# Who LOVES mixing?



## tokatila (Jan 13, 2015)

Is it abnormal to spend hours listening the same loop and comparing different compressors? Or dynamic EQing, EQing or sidechaining double bass and drums?

I can do it for hours and still enjoy it. 

I call it ear training. Now watching: macprovideo.com "All about compressors". o[]) 

Who's with me?


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## NYC Composer (Jan 13, 2015)

I don't particularly like mixing OR engineering. I was spoiled by coming from a tradition of hiring guys who specialized in both.


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## chillbot (Jan 13, 2015)

I absolutely hate mixing, especially big orch stuff with a lot going on. I wish you would come mix all my stuff for me.


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## AC986 (Jan 13, 2015)

Ditto ^


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## gsilbers (Jan 13, 2015)

same. 
I once was all about mixing. from berklee MP+E program was all about that huge ssl and doing these stuff and the gear etc etc...
now I just want a well balanced template... (where is the lazy emoticon) and only do music.


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## givemenoughrope (Jan 13, 2015)

I hate it.


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## NYC Composer (Jan 13, 2015)

gsilbers @ Tue Jan 13 said:


> same.
> I once was all about mixing. from berklee MP+E program was all about that huge ssl and doing these stuff and the gear etc etc...
> now I just want a well balanced template... (where is the lazy emoticon) and only do music.



Agreed, except that I'm forever rebalancing and re- working my template, which is another thing I detest.

Lest I seem completely negative, I really really like writing and playing music.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 13, 2015)

NYC Composer @ Tue Jan 13 said:


> I don't particularly like mixing OR engineering. I was spoiled by coming from a tradition of hiring guys who specialized in both.



+1. Although ironically, I guess I have become good enough at it that people want to hire me. I always tell them, "Fine, but understand I am not a real engineer."


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## Jem7 (Jan 13, 2015)

I love it.


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## sourcefor (Jan 13, 2015)

anytime you guys don't want to mix your own stuff I'll do it as I enjoy it and find as creative as writing..just PM me if interested! Now go write good music!


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## bbunker (Jan 13, 2015)

Hate it with a passion. Because there is no right, only 25,000 wrongs.


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## NYC Composer (Jan 13, 2015)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Jan 13 said:


> NYC Composer @ Tue Jan 13 said:
> 
> 
> > I don't particularly like mixing OR engineering. I was spoiled by coming from a tradition of hiring guys who specialized in both.
> ...



I engineered and mixed two sessions last week for people I've said that to previously.
They deserve better, but I'm not turning down that many gigs these days.


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## wst3 (Jan 13, 2015)

Like many things - I've discovered - it's just another challenge, and some folks will enjoy it, some won't.

When I am writing I like to write, and sometimes I do think it would be really cool if I could put an idea down on paper, scan it into the computer, and get a well performed, well mixed output.

But at other times I thoroughly enjoy the mixing part of the process. It is an entirely different set of challenges, but I think it is fun, and rewarding.

The reality, which creeps in from time to time, is that I am pretty much always mixing. I think that stems from the fact that when I started out track counts were somewhat lower (8 tracks was awesome!), so you had to have a pretty good idea of what you were trying to do.

The downside of that was that experiments were often discouraged (unless you were the Beatles, or Pink Floyd, or...)


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## Resoded (Jan 14, 2015)

My feelings for mixing are highly dependent on the outcome. Love it when things works, incredibly frustrated when it sounds like crap. It sucks to spend days working on a piece and then ruining it with a subpar mix/master.

Always this two steps forward-two steps back process, until finally one day it's only one step back. Mixing seems to need that inventors philosophy, failed attempts and failed ideas are progress.


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## AC986 (Jan 14, 2015)

Jem7 @ Tue Jan 13 said:


> I love it.



How you finding it with those new Quested monitors? Easier?


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## bryla (Jan 14, 2015)

I love it! Although I'm not good at it


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## Jem7 (Jan 15, 2015)

adriancook @ 14/1/2015 said:


> Jem7 @ Tue Jan 13 said:
> 
> 
> > I love it.
> ...



Yeah it becomes easy when you hear details better but it makes you work harder before you like the mix because bad mixes plays awful on them.


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## AC986 (Jan 15, 2015)

Jem7 @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> adriancook @ 14/1/2015 said:
> 
> 
> > Jem7 @ Tue Jan 13 said:
> ...



But worth it in the end!


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## Jem7 (Jan 15, 2015)

adriancook @ 15/1/2015 said:


> Jem7 @ Thu Jan 15 said:
> 
> 
> > adriancook @ 14/1/2015 said:
> ...



Absolutely! It's the best gear decision I've ever made.


