New to mixing

[TomTom8theworld]

essentially wanna learn to mix my own music but don't really know where to start. Any tips or pointers on where to begin would be a big help! I'm kinda going for the 'djent' sound (for lack of a better word), also if there's anything I should know prior to learning to mix etc, feel free to inform aha .

 

[KingAenarion]

It is a skill like any other to learn.

- You need to practice it to get better at it.
- You should learn how to do the basics (in this case levels, pan, EQ, compression, using reverbs and the operation of your recording interface and DAW) and be very comfortable with what they do and how they work before learning any tricks.
- Once you've got a handle on the basics practice adding other elements and perfecting them rather than trying to learn everything at once.
- Take care of yourself and don't push yourself (in the case of mixing protect your ears and don't mix for too long so as not to tire your ears out)
- Reference what you're doing to the experts, watch and listen to what they do so you can understand how and why they do it that way. The bigger your arsenal of ideas to build on the better.
- AGAIN! PRACTICE IT REGULARLY, doesn't have to be a lot just regular.
- Don't expect to be amazing overnight
- Analyze your mistakes and learn from them.
- Analyze your successes and see what you could have done better.
- Remember there are no hard and fast rules about HOW or WHY to do something, but some things are done the way they are for efficiency and ease, and some things are done because it's tradition or ingrained. Learn to spot the difference.

Good luck. There are lots of great resources if you just browse this forums pages for all the "how do I ........?" threads. Also YouTube tutorials will help you alot.

 

[Aion]

This guy does a good job of explaining various audio production tricks. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRzsiP_aDWWLHV4-2LKBtg

Warning: his methodology is solid but the music itself sucks. Just pretend all of his Jesus-Rawk was written by Slayer in an attempt to be ironic and it gets a little less insufferable.

For other specifics, as King said, just youtube search "djent tone," "metal guitar," "metal drums," or whatever adjectives that describe the tone of the instrument you're working on and go by those. Remember, a lot of these will tell you "do X, Y, and Z for perfect tone," but what one person hear's as perfect the next person does not. Make sure to keep a critical ear,to play around, and get the sound that YOU like. The best way to do this is to have a clear picture in your head of how each instrument should sound and how they all should sound together. It'll take some time to be able to do that, but once you do, you should be very happy with your recordings.

 

[TallestFiddle]

I think one of the biggest things when mixing a guitar based song is to get a good recording. Clean tracking really goes a long way when you're mixing. You can waste a lot of time trying to highlight things that weren't there in the first place. So try to make sure you've got your guitar/bass recorded to the best of your ability before going on to mixing it. Sometimes it takes a long time to get a good take, so be patient. Sometimes if I'm trying to get something perfect I'll cheat and piece together parts from different takes to make one good take, but its best to avoid that because it can make things sound unnatural, and it won't be helping your playing in the long run.

 

[TomTom8theworld]

thanks guys! Helped me out, I have my guitar tone down and I'm happy with it, I'm currently just struggling to get a good bass guitar tone and essentially putting it all together and making it sound..... Well good ahaha, but thanks, appreciate it