Introduction To The Series

The world-wide-web is full of people asking questions and others giving answers. The problem is, it’s often difficult to tell which pieces of advice are actually worth listening to…

In this ongoing series of Blogs, we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked audio questions from around the internet in an attempt to stomp out some of the queries that have been burning holes in people’s minds.

This week, we’ll be looking at FAQs centered around some of the foundational gear knowledge which is crucial to get right when taking your first steps into the world of audio:

Volume 1: Gear Essentials

From first-hand experience, I know that recording & mixing can seem incredibly complex to somebody who’s just starting out. There are simply so many confusing terms and tools to learn about that it’s often difficult to know exactly where to begin…

This being the case:

Here are the answers to 5 gear-related FAQs that seem to pop up regularly:

FAQ #1 – Which Microphone Do I Buy?

The Short Answer – It depends on what you’re planning to use it for. There isn’t really a “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to choosing a first microphone.

The Long Answer:

Picking a good microphone early on is one of the best steps you can take towards achieving great sounding recordings from the get-go. There are a few variables which come into play when trying to determine which one is the most suitable for your needs, so it’s important to do your research beforehand.

Here’s my #1 piece of advice when it comes to buying your first microphone:

SPEND WISELY:

• Don’t go overboard and spend thousands on your first microphone unless you’re also optimising the rest of your recording chain in order to do it justice!

• There isn’t much point in recording with a great microphone if you’re picking up excessive room resonance and sending your signal through poor quality preamps, converters and monitoring.

• You’re better off buying something more moderately priced, and using the excess money you’d be spending on upgrading the rest of your gear or recording room setup.

Here are a few great value microphone options that I’d personally recommend to someone starting out:

NOTE: The fact that these microphones are affordable doesn’t mean they’re bad by any means. I’d personally use any one of these options in a heartbeat without thinking twice about their sound quality.

• Rode NT1-A, Aston Origin & Audio Technica AT4040: These are three great all-round condenser microphones at different price points which will all work well for most vocals and instrument mic-ing applications.

• Shure SM7B: A great dynamic microphone option with excellent ambience rejection if you’re just looking for a solid vocal microphone.

• Shure SM57: You simply can’t go wrong with buying an SM57 alongside whichever main microphone you choose to go for. This inexpensive piece of kit will cover all of your guitar and snare mic’ing needs and probably last you decades.

NOTE: I didn’t talk about the technical differences between microphones in this particular article, as I’ve already discussed them in thoroughly in previous entries. Check out my “5 Recording Tips” series if you’re looking for an in-depth explanation on the different features they have to offer.

https://urm.academy/make-your-studio-session-50-better-with-these-5-tips-part-1/

FAQ #2 – Do Audio Interfaces Sound Different?

The Short Answer – Yes, they do.

The Long Answer:

Although most audio interfaces offer similar functions, certain variables such as construction quality can make a significant difference in their resulting audio.

Let’s take a look at some of the primary components that make up the sound of an audio interface:

Preamps: Microphone preamps are designed to boost your input signals up to usable levels which can then be forwarded for further processing.

• Luckily, the built-in preamps on budget interfaces nowadays are actually quite decent, and the fact that they tend to be fairly linear makes them an ideal candidate for applying simulation plugins further down the line.

NOTE: Check out my article on the subject for a guide to using preamp simulation software.

https://urm.academy/making-digital-sound-analog-the-best-of-both-worlds/

• Certain dynamic microphones such as the Shure SM7B require a lot of gain. So, it’s important to make sure the interface you go for has enough on tap to drive it to usable levels.

Converters: Given the fact that everything you record and listen back to is passing through your converters, it’s important to make sure the ones you’re working with are fairly good:

• A/D Converters: Recording through an interface with good A/D converters will help capture an accurate representation of the initial analog signal with minimal degradation.

• D/A Converters: Listening back to your recordings through high-quality D/A conversion allows you to hear every detail of what your music really sounds like with improved transient definition, punch and clarity.

