# Thoughts on Dennis Sands' Mixing for Composers



## Stephen Limbaugh (Dec 7, 2020)

https://mixingcourse.com/mixing-for-composers8h87hu7?gc_id=11683025936&gclid=CjwKCAiAwrf-BRA9EiwAUWwKXsXPPjcHk5bqbwapaMcbZjeQCTBRyjTVzmcirvJdIlYmTzPDq7UftRoCj2AQAvD_BwE
Anyone try it? Was lucky enough to work with him a couple years ago and couldn't have been a nicer guy... not to mention, an incredible talent.


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## method1 (Dec 7, 2020)

It's pretty cool, the main thing I got out of it is that he is a minimalist & gets a lot of mileage out of basic technique. The course comes with a bunch of additional perks including live chats with the man himself.


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## Henu (Dec 8, 2020)

I actually bought it today due to this tip, so thanks a lot! I'm not generally very keen on taking online courses but as I've been wanting to take a glimpse on Dennis' work methods for a long time, I couldn't resist the offer.


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## Fillup147 (Dec 16, 2020)

@Henu so what do you think about it so far? I’m contemplating on getting this or one of the Evanent courses. What are your thoughts on this course so far?


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## Dominik Raab (Dec 16, 2020)

So, I don’t have any input on the quality of the course, but how scummy is that site? Sorry if I’m a bit too ferocious with the whole “ethical marketing” business. It’s really blowing me away how they’re trying to FOMO me.



> JUST $197 (instead of $1.067)



Never mind the thousands separator that shouldn’t be a decimal point in English. Anything with that kind of a discount instantly makes me suspicious.

And that timer?



> Ends on December 16th (Wednesday) at 6:07 pm PST.



Refresh the site in a different browser or clear your cache, and suddenly:



> Ends on December 16th (Wednesday) at 6:09 pm PST.



Huh. That timer is *always *exactly five minutes. How … odd. Or should I say “manipulative”?

No hate for Dennis Sands, obviously, but miss me with that kind of marketing.

Don’t some people on VI-C have a bit of a hate-boner for Spitfire Audio’s marketing? Shouldn’t this trigger a 4:58 minute hate climax, then? (Two seconds to spare to purchase before the timer runs out, yay!)


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## Fillup147 (Dec 16, 2020)

Haha yea I know what you mean. I kinda want to do the Evanent course on Cinematic music cause not only does it teach mixing and mastering techniques, but also creating melodies and some theory and other things so idk which is better. But idk cause it’s $399 -_-


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## IFM (Dec 16, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> So, I don’t have any input on the quality of the course, but how scummy is that site? Sorry if I’m a bit too ferocious with the whole “ethical marketing” business. It’s really blowing me away how they’re trying to FOMO me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's basic marketing and it works. When I use timers they are based on certain factors and if it is when you first visited then yes doing what you did can reset the timer. Fear of loss works.

I've got this course as well and it's pretty good even if you are doing your own mixes already...always something new to learn.


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## Trash Panda (Dec 16, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> So, I don’t have any input on the quality of the course, but how scummy is that site? Sorry if I’m a bit too ferocious with the whole “ethical marketing” business. It’s really blowing me away how they’re trying to FOMO me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It’s pretty standard in the eCommerce world. Not sure this molehill is as mountainous as you’re making it out to be.


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## Dominik Raab (Dec 16, 2020)

Trash Panda said:


> It’s pretty standard in the eCommerce world. Not sure this molehill is as mountainous as you’re making it out to be.



So far, I’ve mostly experienced it with snake oil products (think oils, supplements, …). With most legit products, I don’t generally see five-minute timers. A bit of artificial shortage and pseudo-discounts—that’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s mostly “only today”. Five minutes, in my opinion, is a bit brazen.

Maybe I just hang around the wrong storefronts and am a bit naive when it comes to the wider world of trying to make it in crowded markets. I personally haven’t encountered an example as on-the-nose as this one, and I consider it unethical. Your mileage may vary.


