Why "Learn To Mix Like A Pro" Courses Are Snake Oil

[@digitaldroo]

For those of you not finding the "join" button, you're likely on an iPhone or iPad right now. Solution 1: join using your computer instead of a mobile device. Solution 2: look for videos on how to enable the "join" button on an iPhone or iPad.

[@alexeytereshonok]

Other possible reason: you're in Russia. (me) lol I'll wait until the course is complete and will buy with a one-time purchase with help of my Kazakh friends

[@ultratot]

Solution 2 is to go to KZbin from a browser (Safari, Chrome, etc) instead of the app. Once on the channel page, there’s an option in the browser settings to “Request desktop site” from the settings menu. Whammy.

[@lunalangton5776]

@@alexeytereshonok it's amazing how these sanctions punish you, the Russian citizen, supposedly for the actions of your government, while they simultaneously tell you that you have no influence on your government because it's 'authoritarian'. Whether that's true or not aside, by their own logic, they are punishing people who can do nothing about it. That's why this makes me mad. Fuck the SSanctions. Wish you the best.

[@iainmackenzieUK]

I am in China (But using VPN) - on Macmini - Tried many ways but no 'join' button - so far. Will keep at it. (tried firefox, chrome, safari, chrome incognito)

[@alexeytereshonok]

@@lunalangton5776 Well, to be honest I'm not mad, it's just a little inconvenient, I wouldn't call it "punishing", kind of a strong word... Piracy is very prominent over here (we have entire forums where moderators check for viruses, sort everything, update versions of pirated software etc., often times it even works faster & better than actual legit versions of software because of the removed anti-piracy code), so regular people don't feel the sanctions much. I, on the other hand, prefer to support plugin developers, so I buy licenses with help of my friends from Kazakhstan & crypto. However, it looks like the main purpose of sanctions (aimed at our government) also didn't work in a meaningful way, I have relatives in Ukraine (Ivano-Frankivsk) and a couple of friends in Kharkiv & Dnipro, so you would imagine how I feel about this whole thing & how I wish for it to end as soon as possible. But, oh well, no end in sight so far. I appreciate your words, thank you, but I don't feel the "punishing" aspect, and 99% of people here in Russia don't.

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

I've watched 1000+ hours of every "mix like a pro" video, every "10 secrets the pros don't want you to know" video, every "10 essential plugins or your mix will be crap" video, and you know what? My mixes suck. My mom says they suck, that's how bad they are. Great video, Dan.

[@Alon21Ashkenazi]

Your mom says it😂😂😂😂 I guess she'll be the first to pay for the course then

[@user-2Hteyasizyc]

Moms are good for telling it like it is. A step in the right direction. A lot more people need to be told the truth.

[@starsmash7491]

Maybe your mom needs to work on her ears???

[@katielowen]

Watching 1000+ hours and never mixing your own songs is sad 😔

[@DaveChips]

It took me 15 years to be happy with myself and my music... I started music when I was 15yo now I'm 33... Just about year ago I started to feel confident to post my music, offer my services to other and collaborate and assist other people. And I still feel 6 months after finishing the project... On random listening... Some "mistakes/decisions" that could be better.

[@dwightdeon2421]

I always liked Mixerman's quote of "Mixing cannot be taught. It can only be learned."

[@EricJohnson-fh8zj]

Practice, practice, practice

[@dwightdeon2421]

@@EricJohnson-fh8zj yup

[@omarg8624]

A.k.a. tacit knowledge

[@natdenchfield8061]

I prefer the quote of "Dunno, It just came naturally to me - I never really had to practice *shrug* " - I hope to find it is my quote in the future .

[@russcontact]

That doesn’t make sense. Teaching versus learning depends on what side of the conversation you’re on

[@N8oRMusic]

To get rid of bad frequencies in my mixes i do the best thing. I throw the entire project in the trash. Rinse and repeat.

[@DrRinse]

There was a "Pro" tutorial that near broke me. I spent 6 weeks mixing it and the mixer kept going on and on about notching out "troublesome" frequencies from guitar cabs. He was notching out 6 or 7 frequencies at 0.5-3dB, plus LPF and HPF. All I could think of was "If they gave this to Andy Wallace or Ross Robinson, they'd have it mixed in a third of the time and it'd still sound awesome". Never again!