Here’s a short list of great sub $1000 audio interfaces to check out in various price ranges:

• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Audient ID14
• UAD Apollo interfaces
• Apogee Duet
• RME Fireface

NOTE: Check out my “Buy Smart” article from a few months back for as a guide to buying audio gear on a budget.

https://urm.academy/buy-smart-a-guide-to-buying-gear/

FAQ #3 – Will A Microphone Preamp Fix My Recordings?

The Short Answer – If you’re blaming your lack of expensive gear for the low quality of your recordings, then gear probably isn’t the problem… Back to basics!

The Long Answer:

I’ll probably get a lot of flak for saying this, but… Microphone preamps are one of the most over-hyped pieces of gear in the world of audio.

Don’t get me wrong, preamps are important, and I love analysing and comparing the unique tonal characteristics of vintage analog gear just as much as the next guy…

(Check out my “Making Digital Sound Analog” Blog for a prime example!)

https://urm.academy/making-digital-sound-analog-the-best-of-both-worlds/

But the truth is: The effect that this type of expensive equipment imparts on recordings is often over-exaggerated!

How so?

It’s not uncommon to see audiophiles preaching about the subtle differences between preamps as an answer to a question asked by a newcomer who’s barely got a grasp on even the very basics of sound engineering…

Here’s a comparable scenario:

I’ve come across a similar situation several times in my years of studying audio in Universities where a lecturer might spend hours talking about and demonstrating the minuscule sonic changes between an analog summed mix and a digital summed mix, only to later find out that the students don’t even know how to dial-in a compressor or properly set up a microphone…

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!

My main point on this subject is: Prioritise!

It’s true, a good dedicated microphone preamp is a definite improvement over the ones built-into your audio interface… But only by a few %. My advice would be to stop worrying about small details that won’t make a huge difference until you’ve nailed every other step of the process first!

If you’re unhappy with the way your recordings are sounding, it’s more likely that moving your microphone a few inches will get you closer to the results you’re after than looking for salvation in expensive gear.

When should I invest in a good preamp?

It’s simple. Once you’ve reached a point where you already own a great microphone, interface, room and monitoring setup… Cool! There’s no reason why you shouldn’t start saving up for a good microphone preamp that’ll give your recordings that extra final push.

FAQ #4 – Do I Need A DI BOX?

The Short Answer – You don’t absolutely “need” a DI Box, but getting one will most likely help improve the quality of your raw instrument tracks.

The Long Answer:

Most interfaces these days have built-in instrument (HI-Z) inputs which serve as an easy way of recording the raw DI from your instrument straight into your DAW.

The Problem:

Although the instrument inputs on high-end interfaces tend to be quite good, the same features on low-budget interfaces are often manufactured at extremely low costs. As a result, there is noticeable difference in sound quality between a DI recorded on a $100 interface and a DI recorded on a $1000 interface. This is where DI Boxes come into play.

Here are a few of the benefits to using a DI Box instead of the instrument input built-into a low-end interface:

Impedance Matching: Using an external DI Box offers improved impedance matching between instrument and interface compared to the cheap HI-Z inputs built-into budget audio interfaces (and even some of the high-end ones!)

• Proper impedance matching will translate to improved high-end clarity and punchier low-end in your DI recordings.

Accurate Transient Response: High-Quality DI boxes usually have more headroom on-tap, which will help towards accurately capturing the transient information of the instrument without clipping/ introducing unpleasant square wave distortion into the signal.

Balanced Signal Path: DI Boxes convert your instrument’s unbalanced output into a balanced signal, which will help keep any external electrical noise at bay.

• Maintaining a good signal/noise ratio is important in instances where the guitarist isn’t near the recording interface/desk. (This benefit applies mostly to live audio situations)

Pad Switch: Some low-end interfaces simply don’t have enough headroom to deal with the high-output of active pickups. Using a DI box with a pad switch is an easy way to get around this problem and prevent any unnecessary peaking.

DI Boxes – Conclusion:

Despite all of the reasons I’ve given above for investing in a good DI box, there isn’t really a night and day difference in quality between the two methods that’ll cause you to lose sleep at night.

I would however recommend you look into getting one in the long run if you rely heavily on DI Bass guitar and re-amping in your productions.

FAQ #5 – Is It Wrong To Mix On Headphones?

The Short Answer – It may not be the most ideal scenario, but it’s definitely not wrong!

