized i wasnt thinking anything. just creating. kind of like...some writer said "first you write, then you edit" ...just curious about your or anyone thoughts.

[@jasoncombs3232]

I can do so much with so little, that now, I can do anything with nothing.

[@clonn]

Hahaha, that face says it all.

[@jackalberson8729]

I almost *died* at that point in the video. Belly laughs. It was great.

[@NOJUSTNOALWAYSNO]

I came to your channel looking for help in making my own music, not originally from a producer/engineer perspective but as a hopeful musician trying to find some advantage (or guidance) in making more diverse music. Much of the (PT and FLP) tutorials on YT are EDM/Lo-Fi/Hip Hop/Trap and House, etc. specific. Whereas that same information is applicable it is still very genre specific. There is an extreme dearth of Industrial music... it was the keyword Skinny Puppy that brought me in. I've seen other channels taking subscribers submissions and giving feedback, so... I guess what my question here is. Would you be willing to do something similar? Listen and give some 'shoot from the hip' feedback, real feedback. These late night bedroom studios can only give back so much in their growth. I appreciate you and what you do, and I'm grateful.

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

Mustard?