[@DrRinse]

@@user-2Hteyasizyc I think his logic was way off IMO. He was constantly cutting 2.5K and 3.5K because they're "always" harsh. They are, but only if you narrow the Q and boost the hell out of them. Plus since our ears are particularly sensitive to 3.5K, it's always going to sound painful in isolation. I agree with you, although the multitracks were an "A-list" metal band IMO.

[@alexeytereshonok]

@@DrRinse It's possible he was hearing some bad resonances even without boosting them, some people are very sensitive to that stuff, and in that case i'd just use a Soothe 2 and make it react to 2k-5k range slightly. But, sometimes that can make the guitars too soft and polite for a metal genre, it's also could be nice to just boost some lows and airy highs instead so that they mask the 2-5k range slightly. I mean, if it's metal i don't mind some resonances.

[@Biffinnbridge]

Come out of the shadows Marvin. Stop being a paranoid android

[@N8oRMusic]

@awardwinningcritique6895 got it 🤘

[@valiokeys]

Here it is guys, my first and probably only channel I'm about to be a member of, and I'm more than happy to be on this particular one.

[@ThreeBeingOne]

Same

[@bluberrykush3912]

Definetly worth it

[@hrmny_]

Also very tempted to make this my first one right now

[@BrailleSounds]

Same!

[@PuRe_AdDicT]

Let’s go!

[@EdwinDekker71]

This is the only chan I let the ads run 100%

[@Luckyrrul]

Nice

[@braunhausmedia]

What ads?

[@Luckyrrul]

@@braunhausmedia Yt ones

[@Harrysound]

It is said that Dan Worrells heart beat is actually a sine wave at 1000hz

[@DanWorrall]

It goes that high when you spell my name wrong...

[@nofood1]

@@DanWorrall😂😂😂😂

[@Harrysound]

🔥 😂

[@abhicrax]

🤣🤣🤣

[@pureventrue2357]

Why does this make me think of old Top Gear's "Some say" intros of The Stig 🤣

[@SylvanPaul]

One of the best ear training tips I ever learned (in an ear training course) is that 1000 hz sounds like a crowd going “ahhh” (cheering). I almost always can get close to the frequency I’m looking for by making that sound with my mouth and then pitching it up/down by an octave accordingly. Makes finding the frequency I’m looking for a lot easier

[@fuzzix]

Hi Dan, been watching your stuff a while -- Glad to see you offering this course. Sadly after years of abuse, my hearing now starts to roll off around the 10-11 kHz mark, so I was hoping for a half-price discount.

[@DanWorrall]

Our hearing is logarithmic. You've lost one octave out of ten, so I can only offer 10% discount.

[@fuzzix]

@@DanWorrall Ha, precisely the response I expected. I'm in.

[@JosephEarly]

Thanks Dan! This exact method you've identified as being bad advice has really been screwing up my mixes by removing all the character from my sounds, and I've really been struggling trying to apply this bad method successfully. It's great to hear this advice from someone like yourself

[@gilesmoss5860]

You've just got yourself another channel member! This sounds like a fascinating aspect of music production to explore and develop skills in, also I really enjoy your style. Looking forward to seeing the course develop. Thanks Dan.

[@fonesrphunny7242]

Best music channel ever. No BS, straight to the point. I set up a basic DnB song, added some fine tuned reverb, a bit of tube saturation and mid/side EQing. Everything I learned here just clicked and it feels like black magic. I also recorded some nice IRs for reverb and they sound amazing. If I didn't have a severe water and moving issue right now, I'd totally become a member.

[@AKAtAGG]

DW just makes every single youtuber 'pro mixing right here' irrelevant. great work.

[@TheLeon1032]

great to hear ur feeling a little better dan, thanks for your teachings dude

[@onnodejonge9636]

The past year I tried to learn to mix, but there are not many affordable courses. On youtube is a lot of information and is a great way to get stimulated. But the information is not given in a structured way and can be incorrect. Your channel helped me to see the incorrect information or bad advice. And I'm very glad that you are now introducing your own course for a reasonable amount of money even for a poor student. I hope the health problem won't be an issue in the future. Thanks for the videos!

