What are your top free mixing tips?

I'm taking all of this to heart. My greatest free mixing tip: Listen to Warren Huart's every word.

"Listen more, do less"... As a live engineer, this tip fits there just as easily as in the studio.

Mixing: I worked in animation and visual effects for film and TV for 25 years. I've also worked on set and if I ever hear the phrase "Aah, we'll fix it in post" I say "Well I'm not doing it, why not solve it now?!" As Charles Babbage said "Garbage In, Garbage Out!" - also known as 'GIGO'

Couple things that have helped me over the years: learn about phase/polarity and how to adjust it for the best punch. Makes a bigger difference than any eq/comp will. If it’s not right plugins won’t save you. On taking breaks: turn up the music, play the song beginning to end and leave the room, keeping the door open. You will hear how everything blends together since it’s no longer a real stereo image (just one sound wave coming through a doorway) and what’s working or not because you’re listening to the song as a whole, and can’t distract yourself by trying to fix something. While it plays I make notes. After resting your ears you can get back into mixing with a plan to follow that generally speeds up the finishing process.

Loving the new atmosphere......much more intimate!

Your videos are full of so many little gems - "skinnying" out the bass a little bit to save it for the chorus is such a great tip! Thanks again for all the wisdom!

I can't understand for the life of me how there would be any thumbs down on any of Warren's videos. All his experience and generosity speaks for itself. Not to mention his great personality. You thumbs down guys are a bunch of "Nowhere Men". Thank you Warren for all that you are, all that you do and frankly all that you've done and been through in your past. You are a true gentleman. 👍

Loving this video and the minimalistic approach. I started doing this work in 1987. On an MCI 16/24 -2" Tape machine. Mixing Rock and roll music can be done with 5 tools. A great source/musician/performance. A decent mic. A good compressor. A decent equalizer and a decent reverb. It's all about the performance/source. Really impressed with your work Warren and grateful for the info you pass on. Cheers!

I think all of us have spent a couple of hours mixing and at the end we noticed that the raw version was better and more “alive” more “natural” and less “too perfect”. Golden tips! Cheers from Brazil!!!!!!

I had some really shitty speakers my grandpa gave me that were made in the 90s. I listened to all kinds of music on them, and although they were shitty speakers, I knew how songs sounded on them. When I took it to my music production about 8 years ago I was able to still make good sounding stuff because I knew how really well mixed songs sounded on them. My mixes back then were still not great because I was still new at it, but they weren’t all that bad cuz some of my most viewed and liked songs are from back then. It does matter what speakers you have, but it sometimes doesn’t. No need to stress about spending $1000+ on speakers when you can learn how to use the ones you got right there in front of you

Regarding your question, "What are your top free mixing tips?"; I have learned that when I hate my mix or am not sure to trust my ears at the end of a long session, I don't change it until I hear it the next day. Many times I like it with a fresh set of ears and a rested mindset. That happened to me just this week. On the other hand, when I love the mix, as you said, Warren, I sleep on it and revisit it later. More times than not, I end up revising the mix. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to get me back on track. Just that brief interruption forces my mind to let go and make better mix decisions when the phone call is over. The better we know our strengths and weaknesses, the more we can improve and utilize our potential. Warren, I always look forward to your advice, your wit and wisdom, and the excellent interviews you do with other engineers. Thank you for this channel and for giving of yourself. I so appreciate it. I needed your channel years ago when I had nothing to lean on except trial and error - mostly error.

Amazing Warren! Thank you. My wife doesn't do anything with music and she loves listening to your videos. She says a lot of what you say can even be applied to normal human interaction. For example the listen to the song before going through your process is the same as listen to what people are trying to tell you before you put your two cents in.

So much great advice in one video. I watch too many videos that take half the time to explain nothing and the other half for one obvious bit of advice. You, on the other hand make videos packed with gems and minimal fluff and bull. I, for one really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Thanks Warren. Great info as usual. I learned a great FREE trick from a great Nashville engineer Mr. Ed Seay. He explained to me that after sitting in front of the monitors a while you can get fooled by some sound levels of elements that are panned left and right vs center. So getting up and walking out the studio door and into the hallway lets you hear the stereo mix all blended together at once in what he referred to as "Big Mono". I use this technique during breaks as you explained. Go get a cup of tea or coffee and listen in the background at a lower level down the hall. It's quite revealing. - Viva PLAP

I have been preaching this for 30+ years! Well done, Sir! :)

My kids got me a turntable for my 51st b-day and that runs through my studio set-up. On the rare occasions when I get to just simply listen, that's how I listen.

