1 Mindset and vision
In the first step, we don’t want to deal specifically with a song - it should rather be about our head, our mindset. In my early days, I simply tried out many tools and spent hours tinkering with compressors, equalizers and reverb devices to hear which parameter had which effect, which device or plug-in went particularly well with which instrument. Especially if you don’t have that much experience yet, this is an excellent method to learn, train your ear and develop your very own style. Therefore: Get rid of prefabricated settings and try things out, experiment, make mistakes and learn from them. Take your time and have fun with the equipment. Sound engineering is a wonderful adventure playground!
In contrast, you should change your focus a little when mixing a specific track. Trying out which plug-in has which effect is out of place here - it’s more about consciously shaping the sound the way the song demands. Now, at the latest, a rule that is all too often neglected today comes into play: every additional device, every plug-in basically makes our signal worse. If a plug-in doesn’t shape the sound the way I want it to, try another tool instead of completely destroying the signal with five more processors.
I always start my work by developing a vision: What does the entire song sound like, what does each individual instrument sound like? What is okay as it is, what would I like to change? Right from the start, get a rough idea of what the song can and should sound like in the end. Then you use your tools in a targeted manner. In my mixing courses I often find that I use less than half of my course participants’ plug-ins and that’s precisely why I get more convincing results. Less is often more at this point.
In order to be able to develop your own vision and learn which tools are useful for which task, you can combine the above-mentioned experimental phase with a little individual ear training: Listen to your favorite tracks and try to fathom them aurally:
Which sound characteristics result from the mix and which from the master? “Loudness” and brickwall limiting are done with the master, and impressive stereo width can also come from mastering. The volume ratios of the individual instruments and their positioning in the stereo image, on the other hand, are more of a mixing matter.
Which instruments were compressed and how? Was the attack time longer or were all transients “cut away”? Both can be okay, because ultimately it always depends on the context and the song. Try to understand why the mixing engineer made certain decisions. Maybe you would have done it differently? Why?
Which equalizer settings were used? Are the vocals brilliant or is it more of a warm ribbon sound?
Which reverbs, delays