[@themotownboy1]

While courses can give one tips and techniques, a course cannot give the one thing that truly makes an excellent mixer, and that is taste. Taste is not really something that can be taught. Either one has it, or at least some sense of it that can be developed through practice, or they don't.

[@romeocastor]

I am glad you decided to make the course. I initially found answers to my mono problems on Fab Filter, from a gentleman that sounds like you. Then YT recommended this channel. I used SPAN to see if I can compare the timbre of your voice with the man on Fab Filter. I am almost positive its your twin brother. I am joining your channel as a result.

[@WesleyGriffin-e3w]

Thank you for not planning on keeping the course behind a subscription plan. For that reason alone, I'll join now to support the creation of this course.

[@Plaqtra]

Im already so grateful for your videos and i feel like i am dodging so much bullshit on the internet listening to all your competent and down to earth advice. First of all that you put it out straight that no technique will ever compensate for your inability to hear what you are listening to in order to make determined decisions on what to do an apply the right technique to do the job. I will sign up for a membership, not in order to bullshit myself into believing i will get some magic shortcut in the reality of actually putting in the effort of training my ears, but simply to express my gratitude! The extra content is a great bonus though and i will look forward to watching them and listen carefully 🙏

[@halpearson4226]

As an old-timer, I would recommend building an effect pedal, then building a compressor or EQ, then a mic. Tweak the design until it sounds like you want it to. EQing a song is no different, but the stakes of each move are orders of magnitude lower - you only lose a few seconds if the move's in the wrong direction. When the moves are costly/significant, you might find you learn pretty quickly.

[@Wizardofvoz2]

Beautiful. I am even more “seasoned “ than you, and we both know that there is absolutely no substitute for experience. I am happy to see that you are doing the ear training stuff, and it’s about time that you charged a nominal fee for your expertise. Btw, I am praying for you and your health issues. I noticed a hoarseness in your voice in this video that I hadn’t heard. Again, I respect you and I am praying for you.

[@rowegardner9673]

I’d easily pay for an ear training course from you tbh. Easy to trust you given your track record of super helpful and informative content.

[@SyntheticFuture]

For problematic frequencies the "sweep and cut" method works quite well. But like you said: you need to identify that a single frequency bit is the issue first. I also like to sweep without boost. This makes the frequency stand out enough Imho. When cutting I really over cut. Then un-solo the band. Go between the eq being on and off. Identify how much of the important information was cut. Then reduce the cut until it feels like I'm not taking away from the instrument but am fixing the issue. Then go back to the full mix. Bypass the eq, listen through the section. Active the eq. Do that a few times until I'm convident the issue was properly fixed. At that point I usually abandon the track and move onto something new and shiny.

[@SyntheticFuture]

Also good to remember that sometimes an issue is two instruments clashing. In which case you have multiple tracks where you can eq. Making it even more fun 😁

[@isaacnewtech]

Hey Dan! I have watched a lot of your videos, and learned a lot from you. Please do bless the world with an ear training course. I am a classical musician, a viola player. I have absolute pitch, I feel like my ears are pretty well developed. I would lovingly pay for a step by step guide by you that helps me use my ears better in a mix and master context. Mixing and mastering are a way of being involved with music that I really enjoy. I feel like my background as a classical musician playing a instrument that can be out of tune, gives me a nice base to start work on

[@pingosimon]

I wish there was a way to just...buy the videos outright. But I hear you on having short patience for the "business" side of things. Maybe I'll wait until at least a bigger set of them is available.

[@FASTFASTmusic]

I love it when you get pristine ready eq'd stems to mix. Really reinforces that mount stupid.

[@rollingrock5143]

When I teach people how to mix, I flat out explain that I will teach them what I know and hope they can fly off on their own. I stress the importance of training by working and studying as much as they can. I also practically require them to watch Dan videos.

[@amunahm3324]

Wow, now I have my confirmation. I used to follow that eq advice and sweep and even followed proQ3 frequencies grabbing function. After couple songs, I quit because it just look stupid to do that. But I saw ppl teach that online, like Sage Audio (well, naming is my style). I feel bad not following their advice, but now you made me feel so released, Dan. Thank you!

[@dothex]

I know how pedantic you are on making the highest quality of audio learning and understanding. So I will be joining your ear-training course because, if anything else you won't put it out unless its the best! A+ Dan... A fucking Plus!!!!

