Mixing More Efficiently

[VomitHatSteve]

Efficiency comes with time invested. You can't cut corners with experience and expect to be exceptional. You want to be more efficient but not by overlooking important details. I'm speaking from an artist's point of view. Not a production engineer's point of view. If time restraints are imposed on you, you just have to pull your priorities to the forefront and work from there. You may not have the luxury of time and patients when you're mixing. [Solution] compartmentalize your "duties" within the time constraints you're allowed. Execute each one in the sequence of their importance. Before you know it, you'll be finished with the project with a minimum of frustration, doubt, and self criticism.

I don't think anyone's suggesting not knowing how to achieve a given desired result. We're all just suggesting clever uses of the tools he has available to reduce repeated work.

 

[ashcat_lt]

Shortcuts is a good one too, but it's really where I'm weakest. If it's not windows standard (CTL-A, Z, C, X, V...) or ubiquitous (spacebar for play/pause...) then it just doesn't stick for me. It took me a while to get used to Ctrl-R instead of just R for Record when I switched over to Reaper. Of course, Reaper lets you change all of those mappings, but that doesn't really help with remembering where they all are! I guess if I was paid to sit in front of it all day, I'd probably have it all sorted by now, but I only have so much time.

Reaper also has all that scripting, macro, custom toolbar, extension crap in there which I'm sure can really help speed up repetitive tasks - especially when you're doing the same set of actions in the same order over and over. But again, when I'm in front of it, I just want to get whatever I'm doing done, and stopping to learn how to program the thing to do what I want - even if it will ultimately speed things up - feels like it's slowing me down.

I have thought to keep like a notebook by my DAW where I maybe write down things that I run into while in the thick of things so I can investigate options to make them easier or faster at some other time (probably while I'm at work), but I haven't really done that. I mean, I'd have to stop mixing, go find a notebook and pen...

 

[miroslav]

Efficiency comes with time invested.

That is it in a nutshell.

IOW...the more you mix, the more you develop shortcuts and personal workflow templates and all the things that eventually become your default process. Even if you mix songs completely differently from one to another, and do different styles of music...that personal workflow process will carry over...but it only comes from doing things over and over and over and over, until it all become almost a non-thought process.
When you have to think about it a lot or follow some "guide"...it won't equal efficiency....because you are still learning and developing your personal workflow process....
...and...everyone is different, so what makes easy sense to me, may seem counterintuitive to you...etc.
You just have to create your own version of "efficiency" to works for you.

 

[dobro]

That is it in a nutshell.

IOW...the more you mix, the more you develop shortcuts and personal workflow templates and all the things that eventually become your default process.

Exactly. And two weeks is hardly enough time to develop that workflow and get an album's worth of songs done as well.

 

[Bobbsy]

Here's one that works for me...

Take a break.

When you get to the stage where things just aren't sounding the way you want and nothing you do seems to help, take a break. Go have a coffee. Feed the dog. Watch some crap on TV and don't think about your mix.

A time away can cure listening fatigue and make things you were having problems with suddenly seem to work.

Counter-intuitive I know...but sometimes stopping then coming back to things fresh is a more efficient use of time than trying to struggle through.

 

[dobro]

Yeah, plus one on that. Mike Senior puts a picture of a kettle in his 'how to mix' book and the caption reads 'An excellent tool for recalibrating your ears. It also makes hot drinks.'