The Two Stage Mixing System

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Articles Making Better Recordings The Two Stage Mixing System

Busting your audio mixing up into two unique stages can

make a dramatic impact on the intensity of your mixes.

If there's any common muscle that never seems to need

more exercise in audio recording land, it has to be the left

brain / right brain switcher. Being able to switch from a

guy who can troubleshoot a video card or wire a patchbay

to a guy who create a melody that makes you imagine

you have three arms is not an easy task. In recording land

you MUST learn to use this left brain / right brain switcher

muscle.

In my

experience,

no one is

great at this.

I've never

really seen

anyone who

was equally

good at

equalizing a

vocal and

determining

how much

emotional

intensity was

in that take all at the same time. You can kinda teeter

The Two Stage Mixing System

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Published on 10-04-201112:11 AM Number of Views:

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20 Comments

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9 23.11.2011 19:09


2/9

totter back and forth between the two brains, but if you're

under the gun of any time limitations, very few of us

consistently nail both.

Any time I get a chance to bust up the two types of task, I

do. When tracking electric guitars, for example, I always

reamp. It does take more time. I don't care. I'd rather

plug the Les Paul into a DI, run it through some emulator,

and not have to think about anything tonal. I can then

focus on making sure the guitar player plays t ightly,

in-tune, and grooves properly. I don't have to concernmyself with 6L6 vs EL34 vs EL84 or Vintage 30 vs

Greenback or dynamic mic vs ribbon. I just need to get

the guitars down. I like being luxury of focusing.

Most of all, I've really gotten into mixing in two main

stages.

Stage #1 MixingThe goal with a Stage #1 mix is to come out with a

full-blown mix, but do it with half the good brain. In other

words, I force myself to get a ll the tracks organized, color-

coded, and routed in ways that I like to work. I need to

cut out all the noise. I need to try to solve any and all

obvious problems I may have in individual tracks. Then Ineed to go ahead and force a real mix. I say force,

because this generally means I need to make the

left-brain/right-brain switch.

I think this may be the crucial cerebral mistake that many

new guys to mixing make. They believe mixing is a

technical process. In the preliminary stages of any mix it

probably most tecnica, but the purpose of mixing is to

excite the hel l out of the li stener. In order to do that, you

can ONLY do it within an emotional context yourself. The

rigid adherence to technical abil ity runs out of rope

several yards from the main goal. Technical-only mixers

simply don't have what it takes to pull this off and that's

why I'm not worried about robots taking our jobs in the

next 20 years. The irrational, emotional side of you isrequired.

Note: In all seriousness, the most crazed women should

have an extreme natural aptitude for mixing. It's rather

surprising to me that we don't have nearly as many

women at the upper echelons of the mixing world. Maybe

some of this Stage #1 business is more geared for guys.

Not sure.

Anyhow, I am going for a real-deal mix with Stage #1.

The only thing that separates it from a Stage #2 mix is

how seriously I take it the next morning. I realize that this

mix was contaminated with right-brain usage so I don't

take it too seriously. I can't. It's tainted.

It's absolutely essential that this mix holds up at

full-blown RMS level. This is technical junk. Using the TT

Dymamic Range Meter, I'm now mixing to hit -4dB RMS in

the loudest sections. That is as LOUD as what Britney

Spears or Avenged Sevenfold will be . Wedging 30 tracks

into -4dB RMS isn't easy. It takes twice as much work as

hitting -6dB RMS. Yuck! However, I look at this like a

basketball coach holding his players up to higher

standards in practice. If the mix can't squash to -4dB

without pumping, distorting, or sounding like something

went way wrong it's definitely not ready for stage #2. I

CAN NOT be dealing with these kind of issues in stage #2

as it's a sacred, emotional place. If I'm pulling out

frequency analyzers or questioning if I have the right kick

and bass sounds, I have a major problem. At Stage #2, I

can always hit the multi-band a little less or hit the

brickwall limiter a little less and come out at -6dB RMS.

The last thing I want to hear from the client is that -6dB

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RMS is not loud enough. I have heard this and i t's a HUGE

pain after Stage #2 as it generally breaks most of my

creative stuff.

I may as well get my mixes in shape early and let them

take it easy if just happen to stumble upon my first client

to ever NOT want it loud.

