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“Reference tracks for better drum mixes” included a few drum-only passages captured from commercial recordings. The ideal drum reference tracks feature few other instruments, as musical instruments tend to mask frequencies in the snare and kick drums. But since drums aren’t often featured solo in pop and rock recordings, it can be tricky to find […]

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I advocate checking a reference CD while you mix, to keep your ears honest. The concept works for more than just balancing your final mix, however. Along with my collection of reference CDs, I have a small collection of drum breaks and instrumental sections that I’ve lifted from songs with great drum tones. While I […]

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The Secrets of Mixing – from John Vestman. Vestman’s “Secrets of Mixing” page is more a collection of tips than a mixing tutorial. He starts with advice to get yourself properly set up for mixing (like “organize your files,” “allow extra time,” and the ever-important “check reference CDs while mixing,”) then moves onto compression and […]

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Here are 5 things you can do right now to improve your recording and mixing skills: Stop worrying that you don’t have a major label sound: You also lack the mics, preamps, converters, and tracking rooms of a major label band. But that shouldn’t hold you back. Remember: listeners want to hear songs, not production; […]

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Practical Mixing – from sound On Sound magazine. This article focuses on tracking and mixing via console (with an aside to address the importance of checking a reference CD while mixing.) But Sound On Sound caters to the masses, so the information in this article is broad and still generally useful. It is important to […]

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After reading the importance of checking a reference while mixing, an obvious question is: “What are some decent reference mixes?” John Vestman answers the question with his list of commercial reference CDs. Bob Katz also provides a CD Honor Roll Previously: The importance of checking a reference while mixing

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Habituation is the name for our tendency to respond less to something the more we’re exposed to it. While the concept is academically important to psychologists and biologists, it also has enormous significance for anyone serious about mixing or mastering music. We likely come by this tendency through evolution. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors relied on habituation […]

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