I have been struggling with mixing. I spent tons of time trying to learn how to properly compress, eq, limit and automate etc.  My mixes were horrible. sometime I would get lucky and get a good one, but I couldn't figure out what made this one better than others. Spent tons of time watching vids and reading books. Finally, I just gave up and decided to hire someone to mix. so lately I haven't been attempting mixing, just working on tracking. So when a finish the tracking, I use just a very few plugs to do a quick mix to send the singer or guitarist. and the funny thing is, they sound better than anything i had spent hours and hours on. go figure! So is that the trick?  Less is more?  LOL!!!!!

I think so... I have found the same. The more I have tred to muscle the mix the more dead it sounds. Lately I have taken to a more subtle less heavy handed approach with much better results. Also the source material has a huge influence on the mix. Cluttered song/track/recording yields a cluttered mix no matter what. just my 2 cents

Not necessarily, the lesson here is that it is very easy to make a dry mix worse by using plugs incorrectly or unmusically. So less is more if you're not very good at mixing, I suppose. But that "more" in the hands of a professional mixer is likely to make that dry mix sound better. 

Sometimes I'll spend all night trying to make a mix better, and the next day I'll play it back and it sounds like crap. So I strip all of that hard work away and realize that it sounded better when I first started it. Just part of being an amateur I suppose. Sometimes we beaver away for hours in totally the wrong direction 

Whenever you spend a long time slaving over a mix, you begin to lose all objectivity. You can just get "lost" in the mix. When this happens, you need to take a break from it- maybe even delete a bunch of plugins and start again. It doesn't help when you keep trying things and experimenting with particular elements without taking the "whole" into consideration. In any event, whether or not "less is more" depends on the style of music and the artistic aim of the production. When tracking is done well and the performances are great, sometimes very little mixing is needed. The one thing that is certainly true is: More mixing is NOT NECESSARILY better. We've all had the experience of mixing something to death. aint pretty.

I guess I feel like I have all of these tools and I have to use them, and I feel stupid now that I realize just cuz I have them doesn't mean they have to be used. my challenge now will be to determine when to use them and which ones.
 
I didn't really mean that we all should "use less because it's more", was more of a commentary about my approach thus far. I found it funny that I struggled and slaved and the frustration. then when I do minimul stuff, it sounds fantastic. Just a reality check for me that I thought I would share.  

TraceyStudios


I guess I feel like I have all of these tools and I have to use them, and I feel stupid now that I realize just cuz I have them doesn't mean they have to be used. my challenge now will be to determine when to use them and which ones. 
  
  

Which is why i'm starting to think it's a very good idea for me to hold off on buying any 3rd party plugs.

Less can be more..... but the reverse is also true.

The key is knowing what to do, where and when, and by how much. 

I have through the years used as few plugins as I can for mixing. I look at plugins as way to fix a problem. If I hear no problem than no plugin.

I think that when you're composing a song, arranging it, producing it ... what lacks in the end, when you're at the mixing stage is: perspective ... 

It's not that you're able or not to mix it, only someone with fresh ears catches what the mix lacks instantly. 
and you probably are over-focusing on things that are not so important, and don't see what's obvious. (since you know those tracks so well, and become less sensitive about them).

I think that finding a good mixing partner really is the best thing. you keep involved in the mix, but with a distance. 
so in the end, it sounds like you, only better. but hiring a "mixer" ... I would not for my usual gigs, but if I get enough budget, I'd consider someone who can take my music to the point I can't. 

Cheers ! 

V

 

I agree vlab.

I hired a "mixer" because I don't know anyone locally that is into this as much as I am and uses Sonar. I would rather do it myself, however to get to the skill level I want, would require some school possibly, but certainly more learning. and time is a factor. I will continue to work on and learn more about mixing, however with this current recording project, easier and less stress to just hire a guy. He's a pro, and he is also helping me learn, and btw, he offered to show me some of his "tricks", which i thought was pretty nice of him. He knows I will never take any business away from him and that I have a desire to be better at my hobby.  So its a win - win. I get to learn and he makes some money.

I will continue to work at. Thinking about taking some classes, but its hard to fit that around my work scedule. we'll see.  Thanks!