Mixing | Home Studio Corner

Tag Archive: Mixing

Don’t Be a Dumb Bird in the Studio

Birds…they can be so silly.

As can home studio owners.

Let’s see if nature can teach us an important lesson today, shall we?

I was hanging out with some friends one morning last week. As we were talking we kept hearing this “thump” sound.

“So, tell me about the new baby…” [thump]

“She’s keeping us up all night…” [thump]

Eventually figured out it was a cardinal flying into the window on the other side of the room. It would fly into the window, fly away, fly into the window, fly away…over and over again.

And this got me thinkin’ about me…and you…and how we work in the studio.

by Joe Gilder in Mixing • 6 Comments - Leave a comment!

A Boring (But Effective) Way to Avoid Embarrassing Mixes

You know the feeling…

You pop in your latest mix to play it for a friend.

And as SOON as the mix starts playing, you want to crawl into a hole and disappear. “I swear this sounded better in my studio,” you tell yourself.

You start making excuses, trying to figure out why this mix you were so proud of 60 seconds ago is now embarrassing the crap out of you.

We’ve all been there.

Heck, I still go there occasionally.

And sadly there’s no magic pill to prevent it from happening, but there IS one technique that works, although it’s kinda boring.

by Joe Gilder in Mixing • 17 Comments - Leave a comment!

A Case Against “Workflow”

There’s a word out there that I don’t really care for.

I think it’s overused, or at least over-emphasized. (And I’m guilty of using it, too.)

The word?

“Workflow”

I wrote the other day why I don’t think control surfaces are all that important to us home studio folks.

Boy, you should have seen the emails I got back. Some folks agree with me wholeheartedly. Others acted like I was trying to slaughter a sacred cow or something.

Here’s the deal.

Which is more important to you — how good a song sounds or how quickly you were able to finish it?

by Joe Gilder in Productivity • 19 Comments - Leave a comment!

Why Control Surfaces Aren’t Worth It

Get this.

When I used to sell recording equipment, I can’t tell you how many times a “studio owner” would call me asking about one of the big, $10,000+ control surfaces for Pro Tools.

They would straight up tell me that they just wanted it for the look, that they might not even actually USE it.

(In case you don’t know, a control surface is something that looks like a mixer, has faders and buttons, and is used to control your recording software. It allows you to — among other things — move the faders in your software with your hands rather than a mouse.)

I regularly get questions from people wanting to know which control surface they should buy.

My response? DON’T GET ONE.

by Joe Gilder in Gear, Mixing, Recording • 35 Comments - Leave a comment!

Microphone vs EQ

Pop quiz — Which is more important?

Mic placement or EQ?

Recording or mixing?

Boxers or briefs? (Wait a second…)

Got an interesting email from one of my new customers:

Joe, I just recently came across an article from SOS magazine that said, “If the right microphones have been positioned carefully, equalisation is rarely needed…”

He went on to express his concern with this extreme focus on microphone placement. He was worried that perhaps he was doing something wrong during recording if he still needed EQ during mixing.

by Joe Gilder in Mixing, Recording • 13 Comments - Leave a comment!

Recording Wannabe’s

Remember that post I wrote a couple days ago?

The one where I said stealing plugins makes your mixes worse?

(It definitely got a few people fired up.)

Let’s dive a bit deeper into that, shall we?

Some people thought that I was saying that people who steal plugins aren’t capable of learning how to use those plugins effectively…that there’s some magic force field that causes everything to sound like poo.

That’s not what I’m saying.

I’m talking about deeper issues.

by Joe Gilder in Gear, Mixing • 8 Comments - Leave a comment!

4 Ways Recording Music is Like a First Date

Have I ever mentioned that I hated dating?

I was lucky to meet my wife as soon as I did, because I just wasn’t cut out for the dating scene, especially first dates.

But guess what? Recording music is surprisingly similar to a first date.

(Especially if you’re just starting out.)

Let me show you how.

#1. You’re constantly second-guessing your every move, paranoid that you’ll ruin everything.

You can be so worried about getting a great-sounding mix that you inevitably become paralyzed. You can’t decide if mix #47 sounds as good as mix #13, so you obsess over it endlessly.

#2. You listen to bad advice.

“If you open the car door for her, and she the unlocks YOUR door while you’re walking around, then you know she’s the One.”

Umm…right.

It’s the same for home studio folks. You take advice from some random dude in a forum rather than using your brain to try things for yourself.

#3. You put way too much pressure on yourself.

News Flash: The first date doesn’t make that big of a difference. You won’t lose your soul mate forever because you weren’t the perfect date.

It’s the same in the studio. Your mixes aren’t ruined forever if they have some imperfections. (In fact, I’d argue that those imperfections are sometimes the best parts of a mix.)

#4. You spend a lot of money, thinking that it will make a difference.

Look, she ain’t gonna marry you just because you dropped 200 bucks on a lobster dinner.

And whatever shiny piece of gear you’re about to buy won’t make your recordings instantly amazing.

It just doesn’t work that way.

If you want to get better results in the studio, you’ve gotta spend time “getting to know” the basics of audio.

That’s why I created Understanding EQ, to debunk a lot of myths and teach you a proven, simple method for getting better-sounding mixes.

Now dry those sweaty palms and click on over to:

www.UnderstandingEQ.com

Joe Gilder
Home Studio Corner

by Joe Gilder in Mixing, Recording • 3 Comments - Leave a comment!

Why Stealing Plugins Makes Your Mixes Worse

How about a bit of controversy to start off your week?

Got this email a few days ago:

I’m not rich, and I don’t have money for plugins. Me and my friend are working on a project…the plugins we need are about $2,000 each. What would happen if we torrented the plugins and made a song? Would we get sent to jail?

Sigh…

Here’s my response:

—

It’s really a moral question. I personally don’t use pirated plugins because it’s morally wrong.

But there’s a bigger issue here than the question you’re asking. You’re assuming you “need” these $2,000 plugins. I’d be willing to bet you don’t need them at all.

I just finished up a song, and all I used were the free plugins that came with my software. I didn’t use any “extra” plugins at all…and it sounds amazing.

Why? Because I know what I’m doing. I learned the technique of mixing and making songs sound good. Plugins won’t help you do that.

You can buy fancy plugins (or steal them), and your mixes will still sound bad if you don’t know how to USE them.

Hope that helps.

—

Rather than debating the morality of pirating plugins, ask this question instead:

Will these plugins make ME better?

The answer is a big fat NO.

In fact, I propose that the more plugins you have, the WORSE your mixes will get…IF you don’t have a proper understanding of the basic concepts of audio.

For me, it all begins and ends with EQ:

www.UnderstandingEQ.com

Joe Gilder

by Joe Gilder in Mixing • 21 Comments - Leave a comment!