Oh man! It is really joyful to learn not just about mixing but also the english language (Portuguese is my mother tongue) with you Warren. Much appreciated for all of this knowledge you share with us. Thank you very much and my very best to you.

Great advice. Less normally is more. Warren really hits the nail on the head. While I mix with a template, I start with everything turned off. Then judiciously select which plug ins I want to use to augment the production. When I'm done, I turn everything back off and verify I've made improvements with my processing changes.

Possibly the most sensible and useful video on mixing I’ve ever watched on KZfaq.

Warren, the look on your face of that thumbnail is absolutely priceless and thus, deserving of a thumbs up on its own!...

Numbers 1,5,6 are invaluable and cannot be stressed enough. I've only been at this for a few months and this is a priceless tryptich

I've been mixing my music for 10 yrs... Today I was looking at my console view on my DAW (Cakewalk by BandLabs (free)) and noticed I have way less plugins than I had from years ago. Probably thanks to CLA's plugins and SSL Channel Strips!

More great stuff. Thanks so much.

The gift that keeps on giving! thanks Warren for the awesome tips

Always appreciate and enjoy the knowledge bestowed by you! Your channel is one of a kind!

Another fine one Warren. Thank you for your insight!

Priceless spot on advise and wisdom, thanks Warren.

Thanks Warren, awesome tips!

Love your channel warren!

" The bass guitar had low end on it, some grit 3k, a bit of distortion, it was massive! " You made my day Warren haha! Thank you so much for your passion and your generous wisdom.

Thanks Warren. Love your work and appreciate all the knowledge you're sharing.

Warren, thank you for bringing your passion for music and mixing to KZfaq! Awesome stuff!

Wow what a great great talk in this video Warren, thank you!

Thank you Warren !

Thanks for the tips mate 🙏🙏

Golden tips and tricks!! Thank you mr. Huart!

Amazing free tricks, thanks for sharing your experience with us Warren 🤘

Thanks for yet another inspiring video.

Thanks Warren, these tips are gold!

Six is the number…! It’s easy to overlook these simple tenets and it’s great to be reminded of them.

Thanks Warren. Great stuff there 😎👍🎸🥁

Thank you, once again stellar suggestions!

More excellent advice Warren thanks!

Excellent video. Your absolute best..on Point!!

You the man Warren, thxs 😎

Thanks a lot Warren! Great stuff here

#3 is one of the best mixing and production tips ever, it's crazy helpful. Thank you!

Timeless. Thanks for sharing your wonderful wisdom. Also, thank you for sharing your passion and kindness. Always positive and inspiring!

Fantastic tips

thankyou so much for the video! i was aware of a few things you talked about but never saw it with the perspective that you showed, and never known them in that depth.

very valuable information! thank you sr

These are great tips!

It is so wonderful to hear you share your broad life experiences. The honesty is refreshing and most welcome. I always look forward to your releases and try and make time to watch as many as I can. I am fortunate to have invested the time for this session and will embrace your wisdom! Thank you!

Love it my friend!....

Amazing and very helpful tips thank you so much Warren!

Thank you!!

Thanks Warren! always good info!

tks a lot!!! This channel is very good and Warren gives always great tips!

Brilliant advice cheers!

Your videos are awesome dude!!

Much appreciated once again!

Awesome Video............. great advice

I really like these tips! Thanks Warren! And yes: It is really really important, what you play and how you capture it. This couldn't be more true today, as everything is virtually possible in a DAW.

Wow this is solid foundation mindset right here.. have to make sure to absorb this.. thnx much Warren

I'm revisiting this video after a year, the advice couldn't seem more relevant today! I have a lot of my mixes on my phone, when I export them as I'm working on them, I put them on the phone so I can listen in the car. Also on three different systems at home at the time, but when I do my fairly regular 6 hour drives, I shuffle everything on my phone and play it in the car via Bluetooth. I never know what will come up on a 6 hour trip, there's enough music on my phone to last for days, but now and then, an early export of a mix will come on, and I'll think "What happened? I've been working on this song for months, and the export from the first few days sounds better than the one now, after 6 months of 'refining and improving it!". Waveform is the only DAW I'm familiar with, and it allows you to save edits as you go. I usually do this when I take a big step, like declaring the drums 'done', or applying a processing chain to an element. So you end up with a list of different saved edits for each song. It's interesting, and enlightening, to go from Edit 7, back to edit 2 or 3, and see whether you've lost your way, and hopefully, where you disappeared down the rabbit hole! Great advice here Warren, I think I need to watch this again every year! 😁👍

Great video!