The Long Answer:

It’s easy for a guy who’s sitting between a pair of expensive monitors in a professionally-treated “top-dollar” recording studio to post on the forums ranting about how mixing on headphones is “wrong”.

A more helpful piece of real world advice on the “headphones vs. monitors” argument would be to simply do whatever allows for the best results in your current situation!

Let’s take a look at some of the Pros and Cons of working on headphones in order to gain some further insight into the matter:

The Primary Cons Of Mixing On Headphones:

• Ambience: It’s difficult to judge depth and space accurately on headphones.

• Hyped Frequency Response: The frequency curve of your headphones will influence your EQ and balancing decisions, usually in a negative way.

• Ear Fatigue: Listening on headphones tends to tire the ears much quicker than monitors due to the close proximity to the speakers and tendency to crank them.

The Primary Pros Of Mixing On Headphones:

• Quiet Monitoring: Headphones allow you to work at any time of day without annoying your neighbours or family members.

• No Room Interference: You don’t have to worry about the influence of your room on what you’re hearing.

• A Cheaper Alternative For Beginners: A good pair of headphones is much more affordable than a good pair of studio monitors and proper room treatment for somebody on a low budget.

Now that we’ve laid out the good and the bad…

Here’s some quick advice for getting the best results while mixing on headphones:

Buy A Good Pair To Begin With: You really don’t have to spend much in order to get something that’ll do a really good job. Here are some great value options to consider:

• Audio Technica ATH-M50x

• AKG K702

• Beyerdynamic DT Series

• Sennheiser HD 600

Flatten Them Out: Make sure the headphones you’re listening through are as neutral as possible & use headphone correction software in order to smooth them out even further. This step is important towards making sure your mixes translate well across multiple systems.

NOTE: Check out my “Common Mixing Mistakes” Blog from a few months back for a guide on headphone correction software.

https://urm.academy/common-mixing-mistakes-volume-1/

Turn Them Down: Listen at moderate volumes and take regular breaks in order to avoid ear fatigue early on and allow for longer mixing hours.

NOTE: Check out last week’s Blog “Learn From The Legends: Chris Lord-Alge” for some legendary advice on the benefits of mixing at low volumes.

https://urm.academy/learn-from-the-legends-volume-1-chris-lord-alge/

And Last, But Not Least…

Work Your Way Up: Being able to mix on good speakers in an ideal space is definitely the goal when it comes to creating mixes that will translate well across multiple playback systems. But don’t let that stop you from starting out small and improving your listening circumstances as you progress!

Audio FAQs – Volume 1 Conclusion:

Getting the basics right often has a far more significant effect on the overall quality of a production than the highly-technical tricks that engineers tend to spend a lot of time messing about with.

If you take away a single from this article then let it be this:

Make sure you’re putting in enough time and effort to nailing the essentials that seem simple before you attempt to move on to the more “interesting” bits!

FINAL WORDS:

This concludes “Audio FAQs – Volume 1: Gear Essentials.” I hope that this article has given you some new ideas to try out during your next project. Be sure to comment below if any of this information has helped you out, or if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for more production/mixing related articles in the not-so-distant future!

---

Want mix tips from URM Academy? Read them here!

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Dan Korneff is a Producer, Mixer, Engineer that has an extensive discography including some of the biggest names in new rock (Pierce the Veil, Paramore, Papa Roach, Breaking Benjamin, Sleeping With Sirens, My Chemical Romance). He’s been busy producing and mixing at his studio, Sonic Debris Recording Studio, in Long Island, NY.

If you can give one piece of advice for upcoming engineers what would it be?

Keep working hard and take your craft seriously. There aren’t any shortcuts to being a proper engineer. Sound is science. Learn what sound is and figure out creative ways to capture it.

What would you say is the one thing that has motivated you to keep going in your career?

Music is a very personal thing. People listen to music to experience a certain feeling. I’m driven by the fact that I can influence how someone feels by the way my records are recorded and presented.

Amps or sims?

Both. There’s something you can get from an amp that you just cant get from software, and there’s something you can get from software that you just cant get from an amp.

What record still mystifies you and why?