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## Jdiggity1 (Dec 16, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> So far, I’ve mostly experienced it with snake oil products (think oils, supplements, …). With most legit products, I don’t generally see five-minute timers. A bit of artificial shortage and pseudo-discounts—that’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s mostly “only today”. Five minutes, in my opinion, is a bit brazen.
> 
> Maybe I just hang around the wrong storefronts and am a bit naive when it comes to the wider world of trying to make it in crowded markets. I personally haven’t encountered an example as on-the-nose as this one, and I consider it unethical. Your mileage may vary.



I'm with you on that one.
Being deceitful, unethical, or manipulative in the name of personal gain, are not exactly qualities I'd ever want to be remembered for. But in today's world I don't necessarily blame somebody for mistaking the willingness to stoop that low as a 'skill in salesmanship'.
I know, s'all just marketing. But it'd be nice if we could recognize what's making the world a better place, and what's not.
(still kinda interested in what people think of the course though)


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## Henu (Dec 17, 2020)

Fillup147 said:


> @Henu so what do you think about it so far? I’m contemplating on getting this or one of the Evanent courses. What are your thoughts on this course so far?



Definitely worth the money with this price. I've watched only about 25% and already feel like I've got worth for my cash.

Generally speaking, the whole site looks like a car accident designed by an ex-herbalife-salesman and the spammy emails they send later directed clearly for desperate beginners doesn't make that feeling exactly disappear. But if ignoring all that scammy "I sit at home and make $5000 a month and you can do it too"- approach of the site in general, _this_ _particular course_ seems to be very good.


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## IFM (Dec 17, 2020)

Henu said:


> Definitely worth the money with this price. I've watched only about 25% and already feel like I've got worth for my cash.
> 
> Generally speaking, the whole site looks like a car accident designed by an ex-herbalife-salesman and the spammy emails they send later directed clearly for desperate beginners doesn't make that feeling exactly disappear. But if ignoring all that scammy "I sit at home and make $5000 a month and you can do it too"- approach of the site in general, _this_ _particular course_ seems to be very good.


I would 2nd that. I got too busy but was nearing the end of the "Comedy" section and so far it is great insight.


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## Fillup147 (Dec 17, 2020)

Awesome thanks for the replies! Has anyone taken the Evenant courses here? They’re a bit different as in they’re geared towards the creation of music along with mixing/mastering so idk how in depth they’d go for the mixing/mastering sections. They’re a hefty penny so that’s why I’m contemplating which one would be good


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## ALittleNightMusic (Dec 17, 2020)

I have access to this course through Cinematic Composing. It's ok, not sure Dennis is the best teacher per say. Seems like a nice guy though. He just goes through a pre-mixed session for a few different tracks, so depends how much you "learn" from that (since you're not going to copy settings from project to project usually). It's less about philosophy you can continue to apply (though he tries to sprinkle some stuff in there).

I think Evenant's courses are great and they continue to add more, including an orchestral mixing one that is coming out soon. The annual pass is totally worth it IMO.


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## Fillup147 (Dec 17, 2020)

With the Annual pass, I know you have access to all the courses as opposed to paying for just one. Pro to buying each course separately is that you have lifetime access right? What happens if you cancel you annual subscription? Do you have access to anything after that?


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## ALittleNightMusic (Dec 17, 2020)

Fillup147 said:


> With the Annual pass, I know you have access to all the courses as opposed to paying for just one. Pro to buying each course separately is that you have lifetime access right? What happens if you cancel you annual subscription? Do you have access to anything after that?



Like any subscription, you lose access if you stop paying your subscription fee. How many times do you plan on going through each class though? I can visit classes as much as I want - AND I get the benefit of access to all new classes that are released. Let's play that out for a year. You pay the slightly higher price for the subscription pass and you can go through the classes (multiple times if you want) for 12 months plus you get access to all the new courses they release. In the less than 6 months I've had the pass, they've already released 3 new classes that I've specifically taken with another one just released and more coming that I will take.


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## rmak (Dec 17, 2020)

They allow you to cancel annual subscription?