[@bojanzdolsek63]

Paid for "mix like a pro" as a beginner in music production, stopped using it after 6 months... mostly because it was everything everywhere and not from a-z for a beginner like myself. Started listening to my recordings and teaching by myself from "books, manuals etc..." and by listening a lot of others music during this period and trying to identify basic stuff... im far from expert but now i understand a lot of underlynig things and understand how things are working and can make better decisions when producing, recording, mixing...

[@QuestionMan]

Cautious is the most reasonable kind of optimism.

[@critterpurush2684]

To be able to be trained by any this means provided by Dan is really like a gift for us, specially for the new audio engineers! 🌟

[@FritzGillis]

Some other almost correct: 1. Cutting everything below 100hz. The pole on this cut is super important, as well as the "hump". Often the track is already pretty shored up below 100hz and you're just introducing phase 2. Cutting or boosting "air" eq: this actually feels pretty typically like a 2 part story... boost the air until it feels good, lowpass the air until it doesn't feel good. And the third part of the story is that many samples are already pretty hyped, so you might just be running into scenario 1 on the flip. 3. Judge the composition before you EQ: a lot of mixes get bad cause you're trying to eq into harmonics that just aren't there. That's not an eq problem - that's a "these chords aren't big enough/thick enough/interesting enough" problem... if everyone only plays the tonic... probably not going to be worth your "i'm mixing a smash hit" record lvl effort. Its ok - they can't all be winners.

[@RLAYY]

Always a pleasure Dan. It’s also worth mentioning that I have gotten promising results regarding feedback from my music. I still have yet to learn so much. Never in a million years i’d see myself absorbing all this wealth of information. But as I keep going further down this journey. It’s all starting to make sense now. the chance of me doing something with my music is more positive than ever. You know my father was a janitor and he still is. But doesnt work as hard as how he used too. I remember i used to work with him as a kid graveyard shifts. Ppl say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I’d say the hell with their silly played out metaphors. In this case im beginning to realize i might possibly achieve a quantum leap. I should literally be mopping floors rn but i chose not to. I’d choose science over theories any day. :) . Anyways cheers, RL@Y

[@MePeterNicholls]

The general guide to frequency bands given in the book “live sound reinforcement” is a great way you can make you stop and think before you jump on to the eq board. Taught a lot of new church live engineers using this method. Once they got trained in it, they were better than the seasoned engineers at church.

[@neuroxik]

So glad you've confirmed my thoughts that, at least what was apparent to my ears and my going about it, sweeping narrow bells is not the best idea. In my beginnings it made me use up all bands sometimes, having to open another EQ under, and often canceling a boost or cut I had done in the previous one. The next day I'd come back and knew something was off but it was such a mess to repair, when there was probably almost nothing to repair to begin with. Later when I downloaded old EQ emulators (like 1073) I learned less is more, unless you really know what you're aiming for. And as you point out, you could be cutting non-problematic frequencies just because they sound bad boosted 10 dB in a narrow bell.

[@DrRinse]

I studied Audio Engineering to degree level back in 2003. I never really utilised it fully and by 2006, it was way in the background whilst I did other things like working and studying a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Around 2017, I started to look at what was current in the mixing world and was blown away by the advancements. I do subscribe to the “Mix like the Pros” series but like a lot of things, there’s the good and bad. I’ve learnt so much from CLA and his more fun brother TLA, mainly about keeping the number of tracks down to something you can manage. Conversely, there have been tutorials that have been so caught up in the minutiae, they sucked all the fun out of mixing for me and I had to step back and reassess - does the end consumer care about all this tiny detail? Probably not. I think I have a balance now and I’m a fan of Dan Worrall for the same reasons I’m a fan of producers and mixers from my era; Garth Richardson, Butch Vig, CLA, TLA, Andy Wallace - they got good by doing LOTS of mixes / productions, not by sitting there spending 6 hours automating 1dB up and 1dB down on a vocal on a 150-track mix.

[@MattHelm]

Thanks Dan - I just upgraded to a higher membership tier to say thank you and support this endeavour

[@siriusfun]

Thanks, Dan - you're greatly appreciated. Speedy recovery, fella. Cheers from Toronto.

