What things do you wish you'd known when you first started? Download the 10 Mixing Tips I Wish I'd Known When I First Started Cheat Sheet here: producelikeapro.lpages.co/top-10-mixing-tips-i-wish-i-had-known-when-i-first-started-cheatsheet/

This is one of those timeless everyweek watch videos.

Warren is a real class act, were all fortunate he shares his experience and wisdom with us like this, now let's all get out and record some great songs with all this

Time stamps: 1) 1:07 - Know your monitoring 2) 3:34 - Make a static mix 3) 6:42 - Take frequent breaks 4) 9:24 - Mixing in mono 5) 11:12 - Mute more than solo 6) 12:52 - Session preparation 7) 21:57 - Mix tracks in context 8) 25:01 - Trust your ears 9) 26:59 - EQ your effects 10) 31:20 - Automation 😁

Putting the DI through the reverb is a really cool idea.

I am at a point where I understood exactly what you said. thank you so much

Mix referencing is a bit like jumping into a hot jacuzzi; you get acclimated. You sit in the jacuzzi and, after a while, you get comfortable with the heat. It's only when you get out of the heat and jump into the cold pool that you realize how much you've adjusted your senses. Reference mixes are that cold pool; they reset your senses and let you judge with a fresh perspective. Thanks Warren!

This is just a great master class, Warren. Going right back to the basics was genius. The quality of your work is evident in the 23 seconds of your theme music.

Know your monitors is definitely one of the best tips ever! Great tips!!

A sincere thank you to Warren and PLAP for such a long and meaningful body of work. You kept me company in the purgatory of 12 years between audio school to now working full time as an audio engineer. Much love from Kansas City!

Geez, Warren: your channel is gold!

Really good. I don’t need to watch any more videos like this. Covered it all

Templates for me are a game changer, I have a template for each main genre or style I work in, I have effects and plug ins already on certain tracks, its so much faster and I dont have the plug in option paralysis and means im working more in the same plugs and learning them inside out, then when I feel confident with an effect of processor I might flip to a new option to listen . Also getting an SSL uf8 and UC1 means I can mix with my ears not my eyes and a mouse arrow

Any time i have any doubts about something, your channel always gives me the best clarity every time. Thanks Warren

"There were many nights where I just didn't sleep, or if I did sleep I'd be dreaming about snare drums." I don't think I've related to a line in a video so much. I'm going to school for Audio engineering; this video was extremely helpful and all around a great watch!

After feeling really crappy about my mixing literally today, this has come at a very good time. Thanks Warren!

as a guy who is just scratching the surface of all of this - mono idea is something I'm kicking myself in the butt about now! Funny enough - fortunately mute more vs. solo just made more sense to me inherently and has been my general go too. I really appreciate these videos that you do Warren! Thank you kindly

halleluiah! @1:14 'in today's world you can mix using only headphones' -- this is very encouraging. Of course decent headphones, EQ correction and maybe room sim are all good additions. Great vid, cheers :)

You'd be amazed how many tracks I've muted out from all them amazing multis we get to do mixes and prods of! :) Absolutely fantastic tips!

My best sessions are ones where I maintain the mindfulness to take frequent breaks. Also, I mix much better (maintain perspective and make better decisions) when I’m well-rested. Thanks for the great tips!

The Static Mix thing is really good. Since I create as I go (as the artist + mixer) I can start getting into plugins too early.

I'm glad I'm doing so many of these recommendations, yet like always, I've learned so much, too. Thanks, Warren!

I have a pair of Beyer dynamic DT990’s. I mix 98% of my music on them and then check mixes in my Neumann KH120 monitors in a totally untreated room. I know what I am doing, know my gear very well. I mix songs for bands that have got videos on KZfaq with millions of hits. People love the mixes. As Warren says. KNOW YOUR GEAR.

Wonderful summary, as always Warren. I like you are telling honestly were you struggled and how you learned. Others often just tell rules, taking the position of an authority, but I am not looking for such rules, I am looking for honest experiences 👍

great advise.

Brilliant.Thanks

I like doing a fair amount in mono when using headphones. Headphones give more prominence to far panned sounds, you then play on speakers or in mono and you find all your lovely stereo ping pongs disappear. Use mono to find some compromise volume for extreme panned sounds.

thank you for years of wisdom.

After my emotional meltdown stressing over MID-SIDE EQ KZfaq blather? This is all not only awesome and reassuring, it’s UNDERSTANDABLE and FUN. . . a mixing emotional rescue, even. Thank you!

Really great summary Warren! For sure I'll be sticking your cheat sheet into your masterpiece "Complete Guide Home Studio Recording". I've been telling my friends that that guide is literally the "bible" to all things music making and production 👍 Many thanks for your invaluable knowledge sharing

I've found this channel to be a godsend, thanks for the content. As a hobby songwriter who gets zero streams a year, I can't justify spending money on a mix so I need to learn to do it myself, and I've found a lot of self-improvement with practice and lessons like these. Thanks and I enjoyed the Andertons cross-over vids.