I keep going back to the Nickelback song “Something in your mouth”. Best rock mix I’ve ever heard. How does Randy Staub do that??

What are your top five go to pieces of gear and/or plug-ins?

1176 blue stripe
Soundtoys Devil loc
Engl powerball 2
sansamp bass driver
SSL G series console

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career?

It’s a small business. Play nice.

If you could change anything about the world what would it be?

I sacrificed everything in my life to get where I’m at. One thing I would change is spending more time with my family. If this is a deeper question about the entire world, I’d have to go with ending world hunger. Its fucked up to think that if I get full at taco bell (is that food?) I just throw the rest out… but there are kids that regularly go for days/weeks without a bite to eat.

---

For more awesome tips on becoming a better producer, head on over to the URM Academy blog and subscribe to our podcast.

If you enjoyed 7 Questions With Dan Korneff, and want to learn more from Dan:

Listen to episode 8 of the URM Podcast with Dan Korneff HERE
Listen to Dan’s tips and tricks episode of the URM Podcast HERE

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Introduction To The Series:

Learning How To Learn is one of the most crucial steps you can take towards becoming great at pretty much anything – And what better place to learn than from the minds of people who have actually been doing the job successfully for years?

In this ongoing series of Blogs, we’ll explore the valuable words of wisdom bestowed upon us by some of the most sought after names in the recording studio business, and discover how you can apply this advice to your own situation.

This week, we’re delving into the mind of probably the most recognisable name in the world of audio: Chris Lord-Alge.

NOTE: If you’re hoping to find some “secret mix settings” or “magic formulas” in this article then you might as well leave now… I can guarantee you that the real secrets behind each of these engineers’ success are their ears and personal tastes.

Remember:

Following the practical “workflow and decision-making” advice these guys have to offer from years of experience in the business is far more valuable than trying to copy the settings they’ve used for specific songs!

VOLUME 1: CHRIS LORD-ALGE

Who Is CLA?

Chris Lord-Alge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning mixer and producer. He is responsible for some of the biggest and best-selling albums in music history.

Some of the artists he’s worked with include:

Green Day

My Chemical Romance

Nickelback

Muse

Keith Urban

Shinedown

AND LITERALLY HUNDREDS MORE…

Long story short: If you’ve turned on the radio at any point in the last few decades, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard one of his mixes…

CLA is well known for the high-speed at which he likes to work and his love-it or hate-it “win-win” attitude. Given the enormous number of achievements under his belt, there are few better people to heed the advice of when it comes to “making it” in the world of Audio.

Now that you know exactly who you’re dealing with, let’s cut straight to the chase:

Here Are 5 Pieces of Audio Advice From Chris Lord-Alge:

1 – Stop Mixing In Solo!

“Nobody will ever hear anything in solo. PERIOD. So the only way to get a great vocal sound is when it’s competing with everything else in the mix.” – CLA

Here’s why you should stop relying on the solo buttons in your DAW:

• A common mistake new engineers tend to make is spending way too long working on individual instruments out of context from the full mix.

• Sure, it’s easier to focus in on specific problem areas when listening in solo… But how can you expect to build a mix that serves as a tight and cohesive unit if you don’t know how each of the pieces are meant to fit together?

• It’s important to remember that everything in mixing is RELATIVE. What may sound like a bright and clear vocal in isolation will probably sound lifeless and muffled the moment you add in other bright elements like distorted guitars and cymbals…

NOTE: This doesn’t mean that you should disregard the solo button entirely, as listening in isolation for short periods of time to fix problems is perfectly OK. CLA’s main point is that you should refrain from making drastic tonal decisions independently from the big picture.

2 – It’s Not About The Gear…

“Most mixers spend way too much time messing around with equipment… It’s not about the plugin; it’s about the power of the song! Everyone knows how the equipment works. You can’t afford to get lost in creating a cool sound that will never matter.” – CLA

Excuses, excuses…

• CLA may be known for his use of an expensive SSL desk and hoards of vintage analog gear… But it’s not the tools he uses that makes for his instantly recognisable sound.

