15 Dave Pensado Mix Tips Every Producer Should Start Using Now

[Music] hey guys Landro asked me to share with you 15 mixing tips and as you know early on in my career when someone would tell me take 300 out of your kick drum I did on every kick drum I did and probably ruined 90% of the mix as I was working on so what I thought I'd share with you is some concepts to help you along the way encourage you some thoughts to have when things are tough just some general things that I review in my mind every day to this day and especially when I first started out so they're in no particular order except for the last one you know how you know you know clickbait works yeah here's like seven dog here's like ten dog breeds you'll never believe number seven well you'll never believe number fifteen might be number sixteen I'm not counting I always like to use multiple monitors I've found that each set of monitors gives me a different opinion and view of the mix so for example behind me you'll see my fabulous ass burgers which are sitting on top of eighteen subs they give me a lot of information they're my antion's the ones with the white cones behind me they give me a lot of information the little ref tones that you see the little black speakers I don't know if I'm hiding them or not but they're basically are tones but a lot better they give me information and then if I'm still lacking confidence I'll go check it in the car if I'm still lacking confidence I'll get one of my friends to drop by listen to it hell yeah but use everything laptops and earbuds headphones all those things come into play rule number two room treatment is probably as important sometimes more important than monitors you can buy a $200,000 set of monitors and put them in a poorly treated room and you'll you'll be very disappointed probably I didn't realize that for a long long time probably I've been engineering now probably 30 40 years and it wasn't till about the last five or six years where I really really realized how important that was number three I like to reference I like to see what my buddies are doing my competitions doing if I decided to enter the 100-meter dash and the Olympics and I decided not just not to see what anybody else was running and I just went practice everyday went down to the Olympics and who same boat blew by me like a blur I'm like man maybe I should have referenced but it's a good thing to keep you centered you're not trying to copy anything and I advise reference from different genres play you play like you're a DJ and then slide your song into the mix if you're just learning and just starting out turn those references down maybe three dB turn them down to where you're comfortable mixing at this point in your career so that you won't get discouraged but did you actually learn some useful stuff next one you're selling your tastes not your skills I'm constantly surprised when I've done something that I thought was really cool like a cool delay and I'm with my client and we've been listening to the mix for you know a couple of hours and then my ego kicks in and I'm like man why'd I get a compliment on that Grammy winning delay and so I solo it and say hey what do you think about that delay oh I never heard it so that was my that was my double taking camera number two so it's about your taste that's what people can feel that's they can they can feel vibe and and energy and emotion things like that so focus on that be patient with your progress if you truly enjoy engineering particularly mixing you will get better without knowing it that that kind of happened to me I had my life structured where I had very few responsibilities and I was dirt poor but it didn't matter because I had enough to get by and I didn't realize I was poor because I was having so much fun and I didn't realize I was learning a lot of days I wouldn't but it's slow and it took me a little longer than it we'll take you you guys probably know more now starting out than I did when I started it's a different world always be curious curiosity is the one thing that's guided my life and I think is something that that has no downsides it's a good way to be curious about the world around you next one mixing is not something you add to the production it's what you do to finish the production so 10 years ago I would add my mix of the production that's no longer the way I work now I take what you give me I start where you left off and I finished the mix part of your production for you together of course I think this one's kind of neat I hope you grab this I think you will look around your neighborhood and work with the most gifted talented people in your neighborhood I'll tell you why Kendrick Lamar and mixed by Lee that's one reason Keith Richards Mick Jagger there's another reason John Lennon Paul McCartney there's another reason Dre Conforti there's another reason so what I'm saying is there's a high possibility that you guys will learn and grow together and then as that artist or producer become successful guess who he's using you so it's a good technique not only to to hopefully solidify your career in the future but it's a great way to learn learning alone for me was was not as productive as learning with my friend Larry Turner we learned a lot of stuff together made a lot of mistakes together but it was just fun having somebody hey man what do you think this is what you think they did that how do I do this - JB write anything about that study your heroes influences not your heroes so let's say let's say your hero is Andrew ships look up his influences and and study his influences now why am I saying that instead of study Andrew because if you study Andrew the world doesn't need another Andrea it's already got the best you'll never beat Andrew