New mixing techniqe I'm messing with (helpful with ITB!!)

[Steve Henningsgard]

I've noticed, doing more and more in-the-box mixing, it can be really hard to just listen to the damn mix, trusting your ears instead of your eyes. Having read as many articles/forum posts as I have about the subject, it would appear I'm not alone in having this obstacle! Having no control surface other than the one inside the DAW makes it even harder, as you can't really adjust much with your eyes closed.

I came across my solution quite by accident: during a long mix session, I got tired of twisting virtual knobs (head outta the gutters man), so I just went to the beginning of the project and hit "play", turned off the screen and just laid back in my comfy chair, eyes closed. I started drifting to sleep, and noticed that certain elements of the mix made it hard for me to fall completely asleep. So I turned the monitor back on, adjusted those elements, started the song over and turned the monitor off again. I repeated this process a good 4-5 times until I eventually did fall just about totally to sleep. I drove home, came back in the morning and started up the mix, and compared it to where I had started the previous day when I first turned my monitor off. So much smoother/better! I've tried this with a couple subsequent mixes and they've turned out to be some of my best work yet by far.

Anybody else tried the "sleep" method? I'm absolutely certain I'm not the first to try this with success, but I hadn't heard it suggested anywhere else so I figured I'd post it!

 

[eeb]

this is a great idea!!!

I hate the visual mix.. which is why i'd like to switch to analogue mixing but alas! I have 0 monnies for that kind of endevor

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I eventually did fall just about totally to sleep. I drove home

That's the only part that scares me...it could be easy to accidentally mix that order of operation .

Seriously though, the idea of letting the ears do the work is definitely a fundamental necessity. Sure there are some editing/mixing tasks where the eyes are definitely an asset, but not when it comes to actually judging the sound.

When mixing, I almost always close my eyes while playing back, unless I'm trying to ID a specific edit point or to watch specific levels. Unless I'm mixing a John Tesh wannabe, though, falling asleep is not really part of the process .

G.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

That's the only part that scares me...it could be easy to accidentally mix that order of operation .

Haha, fortunately I live 5 minutes from the studio

Seriously though, the idea of letting the ears do the work is definitely a fundamental necessity. Sure there are some editing/mixing tasks where the eyes are definitely an asset, but not when it comes to actually judging the sound.

When mixing, I almost always close my eyes while playing back, unless I'm trying to ID a specific edit point or to watch specific levels. Unless I'm mixing a John Tesh wannabe, though, falling asleep is not really part of the process .

G.

I grew up falling asleep to Metallica & Slipknot: I think some part of my brain is wired to calm down when I'm listening to heavy music. Lucky for me, it's the type I like listening to and mixing anyway

 

[Robert D]

Hey, what a great slogan; "ZZZ recording, our mixes will put your fans to sleep every time".

 

[zed32]

that is actually pretty brilliant, because i too get tired of staring at the monitor, so sometimes i will just close my eyes and LISTEN haha. i gotta try the sleep method, with the monitor off.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

that is actually pretty brilliant, because i too get tired of staring at the monitor, so sometimes i will just close my eyes and LISTEN haha. i gotta try the sleep method, with the monitor off.

Yeah man, turning the monitor off was the big change for me. Closing your eyes is one thing, but when you turn off the monitor suddenly the next easiest thing to focus on is the music!

 

[zed32]

Yeah man, turning the monitor off was the big change for me. Closing your eyes is one thing, but when you turn off the monitor suddenly the next easiest thing to focus on is the music!

it would be nice to have a big control surface though. then mixing with the monitor off would feel much less "in the box"

oh and i like your work steve.h, you are getting some good sounds there.

 

[chessrock]

If your mixes are putting you to sleep ... then maybe you need to spice them up a little.

.

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

There is definitely something to be said for just listening. Lately I've been deliberately using plugins with a lack of fancy graphs. Sometimes looking at eq graphs and numbers for stuff like compressor settings subliminally affects my decisions. Twisting a knob until something sounds right is a better approach.

 

[89gtsleeper]

I like to do most of my mixing at night time, with only a lava lamp on in the studio... It's very dark, but I like it the best. I don't use computers for any part of my recording and I don't plan to any time soon. I like to be able to put my hands on my recordings. I work at a software company during the day, so it is nice to get away from computers at night. I also have a papasan chair in my studio that makes it really easy to relax. To properly mix, IMO, you need to be completely relaxed, eyes, body, brain.... everything. Eyes closed, sitting in the papasan, and listening at a good volume does the trick.