[@Quadr44t]

I'm a total amateur producer. But I think my strongest skill is listening. I think it might be in part due to my way of partaking in feedback exchange channels (Also because I always dabbled in music, and did DJ for like 10 years or so, before really going into production). I won't do it often, but when I do, I always go all in with feedback. Usually even throw it in a daw, sync/set correct time signature, and label my comments with bar numbers (if it's gritted anyway). I figure it really is win-win. You train your ears, sometimes get inspiration, broaden your horizon genre-wise. And the one receiving feedback always is very happy for the detailed thesis it ends up being. Edit: In fact, I am so confident about my hearing (recently I stood next to a live mixer and every time I was thinking, there is something wrong, you should do "this", he was already doing "this" to adres it. It really was an ego boost) that I am thinking of applying for voluntary work at this nightclub. To do the live mixing at gigs in the weekends sometimes. I really am confident I could learn this, and I heard they do offer a course for it, and that they are in need of new audio peeps. Lately whenever I am at live performances, I can't help but consider/judge the mix. Maybe the time is right, and I should jump into it.

[@ThomasProbyn]

I know the point is about listening before you EQ - but - I was always confused by the "boost and sweep" advice. I Can't remember where I got this alternative advice from now but it was to instead make a CUT and sweep that about. It can be a lot easier to work out what frequency band(s) are essential to the part's character in the context of the full mix, as it becomes noticeably obvious whenever they disappear -the part just drops off the radar. And when you sweep the cut across the clutter that doesn't need to be in there, the mix can sound more defined quite suddenly, almost surprisingly so sometimes. Perhaps I'm missing some obvious problem with this method but I find it quite useful.

[@mttlsa686]

When someone ask me what's my favorite plugin I always answer THE EQUALIZER. It's incredible how a tiny cut in a specific frequency of an element can open up the sound in another range of frequency of another different element and make the entire mix to breathe, thanks to a slight phase shift in the right spot.

[@Joshua_Griffin]

Thanks Edit: Someone recently mentioned that you should start a course, I'm glad to see it

[@cholkymilkmirage4984]

the dont entirely work. They all taught me a alot, led me towards what concepts to learn, and what drills to run. Jason Joshuas master classes on mix w/the masters helped tremendously, so many videos on helped me tremendously, and running drills on sound gym helped train my ears. If you want to learn you must be open and walk the path, it shall illuminate as you go.

[@seanvickery145]

Sounds fair. I'm guessing I'd find these ear training videos very relaxing, which is my main reason for watching KZbin, so I'm considering signing up.

[@lee_iz_free]

at the same time, your even most casual videos are a masterclass in extrasensory or metaphysical eq-ing* *a process which balances vibes between speakers, a speaker and a listener and then of course listeners whereas all of them feel and act invited and in a purposeful and proper place which naturally radiates itself into finest harmonics of logos and "all senses on overdrive"

[@Keroser1983]

I strongly suggest to have a one time purhcase option in the future. That would good to have.

[@DanWorrall]

That is the plan.

[@martianritch]

Nice to see a realistic possibility of a realistic course that can help enthusiastic people get there quicker than they might. Wish I could have had this available. Still not there, but after 30+ years of learning (self taught) I would have (literally) killed for this course!! (perhaps not ABSOLUTELY literally) but what the hey. All the best Dan. You seem to me to be an absolute gent. Hope your health improves.

[@SteveGietz]

I imagine Dan's free content has helped countless people (including pro engineers) to add a few more tools to the kit and improve their mixes. I think it's about time we pay the man a little extra for his invaluable advice! Thank you Dan 👍

[@cjthomasmusic]

This title and topic applies not just to mixing but just about every “How to” course on the internet. Usually just regurgitating cheap online “tips” with the promise of secrets to success. While forgetting that time and experience is the best teacher.

[@PeterJensen7]

I don't do the peak sweep thing very often, however it is useful as long as you've become able to recognize whether it's revealing something that should be notched out or whether you're just hearing the filter itself. Which is most of this after you've learned the basic technical tools...what does "right" sound like? And sorry, I don't think "learning the role of each frequency to a sound" or "learning to identify clashing frequencies" is going to help people with that. That's like learning music theory before learning composition...a wonderful approach for teachers to completely block up their students to the point the student will need years of additionally confusing instruction. Rather I think referencing material people pay good money to hear and trying to match it is a vastly more fruitful approach...and also free. There are of course lots of tricks to mixing music...and I change the ones I use nearly entirely at least once a year for the last 40.

