🎚️ Legendary engineers tips: Manny Marroquin on mental state. "It doesn't matter what gear you have, if your mental state isn't right, then it's going to affect the way you treat the gear and the song itself. You need to get rid of negative or intrusive thoughts, whatever it is that affects your mood, because it will affect the track that you're working on. So you have to be very aware of your mental state at all times". @natemixing

🎚️ Top-down mixing. • What is it? • When to use it? • What are the benefits of it? • What you need to consider? The top-down mixing technique is a method where you start by applying processing on the master bus (the stereo out) before diving into individual tracks. The idea is to set the overall tone, balance, and dynamics of the mix from the very start, influencing how you approach individual elements later on. I use this technique quite often, especially when songs recorded and produced well. It helps to minimize the processing and apply only the things that needed and that lead to a desired result. Here’s a breakdown of how it works and its pros, cons, and best-use scenarios. How Top-Down Mixing Works: 1. Master Bus Processing: You begin by adding EQ, compression, saturation, or other processing on the master bus. This sets the overall character and “glue” for the mix. For example, a gentle EQ boost in the high frequencies can add brightness across the mix. 2. Group Buses: After setting the tone on the master bus, you can add processing to group buses (drums, vocals, guitars, etc.) to shape the sound of each group collectively. 3. Individual Tracks: Once the master bus and groups are sounding close to how you want, you fine-tune individual tracks as needed. Advantages of Top-Down Mixing: 1. Efficiency: This method can speed up the mixing process. Applying broad-stroke changes early on can save time since you might find you need less individual processing afterward. 2. Big-Picture Focus: By starting with the overall mix, you avoid getting bogged down in details too early. This can help you maintain a more holistic view of the mix. 3. Consistency: Processing on the master bus helps "glue" elements together, giving a more cohesive and polished sound from the start. It’s often easier to achieve a consistent tone across the entire mix. 4. Natural Sounding: Since master bus processing affects the entire mix, it often results in more subtle and organic changes, which can be less prone to over-processing individual elements. When to Use Top-Down Mixing: - When You Want Speed: If you need to work quickly, top-down mixing can be a great way to get the mix sounding good early on. - For Broad-Strokes Mixing: If the mix already has a solid arrangement and recording quality, this technique can quickly enhance it without needing detailed processing. - For Experienced Mixers: Those who have a clear vision of the desired sound can use this method effectively to set the mix's character right from the start. Downsides and Considerations: 1. Risk of Over-Processing: Adding too much compression or EQ on the master bus can result in a mix that sounds overly squashed or unnatural. It requires careful listening and subtlety. 2. Less Flexibility: Since master bus processing affects everything, making changes later on can be tricky. If you decide a certain element needs to be louder or brighter, adjusting it might affect the overall balance and require revisiting your master bus settings. 3. Requires a Clear Vision: You need to have a strong idea of the final sound from the beginning. Otherwise, you might end up applying changes that you need to undo later. 4. Not Ideal for Complex Mixes: For mixes with a lot of tracks or intricate arrangements, individual attention to each element might be necessary. In such cases, top-down mixing might oversimplify the process. In Summary: Top-down mixing is a great technique for achieving a cohesive sound and working efficiently. It is especially useful for simple mixes or when you have a clear idea of the overall sonic direction. However, it requires caution, as broad processing can affect the entire mix, making later adjustments more challenging. It’s best used by those with enough experience to understand how master bus processing will influence the mix as a whole. @natemixing

🎚️ Andrew Scheps on mix revisions. "I think, as with a lot of people who do what we do, I'm very insecure about my mixing. When I finally get a mix to the point where I'm ready to send it to the artist, there's a lot of angst involved. I generally don't like anything I do, and I'm sure nobody else will like it either. The adrenaline rush when I hit send on the email with the link to the mix is not all a good one! Then come the mix notes. By definition any changes anybody wants to a mix means that you didn't do it the way they wanted it, which can easily be classified as a failure. What I've tried to do over the years (and have only lately become even slightly successful at it) is to not take things too personally. It's hard because you've gotten the mix to a point where you think it would ready to go out into the world, but the reality is that it's impossible to hear through other people's ears, and there is no "right" way to mix and there certainly is no such thing as a "perfect" mix." Source: Gearspace interview. @natemixing

⚙️ SSL X-DynEQ Nah this is wild now… • Piano Roll View • 24 band dynamic EQ • Per Band dynamic sidechaining And more. @natemixing

You can not neglect the human factor when organizing your workflow. You are not the robot. Try to optimize every process as much as possible. Template, shortcuts, your setup, your environment. Nothing should feel hard and tedious. It directly affects the final result.

🎚️ EQ in key You probably knew, each note has its own frequency. When you do surgical EQ and hear a problem in certain area, want to cut it, consider placing your filter on frequencies that don’t belong to your song key. You can get more musical results. @natemixing

🎚️ Mixing is about the mix When you mixing, you create a composition that will be listened as such. Avoid the temptation to make each instrument sound perfect in isolation. The goal is to have all elements work together well in the mix. Over-emphasizing many individual instruments can destroy the overall harmony and balance of the song​. @natemixing