Reset Your Ears When Mixing

“… Leave your studio room & do something to remind your ears what the real world sounds like” – Mike Senior

In music production, we spend a lot of time in the studio. We can easily spend hours experimenting, mixing, editing, and mastering. If you do this, that’s great because it shows your commitment to doing great work. However, after many hours of mixing and mastering, staying objective about your mix can be difficult when our brain and ears begin to mislead us into thinking our mixes sound good.

Engineers such as Russ Elevado (The Roots, Common, Alicia Keys) and Bill Bottrell (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Elton John) say that it is a great idea to not just keep mixing and mixing for hours on end, but to take breaks and take breaks often.

Not only does taking breaks allow you rest your mind and ears, but when you come back, you’ll hear things differently. You might notice that something else stands out to you. Maybe the snare could be turned up, perhaps the bass can be treated better, or maybe you can take out -3dB from 500Hz and the vocals will sit better in the mix.

If you already don’t, I challenge you to take breaks more often, step out side to hear what the real world sounds like and see if it helps you achieve a well-balanced mix.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

If you are looking for an engineer to record, mix, and/or master your music:

Call me directly at 323-543-5356

You can also email me: agruv@agruv.com

For samples of my work, visit my website: http://agruvstudios.com/

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

What’s up underground hip hop heads! My name is Alex, as an audio engineer I go by Agruv. UnderGroundHipHopBlog (UGHHB) has given me the opportunity to contribute weekly tips about the music industry. Although my background is in audio engineering, I did start out as a musician in high school and attended Musicians Institute (MI) in Hollywood. During my year at MI, I studied music business, which allowed me to see first hand how the industry works.

My weekly topics will mainly cover audio engineering, which will include recording, mixing, and mastering. I may occasionally cover topics such as networking, marketing, collaboration, and some philosophical ramblings from time to time.

Again, I’d like to thank UGHHB for this great opportunity. I hope I get to work with you guys on any recording, mixing, and mastering projects. But more importantly, I hope you gain some knowledge and understanding about the industry, make some dope music and take your career to the next level.

Follow me:
http://agruvstudios.com/
https://twitter.com/Agruv
http://instagram.com/agruvstudios
https://www.facebook.com/agruvstudios