[@ElectroPanPipes]

Dude is not only the best teacher, but a totally fair dude with pricing. Nice one

[@gcpullup1]

GWS, the information that you have shared over the years has me in no doubt I see your channels value. Thank you for the opportunity to learn more.

[@gossamyr]

I need to wait til the cub goes back to school, but I intend to join. A great teacher has an edge, for the impression made is deep enough to hold the knowledge and it becomes treasure. I still think you should do the book thing. Like an encyclopedia of frequencies kinda thing, not an A to B to C, but the spectrum of sound in numerical dictionary format.

[@paveltalatay2629]

**sigh** I guess I'll have to wait for the complete course since YT membership is not available in my country. Looking forward to it. As always, thank you for staying true to the mixcraft without "10 tIpS fOr GoInG zErO tO pRo" BS that's littering the platform.

[@semyonboyk0]

Got it. Saturation tier, here we go.

[@velvetsound]

I am now a member just to get this course! I do live engineering and it’s tricky to do this stuff “in the heat of battle”… aka during the first song of a set.

[@GammelfarMusik]

Sounds all fair to me. So I jumped in to my first channel membership. Thanks for your amazing no-nonsense vids ❤

[@RC-1290]

Sounds like a fine approach. If you need a different platform at some point, it will become clear by itself anyway. If you run into too many bugs with the platform, or don't like the cut you get or something.

[@meffcio]

Dan, have you seen the ZL Equalizer plugin? Seems to be really feature-packed for a free Pro-Q alternative, but it almost seems to good to be true. Could you perhaps make an analysis like the one you made with TDR Nova?

[@artysanmobile]

Some of my favorite mixers have very little technical understanding. They intuitively know the balance that makes a feel, and can’t be bothered to care why. Primarily, I’m talking about musicians. I’ve learned a lot by spending some quiet time with them. A very famous salsa performer showed me how to find the volume of the cowbell, and I’m being serious. It changed my ability to mix salsa forever. It is the most important instrument in the band and finding its volume unlocks the secret of salsa’s amazing polyrhythmic and harmonic fundamentals. It took all of 60 seconds. My mind was blown and I owe him forever. EQ? Panning? Effects? Pfft! Surely you jest.

[@Globularmotif]

Fair. You're a proper gentleman Dan. Thanks for all your advice over the years, by far the most useful and honest I've had on line by far...🤘

[@Bittamin]

I’m always here for Daddy Dan 🎉

[@wazzpqazzza]

Advice if you do make a platform separate. Pre sales. Pre sales, advertise and sell a set amount of pre-sales at a discount *before* you are finished. It shows the interest you already have, ensures sales and profit and offers those who really want the course an incentive. Plus it makes you more motivated to reach your deadline. It is silly not to do a pre sale.

[@ThePhiCode]

This is the best news of the year I heard so far, I signed up immediately wish you a quick high frequency recovery

[@srrrb5953]

oh my. thank you for the courses. I cannot pay for subscription for now but if you make your courses accessible with a one time fee. i will start saving up

[@Squeeky42069]

Long time "analog" musician which sees this sort of thing when learning instruments. That's how I ended up on your channel, cuz I couldn't understand it, but you spoke about it effortlessly. So it was obvious you're legit. That and you don't try to sell me shit other than fabfilter, but cuz you actually like the tool I have 400 hours in reaper in my 40 days of trial time, thanks for all the help

[@qyu]

Just bought the first tier subscription and also been binge watching the mix feedback videos. It's cool seeing topics you've mentioned in passing that haven't gotten a main video yet like the difference between reverb and eq, alongside such consistent wording of topics you've brought up before. It actually feels like Dan Worrall DLC, which I guess is what memberships are. Very excited for the training courses!

[@natdenchfield8061]

Dave Pensado has an interesting couple of In The Lair episodes sweeping a low shelf and then a high shelf and listening to how the character of things change in a track .. Something for folks to search for.

