All Star Mix Tricks Archives

“You can do it in a plugin form, but it’s always cool to have the real thing” — Analog In The Digital

Almost every piece of hardware out there has been modelled and turned into a plugin, often many times over. But how many of us have ever used the real deal to compare?

For his #AllStarMixTrick award-winning producer and songwriter Matthew Genovese, better known as ANALOG IN THE DIGITAL (Diplo, PRETTYMUCH, Cailin Russo) offers a tip on how you can get started working outside of the box, and developing your own signature sound.

Matt has built a career sourcing and using the real analog hardware made famous by his favourite recordings on modern productions and here he shares a great place to get started.

Follow the #AllStarMixTricks hashtag for more tips and tricks from the best in the biz.

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TRANSCRIPT

“My #MixTrick, which is really more of a recording trick is recording your own echo chamber.

Most people these days when they want to reverb, they use a plugin. In 1950 they didn’t have plugins or digital reverb units of any kind.

So they would just set a speaker up in the room and just send a signal from the console out to the room and there would be a microphone in there and it would pick up the signal from the speaker reverberating around in the room and that would be your echo chamber or your reverb.

I knew that they used to do that in the 50s and I knew that I had a bathroom, so I tried it and it ended up being really good.

Mine has a pretty long decay and it’s pretty light which is nice doesn’t get too bassy it’s really good for everything drums but it’s really good on percussion or tambourines because it kind of gives it a good splash and a long tail.

You can do it in plugin form, but it’s always cool to have the real thing.”
What’s the best way to break the ice before songwriting with an artist for the first time? A cup of tea and a chat is Jack Leonard’s solution.

In this edition of #AllStarMixTricks, songwriter and producer Jack Leonard accentuates the importance of building a personal connection with your collaborators before entering the studio and how this can often be the moment when inspiration strikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoIlBAyoEgs

Full transcript:

“You’ve kind of got to get on the same wavelength in order to capture what it is you’re trying to write about.

My mix trick isn’t really anything technical. Before I write a song with an artist, I always like to have a cup of tea. That’s an essential ingredient, or coffee or whatever floats your boat.

Just so we’ve got an opportunity to sit down and have a chat, get to know each other, just sort of ask about how they’re feeling or just have some like banal conversation about absolutely anything because you’ve really no idea where the idea is gonna come from.“
In the most recent episode of #AllStarMixTricks, legendary producer, songwriter and teacher !llmind expresses the importance of trusting your gut when it comes to decision-making.

If your intuition is pulling you towards a certain sound, style or technique – chances are it’s right.

Imploring creatives to avoid overthinking wherever possible, !llmind advises creatives to trust their initial feelings and let those vibes carry the session.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

“What’s up guys my name is !llmind and my mix trick is follow your instinct.

When you hear something that gives you goosebumps, whether it’s a snare drum that sounds great or like a weird distortion that you just put on your vocal. Go with it and move on. Don’t sit there and fiddle with the knobs too much because you’ll lose the feeling.

So follow your instinct be in the moment. Keep it, print it, commit and move on.”
Producer and Mix Engineer MixedByJocelin showcases his #AllStarMixTricks for upping the energy of Drill and Trap beats.

Sometimes it can be the simplest techniques that help to bring your mixes over the line.

Pulling up the original Logic project for his mix for the Clavish freestyle on Kenny Allstar’s YouTube series ‘The Generals Corner’, MixedByJocelin demonstrates how b-cuts can be used to build energy.

Full transcript:

“My name is MixedByJocelin and my Mix Trick is adding beat cuts. Let me show you.

I took the first hit of the beat, but I’ve cut the group totally and I’ve simply copied and pasted it two times in front of it .

This is going to give us like almost like a DJ queue effect so it’s like ‘boom boom’ before it drops in, which is going to build energy and bring more of a vibe to the song.”
Go-to mixer and engineer for Young Thug and Gunna breaks down his process in the final 10% of getting a mix ready for mastering.

It’s a perennial problem: How do you know when your mix is done? We caught up with Bainz, in his room at Crosby Recording Studios to discover his answer to this question.

“When I’m done at the end, and I think I’m at a good place, I’ll still go through and listen to the song. I’ll make minor vocal automations within a dB up and down, I’ll add small minute throws here and there. Small finishing things that like take that one step forward.”

