Getting Your Song Ready to Mix
Studio expert Patrick Coffin presents comprehensive video tutorials on preparing your song for the all-important mixing stage! If you're thinking about sending your song or album to a pro mixing engineer - or if you just want to learn some great tips for making the process of mixing your own songs quicker, easier, and more streamlined, this course is for you. Patrick takes you step by step through the final stages of your song preparation, covering everything from track-naming tips to tempo maps and everything in between. These videos are for those who want to improve and streamline their mixing process.
Videos
• Introduction & Overview (03:38) - We start with a brief introduction and summary of what we'll be discussing in this series. We'll learn tried-and-true steps and best practices that will help get your tracks ready for mixing. Regardless of whether you're mixing your own tracks or sending them to be mixed by a professional mixing engineer, this series will help you prepare for this vital stage of production.
• Understanding Mixing (06:17) - In order to understand how to prepare for mixing, first we must understand exactly what mixing is and where it sits in the whole production process. In this video, we'll go over the different aspects of production and what processes and tasks fall into each step. After that, we'll briefly discuss the pros and cons of sending your mix to a professional mix engineer and mixing your song yourself.
• Managing Expectations with Mix Engineer (06:56) - If you plan on sending your song out to be mixed by a professional, communication with your mix engineer is key and leads to better (and quicker!) results. In this video, we talk about all the different things to ask your engineer, along with all the things that'll likely be expected of you throughout the process. Although we're talking specifically about sending to a mix engineer, all the concepts in this video are things you need to consider before you start mixing your own song as well. After all, if you're mixing your own song, YOU are the mix engineer!
• Tracks vs Stems (06:15) - It may seem like a small detail, but understanding the differences between working with stems and tracks is vital and maybe the most pivotal decision you need to make while starting to prepare for mixing. We also discuss how both tracks and stems can be exported wet or dry, and we talk about why you might want to lean towards one over the other.
• Naming: Best Practices (07:41) - As we discussed earlier, this series is largely about making sure there is no guesswork in the mixing phase; with this in mind, having a logical and consistent naming convention is a huge step toward achieving that goal. Here we talk about how to have short, logical names for your tracks and some different concepts to consider for keep your naming convention consistent throughout.
• Naming: Prefixes (05:04) - Having short, logical, and consistent names is vital, but it's only part of the battle. When you or your mix engineer take the exported files and drop them into a new session for mixing, we want the tracks to line up in a helpful order automatically. This saves time and frustration and will help you get mixing much quicker. In this video, we discuss adding a prefix to the beginning of the tracks to guide them into a specific order and ensure an efficient start in the new mixing session.
• Making Final Edits (05:42) - In most cases, editing is not part of the mixing process and will either not be provided by your mix engineer or would result in additional costs. In this video, we talk through the final editing techniques that must be performed before we consolidate and export our tracks for mixing.
• Finalize Session: Premix & Cleanup (06:33) - Now that we've got our final edits done and we've named our tracks appropriately, it's time to export out a premix reference and get ready to consolidate and export our tracks and/or stems so we (or the mix engineer) can use them in the new mixing session. After we export our premix, I show you some quick cleanup tips to simplify the session and reduce the possibility of making mistakes during exporting.
• Finalize Session: Checking Levels (03:42) - As we're finalizing our session to begin consolidating and exporting our tracks, it's very important to make sure that nothing is clipping at any stage. In this video, we talk about using pre-fader and post-fader metering to ensure that no data is being lost to digital clipping.
• Consolidate & Export (13:22) - It's time to start bouncing out our tracks and stems. Here, we go over the concept of consolidation and make sure all the individual clips on each track will be exported into 1 file per track that spans the full length of the project. Next, we discuss what file formats and export settings should be used while exporting dry and wet tracks or stems. Each requires a slightly different mindset, so it's important to understand the goals of each type of export.
• Creating a Tempo Map (03:07) - Next, we need to ensure that the mix engineer's session matches our tracking and editing session by creating a MIDI file that contains our tempo, meter, markers, and any time changes. Here, we talk about how to do this and discuss the benefits of this very simple step.
• Organizing Folder Structure (07:27) - Now it's time to put the cherry on top of our organizational cake and put all the beautifully and meticulously labeled files into a folder structure that leaves nothing to chance. We also create a text file with all information the mix engineer might need to do a killer job mixing the song. Our goal in this video is to make it so the mix engineer can open the folder, instantly understand what is there and where everything is, drop it into a session, and start mixing immediately.
• Conclusions & Final Thoughts (04:14) - Finally, we check all the files to make sure every track and/or stem lines up perfectly in the new mixing session, and every file has the correct data. After that, I send you on your way with a few tidbits of advice on how to get the most from your mixing experience, whether you've hired an engineer or you're mixing yourself.