Killer video. Some new stuff I didn't really think about much, and lots of refresher kind of topics. I've been at this 30+ years, and ALL your videos still help. Makes you look at things from other angles sometimes. Thanks so much for this. Wise and generous man! Yes, I remember splitting tracks and sending stuff out many channels on my DDA, and eq'ing and effecting them differently. Mute. Unmute....arghh! MUCH easier now! Awesome video, thanks again for your effort! P.S.: Even with all the various thousands of channels on this stuff now? Yours is still the best. Love it man. Please don't ever quit.

You just confirmed all of my best practices. Maybe it's because I've watched you over the years, maybe it's cuz I have just put in enough time on it. Good on you mate

Thank you so much for providing definitions for the terms you're using

Great talk! Always good to be reminded. Thanks Warren.

This is fantastic, starting from Tip 1. You could just leave it there. Great stuff, as always. *When I started, I wish I’d known…. Save up for good speakers including a great PA. I bought extra instruments and high wattage amp heads and cabs but I wish I’d spent more bucks on a hi fidelity PA, so we could’ve really heard the details, even if not as loud.

How long do you work before taking a break? How long of a break? In one of your mixing courses; Urich Wild said, back in the days of tape recording, there was a break, when the tape rewound. He suggested not looping a song or a part too long.

7:55 Glad to know I am not alone here!

Great video Warren. When should I bounce a track? Should I get a rough mix in place first where I'm happy with the levels and overall sound of that particular track in the mix before bouncing EQ-ing etc?

Would love to see full videos on automation techniques! 😎

Great as always. Pure gold. Thank you Warren! Greetings from Poland!

Warren you are a gift from heaven. I have learned so much from your videos! God bless you and thank you so very much!

He's thought of everything. Can you imagine him in about 20 years. He can flip this and push a button and BAM. You are perfectly set. Love it 😎

mix tip number six should be mixtip number one.. thanks for the content!

This is the type of content that is worth taking the time to watch it. Amazing thanks you!

Reference tracks are such a big one! Checking back and forth with them helps greatly. And trust those tracks, don't make "the low end bigger" than your favourite track. It will most likely suck on any other playback system...

Excellent Warren! Words from the wise. Mono is the secret to proper levels for me, especially after getting it close in stereo.

As always, a joy to watch, infectious enthusiasm and great learning points from the experience shared. Cheers Warren.

I tend to automate tracks before I put compression on these tracks - often compression can be used in a much more economical way after some first automation was done...

My student note on this pro course : 1. Ignoring common sense 2. Overcomplicate think 3. Too much information = confusing 4. Know your monitoring /Room or Headphones, how ? = 5 5. Reference tracks / Listen in the sweet spot 6. Make a static mix (Static volume and panning) 7. Bounce the static mix 8. Take breacks / Ear fatigue / No rest = No objectivity = Wrong decisions 9. Don't ignore mental and physical health 10. Stay hydrated, Rest, and get fruits, nuts ... 11. Check your mix in mono 12. Mute more than solo'ing will tell you far more, mixing in solo doesn't work in the track most of the time 13. Session Prep (Naming, Grouping, Color Coding) and Cleaning the session up 14. Commit the best sounding mic, remove unessary mic that doesn't sound good together, commit to one 15. This is 13 one but clean the audio clips, remove noise and silence 16. Gain Stage (I use reaper when there no balance and normalize to -20dbpeak) 17. Don't be affraid to edit, especially drums, if It don"'t knock don't rush on compressor, edit, nudge it so they bang 18. Label the arrangement 19. Tuning can be useful, you can edit just a bit area when Its needed, have good taste. 20. Mix in contest; solo is to find, adress issues, try solo'ing the groups of tracks also 21. Trust your ears, the only thing that matters, don't damage it so take breaks, watch out about volume, look about 8 22. EQ your effects, low end on reverb can destroy the mix, de esser on vocal verb is huge 23. AUTOMATION !!!!!! Its a massive part of the mix, automate panning, volume, verb is what separe great mix to pro mix

Thanks Warren!!! Found this video extremely useful!!! Some are common sense like you say but a lot of great tips in this one

You are truly a gem, Warren! Thank so, so much for this.

Excellent points here, Mr. Huart. Thank you for all that you do!

One of the most helpful videos you've created Warren, thanks sooooo much for all you do!

As always massively helpful advice.. Totally needed this rundown of focus points to re-spark my mixing joy ❤️ Thank you ❤️

These are all such wonderful things to remember! I definitely will be making a more solid plan going into new mixes and applying some of the techniques. You rock!

You are a motivation for us, all the best from Kosova....big fan of you!

Thanks Warren, all great tips, and I appeciate you letting us in on all your audio knowledge and experience!..

Now that was a phenomenal video with amazing tips, straight to the point. Thank you very very much for taking the time to help out. Much appreciated, cheers

..thank you so much Warren and PLAP - you guys are gold!!

This is great!! Love drum sound imitations, Warren.