Once the mix is sounding good in his room, he then begins to test the mix across multiple devices. This is where LISTENTO enters the picture.

“When I’m actually making those EQ decisions, it sounds really good in my room. But I don’t know if anyone’s going to hear that on a small speaker. That’s what I check on on different sources. The way I do it is I just have Audiomovers app running on my phone and I swap between Airpods and the car really quick. I have the session playing over here. While I’m walking, I’m checking on my Airpods. By the time I get into the car, without me even thinking about it, I’ve heard three different playback methods that are outside of my studio with Pro Tools still being open and I haven’t even bounced it yet.”

WatchBainz episode of #AllStarMixTricks
Stem mastering engineer at Abbey Road Studios Oli Morgan shares the secret final test he uses to ensure his mixes are release ready, whilst also helping to keep his hearing in check.

Protecting your hearing long-term is essential for longevity in your career. Having made a name for himself working on projects for the likes of Bastille, Elton John and FKJ, this is something Oli Morgan knows all too well.

“Don’t listen to stuff too loud” he begins when asked to reveal his mix tricks:

“As you turn stuff up, the way that your ears respond changes, so you actually get more inaccurate as you turn stuff up.”

Revealing his process for signing off his mixes, he continues:

“When I’ve finished working on everything, my last test is to put it really quiet and if it gives you the same feeling as it does when you’ve got it cranked, but you haven’t got it cranked, then you know it’s finished. Because it feels like it’s loud. It feels it feels right. But you’re not killing your ears.”

Watch the full #AllStarMixTricks episode:
As audio professionals, it’s always tempting to stick to what you know. However, remaining in comfort can often come at a price.

Head of Audio Products at Abbey Road Studios Mirek Stiles expresses the paramount importance of experimentation in this instalment of #AllStarMixTricks.

Touching upon his experience diving into spatial audio in game engines, he shares how free resources found on platforms such as YouTube allowed him to grasp concepts that initially felt alien to him.

Full transcript:

“Hi, my name is Mirek Stiles. I’m the head of audio products at Abbey Road Studios.

My mix trick, even though it isn’t really a trick, I suppose, is to get outside of your comfort zone. From an audio point of view, it’s tempting to stay in the arena of what you know. I was put into a situation a few years ago where I started to explore spatial audio in game engines. It was completely out of my comfort zone. And it took a while to get my head around it all. But there’s great resources out there on platforms like YouTube.”

Yeah, I just think that’s the best tip I can give is just get out of your comfort zone.”
#AllStarMixTricks is where the very best mixers, engineers, producers and musicians share some of the best tips and tricks they’ve picked up on their way to the top.

The series kicked off with mixer and engineer Teezio. With a number one record and two GRAMMY nominations under his belt, his credits include world-renowned artists such as Chris Brown, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, Paulo Londra and Ed Sheeran.

Speaking from his home studio, Teezio shares his trick for keeping his ears on top during mixing sessions. Only mixing for 10-20 minutes at a time, he revealed that taking regular breaks is key to making the best decisions, allowing him to frequently approach the track with fresh ears and avoid dampening his hearing.

For those who prefer to stay locked into their sessions for longer, he advises keeping an eye on volume levels, only listening at higher volume for short bursts of time. In his example, Teezio shares how he uses a higher dB to work on the low-end of his mixes, bringing it down for the rest of his session.

Watch Teezio’s full #AllStarMixTrick and subscribe to the Audiomovers YouTube channel for more insights from the best in the game:

Full transcript:

“Hey, I’m Teezio, and here’s my mix trick.

I take a lot of breaks, when I’m mixing. I mix, like 15 to 10 minutes at a time. And then I take a 10 minute break or 20 minutes and then take a break. Your hearing over time, especially sitting in front of these big speakers will start to sort of dampen and you’ll start to make decisions based on how fried your hearing is. And I think taking breaks and allowing your ears to sort of open back up will allow you to make better decisions.

A good way of doing it sometimes if you don’t want to take breaks is just sort of watching where your volume is. A lot of times when I’m mixing, I like to listen to things loud. And when you listen to things loud, obviously, that’s not good for your hearing. So I try to listen to things loud for the smallest amount of time at a time. So I might blast it just to kind of get a feeling of the low end and then kind of bring it back down.