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## tokatila (Dec 1, 2015)

Aah, still loving it. Have spent full two days trying out different kinds of saturation and compression plugins just on the kick drum. It's also very instructive to hear the differences between sidechain compressing the bass vs sidechain dynamic EQing it.

And judging by the interested created by the Star Wars - rescore thread, most people seem to love the results.


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## ghostnote (Dec 1, 2015)

Mmmmm yes, mixing. Some say a waste of time, others say an incredible waste of time...


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## chimuelo (Dec 1, 2015)

I say the exact opposite.
I love mixing.
Guess it will be a while longer before I get burned out.


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## JonFairhurst (Dec 1, 2015)

Composing and mixing are so different.

When composing, we attempt to find the sounds that aren't yet there.

When mixing, we attempt to fix the sounds that are.


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## chimuelo (Dec 2, 2015)

In that case that is also a pleasure.
I am responsible for the end result.
People dont realize as musicians we are criticized and rejected more than most professions.
I take on those challenges with an open mind.
One must forge his body in the fires of his will....

Han in Enter The Dragon
Warner Bothers 1972


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## Mr Mindcrime (Dec 2, 2015)

Very interesting topic. I had no idea so many of us disliked the mixing/engineering part as much as we do. 

I'm a work in progress (aren't we all?) and have a long way to go to become competent at the technical side of things. I enjoy the work somewhat as I really love that I can create a finished product that is ALL ME. But... I recognize that I'll never be a professional engineer and as a hobbyist (who dreams of one day making some sort of living with composing) there just aren't enough hours to devote to everything that needs my time. And I'd rather spend my limited time....composing and creating. So bottom line...I'm not a fan of mixing.


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## JonFairhurst (Dec 2, 2015)

Mr Mindcrime said:


> Very interesting topic. I had no idea so many of us disliked the mixing/engineering part as much as we do.



Don't misunderstand my comment above. I very much enjoy mixing and find it easier than composing.



> ...And I'd rather spend my limited time....composing and creating.



But mixing is also creative. Composing is like clay. We add material to create the final result. Mixing is like working with a rock and chisel. We create through subtraction.

And then there's performance where we create through action in the moment. We might record the performance, but it's still ephemeral. The creation only truly exists in the moment - no matter how much we practice.

For me, the pain of composing is writers' block and judgement. What has value? What is good?

The pain of mixing is listening to the same passage over and over.

The pain of performance is the knowledge that it could all fall apart in front of an audience.

The joy of composing is creating something on a blank space.

The joy of mixing is a finely finished work.

The joy of performance is the adrenaline and celebration of success.

Whatever floats our boats.


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## tokatila (Feb 24, 2017)

Still love it! Who's with me? I just used two hours two find the proper snare and the mix it to sound both military enough and cut through the mix. Awesome juice!


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## pixel (Feb 24, 2017)

I love mixing. For me it's inseparable part of composing music. I love when sound is polished and I'm not able to compose whole track if it's not polished and doesn't sound good. For me music is not only notes but also timbre of every single instrument, voice or sound effect. Yes I can spend whole day working on tiny part of track just to make it perfect (IMO of course). I treat it like puzzle, quest. Especially when I'm getting track to mix done by others. I'm getting composition and I have to solve problems which are different every single time as there is not two same compositions. I love to solve problems. It's like a mission 



JonFairhurst said:


> When mixing, we attempt to fix the sounds that are.


I must disagree on this. Fix must be done when composition is done badly. Yes it's part of mixing but not the main part. Mixing is polishing sounds to bring them to another level. Giving best possible place in pseudo three dimensional space for every single sound to shine.


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## chimuelo (Feb 24, 2017)

Love mixing and today I am doing a different type of mixing.
Editing cascaded FX units for Vocalists for April-August shows.
One TC Fireworx is plenty for recording but for live performance I use 2.

When digitally cascaded, the bottom unit shows up in the top units LCD as Inserts, placed anywhere in the signal flow they are needed.
So now you have a total of 18 high quality FX Blocks.
Bottom unit carries Advanced Reverb algorithms, top unit get Delays.
All other blocks are loaded but their parameters are controlled by MIDI CC#s and can be muted by sending a CC# to bypass.
Lots of fun and a pleasure as I have spoiled many vocalists, who often call me as they know they will be precise or customized to their liking.

One trick is to use the shittiest microphone, in this case, the ancient Radio Shack Unisphere, this thing is so bad it picks up the television in the next room.
But the beauty of that strategy is that you really have to dial in the sound under not so ideal circumstances, but when testing with Heil, AKG or KSM8 mics it's much much better.


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## Smikes77 (Feb 24, 2017)

For me it`s the part where I worry I`ll mess up the entire piece of music. I worry about it every. single. time. I would enjoy it if the worry wasn`t there.

For pop/rock stuff it`s one of my favourite parts though.


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