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.

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.

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'

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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. 👍

Another fine one Warren. Thank you for your insight!

Priceless spot on advise and wisdom, thanks Warren.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Been watching a lot of your videos recently and find then ah really useful, but this one in particular spoke to me and made me want to comment, thanks for all the great vids and advice :)

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

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.

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

#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.

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

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!

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

I'm learning mixing. And you are the brightest star on my list of teachers. Hope you're doing marvelously well 😊

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

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!

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

Thanks Warren. Great stuff there 😎👍🎸🥁

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

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

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!!

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!

Thanks Warren, awesome tips!

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

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

Hi Warren! I always learn something new from your videos, thank you for share your knowledge

As always... Great job, Warren. Thanks for remind us that sometimes we forget the importance of our skill and relay to much on technology. Greetings from México

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

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 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 🇿🇦

Thanks for yet another inspiring video.

More great stuff. Thanks so much.

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

Amazing and very helpful tips thank you so much Warren!

You give amazing advice and it's always a joy to hear you speak on things. Your positivity is infectious even for the cynical types like me, keep being you!

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

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!

Really liked this I’m very new, but took loads from this . Will continue to rake from this as I understand more. Some of the terminology, still eludes me.

Thanks Warren, these tips are gold!

thank you so much for this- I am a musician trying to learn mixing and audio engineering and recording. This is really refreshing to hear that basic arranging skills, balancing levels, etc are actually the most important. I will trust my instincts while also trying to learn about the elements that are not yet familiar. Many thanks!

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.

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

"Listen more, do less" is fantastic advice. My drum mixes really took off when I quit doing so much crap to what was an already good sound.

I’ve started using a lot of automation in my mixes for things like virtual pedals and so on, but have never even realised that I could automate EQs. Thanks for the tip!

Thank you sir. I learnt something from this video

You the man Warren, thxs 😎

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.

I just did the wipe all plugins and tried doing less this week trust Warren it really does work width, volume and depth really improved. love the Chanel thanks for the tips

You solved my problem sir you are great❤️

Thank you, once again stellar suggestions!

Thanks for what you do! Can’t wait to release more music!

Thanks for the tips mate 🙏🙏

Thank you Warren !

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 chuckled all the way through this - we've all been there! Excellent advice as always

I cant thank for more for sharing your pure Passion Warren! Thank you. Regards from Austria

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.

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

Your videos are awesome dude!!

one of your best videos for sure

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

very valuable information! thank you sr

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

That's all really good advice. Thank you once again, mate!

Thanks a lot Warren! Great stuff here

Love the lighting on this video, looks very "posh" 👌😊

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

" 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.

Great points! I was just mixing a song few days ago trying to get the distorted guitars sound right (I also made a mistake of doing stuff the guitar player/head of the band requested), and at one point realized I have 3 equalizers, MB compressor, compressor, a bunch of stuff on the track... removed everything, put Scheps omni channel and did everything there. Got a great sound by simplifying. And when it comes to reference tracks... can't tell how many times I had to explain to the band that they serve a purpose of a general sound and balance we aim for, while they often expect to get that exact sound with totally different raw tracks.

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

Thanks Warren! always good info!

I have to try that Eric Valentine trick on my next recording. Thank you so much.

Very helpful video..we must think with this way every time we start a song

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

thank you for this warren ...such simple adjustments ...very inspiring ..as an illiterate home demo maker... i have been very ignorant . These tips are gold to me . I am pleased to say , i innately knew to pan and set levels but my ignorance is embarrassing , I have been using things incorrectly ...such fundamental ignorance has minimized my effectiveness .....but i am slowly acquiring the knowledge through your ytube channel .... i can only imagine how terrific your online course would be . From the bottom of my heart- thnx - am sure i speak for many.

Thank you for this video - lots of great advice. For what it's worth, I also think it can be very helpful (and free!) to start the mixing process in mono. By bringing all instruments to center, it can help you make quick/good decisions about how the frequencies fit and what issues need to be addressed. Once you have carved out the sonic space needed in a mono mix, your songs will sound that much better once you start the EQ and panning processes.

Love it my friend!....

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!!!!!!

These are great tips!

Warren - you're a wonderfully generous man. Many thanks always.

Fantastic tips

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

This is very true, more time listening, using less plugins, using only really necessary instruments or number of instruments in a section, and using automation to draw a picture can drastically make a track sound amazing without overworking it or destroying the initial idea of the track. Good recordings will need much less processing and are likely to result in a more natural pleasing sound that is not over processed

SIMPLY one of the best, relatable advice vids you, or anyone, has given IMHO. I'm now going to strip down my mix and start again. The one word/subject you didn't mention, although implied/referred to was 'Arrangement'. I do mine as I record and mix, hence the 'soup'. A huge thank you to you, kind sir.

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!