That sort of can also be a way of doing it and try to stay in a lower dB range just because once you start listening to things too loud, you’ll literally start to fry your hearing. And you’ll notice over time, your high end double down and you’ll start adding more high into your mixes. Not that take breaks. We got to take breaks.”
Your voice is the only instrument that is completely unique to you. Whether you’re a gifted vocalist or not, using vocals as instruments and textures in your tracks can be a great way to help it stand out, as well as filling out the mix or adding some ambience.

As part of our #AllStarMixTricks, Alina Smith, ½ of the production and songwriting duo LYRE MUSIC GROUP explains how she layers up her airy vocals to create unique pad sounds and melodies.

“What I mean by this is specifically using your voice, because it is the only instrument that you have that no one else will have, to create melodies and pads.”

Opening up the project for ‘Bathing Suit’, a track she produced for her LYRE MUSIC GROUP counterpart, Elli Moore, Alina shares:

“This is a technique I use on every single song I produce. I have a pretty airy voice and I use it as a pad quite a bit, to add a bit of oomph to this post-chorus.”

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

“What’s up my name is Alina Smith and my mix trick is using vocals as instruments in your session.

It’s really more of a production trick but what I mean by this is specifically using your voice because it is the only instrument that you have that no one else will have to create melodies and pads.

This is a technique I use an every single song I produce.

I have a pretty airy voice, and I use it as a pad quite a bit so you can hear this here, to kind of add a little bit of oomph to this post course.“

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

What’s the best way to break the ice before songwriting with an artist for the first time? A cup of tea and a chat is Jack Leonard’s solution.

Full transcript:

“You’ve kind of got to get on the same wavelength in order to capture what it is you’re trying to write about.

My mix trick isn’t really anything technical. Before I write a song with an artist, I always like to have a cup of tea. That’s an essential ingredient, or coffee or whatever floats your boat.

Just so we’ve got an opportunity to sit down and have a chat, get to know each other, just sort of ask about how they’re feeling or just have some like banal conversation about absolutely anything because you’ve really no idea where the idea is gonna come from.“

In the most recent episode of #AllStarMixTricks, legendary producer, songwriter and teacher !llmind expresses the importance of trusting your gut when it comes to decision-making.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

“What’s up guys my name is !llmind and my mix trick is follow your instinct.

When you hear something that gives you goosebumps, whether it’s a snare drum that sounds great or like a weird distortion that you just put on your vocal. Go with it and move on. Don’t sit there and fiddle with the knobs too much because you’ll lose the feeling.

So follow your instinct be in the moment. Keep it, print it, commit and move on.”

Producer and Mix Engineer MixedByJocelin showcases his #AllStarMixTricks for upping the energy of Drill and Trap beats.

Full transcript:

Go-to mixer and engineer for Young Thug and Gunna breaks down his process in the final 10% of getting a mix ready for mastering.

“When I’m done at the end, and I think I’m at a good place, I’ll still go through and listen to the song. I’ll make minor vocal automations within a dB up and down, I’ll add small minute throws here and there. Small finishing things that like take that one step forward.”

WatchBainz episode of #AllStarMixTricks

Stem mastering engineer at Abbey Road Studios Oli Morgan shares the secret final test he uses to ensure his mixes are release ready, whilst also helping to keep his hearing in check.

As audio professionals, it’s always tempting to stick to what you know. However, remaining in comfort can often come at a price.

“Hi, my name is Mirek Stiles. I’m the head of audio products at Abbey Road Studios.

Yeah, I just think that’s the best tip I can give is just get out of your comfort zone.”

#AllStarMixTricks is where the very best mixers, engineers, producers and musicians share some of the best tips and tricks they’ve picked up on their way to the top.

Your voice is the only instrument that is completely unique to you. Whether you’re a gifted vocalist or not, using vocals as instruments and textures in your tracks can be a great way to help it stand out, as well as filling out the mix or adding some ambience.

“What I mean by this is specifically using your voice, because it is the only instrument that you have that no one else will have, to create melodies and pads.”

“This is a technique I use on every single song I produce. I have a pretty airy voice and I use it as a pad quite a bit, to add a bit of oomph to this post-chorus.”

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT