Take the famous Phil Spector 'wall of sound' production method of the '60s - the name might imply that everything and the kitchen sink was thrown in there, but actually it was just well-recorded, distinct, big sounds. In fact, many great pieces of music use sparse arrangements with a few well-recorded sounds and instruments. Too much clutterĬomputers have put untold musical power at our fingertips, but this doesn't mean we need to fill 256 tracks every time we compose a new tune. From there, spread everything upwards and across the frequency range and don't have too much happening in any one area of the spectrum. Most genres of music are driven by some form of bass (with rock it's bass guitar, for example, and with electronic music it's synth bass) so make sure your mix has some kind of low end element on which to hang. A simple rule of thumb is to keep instruments of the same frequency apart, like naughty children, so you don't get them clashing and fighting with one another for attention.Ī good place to hit first is the bottom end, or bass. This is usually a sign of terrible monitors being used at the mixing stage - great monitors let you hear the whole frequency range of your mix. There's nothing worse than a track that has been mixed so that so that the whole thing takes your head off with all of the parts sounding like they are playing through a tin can.
Pan everything to one area and your listeners will simply think that one of their speakers or headphones is playing up.
Just make sure the finished mix sits across the whole width of the spectrum rather than in one part. Pan certain parts to extremes: unusual effects, percussive noises and pads go hard left and right backing vocals can come further in main vocals and bass usually sit best in the middle.īut while there are rules here, don't feel you can't break them. With this in mind, be sure to make good use of your 'humble' panning tools. Poor mixes throw everything down a narrow beam of audio straight into your eardrums. Great mixes spread themselves like a warm audio blanket across the entire stereo spectrum. Try to think of music in three dimensions, and first, check the width. One of the most common problems with mixes occurs when too much is happening in any one part of the musical plane (or to look at it another way, not enough). So, keep these points in mind the next time you're working on a mix, and your production nightmares could soon be over. Our list contains everything from the obvious to the not-so-glaring, from throwing too much into an arrangement to making things too loud, and even - yes, we really do mean this - making it too perfect! The solution is to listen to a bunch of people who know what they're talking about! Drawing upon many years' experience of mixing and producing music, and importantly, listening to reader demos, newly signed artists and commercial releases, our experts have identified the top 10 most common mistakes made by budding producers. Just as making music is very personal, so are individual listeners' particular likes and dislikes. Of course, it's also important to get feedback from others, but getting valuable feedback can be difficult. Have you over-compressed? Is your track too long? Only by assessing next to a commercial offering can you judge if you're truly up there with the best. You can learn a lot from A/B'ing your music next to an artist or genre you have in mind when composing.Ĭonsider pace, overall production and EQ.
Try to think about what you'd like to sound like, too. You should also listen to your nearly finished mix on as many other setups as possible you'll pick up more discrepancies the more systems you try. Generally, you shouldn't use headphones for monitoring while mixing unless you really know what you're doing or your room is incredibly bad-sounding. As an example, if your speakers are too bassy you will under-compensate for the bass as you mix, and your efforts will sound tinny on any other system. Part of coming up with a great finished track is being able to step back and listen with objective ears.Ī good set of monitors should have the flattest possible frequency response so the music is uncoloured.
#LISTEN TO PASSMAKER MIXES ON COMPUTER FULL#
You can only assess the full dynamic and frequency ranges of your mixes and the interaction of all the musical parts if you can hear them properly. Part of coming up with a great finished track is being able to step back and listen with objective ears - and it's worth ensuring you have a decent set of studio monitors.
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