[@edgriggs3544]

Thanks for soliciting our input. I'm looking forward to this. Is our first assignment to correctly identify the fundamental frequency of that Fab Filter guy's voice? 🙂

[@iantanner7579]

I'm certainly no professional, but I've been messing around with outboard, mixing desks, synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, etc since the mid 80s. In response to the old, - narrow boost, sweep frequency, act accordingly, - I never found it that useful. But, doing it in reverse has helped out occasionally over the years, especially in the beginning, - that is, sweeping with a mid to narrow cut, and listening for the sound to improve, or even finding where it sounds best, then raising the gain. I also found experimenting with old graphic equalisers useful in the beginning too. Like I say I'm no professional, but I've never wanted to sound like anyone else either, - although I have always valued the production work of people like Jack Dangers, King Tubby, Teo Miller, Arthur Baker and similar. Personally, as it's only a hobby for me, an expensive hobby, I enjoy the journey much more than the destination. Obviously, I doubt any of my approaches would be valid in a commercial setting, but as someone who has always lacked confidence, I would say I'm very confident using EQ, Compression, Reverb, etc, - sure I've read loads of books and magazines over the years, but only in the context of getting my own sound, which I guess is a kind of heavy, Post-Punk, Dub, Electronica. god bless

[@bmc2266]

Take care of yourself first Dan! Will take membership for sure. Have a good one!

[@zionjaymes4415]

I'm calling it-- the magic guitar frequency is 6khz (well, for hi-gain guitars at least)

[@carldubcats3385]

ha ha ha. I have been using compressors badly for years but getting great sounds out of them. Dark Side of the Moon was made with a few hippies using some gear they had not been trained how to use but they had a vibe and they could get interesting sounds. They played instruments or drums and had some great guests on that album but the crazy sounds and fx they got out of the equipment they were experimenting with was awesome. At the end of the day Dark side of the Moon was pretty good and even if it had been mixed by Alan Partridge up a pear tree with bad compressor settings it would still have sounded like an interesting album. I thought Dark Side was actually mixed quite well but when you have such a great album with such great vibes, great guests and great translucent rainbow flavored nachos involved it becomes difficult to think. To go back to my original point, it becomes whatever you think about and just to clarify, all that you seek and all that you tweak will be your compressor sound of the week. Avoiding the attack and getting the perfect release, dialing in threshold to keep the transients at peace. The saturation that you have done and all the EQ that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune as your compressor knee is the shape of the outside of the moon. Great video btw

[@Quadr44t]

1:30 yeah, like 5 years ago, when I finally really committed to diving into music production, I followed that advice. It very quickly became clear that it just is a receipt for a wonky mess that's totally fucked phase-wise. Always the only right choice is to delete it and start over. And preferably fix shit in the stem, sound design/recording/composition stage, than the mix, if need be. I guess that is one of the perks of stubbornly doing it all yourself. Tbf, all stages of music production are interesting to me, and all have their impact, and influence what choices you should make in other stages. And it becomes this whole ping pong thing. Sound design, mix, composition, mix again, sound design again, back to mix, etc etc etc. It all very dynamic. And I like variety. Both in my work, but also, clearly, in my hobby.

[@JuiceNZ]

uncle Dan is absolutely right! , if u sweep around without firstly knowing what you are looking for then you are heading for a disaster. I always laugh when I see people telling others to use that method😂

[@StormbreakerYT]

First step for good mixing is getting good headphones . I see a lot of people buying cheap headphones that are unbalanced . If you try to mix with these you’ll more likely try to attenuate the unbalance of your headphones not the mix itself

[@dokertimusic7934]

Hi Dan, I’ve always enjoyed your product demos & recently came across your 4 fundamentals of a good mix - excellent offering. I rushed to your KZbin channel to spend my Friday night nerding it up on frequency recognition, only to be told I couldn’t access the content because I wasn’t a channel member. I can’t find any way to become such a thing either… I’ve subscribed to the channel, am I missing something basic as a non KZbin afficiando? Best, Dave

[@DanWorrall]

There should be a join button somewhere. If you're on an Apple device you'll have to use a browser rather than the YT app. Or you may be in a part of the world where memberships aren't currently supported? I will put it on other platforms in future, I'm just focused on getting more of it finished first.

[@dokertimusic7934]

@@DanWorrall Thanks for your swift response. I am indeed an Apple user - but I see no need for pistols at dawn ;) - I will use my browser. Keep up the excellent and refreshingly honest work 🙏🏽

[@Yuusou.]

