3 Dangerous Assumptions In The Studio

You know what they say about assuming, don’t you? Yeah, I don’t either. I do know, however, that people everywhere (myself included) are making some dangerous assumptions when recording and mixing that can come back to bite later. Whether it’s from bad teaching on the internet or lazy habits formed in the studio, these assumptions can be toxic for your recordings.

Via frankieleon Flickr

1. These Tracks Will Sound Better When They’re Mixed

There’s a growing tendency today to think that mixing is where tracks really start to sound good. This is a problem because it comes out in the recording process. You’ll be tracking your band, moving mics around, getting solid takes, doing the best you can. But when you listen back and perhaps things sound lack luster, bland, uninspiring, you might be tempted to think, “It’s ok, mixing is where these tracks really come alive.”
 
How can I put this gently? If your tracks don’t sound great in the tracking session, they won’t sound great mixed. Period. Sure there are some pretty cool things we can do later to “enhance” your tracks, but honestly people, mixing will simply highlight just how bad your tracks are. Don’t make that assumption. Instead fight for your tracks by tweaking the mic placement until you get things right. If the strings sound bad, buy new ones. If your voice is tired, come back another day. Don’t record crap. Please.

2. My Mix Will Sound Better When It’s Mastered

Building off of the first dangerous assumption, we do a similar thing in the mixing phase. Since mixing is so hard and a lot of us are relatively new to this, we aren’t quite getting the mixes we dreamed of right away. We then assume that mastering is the stage where mixes really come to life. “That’s when my mix will start to sound punchy, wide, and in your face,” y ou might think.

This is another big misconception. Mastering isn’t some magical process that allows you to put mediocre mixes in and churn out chart topping tracks. Rather it is a final balancing act. A stage where tracks are balanced among each other for an EP or album. Smoothed out to play nice on multiple audio setups in the real world, and given final volume boosting to compete with commercial tracks. Sure you can do some nifty things with mastering, but nothing as dramatic like you can by going back and making a better mix.

3. Everyone Will Listen To My Mixes In Stereo

Somewhat unrelated to the first two assumptions, this one is just as destructive. These days we assume that everyone will listen to our mixes in stereo. Whether that’s on headphones, on computer speakers, or in their car. No one listens to music in mono anymore, right?! Well, it depends. It’s true that stereo is standard now. Radio is broadcast in stereo and it’s what we should mix for to be sure. But in real life, your mix has to collapse to mono beautifully because that’s how it will hit most people’s ears.

When I’m in my kitchen cooking up some food, and I’m listening to my iPod in a small stereo on the counter, that mix is stereo only if I’m putting my face right up to the box. In reality by the time it hits my ears across the kitchen it is a mono mix. Therefore it needs to be punchy, full, and balanced even in mono for it to sound awesome in my kitchen. Too often when mixing we disregard what our mixes would sound like in mono, but we’re missing not only a critical part of the process, but a super helpful hack to getting better mixes in the first place.

Don’t Assume

Please don’t make these assumptions. Don’t be lazy in the studio. Fight for your music to sound it’s best in every stage of the game. When recording, pretend like there is no mixing phase. When mixing, pretend like there is no such thing as stereo or mastering. You get the idea. Work hard to make your tracks come to life right from the start. You’ll get better results every time.