As always great and totally honest advice... love the channel and the community! Thanks Warren

Thank you Sir 🙌 As always meaningful & inspirational guidance!!

#4, method I'm going to practice. Warren thank you so much for all you do. In the 6 months I have learned mixing, I have progressed so much with yours and Glenn's videos. I'm almost ready to share my mixes.

i like your style Warren. i learn so much from you, you are maybe the best on KZfaq to learn about mixing & producing. thanks a bunch!

These free tips & tricks are worth a million. Thanks!

Top mixing tip from Spitfire Audio's Christian Henson: "...Never update your system mid project..." :)

Just Warren with the most awesome information as usual. 🖤 Thank you Sir.

As always great tips!

You have such a great way of delivering information that it’s easy to understand but also shows your expertise. Great job man !

fantastic!

Fantastic Warren my lovely. I all to often make the mistake of complicating things. Thanks mate and May the funk be with you

One of my favourite vids on this channel! Thanks, Warren!

I needed this

Damn, I love your honesty and talking through your struggles in mixing and recording and the pitfalls you fell into is humbling. So many producers and other musicians only speak of their successes, where you show your success and ability through your journey. It's inspiring. I'm joining the Academy today. It's time to take this seriously and stop struggling and mixing a song for 2 weeks only for it to sound exactly how you're describing all these "wall of noise" sounds. Edit: Okay, I've officially joined!

Your channel just changed my life

Great video. Really great.

i love your videos. thanks!

This channel is a gem! Thank you so much for your nuggets of wisdom. Reference mixes are a great idea :)

Warren, all those words are so true! I am guilty of all you mentioned so thanks for the pointers. How you think of the subject and explain so well makes me respect you so much because you truly care about the music and want us to as well. I'm getting better and as I say have been guilty of many things mainly I suppose staying too long on a mix. Now I tend to do it in smaller time frames and I think it is always a good thing apart from frequent breaks is to load another song in and work on that for a while and then go back to the previous track with renewed vigour and direction. Thank you Warren for your inspiration.

You solved my problem sir you are great❤️

You just changed my view on mixing. You truly opened my eyes to my mistakes. Thank you. Hope to make you proud. Love and light from South Africa 🇿🇦

I loved this one it was the best one yet, very honest and very helpful thank you

These are the very first and most important mixing techniques and will do most of the mix for you. Then it’s just tickle this and tweak that to finish. Well done!

Great video,thank you!

Wow! You really animatedly made me think in a bunch of different simple ways. Thank you much.✊🏼✨😀🙏🏼

Thank you so much for sharing such information it's really helping.I something you mentioned that I usually do but not knowing what they were wrong or right.but after watching this video I will do them with confidence

On point!

Warren, First, Thank you for this video on your Six Free Mixing Tricks, because for me as a beginner and novice it was both educational and inspiring. And at this time in my musical life, essential. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! After a 30 year pause in playing music I began again three years ago; relearning how to play...guitar, piano, drums, banjo. Two years ago I started writing songs again and began recording myself. I have in the past 16 months been watching you, Rick Beato, Chris Selim (I am a Cubase pro 10.5 user) to learn how to play, record, and mix. All of you have helped me get better at it. Essentially what I am saying here is I have been at this long enough now to realize how vitally important your message on the six tips is. The last two days I have been working on (and as you have said obsessing on) a new song. Yesterday at the end of the day I made the fourth trial mix mp3. When I compared it to the first one from day one it was lifeless, mush. While all the time thinking, and I even said to my wife before I played it for her last night...Oh this is it! The first trial mix had almost no plug ins, the fourth mix had one to six plugins per track. I agree with you when one obsesses, doesn't take breaks, and begins randomly processing tracks it is a recipe for achieving mediocrity. For great sounding recordings...I will follow your six tips, record more, mix less! And when at mixing stage to be extremely tactical. Again, thanks!

You are seriously helping my music production. Thank you so much. Your passion is so inspiring! Your delivery is spot on its so engaging. Many thanks!

one of your best videos for sure

Such brilliant advice, and even though I consider myself a beginner at mixing & mastering, I really can confirm exactly what you're saying about overdoing and not resting and adding too much - all of that. I really appreciate the fact you are admitting to having made these mistakes yourself. Fantastic presentation, loved this video, big like & shared! Thank you!!

Thanks Warren, you just mentioned everything that I'm struggling with and basically already knew in the back of my mind. Now I just have to remember to apply it to my mixing. Thanks for reminding me! Chris.

Wonderful tips 👍