by djnarrative | 30 Mar, 2011 | Reckorder Tutorials
If you're producing your own music, there are (at least) two approaches to mixing down your music. Mixing while you go along and/or after you've arranged the track. I used to only look at mixing the tracks after i had an arrangement i was happy with, but nowadays i find that mixing as i go makes a big difference with the final mixdown being for final touches. If i was to start again i think i would definitely pay a lot more attention to the mixing process as i was making music. The main reason being that frequencies get taken up with each layer/idea you add into the mix, and the ideas can very quickly get lost. Its a particular issue if you use loops, as if you've then got to go back and eq the loops so all the elements punch through the mix, the whole character of the track can be changed, and it becomes a lot of hassle. The reason for not mixing, for me at least, was to retain that creative flow. I'd find that ideas would come out really quickly, and i didnt want to get bogged down with what i viewed as technical side. Now however i view it more as a big part of the creative process where you are moulding that sound, and paying particular attention to what frequencies the sounds and layers you are adding are taking up. As you might expect hearing the frequencies only really became possible when i was able to afford a decent set of monitors, though i'd suggest not making the mistake i did, or...