Stage #2: The Next MorningLike a strong hangover, you always view the world quite a

bit differently the next morning. I don't like to listen to myStage #1 mixes that night. I always like to wait until the

next morning. The new me is a lot tougher on a mix

than the guy who's all proud of whatever decisions he

made.

The overwhelming majority of the time, the mixes are

often good. I usually have one or two tiny little problems

that I knew I was pushing the limit and I need to back off

a bit. However, there's one gigantic flaw that I see almost

every time. The first mix is almost always

BOOOOOOORINNNNNG.

What makes a mix boring? The overwhelming thing I

hear in my Stage #1 mix is a lack of change. Everythingfeels really constant. The first verse always seems to

sound like the second verse. The last chorus, aside from

whatever additional tracks are used to pump it up, isn't

that far from the first chorus. This lack of contrast within

the song is kinda like eating only a piece of steak for

supper. It may even be one hell of a steak, but nothing

beats eating a piece of t-bone and then grabbing a bite of

corn, taters, or green beans. The next bite of steak seems

new again.

A major part of the Stage #2 mix is ensuring that I give

the listener those side pieces to chew on. Some of this is

a per-genre thing. In pop music mixing, my creat ive

freedom/responsibility is quite a bit higher. I have to sort

through numerous possible tracks and find ideal ways toescalate the song here and there. In rock music, the

performances should naturally do this quite a bit, but

nowadays we are often given more tracks than we'd ever

need and these can often be great tools to add contrast

within the mix. Even with a sparse arrangement,

automation can be used to brutally manipulate what the

listener feels.

Note: It's important to note that a boring mix of a great

song will still sound pretty badass. A person just listening

for fun who likes the song will l ike it in Boring Mode. They

won't even understand the mix sucks. Maybe this is

squint mode stuff. However, a great song with a great

mix should FEEL 30 zi llion times better. It's the differencebetween the song making you want to move or the song

sounding good.

A person who listens to your mix and says, Sounds good,

ust gave you the middle finger. That's a HUGE sign that

you've royally screwed up. A metalhead should be bangin'

his head. Dance music should inspire dancing from

everyone in the room. Any radio genre should require you

to ask the band to sing along softer so you can hear the

monitors. Exceptions to this are when the band is too

insecure to enjoy their music or the song wasn't that good

in the first place.

ConclusionWhen you do your first mix of a song, get a ll the technicalhurdles out of the way and do you damnedest to crank out

a mix that kills. Listen on another set of speakers with

completely fresh ears and see if the mix makes you move.

If not, go back and attack it with that goal specifically in


9 23.11.2011 19:09


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mind. Rely on your emotions and toss logic out the

window.

I've found the 2-stage mixing system to be absolutely

crucial to my way of working. I avoid the problems

associated with switching the left-brain/right-brain muscle.

Hopefully in the end everyone is dancing.

Good luck!

Categories: Tactics And Concepts, Audio Mixing Tips

Tags: audio mixing, reamp, tt dymamic range meter

20 Comments

Share

waynepd, Chased, BenJaMan and 5 others like this.

moleunion - 10-04-2011, 12:42 AM

More good stuff! Keep it coming.

Reply

kredd - 10-04-2011, 08:55 AM

right on! good words to live by!

Reply

Chased - 10-04-2011, 09:06 AM

Ah, Brandon, I really like where you'regoing lately with this manic "excite the

listener" stuff - are you working on

another e-book treating just this juicy

topic, perhaps... Meaning, I wanna hear

more, this article is just so tantalising. I'd

love to read more detail and your

thoughts on just paragraph 4 of the

Stage#2:The Next Morning section, just

as a starter. All most enjoyable in the

usual finest quality wool for the thinking

cap, cheers.

Reply

Bo Polatty - 10-04-2011, 09:09 AM

A few lines into this article and I'm

already mumbling "Absolutely!"

Reply

Mike Upchurch - 10-04-2011, 09:10 AM

Good piece, but other than mentioning

"automation" (which? Volume, EQ,Effects?) this lacks much explanation of

the specifics of Phase 2. Got any specific

advice, of better yet- another piece on

the specifics of the creative mix?

Originally Posted bymoleunion

More good stuff! Keep it

coming.

