Mixing Made Easy · Meta Mind Music

Mixing Made Easy

Mixing tends to get overcomplicated and shrouded in mystery.

In truth, with the right approach it can be pretty simple, fun and easy.

Let me breakdown mixing as I understand it to simplify the entire process.

Know your @##%

It’s crucial to understand the foundations of mixing. You don’t need to get crazy with advanced techniques and fancy plugins.

You just need to master the basic tools, concepts and best practices.

If you don’t know how a compressor works, aren’t aware of what peak and RMS signal is or haven’t trained your ears to hear EQ changes…

Mixing will always be hard.

If you still need to build your mixing foundations, start there. If you need help with that - drop a comment under this post.

2. Repeatable process

When I mix a track I know exactly what I’m doing and in what order.

Believe it or not, having this type of structure gives you the freedom to actually be creative.

It also stops you from tweaking yourself in circles.

Here’s the process I follow:

Organize your session
Set up routing
Balance levels (rough mix)
Process tracks
Automation
Special effects
Finalize & reference

I dive deep into exactly how I suggest you start you mix here.

3. Focus on what matters

Assuming you’ve got a grasp of the processors and understand how to mix effectively, next is to stay focused on what actually matters to create an impactful mix.

Mixing is partly a science but at the end of the day, it’s an art form.

Ultimately no one will care what type of processors or techniques you use. All they care about is how the music makes them feel.

That's why I use the concept of 5D mixing (because why not) and the acronym VISTA.

I keep these dimensions in mind as I go through my mixing process to keep me focused on the ART of mixing.

1 - Volume & Frequency

I see this as the Y Axis. Most important dimension BY FAR. EQ is like 1000 tiny volume faders for the frequency range. The main focus is carving space for where instruments want to live frequency wise, making concessions for what gets more attention, small volume changes have big impact.

2 - Image

X Axis. Ensure your stereo image remains in phase when collapsed to mono. Use a phase correlation meter. Explore the beauty of stereo sound & panning. Panning is an excellent way to maintain and re-capture attention.

3 - Space

Z Axis. How close or far away something sounds usually do to its reflection content. Frequency & volume also affect our perception of how close or far a sound seems. Exploring depth can really transform your song into a sonic experience.

4 - Time

The first 3 dimension can all change over time, which is the 4th dimension. Usually achieved through automation. You can really breathe life into your mix with subtle automation between the main sections of your piece.

5 - Aesthetic

The actual purpose and focus of your mix. Informs the “why” of the other 4 dimensions. Think about what you’re FEATURING throughout the mix instead of aiming for “balanced”.

You want to enhance the character of the composition and sound of your production. Make it exciting!

Ideally the listener will be guided as to what to focus on throughout the mix but will pick out new things on subsequent listens.

I cover the VISTA framework in depth here.

What's your relationship with mixing like?

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