Mixing good is often barely doing anything...

[Iron Keys]

A video to back that up, seen a few clips of this dude really roll with those concepts

 

[Fade]

I've been saying this for years! Mixing doesn't have to be like rocket surgery.

 

[Iron Keys]

I've been saying this for years! Mixing doesn't have to be like rocket surgery.

When i receive really good productions and recordings, I barely have to do anything to the mix. Almost feel like im stealing a living in those situations.

But in those situations you're now working on making it something magical and great, turning a great song into a great record. As opposed to fixing a fractured turd.

 

[Hadoq]

had two releases on majors, and I have no idea what I'm doing, one of them, they asked for the track for "mastering" but on release I couldn't hear a difference.

I see people talking LUF and dbVu and whatever mambo jambo, and I'm sure they must know what difference it all makes, and I'm also sure it does make a difference.

tried to learn over the years, picked up a few things but I would lie if I say I know what I'm doing, just did my own recipes with time that work.

if it sounds good, good

that being said, a former friend once told me, and it stuck, "make mixing part of your composition", seems obvious, but it wasn't for me and that's when it all started to come together.

Music theory actually helped my mixing too

 

[Iron Keys]

"make mixing part of your composition",

they asked for the track for "mastering" but on release I couldn't hear a difference.

Kinda. Kinda this

So like, often, a track before mix/mastering or with the producer's/studio's mix might be considered the 'demo'.

Often then when sent for mixing, the current 'vibe' is what's been signed off on... so when the mix engineer comes to touch it, they're often tasked with basically making it sound like the demo, but just making it a bit better.
And then even more so for mastering - mastering often doesn't have to do anything, and if the mix is right, is just a 'make it louder' or 'prepare for release' type work.

 

[Hadoq]

I think back before DAWs and home studios, you had to outsource the mixing and all the processes, you'd just come in with your band and your instrument and play the music.

Now I feel, if you do it yourself, you just get better and better with time. Not to say there isn't value in outsourcing it, but on some level, you're leaving something creative on the table, for someone who isn't you to do. That someone might be better than you at it, in general, and if you're really like new at it, someone else will be able to greatly improve the sound of things, but the more they do, the less you it becomes, I feel.

But similarly, the better you are at playing your instruments, the less mixing you need to do, creating clarity can be challenging in tracks with lots and lots of tracks and instruments.

 

[Iron Keys]

if you're really like new at it, someone else will be able to greatly improve the sound of things, but the more they do, the less you it becomes, I feel.

Not necessarily, sometimes in fact, if your mix isn't great, a great mix engineer will make your song sound 'more you' by mixing it to sound and feel how you intended it to.

the better you are at playing your instruments, the less mixing you need to do, creating clarity can be challenging in tracks with lots and lots of tracks and instruments

a little, especially when it comes to dynamics, consistency, timing. But sometimes it's also more in your arrangement/writing, picking the right melodies, chords, sounds, at the right times and things just seem to 'fit together'. And it's not always about creating clarity, but creating a feeling.
A thing to remember with 'separation' that many seek, is it's somewhat opposite to 'glue', so the more separation in a mix, the less 'glue' (typically).