Most mixers will have worked on a track where everything seems to fall into place effortlessly, while many mixes are hard-won. Enter our tips to get you back on track for those times when your mix just isn’t happening… While these points are mainly written from a music perspective, both music mixers and post production professionals alike will find something in there to get moving again.

The Mix That Just Won’t Fly

We’ve all been there. You put up the faders to where you think they should be, and begin chipping away, perhaps with some automation, or maybe some broad brush plugin moves to firm up the low end or make room elsewhere. After any effects are in place, so sit back to admire the view only to find that something isn’t right. The mix is fine to the point where the listener isn’t going to be asking for their money back, but that’s as far as it goes. Certainly the artist may well be underwhelmed, and you yourself know that it can be done better. But assuming you’ve made great mixes before, why aren’t things working out this time? Here are our suggestions as to why this could be, and how to regain control of the mix that just refuses to sound its best…

What’s Going On?

The reasons for mixes falling flat can be hard to pin down, especially when working on an album where everything else has been plain sailing. If the musicians, and the mixer are the same for every song, a lack of interpersonal chemistry can be ruled out, assuming things have been going well to that point. In any case, plenty of great work has been made by people on the cusp of killing each other! If the recording and/or mixing space changed at any point, then certainly things like unfamiliar rooms can steer even the best ears into uncharted territory. Long projects, or time constraints can also suck energy out of those involved. If the ‘problem’ track just happens to be the one at the end of a long queue, then could it be that it’s not the song that’s lacking…

1 - Be Fresh

Being fatigued doesn’t help in any situation, but when it comes to mixing audio, its nature is fairly unique. Not only is the mixer flexing their creative muscles, but they are also using a lot of brain power by drawing upon vast reserves of their own knowledge to get up on the task in hand. Have you ever noticed how hungry tiredness can make you? Brain power also uses actual energy in the same way that your computer does when it’s crunching more than it usually does. Being well rested and well fed is Job One when you’re trying to get a handle on that lead single or on the album’s ‘problem child’.

2 - Get Perspective

This one isn’t just about getting the right reference track. The ability to do any task is often improved by doing something entirely different. If you need to do two mixes and take the car to the garage, you’ll almost certainly do two better mixes if you do one, then take the car, followed by doing the other mix. All three take the same amount of time done in any order so why not do them in the best order possible? This shift of brain is a great resetting tool, and far from distracting yourself while you think you are in the zone, consider why you were in the zone in the first place. Could it have been from starting afresh? If you’ve just finished a mix feeling like you’ve just swum Lake Ontario, go and do something else.

3 - Do You Enjoy The Song?

Let’s be honest, all of those songs cannot be our favourite. While it is part of the job to reinforce the artist’s faith in their own work, most artists and engineers would concede that they will have favourites. It’s easier to get results doing anything that’s enjoyable, so for those pieces of work that are less enjoyable it goes that they might be harder to do. This is nothing to deny to yourself, and once you recognise it happening you can concentrate on the fact that the mix is probably already 90% of the way there anyway. You’re doing what you love, remember?

4 - Kill Creative Noise

With some clients, there comes a lot of extra creative noise from people other than those opinions that count. Some opinions matter, and these come from the artist, and the person or entity who is paying. The ratio between the importance of each is a political balance that only you can decide for each job. Sometimes, and increasingly, they will be the same person. Once you’ve established that, you can discard the request from the bass player WhatsApp message requesting more bass while listening on their phone. Or the friend from the corner of the control room asking for less of it…

5 - Faders And Pan

How many times do people miss the point of mixing? While this article lays out a lot of background context for getting back on track, there is one universal truth about every great mix: it has the right levels at the right time for the music. Given a stark choice, which one single mix feature for each DAW track would you pick? Would it be the multiband compressor/gate/EQ/de-esser, or would it be the channel fader? When all else fails, do a save, take a walk, then come back in and flatten the mix in the way that makes sense to you. Personally, this begins with no inserts, and with the faders at minus infinity. If you mix through a buss comp now might be a good time to get that up as well. Re-fly the mix with just the faders and pans with no audio plugins. Stand outside of the room with the door ajar and listen. Return and tweak. Try reinstating plugins only where needed. Let the faders do the heavy lifting and try EQ cuts to lose the bad stuff.

If this new ‘nuts and bolts’ mix sounds exactly like the old one, then don’t despair. Remember it’s hard to unhear anything, and far easier to have lost perspective. Move on, and revisit. You’ve probably done this brilliantly before, and to paraphrase a friend in ICT, there probably wasn’t “a problem with the interface between the mouse and the chair”.

How About You?

These are just a few of our pointers to get your mix back in the zone. What are yours? Let us know in the comments.