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9 23.11.2011 19:09


5/9

Canadian Guy - 10-04-2011, 09:14 AM

Brandon, as usual you are totally on. I

never considered it as a right brain, left

brain thing but I used to finish a mix late

on a Sunday night (I have to work

weekdays) and I'd swear it was the best

thing I'd ever done. A couple of day

slater, I'd listen again go, "This is really

s*****". What was happening is exactlywhat you've described - I was EQing,

fading and fiddling. Doing all technical

stuff with no emotional focus. I now leave

my mixes for a whole week and this

"space" definitely helps. When I go back,

I'm listening with fresh ears, I'm more

critical and more objective.

Reply

dvorme - 10-04-2011, 09:26 AM

Yes. And if I push myself to Just Get It

Done, I'm guaranteed to hate the mix

later.

Reply

racherry - 10-04-2011, 09:34 AM

No doubt. If you are a guitar player, rest

assured the guitar will be on top in the

mix, same same piano, sax, etc. Every

audio and speaker system has a slant on

the mix, be aware. Get away and come

back to it for a fresh percpective.

Reply

redworks - 10-04-2011, 10:43 AM

yeah man, this is where it is at. take the

mix and mix it up and then you can start

to get excited. i hear too many people

trying to get a song to sound nice and

forgetting that we want it to sound great

not nice.

Reply

DanTheMan - 10-04-2011, 11:01 AM

This article is another great one. I hate

doing all the technical crap while I'm

trying to record myself. It's like I'm

straddling a fence. Perhaps that's why I

have trouble staying in key? Anytime

something is up close and personal with

the boys, my vocal cords are in primal

mode. They're good a grunts and

screams, but not much else. Anyway,

getting a dedicated friend that you can

help and will help you make home

recordings seems to be an ideal way of

separating duties and allowing the brain

to do what it wants to do--focus on

something! Of course these means you

have to trust that your partners skills are

up to snuff. I find that hard to do.Dan

Reply

mofo pro - 10-04-2011, 12:30 PM

I've got to admit, I get spammed with

tons of email new letters from people

just talking Sh#t about audio... Seems

like everyone with an opinion feels

Reply


9 23.11.2011 19:09


6/9

compelled to be an expert... a lot of time

trying to package and sell this "wisdom"

as brilliance. Then I read Brandon's

articles and honestly, even after being

involved in music production for 40 plus

years, I always come away with

something valuable, if only a refresher in

something I've not thought about for

years... or a fresh perspective on

something I have...Thanks Brandon...

well done... damn near every time

brandondrury - 10-04-2011, 02:03 PM

Hmmm. I'm not sure if CAN be taught in

general terms. On top of that, it's

subjective as hell. Hmmm.Much as I

discuss towards the end of the little

article, if the mix "sound good" (or evengreat), you screwed up. That's NOT the

point (not that we want it to sound bad).

The point is the head bobbing, the mom

crying, or the foot tapping depending on

what you are up to. If none of those

things occur, something is broken.You

should wrecklessly and chaotically pursue

that emotional response from people. If

you aren't dancing in your seat or

banging in your feet I has to ask, "WHY

NOT?". When a song is awesome and my

body is moving to the music I know I've

got the mix right. There may be details

that need to work out, but the mission isaccomplished.When a production isn't

exciting, I usually scruntch up my

eyebrows and get fairly radical with our

options. For real bands this needs to be

done in preproduction. If I'm feeling an

emotion that the song isn't supposed to

convey (boredom, the not-dance feeling,

etc) it's time to start trying stuff. What

stuff? Hell, I don't know. I guess this

needs to be another article or maybe

even a video. To hammer out all the

possibilities may take a full blown

product. Not sure. I hate to even start

with generic stuff. I could te ll you, "Why

not double time the hi-hat?" but that 's

the kind of crap we all know. Maybe the

point is to put yourself in a position

where you use that side of your brain

while mixing (in Phase #2). Did you ask

if a hi-hat needed to be doubled? Did you

ask what would happen if you killed the

bass in the verse? the chorus? Maybe this

"learn to ask" thing is part of it. By trying

things types of things, it's crazy how

much a song can change in 10 minutes.Of

course, everything affects everything.