• We love to drool over the gear our mixing idols have and use them as excuses for why our own mixes don’t sound as good. The truth is, guys like Chris can produce an incredible mix with whichever tools you put in front of them! As the classic saying goes: “It’s the ear, not the gear”.

• The average music listener doesn’t really care about the gear you used. They’ll most likely take a good song with a poor mix over a terrible song with a good mix any day of the week.

• It’s time to stop obsessing over which of your dozen 1176 plugins is “the most accurate to the original” and just get on with making some actual music!

3 – Commit To Your Sounds!

“Anybody can plug a mic in, turn up some level and record it to a track without screwing anything up… A pro goes: ‘Hey, I’ve got a cool mic and some cool EQ, I’m gonna build something into the sound and create something with a vibe.’ – Try and make the rough mix the final!” – CLA

“Never second guess yourself. Go with your gut instinct. Make it so you like it, because if you like it, they’ll like it! Don’t compromise. Obviously, you need to make the client happy, but you have to make yourself happy first.” – CLA

Learn to trust yourself and move on:

• Leaving multiple open-ended decisions for “future you” to deal with is a surefire way of slowing down your workflow and preventing you from getting things done.

• Answer this question honestly: If you were unable to pull off “the perfect guitar tone” on the day of recording, then do you really think you’ll manage to pull it off only a day later in re-amping?

• A far better approach is to do the best job you can in the moment, commit to the sound, move on, and try to improve your source sounds with each new project you work on.

• There’s no substitute for making mistakes and learning from said mistakes. If you go for years without ever finishing anything because you’re afraid of screwing up, then you’ll cheat yourself out of formative years which could be spent crafting a portfolio to build upon!

4 – Turn It Down

“I listen really quietly. When you’ve been doing this job for a while, you tend to listen at such a low volume that in order for it to hit you in the face, you have to really push it. Listening at low volumes prevents fatigue and you can hear better what’s going on. When you turn things up, after a while all your moves become a smear. So when you’re doing really critical moves, do them at a low level.” – CLA

Here’s why you should heed CLA’s advice and turn it down a notch or two:

• Everything sounds good when it’s being blasted at full-whack… The real trick to building a mix that translates well and maintains the same level of impact across multiple systems is to make sure it’s hitting hard at lower volumes.

• Alongside these sonic benefits, listening quietly will also allow for longer mixing hours each day and help preserve your ears in the long run. This is absolutely essential if you’re after a long-lasting & HEALTHY career in audio.

5 – CONCLUSION: You Have To Be Competitive

“Either you dedicate your life to doing what we do, or you don’t do it! You could do it comfortably… But if you do it in a way that’s nice and “kush” and easy, then don’t complain!” – CLA

#NOSMALLTIME:

• You don’t reach the level of success and employability guys like CLA have achieved by being SMALLTIME. (As Joel Wanasek would put it)

• It takes a huge amount of dedication, research, experimentation, personal sacrifice and an equal amount of failure to make it in this business. You can’t expect opportunities to just fall straight into your arms if you’re not willing to put in the hours necessary to overtake the competition…

• As can be seen in the case of CLA, if you truly want something bad enough then you’ll do whatever it takes to get it… No matter how many years of late nights and trudging through learning curves it takes!

Check out these resources for further insight into CLA’s techniques:

 

Sound on Sound – Secrets of the Mix Engineers: Chris Lord-Alge

Final Words:

This concludes “Learn From The Legends – Volume 1: Chris Lord-Alge.” I hope that this article has given you some new ideas to try out during your next project. Be sure to comment below if any of this information has helped you out, or if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for more production/mixing related articles in the not-so-distant future!

 

---

Want mix tips from URM Academy? Read them here!

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

 

| By Dave Whalen | 

Over the last few months I’ve found myself doing live sound a lot more, and I have to tell you a secret: not only do I find it more enjoyable at this point, but I think it’s making me a better mixer – a lot better.  Don’t tell anyone.

There are many reasons mixing live sound is making me better. The reason you’d probably guess is that I’m simply getting in more hours behind the board, and I’m naturally getting better by putting in the hours.

Of course, that’s true, but there’s more to it than that, and if I may, I would like to run through the myriad of reasons I will continue to mix live, and why I think you should too.