EQing before the effects is an opener! Thank you for sharing your wisdom

All of these are wise and true.

Great tips! Thanks for this, stop Solo’ing Warren😂

HAH! Mute! This got me to pause the video and comment. I’ve been listening to a region in a current work that had me baffled on why it doesn’t sound right. Muting tracks in the region found the culprit! 👌🏼 Thanks! Now back to tip 5. Gianni❤

huge info manI needed this, thank you.

What a legend 🫡

Thank you Warren.

Thanks Warren that was great cheers!

Excellent. Cheers Warren. Listen globally, awesome.

As usual, wonderful advice from Warren! ❤️

I really thank you for this massive sum of wisdom - struggling at the moment to mix some live recordings of my trio this will get me started all over again and hopefully getting there !

Less is better, is what I wish I knew. Cant tell you how many times I over processed each individual track. Starting with a static mix is the most valuable suggestion. Thanks.

Warren, This was an excellent video. I come from the old days when there were no such thing as a DAW. We have so many tools at our disposal today! I love hybrid mixing.

Automate EVERYTHING. The most important advice I got from this channel. Thanks Warren!

Simply brilliant your bought back so many good memories from the 90.s class video 🙂👍

Probably one of your most important videos Warren, thank you so much for this and the PDF cheat sheet.

Wow, thanks for this one! I'm saving it for future reference. Please do more on automation, you mentioned several interesting uses that I never even imagined. So grateful.

10 excellent tips Warren! Thank you AudioGuru!

Thank you for sharing this Warren!❤

Excellent…always excellent 👌

Love you Warren!

Excellent advice 😊 Thanks

Warren always reminds me a bit of Billy Mack

You're a great man! Thank you very much.

Never recorded anything worth mentioning but I was very happy when I figured on how a DBX 166 comp/lim/gate worked 😅

Awesome advice, thank you.

Wow!! Your description of these tips being common sense was so spot on!! When you mentioned "automation", I was surprised, because I thought that songs were mixed just as you described that one person doing it. Just slammed and hitting hard the whole way through... but as you gave examples of automation, I realized "Oh yeah, I've heard that in songs before... I love those moments!" It's amazing how you can know something without knowing that you know lol

Warren, another obligatory video!!!

EQ BEFORE reverbs and delays! Never thought of it. What a nice tip! Thank you Warren!

Great advice Warren! The static mix especially is key to keeping a fresh perspective.

These are great, Warren!!!

this is amazing, thank you so much!

Top shelf advice! Thanks Warren

very solid advice warren thank you.

Great job guys!

Good sound advice there. Took me a few years to understand these points and the accumulative effect of nailing them can make such a difference,

Phase issues when he says "phase issues" at 17:23 ! Just kidding, love your channel and videos!

Great advice, thanks Warren!

Thank you Warren! Absolute fundamentals that anyone aspiring to be a pro or semi pro mixer should master before anything else. So much noise from people trying to monetize any morsel of information they can muster and it’s awful. One thing I would love to see you touch on is the responsibility the mixer has to the arrangement of the song. With producers trying to prove their value to a song or record, especially on projects that have multiple of them, you have in many cases all these extra percussion and ear candy tracks that when mixed in tend to deprive the song of the meaning and emotion it’s trying to convey. You touched on this a little with the multiple mic example. The arrangement should be finalized while forming the static mix. The static mix should be the song as it needs to be heard just without any nuanced processing as you mentioned. You won’t feel as sexy at first but you need to practice making a song “happen” with nothing more than volume, panning, editing, and automation. I just finished a mix for a band that starts as a ballad with an 808 and lots of loops and other electronic elements then blossoms into this big rock climax by the end. It’s an anthem and I was essentially mixing two separate songs that combine together, an electronica ballad and a rock song. Out of 80+ tracks I eliminated almost 30, mostly from the 1st part because they made it less intimate. Almost like they become smog in the atmosphere when what we wish for is a clear sunny day. I had to go as far as editing the 808 kick and other rhythmic extras along with even some BGVs and synth parts to give the song a more emotional and impactful progression. I needed to make it ‘feel’ good. You always need to do what the client wants ultimately but you have real power when you can provide a product that not only meets their expectations but also sets them apart because emotionally there’s something for the listener to grab on to. Emotion can be achieved through the effective management of negative space. I know you wanted to keep it at a nice round number so if we go up to 12 I’d add arrangement and contrast because I think they’re equally important to the other 10. What made the 2nd half of this mix explode and have impact was just a simple ‘Wish You Were Here’ style phone eq curve on the acoustic guitar that bridges the two sections of the song together. This isn’t something the band or producer asked for but it did two things: it added a small element of familiarity and the contrast made that section come in like a punch in the gut so it became an essential element of the mix. You need to KNOW music. What makes veteran DJs such good producers and mixers is that they spent a substantial amount of time listening and living intimately with good music. Spend some time DJing and you’ll really start to understand what makes a song great for the listener because that’s who all of this is for. The listener who all they want is to be able to find sanctuary in your song.