Sometimes half-timing the verse, causes

the transition to the pre-chorus to sound

screwy which changes the way the chorushits. It's all complex and getting all the

pieces to fit perfectly is a challenge.

. Got any specific advice, of

better yet- another piece on

the specifics of the creative

mix?

No doubt. If you are a

guitar player, rest assured

Reply


9 23.11.2011 19:09


7/9

Agreed. Then when you over compensate

you end up with them way too low in the

mix. WE CAN'T WIN!!!

DEFINITELY! In the old days we referred

to this person as a "producer" or

"engineer" even if it's just you and the

bass player switching off. I'm HUGE on

this concept. I love to be in the room

with a band writing. People are

HORRIBLE at realizing when they dosomething AMAZING. Maybe they are

self-conscious. I like just sitting there and

when something is great saying, "YES

YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!". THAT THING is

it!! Then if I'm not excited, that's a sign,

too.

Thanks a ton for the praise! Now that I'm

a defeated husband being beat on by a

dominating wife, I could use the little

pick-me-up. (Okay, she's not turned

into a monster YET, but it's only been 3

days.)

the guitar will be on top in

the mix, same same piano,

sax, etc

Anyway, getting a

dedicated friend that you

can help and will help youmake home recordings

seems to be an ideal way of

separating duties and

allowing the brain to do

what it wants to do--focus

on something!

I've got to admit, I get

spammed with tons of

email new letters from

people just talking Sh#t

about audio... Seems like

everyone with an opinion

feels compelled to be anexpert... a lot of time trying

to package and sell this

"wisdom" as brilliance.

Then I read Brandon's

articles and honestly, even

after being involved in

music production for 40 plus

years, I always come away

with something valuable, if

only a refresher in

something I've not thought

about for years... or a fresh

perspective on something I

have...Thanks Brandon...

well done

Burny - 10-04-2011, 05:53 PM

Congratulations then!

Originally Posted by

brandondrury...but it's only been 3 days.

Reply


9 23.11.2011 19:09


8/9

For keeping her in check THAT long, of

course :-)

chacka - 10-05-2011, 03:04 AM

What? You married just a few days ago?

Congrats, man! All the best.

On your article, that is just what I needed

right now! I've gotta train that switch

muscle more.

Originally Posted bybrandondrury

Now that I'm a defeated

husband being beat on by adominating wife, I could

use the litt le pick-me-up.

(Okay, she's not turned

into a monster YET, but it's

only been 3 days.)

Reply

andresix - 10-08-2011, 11:17 AM

Great one Brandon! I feel that every and

each time i read one of your articles i'm

getting inspired. Often it's things i didn't

even though about so it's forcing me to

use brain (yeah, sometimes i do... not

too often^^). Thx ! I'll try and get that

feel to my next mix!

Reply

bilkin - 10-09-2011, 04:40 PM

Good luck on the whole marriage thingthere Brandon.

Reply

ZanetheVocalist - 10-18-2011, 10:51 PM

Great way to approach this. Of course the

easiest way to add the contrast is via

automation, but good automation take

up a great dea l of time to set up properly.

If you have the time then by all means

do it. I have a bad habit of mixing

technically. Staring at the meters,

worrying if the guitars should be half a db

louder or the vocal reverb a little wetter...

I should just go with how I feel and stopcomparing new songs to old. Its one

thing to use an old mix as a reference,

than to try and copy what you did before

again. Doing something different and

making each song unique is my goal for

all my future mixes.

Reply

widnikprod - 10-20-2011, 11:15 AM

Great article, especially as I go into day 2

on a mix and find that I apply most of

what you're saying a lready. I'll be

rethinking the things I don't do now.

Reply

Audio~Geek- 10-23-2011, 01:37 PM

I wish I could get a mix done in two days.

Reply


9 23.11.2011 19:09


9/9

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The stuff I've been working on late ly,

after each mix the songwriter sends me 5

new tracks to add. His rough mixes are

just a mess, there's no room for anything

else. I mix, clear up a ton of space,

spectrally and spatially and fix the timing.

Magically the songs don't sound as full.

The mixes take weeks.

Austin4 - 11-15-2011, 10:55 AM

Fantastic article. Will be sharing with my

Audio Engineering instructors.

Reply

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