I’m going to break it down into two parts: technical benefits and interpersonal benefits. In this entry, I’ll be focusing on the technical benefits, and next time I’ll dive into how it can benefit our relationships.

You will learn to be efficient:

I do live sound mostly at my church so the basic setup is the same from week to week. Practically this means that I don’t have to re-mic the drum kit every time I show up and the basic instrumentation is the same. There are however different musicians every week who have different playing styles and different basses, guitar rigs, etc. 

This diversity of instruments, coupled with the limited time you will have to make them sound good together, means you have to get really good at identifying and solving problems quickly. After all, in the best cases you may only get a half-hour rehearsal/sound check, or worse, a 5-minute line check before the show.

The need to dial in sound and fix issues quickly is paramount because the band’s performance can be greatly affected by how the room sounds and their monitor mix. For instance, I have this vocalist whose voice naturally resonates at about 730Hz, and the room we’re in resonates at that frequency as well. This results in a horrible sounding lead vocal. The ability to identify and cut that frequency (by about 20db) resulted in him being able to hear himself more clearly in his monitors and sing more confidently without thinking he’s pushing too hard.

Also, the audience may start throwing things at you if the sound sucks.

You’ll learn to be more comfortable using the tools at your disposal:

I have it, you have it, the band has it. At some point, we’ve all had it – Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or G.A.S.  

As a mix engineer, it’s especially easy to get caught up in buying shiny new tools that do awesome things. As a live sound engineer though, you are likely stuck with whatever tools the venue has available for you to use.

Sometimes that’s going to be an analog board with two fixed-band EQ’s, two mid-band EQ’s and maybe an outboard reverb and a couple of compressors. Sometimes it may be a huge Avid Venue console with a crapload of DSP and a full suite of your favorite plugins. Most likely, however, it’s going to be a basic digital console with a parametric EQ, compressor, gate and limiter for each channel and a few other goodies. If you’re lucky and have the right computer setup and i/o from the console, you may even be able to run your own plugins on some channels.

You’ll learn all about getting it right at the source:

Overhead mics that are out of phase with the snare drum sound thin and crappy. An improperly placed kick drum mic may require more EQ cut than you have available on your channel strip. An improperly tuned snare drum will ring out at 400-600 Hz and you won’t ever be able to EQ it out without killing the body of your drum.

Guitar tones that aren’t properly dialed in may not be salvageable by the tools you have at the FOH position. It’s possible that moving the microphone back or forward an inch can save it. It’s worth experimenting.

The bass… never mind about the bass, just plug him into a DI.

You will learn about mixing in sub-optimal environments:

Let’s face it, not all venues are the same. Just like various studios around the world, every one has its quirks that we have to deal with. The venue where I usually mix has a terrible slap delay coming from the back wall, and the mix position is on the top level inside of a hole where the bass gathers. As a result I have to mix the bass about 6db louder than I normally would, simply because I know it’s not as powerful at the audience level as it is at the mix position.

It’s actually the same kind of “translation” issue I face with my studio mixes in that what I have to do is learn the room from the mix position and also from the audience position, and make sure it translates well across the whole room.

You’ll learn about finishing:

A lot of us mixer-type folks have a problem with knowing when something is “complete” and letting it go. Live mixing will definitely help you get over that issue. With a live show, you have your start time and you have your end time, and at that point it’s over. There are no revisions, and the grade is pass/fail. You’ll know which grade you made by the reaction of the band after the show… Unless you managed to trick all of them.

You’ll learn about cutting 4k:

Perhaps the most important benefit of mixing a live show is the issue of 4k. You see, after such prolonged exposure to such high decibels, your ears are going to consistently ring. With any luck they will ring at 4k, and you will intuitively cut 4k out of everything… Lest it drive you completely insane.

Seriously though, there are companies that make acoustically transparent ear plugs. Get a pair, because ringing in the ears truly is terrible.

 

There are probably a million ways doing live sound will help you up your studio game on the technical side. But technical ability isn’t the only thing that matters to your professional audio career. In fact, I would say it comes in behind interpersonal skills and relationships. Tune in for my next piece, where we will explore how running live sound can benefit our relationships as well.

---

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!