STYLE
How do I approach a mix? What do I pay attention to? What am I referencing? What is my process? Having apprenticed with Sean Moffitt for over seven years, we share a lot of the same thoughts and processes. But even so, every music maker has their style and preferences. These are some things I hold fast to.
The song is king. My goal is never to impose my sound or to replicate others’ sound. If you want “that” sound, then be that artist, hire that producer, hire that mixer… I aim to be transparent and to make each song the best representation of itself and the artist. Of course, I have sonic preferences and tendencies and tastes, but I believe each artist has their own sound and each song has its own vibe. It’s my job to interpret what is there, and let the song speak for itself in the best way possible. Ultimately I seek to make the client happy with what they hear. I may interject my thoughts based on professional experience, but I always serve the song and serve the client.
Every song is different, so I can’t always attack them in the same way, but I do try to methodize my process. I don’t approach things with a template, or just start slapping on my favorite things. The process is there to harness efficiency, but the art and style change. Knowing how to navigate a session and use the tools you have to achieve the sound you want is the biggest benefit.
1) Listen to the rough mix and references, and analyze how things are constructed… the producer and artist have probably spent weeks or more shaping the sound already, it would be foolish of me to just haphazardly strip everything down and think I can make it better in 1 day. I’ll take a few notes about what needs to change, what needs to be featured, etc.
2) Gain staging and orienting myself with the session. I try to hit certain sweet spots with gain that work for me. THis is where I’ll do some broad levelinge, clip gain adjustments, and slight eq adjustments to glaring distractions within tracks.
3) I work on the 2buss. My process and opinion about 2buss treatment has changed over the years. But what has remained true is that I try to hit a sweet spot within the chain. I might use a combination of a few slight compression tools, maybe some saturation tools, and probably some EQ and limiting.
3) Once I’m happy with the broad feel and vibe of the song and 2buss, I’ll start getting surgical: fixing glaring problems, and shaping things. But honestly, less is more. Level, automation, and panning will take you farther than having a channel strip on EVERY TRACK. What’s important? What’s needed? What already sits nicely?
4) I’ll then turn my attention to the vocal, trying to get the right vocal chain and ride the level. Then, I’ll incorporate effects.
5) Then, I fine-tune with automation to let things speak, take out misc frequencies, or do last-minute editing to clean up tracks. I’ll also do some tweaking to the 2buss again. During the mixing process, I go back and forth between Macro and Micro moves.
6) Print that sucker
If you’re wondering what styles I work in, what inspires me, or what I reference, here are some carefully curated songs. Or if you are curious to hear my own work, listen to these playlists in STEREO and ATMOS. Dive deeper into some more specific questions in my Q&A post.