Good luck with your health. I'm also improving on that same front for the same health issue, mostly relying on homemade yogurt and psyllium husk drinks. It helps to keep my shit together ... literally.

[@gurumajuindonesia]

Soo many people forgot before they mix, there are good musicians who can record properly, and music arranger that creates amazing music arrangement, most engineer will say “a good arrangement will mix itself” .. that’s why I never trust any mixing course especially those who only do small things when they mix. In DW we trust!

[@DelphinidaeZeta]

love the quotation marks around your logo

[@dash8518]

Just became a member, looking forward to learning.

[@PopularBeatCombo]

I tell students all the time: stop sweeping around,. By the time they think they got it, their ears are mush and they are no longer really aware of what they were looking for in the first place. Listen and learn. Good one. Its insanely annoying that I never hear any one say that. Several thumbs up.

[@karllindberg]

Dan! You are grounded in facts - that is what made me follow you! Keep at it!

[@abstractdrumz]

I would definitely be up for buying the whole course with a one-off payment 👍

[@DanWorrall]

Ok. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.

[@maqimusic]

I'm in. Thank you muchly, sir 😎

[@popsarocker]

I'm not a huge fan of subscriptions, but I'd gladly pay an upfront fee for a package of these videos (probably somewhere between the yearly accrued amounts of the saturation and compressor tiers)

[@alexanderff6272]

Hey Dan! idk if u have it on ur channel but theres one important thing on a way to good mix. so ez and so important. yeah u have to eq all the sounds but aswell u need to control and usually automate its volume fader. thats it. noobs always trying to put hella tonn of VSTs on group channels to get it sounds better, but it just needs to be adjusted by volume. adjusted by +/- 1 db. need to find that spot. when -1 db drown ur sound in mix and +1db makes it stick out. and theres no any plugin that will do it for u ;)

[@alexanderff6272]

"oh cmon man. its such a prim stuff no need even to talk about it. they know it" - No! they fckin DONT XD

[@duncanmcneill7088]

I'm a great believer in the 10,000 hours thing. It took me a couple of decades to really learn to "hear" and unfortunately I've now lost (at least) the top octave. But experience and having good people skills goes a long way (and having a spectrum analyser on you phone doesn't hurt).

[@AstronautLoveTriangle]

I love the way you used actual quotation marks to approximate finger air quotes.

[@DanWorrall]

Comic sans, to troll the font police with an eye for details.

[@karllindberg]

Technicalities are not what sounds good, but it is great to know in order to learn ones brain to know what to listen for!

[@arkhemlol]

It's amazing how little people talk about the importance of ear training for ANY musical activity. Any study of music should begin with ear training, because it is almost pointless to study music theory (harmony, counterpoint) without corresponding harmonic sequences (and to lesser extent intervals) internalized by then. You will understand the letters, but you will not understand the whole text. I was surprised (not really) to learn that this is also important for mixing!👍

[@TheMinecraftlika]

Hi, I just wanted to say kudos! for considering all membership tiers for your course. Keep in mind that not everybody earns the same, which would enable me, as a student, to lastingly participate in this course about a topic I really care about. If I had the money, I'd go for the 30$ cause you're rad, and I think whoever is able to afford it will think and do the same! cheers buddy.

[@TheMinecraftlika]

PS, I'm actually studying media design and about to do an internship in the field of music/sounddesign, and try to learn actual valuable stuff and get hold of a career in there - sucking up as much of knowledge as I can rn!

[@mixalistoptsis2522]

Hello dan ! Can you make a video about fields and binaural ? Explain why Class-A sounds infront of the speakers and tube sounds behind of them . Thanks

[@chrisvanloo1007]

I might sign up once there is more of them available. I like bingewatching

[@BrailleSounds]

Dan you’re the best. So happy to hear this. Signing up!

[@kirkegodfrey414]

Wishing you ALL THE BEST health and GO YOU GOOD THING!!!

[@sword-and-shield]

Dan dropping the bombs exploding with knowledge...again.

[@ianrushmore3946]

Fantastic deal, Dan, thank you! Joined. I'm a happy Worrallite!

[@MichaelDowComposer]

It's also very possible that some people just aren't as good at some things as others.... And never will be! Some people just get it, and not only do they get it, they have got it!