Best learning resources for mixing/mastering

matthewm77

New member
I was wondering what are the best resources for learning how to mix and master properly? I want to learn how to correctly do both because at this point I've just been mixing by ear and what little knowledge I have. Seems to have worked alright but their is a ton of room for improvement and I probably haven't been doing it right. Mastering I haven't even attempted. I haven't got many helpful answers from making posts about it in the past. I find youtube videos and forum posts with little bits of information to not be very useful. Like if there was a more regimented, general guide or something that would be awesome. Thanks!
 
are your studio monitors setup correctly, do you have acoustic treatment in your studio room???
 
Yeah, listening room is vital. If you want to attempt mastering, or hear your mixes in accurate enough a light to be able to apply any really profession processes, then a great listening room, and a set of articulate reference monitors are vital. You don't need to spend thousands, but treating early reflections and bass trapping corners is a great place to start to even out the sound, then use a set of monitors, places correctly in the room.

Here is some EXCELLENT info regarding the subject (obviously you don't need to use Real Traps products, but Ethan is the man when it comes to room design) - RealTraps - How To Set Up a Room

You made an important point - 'by ear'. This is the only way to mix and master. Training your ear is the way. Get the room sounding even, spend time learning your mojitos nuances and move them around the room to get the flattest response, then spend lots of time listening to audio you know through them. Once your ear adjusts to the room and the studio space you are a long way towards upping your game.
 
Sounds to me that you then have at least some experience of listening to what the song needs, and more need to focus on squeezing a bunch of tools and techniques in the back of your head.
Check out the YouTube channel "recordingrevolution", it's a channel that focuses a lot of the different techniques and similar, aimed at the average homeproducer.
Also check out the various mixing/mastering articles by SoundOnSound Magazine.
 
Best way to get it down is by trial and error. Reference your songs a lot during the mixing and mastering processes to see where you really stand. Adjust accordingly.
 
^^^ that is just unhelpful which youtube vids in particular would you recommend - I ask this because my experience of checking out vids shows that there are three levels of quality:

Lowest: those who don't know what it is that they are doing but are using the vid to promote themselves

Medium: those who know something but are unclear in their goal of teaching it via the video medium :they know what they are doing but have no clue as to how to teach it to someone else: vids tend to wander off topic and take much longer than needed or are so short that they do not even begin to scrape the surface of what they are trying to show you

Best: those who are showing a technique within a specific daw for a specific situation; i.e. someone who knows what they are doing and how to teach it in a targeted, time efficient manner
 
As usual bandcoach is on point... The trouble with using the internet as a knowledge base is that there is little or no quality control on what is posted. It's all about your own knowledge and level of research... Just like doing research in an actual library, you have to know how to find and access the relevant information. Just because someone says you should do something on a YouTube clip, doesn't make it true or useful!

To answer your question: the best learning resource for mixing/mastering is to assist or learn from an experienced and talented mix engineer or mastering engineer. That's why up and coming engineers all want to be runners in big studios. The trouble is that those studios and opportunities are few and far between these days as studios are dropping like flies :(

So the next best thing is to find information written or moderated by experienced and talented mix engineers. As an experienced engineer myself, a few of the best and insightful mix engineer resources I have found online are Dave Pensado's Into The Lair on Pensado's Place, or mix tips from Michael Brauer. Not only are these two guys very good engineers, but I also find them to be very open and good at explaining their own techniques.

You could also go down the route of buying a respected book on the subject which will help in different ways, especially in laying the foundations of the theory and methods involved. That will probably cost around £25 - £30 which isn't exactly pricey.

Either way you should be structured about it. Make a list of areas you have problems with and address those through research. Make notes and come up with ideas and things to try. Be pro-active.

Another way is that you can get an experienced mix engineer to teach you, if you can find one and if you have the money. There are special seminars, and even things like Mix With The Masters where you spend a week in a studio with a top mix engineer. Strangely enough that happens to be one of the things I do, so do check out my website ;)

Also look at the blog on my website as a resource, there's a couple of articles on mix techniques on there that may be of interest as well.

Good luck.
 
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