Category: URM Podcast

Welcome to MixCritMonday, the show where we critique YOUR mixes.

In the hotseat this month is Caleb Rodriguez.

Caleb submitted a metalcore mix for us to crit and after a little investigation we figured out that he was making two major mistakes:

1. He used little to no reference material
2. His source tracks were not ready for mixing, yet he didn’t fix them

We also discovered that his mixing environment was an acoustical mess and that he was compensating by mixing in headphones, a big no no. Considering he wasn’t even using reference material to get his bearings, Caleb was basically his own worst enemy on this mix.

The combination of unedited, poorly performed tracks with an unreliable listening space placed a glass ceiling on how good his mix could actually get.

[smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/urmpodcast/s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/season1/april2015/URMPC007-Mixcritmonday.mp3″ title=”EP7 | Mixcritmonday With Caleb Rodriguez” image=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/Images/square+covers/URM_customPodcast_standard_04.jpg” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_email=”true” ]

In this episode you’ll learn about:

• Acoustical room treatments for under $200
• How to properly use reference mixes
• Steps to take if you mixing environment is sub par
• Which little details make a huge difference in a guitar tone
• Replacing an out of tune bass with a synth bass
• Mid range buildups that can make a mix hard to listen to

Want us to crit your mix? Click here to find out how!

links:

Line 6 Pod Farm
Savior custom Drums
Drumforge
Steven Slate Drums

Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

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!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

[btnsx id=”904″]

[btnsx id=”911″]

[btnsx id=”773″]

[btnsx id=”915″]

[btnsx id=”937″]

[btnsx id=”946″]

[btnsx id=”952″]

[btnsx id=”957″]

[btnsx id=”960″]

[btnsx id=”962″]

“Perfection Is The Enemy Of Progress” – Winston Churchill

Imagine if our favorite mixers decided to stop mixing until every single aspect of their control room was perfect…

They would never mix, because no control room is ever perfect!

No matter how hard you try, you can’t get better than best. Sure, there’s always room for improvement, and over time, with the right work ethic, anyone can improve what their best is. However, in the present moment, you can’t do any better than the best you can do.

Learn to live with that.

Perfectionism is one of the biggest momentum killers we face. It’s a futile pursuit because like it or not, nothing will ever be perfect. You are chasing the impossible. Once you replace perfectionism with an unbreakable commitment to getting the job done, that’s when your audio skills will really jump to the next level.

Perfection is nothing, momentum is everything.

[smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/urmpodcast/s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/season1/april2015/URMPC006-ThinkingAboutBetterThanBest.mp3″ title=”EP6 | Thinking About Better Than Best” image=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/Images/square+covers/URM_customPodcast_standard_07.jpg” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_email=”true” ]

In this episode we cover:

• Making the most of your listening environment
• Using “crappy” speakers to improve your mixes
• The difference between real and arbitrary deadlines
• Don’t trust a spec sheet, trust your ears
• Resources for quality acoustic treatment

Links:

How to build your own acoustic panels
Build your own acoustic panels for under $30
Real Traps
GIK Acoustics
CreativeLIVE 

Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

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!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

[btnsx id=”904″]

[btnsx id=”911″]

[btnsx id=”773″]

[btnsx id=”915″]

[btnsx id=”937″]

[btnsx id=”946″]

[btnsx id=”952″]

[btnsx id=”957″]

[btnsx id=”960″]

[btnsx id=”962″]

The most common mixing mistakes up and comers make involve trying to run before they walk.

In other words… they try to do the advanced stuff before they conquer the basics.

Focusing on the wrong things will keep you from achieving your mixing potential. For instance, you shouldn’t even think about Mid Side EQ before you’ve mastered a simple 4 band. Don’t mess with parallel compression when you don’t even understand what attack and release do. Don’t start mixing a song if the tracking still needs editing and tuning.

All great mixes are built on solid fundamentals like EQ, compression, gain staging, levels, and panning.

[smart_track_player url=”http://media.blubrry.com/urmpodcast/s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/season1/april2015/URMPC005-RunBeforeYouWalk.mp3″ title=”EP5 | Run Before You Walk” image=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/urmpublicpodcast/Images/square+covers/URM_customPodcast_standard_06.jpg” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_email=”true” ]

“You don’t spend years on the mix, but you spent years learning how to mix” – Eyal Levi

You can avoid the most common mixing mistakes when you learn:

• The biggest steps you can take towards great tone
• What to focus on first
• The importance of fundamentals
• The most common causes of bad tone
• Technical vs musical mixing
• When to take risks and experiment
• The pros and cons of new plugins

links

Presonus Faderport
Fabfilter Pro-q2
Drumforge
Nail The Mix
Unstoppable Recording Machine

Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

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!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

[btnsx id=”904″]

[btnsx id=”911″]

[btnsx id=”773″]

[btnsx id=”915″]

[btnsx id=”937″]

[btnsx id=”946″]

[btnsx id=”952″]

[btnsx id=”957″]

[btnsx id=”960″]

[btnsx id=”962″]