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## Fillup147 (Dec 18, 2020)

ALittleNightMusic said:


> Like any subscription, you lose access if you stop paying your subscription fee. How many times do you plan on going through each class though? I can visit classes as much as I want - AND I get the benefit of access to all new classes that are released. Let's play that out for a year. You pay the slightly higher price for the subscription pass and you can go through the classes (multiple times if you want) for 12 months plus you get access to all the new courses they release. In the less than 6 months I've had the pass, they've already released 3 new classes that I've specifically taken with another one just released and more coming that I will take.


Oh ok gotcha. Yea that makes sense. Especially if you take notes down you wouldn’t really need to take the entire course again. Maybe just certain videos or concepts to view again. But yea I think I’d eventually go with a subscription rather than an individual class. Thanks for your input! I’m planning on getting Metropolis Ark 1&2 and was looking into a course as well. I’m nit new to music or anything cause I was in band in hs so have basic theory knowledge and orchestral knowledge, just want something to help me actually mix, master and create a good sound


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## HarmonyCore (Dec 19, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> So, I don’t have any input on the quality of the course, but how scummy is that site? Sorry if I’m a bit too ferocious with the whole “ethical marketing” business. It’s really blowing me away how they’re trying to FOMO me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Today is 19th and it keeps renewing itself every 5 minutes 🤣


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## HarmonyCore (Dec 23, 2020)

Henu said:


> Definitely worth the money with this price. I've watched only about 25% and already feel like I've got worth for my cash.
> 
> Generally speaking, the whole site looks like a car accident designed by an ex-herbalife-salesman and the spammy emails they send later directed clearly for desperate beginners doesn't make that feeling exactly disappear. But if ignoring all that scammy "I sit at home and make $5000 a month and you can do it too"- approach of the site in general, _this_ _particular course_ seems to be very good.



@Henu Are they pre-recorded courses or live class? You watch them immediately after purchase or do you wait for a date? Why does it say "Join the Program" and "Enroll" as if it's a future live class with a certain date?


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## Henu (Dec 24, 2020)

I'm not actually sure, due to all Xmas stuff and everything I'm still stuck where I was last. But AFAIK, there at least_ was _some sort of live stuff. I'm not really into that at all, so I don't mind missing it, though.


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## blaggins (Nov 17, 2021)

Sorry to necro this thread, but I'm curious what your longer-term thoughts on the Dennis Sands mixing class are @Henu (and anyone else that has taken it?) Was it as good as you hoped?

I agree that the website is an abomination, but the course materials seem pretty professional once you get past the snake oil...


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## Henu (Nov 17, 2021)

Hey, a good necro- I have actually FORGOT to finish it. Jesus. :D So much stuff going on all the time....!


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## jbuhler (Nov 20, 2021)

tpoots said:


> Sorry to necro this thread, but I'm curious what your longer-term thoughts on the Dennis Sands mixing class are @Henu (and anyone else that has taken it?) Was it as good as you hoped?
> 
> I agree that the website is an abomination, but the course materials seem pretty professional once you get past the snake oil...


I disliked it personally, and I haven't finished it because I wasn't getting much out of it. That may be me or it may be the course is not well suited to me or it may be that the course is really not very good. The site itself is horrible, though not as bad as when I bought the course. Good god the emails I got! If you decide to enroll, I would definitely use a burner email account.


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## Filip (Nov 21, 2021)

Hey could any of you guys recommend a course on mixing and mastering that you've enjoyed? I have almost zero experience with mixing, I am always doing it mostly based on my intuition and some very basic principles that I overheard. I don't do mockups or 100% orchestral stuff, so is there something versatile addressed to cinematic music/video games in general?


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## wbacer (Nov 21, 2021)

Filip said:


> Hey could any of you guys recommend a course on mixing and mastering that you've enjoyed? I have almost zero experience with mixing, I am always doing it mostly based on my intuition and some very basic principles that I overheard. I don't do mockups or 100% orchestral stuff, so is there something versatile addressed to cinematic music/video games in general?


Check of the Joel Dollie course, I thought it was valuable. https://joeldolliemixing.com/


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