This is probably the best tip I, or anyone, could give you in regards to mixing.
The best mixes are mis-balanced.
Perfectly balanced mixes are boring.
(Could be an alternate title for this thread)
As counterintuitive as this may sound, this is probably a difficult tip for the less skilled to apply; you kinda need to know how to balance a mix to know how to mis-balance it.
As musicians, we're selling feelings not mere audio. Feeling and emotion in a mix come from the intricate relationship of mis-balances... a perfectly balanced mix is just that, just audio, no excitement, no tension. It's still 'good', at least technically, but that's all. Good not Great.
Okay, still not getting it? Let me put it this way, I'm sure a lot of you will be able to relate...
Have you ever produced a beat or record and been like "yeah this is dope, this slaps, this gonna kill it" "just need to mix it". It's feeling real good, but you know the mix needs some work...
So you go, you get your drums balanced perfectly with your bass, get the perfect levels for your melodies and vocals.
You listen back, compare it to your original composition... and you're like, Okay, you can hear it technically is now better, but it just doesn't feel the same, it lacks the magic spark, the emotion - you've mixed the life out of your record; a result of it being "perfectly balanced."
So where do you go? Well mixed but bland, or vibey but poorly mixed...?
Production mix as approved demo...
Consider your production mix, or the mix you've received as the "approved demo" - basically the guiding sound/feel.
Listen to your demo, your original mix, and ask yourself what element(s) are making you vibe; the key is to balance the rest of the mix whilst leaning into the aspects that gave the record that character that you loved about it to start with.
The more experienced may have had those moments... "turns snare down -3dB sounds fine here" "turns snare up +3dB, also sounds fine here" there's often a lot of room to place something, it's a subjective matter of taste.
The irony is, it's hard to fault a "perfectly balanced mix", the piano isn't too loud or too quite, the bass isn't too loud or too quiet, everything is fine, there's nothing really to add or say. It's just oftentimes, uninspiring.
On the contrary, a great misbalanced mix can be easier to fault "those pianos are a bit loud, that bass is a bit loud, and the snare's a little dark", but the record just vibes hard, and as a result, connects far better with the listener. And that's what we're really aiming for.
It's like recipes, you have to find the right mix of ingredients, adding more of this and less of that. You don't just put equal amounts of everything in. And even if there is a recipe, the best food often comes where someone adds their own balance of things. That's why it's called mixing.
This is probably the best/most advanced bit of advice I can give at this stage. But I have to give the disclaimer that I think (I could be wrong) that you probably need to know how to get a "perfectly balanced" mix before being able to perfectly mis-balance them. But, we're here to help you on that journey.
Have fun with them faders.
Stay ill
Love
The best mixes are mis-balanced.
Perfectly balanced mixes are boring.
(Could be an alternate title for this thread)
As counterintuitive as this may sound, this is probably a difficult tip for the less skilled to apply; you kinda need to know how to balance a mix to know how to mis-balance it.
As musicians, we're selling feelings not mere audio. Feeling and emotion in a mix come from the intricate relationship of mis-balances... a perfectly balanced mix is just that, just audio, no excitement, no tension. It's still 'good', at least technically, but that's all. Good not Great.
Okay, still not getting it? Let me put it this way, I'm sure a lot of you will be able to relate...
Have you ever produced a beat or record and been like "yeah this is dope, this slaps, this gonna kill it" "just need to mix it". It's feeling real good, but you know the mix needs some work...
So you go, you get your drums balanced perfectly with your bass, get the perfect levels for your melodies and vocals.
You listen back, compare it to your original composition... and you're like, Okay, you can hear it technically is now better, but it just doesn't feel the same, it lacks the magic spark, the emotion - you've mixed the life out of your record; a result of it being "perfectly balanced."
So where do you go? Well mixed but bland, or vibey but poorly mixed...?
Production mix as approved demo...
Consider your production mix, or the mix you've received as the "approved demo" - basically the guiding sound/feel.
Listen to your demo, your original mix, and ask yourself what element(s) are making you vibe; the key is to balance the rest of the mix whilst leaning into the aspects that gave the record that character that you loved about it to start with.
The more experienced may have had those moments... "turns snare down -3dB sounds fine here" "turns snare up +3dB, also sounds fine here" there's often a lot of room to place something, it's a subjective matter of taste.
The irony is, it's hard to fault a "perfectly balanced mix", the piano isn't too loud or too quite, the bass isn't too loud or too quiet, everything is fine, there's nothing really to add or say. It's just oftentimes, uninspiring.
On the contrary, a great misbalanced mix can be easier to fault "those pianos are a bit loud, that bass is a bit loud, and the snare's a little dark", but the record just vibes hard, and as a result, connects far better with the listener. And that's what we're really aiming for.
It's like recipes, you have to find the right mix of ingredients, adding more of this and less of that. You don't just put equal amounts of everything in. And even if there is a recipe, the best food often comes where someone adds their own balance of things. That's why it's called mixing.
This is probably the best/most advanced bit of advice I can give at this stage. But I have to give the disclaimer that I think (I could be wrong) that you probably need to know how to get a "perfectly balanced" mix before being able to perfectly mis-balance them. But, we're here to help you on that journey.
Have fun with them faders.
Stay ill
Love
