Mixing---How do YOU know when to stop!?

There just has to be a point where you say, okay, good enough.

Just remember, just cause you can, doesn't mean you should. Don't think always, well we COULD fix this, we COULD tweak that. SHOULD you? If it sounds great right as it is, will tweaking it to no end fix what's not even broken? I know some people who don't know when to stop. They get something sounding awesome, then they think, well since I'm on a DAW I can tweak it until it's "perfect", they fuck their entire mix up and make little changes that if audible at all, don't make it sound better, sometimes even worse. Don't mix with your brain, or your eyes, but just your ears...when it hits that point that it sounds amazing in your ears...stop...have a smoke/drink, pat yourself on the back..print to tape/bounce and enjoy the rest of your night.

It'll never be technically perfect, no matter how long you chase after that goal. Just make it SOUND great.
 
Harvey Gerst from 2002 said:
...Try this:

First of all, get away from the track for at least two days if you can. Avoid listening to anything you've done; listen to stuff you like by other people.

Ok, once you're ready to start mixing, try this method: Bring up just your wife's vocal track till it's at a comfortable loudness level. Now, slowly start bringing up the other tracks, one at a time. As you bring up each track, stay focused on the sound of her vocal track. If you bring up a track that seems to make her voice sound a little softer, shut the fader off for that track and go on to the next track, always listening to the vocal track as your reference, killing any track that makes her voice sound softer.

After you've gone thru all the tracks, you'll probably have 3 to 5 tracks shut off. Those are your problem tracks. You'll hafta eq, pan, compress, or reverb them, or leave them off altogether.

But listen closely to what you currently have going. Do you "REALLY" need "all" of those 5 missing tracks in the mix? Does the mix sound stronger without them? On the tracks you absolutely hafta have, put them where they don't cover the vocals, using any of the tools mentioned above. Then take about an hour break, get out of the studio, and come back later and listen to what you have. If you're satisfied, shut everything down, leaving all your settings in place.

Come back tomorrow and listen to it again. Tweak till you're happy, shut down, and repeat again the next day. The day you walk in and you're happy with what you did last night, is the day you have a finished mix.
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..............................................:cool::cool::cool::cool:

Great post.


Really great.
 
wow guys! i've been away for a while and i couldn't be more in awe of your replies! i'm working on a new e.p. of mine where i play all the instruments and it's a little weird. there's two tracks with full band instrumentation (drums, guitars, bass, keys, the like), two with all electronic instrumentation and two with just acoustic guitar and vocals. it's been a crazy challenge to get them all to flow together so this has been a big help! thanks a bunch! :):):):):):):):):)
 
make rough mixes, put them on CD, listen to them while driving, or sitting in a coffeeshop, or walking down the street. you'll start hearing all kinds of stuff and getting all kinds of ideas. make a new rough mix. repeat.

then when you're either satisfied or you just can't take it anymore, do your final mix. changes are one of your rough mixes will become the final.
 
it's a bad idea IMO to obsess over individual tracks. a track can sound great by itself, but it has to fit in the mix.
i always tweak several tracks at once. i do eq, panning, reverb to get a basic rough mix. THEN i finetune. but more and more my rough mixes are becoming my final mixes. it just doesn't pay to obsess over them for hours. most people won't hear the difference anyway, they only hear the finished product. and that's fine.
 
I try to get all the recording done on the first day, mixing on the second.

When the beer is done, I'm done too. :D
 
mikeyhasnobones said:
alright folks, i am definitely looking forward to your replies to this one:
with sooooo many options available to you in digital recording and mixing, how do you know when enough is enough? i will spend all night sitting and fine tuning a guitar sound, then wake up in the morning, sit and listen, and end up working on it more and more. not really making it over processed just trying out different things. just curious to know, where do YOU draw the line? thanks all!
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To a large extent you will most likely never feel like you are finished. But the "enough is enough" point can and will certainly be reached sooner or later.

Usually this involves some sort of deadline. Like a firm release date, or if you are working for hire. It becomes more difficult if it is a personal project and there is no practical reason for ever finishing the recording and releasing it.

In that situation, there are a couple things you might do to reach the "enough is enough" point. One, step away from the recording for a few days, weeks, or months. Then go back to it with fresh ears. You may find yourself more able to continue on beyond it at that point. Two, set an artificial be doable deadline for yourself. Something like "this recording has to be finished by February 10th so I can send it to my family for Valentine's day".

Without an external release date or deadline driving the production, setting your own deadline and sticking to it could be the best thing you do for yourself.
 
SonicAlbert said:
To a large extent you will most likely never feel like you are finished. But the "enough is enough" point can and will certainly be reached sooner or later.

Usually this involves some sort of deadline. Like a firm release date, or if you are working for hire. It becomes more difficult if it is a personal project and there is no practical reason for ever finishing the recording and releasing it.

In that situation, there are a couple things you might do to reach the "enough is enough" point. One, step away from the recording for a few days, weeks, or months. Then go back to it with fresh ears. You may find yourself more able to continue on beyond it at that point. Two, set an artificial be doable deadline for yourself. Something like "this recording has to be finished by February 10th so I can send it to my family for Valentine's day".

Without an external release date or deadline driving the production, setting your own deadline and sticking to it could be the best thing you do for yourself.
Click to expand...

Its best to set an artificial deadline for personal projects if you ever get to the point where you are happy with the sound you've gotten from the tracking phase :(
 
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