One Thing Mixing Legend Dave Pensado And I Are Polar Opposites On

One of my favorite mixing resources is Pensado’s Place.

I’ve learned a lot from Dave over the years and have boat loads of respect for him (and what he and Herb are giving away for free each week).

But there is one aspect of his mixing that is interestingly in stark contrast to mine (other than a Grammy). It’s how long he takes.

Mixing Slow Only Gets Me In Trouble

Dave is by his own admission a notoriously slow mixer.

Not slow because he doesn’t know what he’s doing – rather the opposite, he’s VERY good at what he does so he doesn’t rush.

In fact I was recently a guest on Pensado’s Place and we talked about this very thing. Check it out at around minute 41:48:

Dave’s what I would call a meticulous mixer. One who makes sure everything is clicking just right.

And it’s paid off big time for him.

Ironically, that same level of detail and time spent on a mix by me never pans out well.

The slower I mix, the worse I get.

Mixing Quick Is A Hack

In fact, the faster I mix, the better my mixes turn out.

How is that possible?

It’s very simple – I’m my own worst enemy.

And given enough time and attention I can second guess my initial gut mixing decisions and undo all my hard work, thinking I’m making things better.

The more time I give myself the greater the odds are I’ll make a mess of things.

So instead I mix as quickly as possible, as a somewhat of a hack – to prevent me from over-mixing.

Literally Set A Timer And Go

A few years ago I actually got more serious about things and began setting a timer while I mixed.

There’s something about the pressure of a clock ticking that keeps me focused on the important aspects of mixing instead of dropping hours EQing a hi hat.

If you haven’t mixed with a timer yet, I highly recommend it.

In fact, a great way to get a taste of fast mixing to see what it can do for you is to follow along with my latest challenge – The One Hour Mix.

For the next six week’s I’ll be mixing a song in front of you in 10 minute chunks – for a total of one hour.

That’s right. I’m mixing a song in one hour, and I want you see it all with an “over-the-shoulder” perspective if you will.

Whether you mix fast or slow, this series will likely help you.

How Fast Do YOU Mix?

Now, let’s make one last thing clear: what Dave is doing is working.

There’s no reason he needs to mix faster. He’s found a flow and method that is working great for him.

The real point of this post is to get us thinking about what works best for US!

So – I’m curious.

Let’s take a quick poll: how long does it actually take you to mix a complete song, start to finish? 2 hours? 3 hours? 10 hours?

Leave a comment below and let me know!