Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Making beats is what we all do, and most of us would be perfectly content with doing just that every single day. However, just putting together loops and moving on to the next beat is not ideal because if you're looking to sell your beats or to promote yourself, a simple beat won't cut it.
Instead, you must mix your beats and they have to sound professional.
So, how do you do that?
The Magic Happens in the Mix
One of the earliest pieces of advice I received was from an audio engineer that said, "Never say 'I'll fix it in the mix'". What he was saying was that don't wait until you get to the mixing process in order to fix a certain part of your production. Make sure your beat sounds really good before you even get to the mixing stage.
Even then, even if your beat sounds top notch and it hasn't even been mixed yet, it still needs that special layer of magic that mixing provides.
I know mixing can be boring and the not-so-fun part of creating music, but it's a necessity.
Each time I record an episode of Attack of the Beats!, I always hear beats that are in serious need of a good mixing job. Too often I hear beats that are very good but the mix is not, so that can cost that person when I'm deciding on my favorite beat of the week.
When It Comes to Mixing, It's a Continuous Learning Process
I have written many articles about mixing, and if I had to give one piece of advice it would be to keep it simple. If your beat is simple and straightforward to begin with (without tons of effects, for example) then mixing would be much easier because (referring back to "I'll fix it in the mix"), you would be working on actual mixing rather than also fixing things as well.
But no matter how many times you have mixed your beats, there's always room for improvement. Even the best beatmakers, producers, and engineers are not perfect and can easily make a mix go from sounding dull to sounding great, as well as making them sound worse because of over-mixing (adding too much of any mixing and mastering effects).
This is why I'm always on the lookout for tutorials on various websites, or even on YouTube, to always get someone else's perspective on the mixing process.
Another way of expanding your mixing knowledge is to read books on the subject. There are many books about mixing, mastering, production, and audio engineering, but there are three that I highly recommend.
Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio
The great thing about this book (even though it was released in 2011) is that it's geared toward the small studio setup but can easily be applied to a professional setup as well.
The author explains not only how to mix properly but also what is the ideal equipment and software that you will need in order to get the possible mix for your setup.
View more information about Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio.
The Mixing Engineer's Handbook
This is the 3rd edition and was released in 2013 so it's pretty recent.
What I also like about this book is that the author took the time to interview various engineers and producers, in order to get their tips and advice on how they put together their mixes.
View more information about the Mixing Engineer's Handbook.
Recording Secrets for the Small Studio
"Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count." - Just this phrase alone is enough to make you want to have it in your collection.
Released in 2014, this book is aimed at those working in a small studio and also provides plenty of tips from well known engineers and producers, so you can apply it to your mixes.
The best part? It's from author Mike Senior, who also wrote the first book on this list, "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio". That's all you need to know!
View more information about Recording Secrets for the Small Studio.
Conclusion
I bought my first audio engineering book in 1993 and read it from front to back and back again, many times over. Even though that book is extremely dated today, there are plenty of fundamentals from that book that I still apply today.
So whether you check out one of these books or all of them, they will all contain valuable information that you will definitely use in your productions and mixes for years to come.
Further Reading Related to Mixing
- If you need a guide on how to make beats, this is it.
- Improve your music production with these tips.
- Start using these tips today to make your productions better.
- These are the 5 main things you need in your studio.
- These beatmaking tips are great for beginners.