but you can maybe beat his influences and then be better in a different way so you're not with Andrew competing with yourself being influenced by the same people that he liked it's a subtle thing but that's kind of what I did this one has been kind of loosely stated but I'm going to make it a separate tip just because I think it's that important stop taking advice so literally and anytime somebody's trying to give you advice don't take it convert it to just an opinion and use it as an opinion try to understand the concept that they're sharing with you're trying to teach you the next one the most miss understood and miss utilized resource and Olive audio are the teachers your teachers if you're out of school are the best way to learn of anything you can do they're there for questions they can they can get you untangled when you get all tied up in a knot over something when you graduate there's still a good resource they can help you find work they're all every teacher I've ever met was dedicated they don't get paid a lot a lot of times and and that's the best resource you've got even better than anything on the internet repeat after me teachers are the best resource we've got I started by I started by mixing tracks that I recorded myself but I came I became a better mixer and improved more rapidly when I started mixing other people's tracks because I didn't have a year and a half to finish the mix I had to work with deadlines and pressure and that's when I really became a mix engineer mixing your own stuff is is good and I was I started an engineer but by one engineer my own bandit because I was an artist still then and then after about three or four years into the engineering thing I was like man I don't want to be an artist anymore I want to be a I want to be an engineer but working on other people's tracks is really great because you have access to their opinions and you can kind of gauge where you're at in your in your growth process like I said a minute ago in any creative profession not just mixing deadlines are vital they require commitment and commitment as an audio engineers best friend people to tell you start the mix like this start those bit like that start the next by committing to something and then everything else will flow and if it doesn't work out right then then make a left turn make a right turn but nothing happens until you commit if you don't know how to start a mix just start it will work out for you I promise you every type mixer on the planet I know most of them either by their work or in person they've all had one or two mixes rejected in favor of the rough mix and that rough mix probably took the artists of the producer maybe 30 minutes to an hour to do and you spent 12 hours on your mix and it got rejected in favor of the rough mix it's happened to everybody and I think I think rather than get upset let's ask ourselves what was it about the rough that was created by a person with probably less skills than me makes it better and when you answer that question then you then you're really becoming a mix engineer because that's the essence of what we do in other words we we sometimes have a tendency to focus on the technical things and nobody cares about that they care about the energy and the vibe and the emotion and that mix was done without thinking too much about the technical it was just done by trying to get something done quickly and focusing on proportions in the mix you know having all the tracks you know work together so see what you can learn from that when I first started engineering and this is a technique that might not work for you guys but I I would practice EQ in compressing just messing with with songs that were already recorded and mixed and mastered and then I would see if I could make them better so I'd take a song and I had already been it was you know on the radio essentially and then I'd see if I eacute it can I make the vocal sound better every once in a while early on in my career I thought I was making the vocal sound better but everything else in the mix sounded worse right I try to make the bass like thunder but now the home anything else in the mix but the thunder and I did that probably for about three or four years at least I'm guessing probably at least anywhere from two to six hours a day or night and I think that helped me learn a lot of things and I will say this some of you guys are probably too far advanced where that could help you but some of you guys aren't and and it really taught me how to fit things together in the mix because mixing is about mixing it's not about individual tracks it's not about the spaghetti sauce and the garlic and the onions and the bell peppers it's about a plate of spaghetti and so sometimes we forget that and we we celebrate the garlic when we should be celebrating the experience one had by eating the entire dish kind of corny but I think that's I think you'll get something from that for most of us our quest to become not just engineers but anything in audio started when we when we were kids and we heard that that one record that just grabbed us by the throat threw us on the ground stomped on our head and heart and and and that experience was like man what just happened to me that happened to me when I was like six or seven years old I was I was standing staying with my aunt in Miami and it was it was just an incredible experience so what I've tried to do is from time to time go back and listen to that song and see what I hear new in it because when I listen to that song as a kid all I heard was the song I didn't know what a drum was I didn't know what line I knew what instruments were but because I come from a musical family but I didn't hear the EQ of the vocal or the fatness of the kick drum I heard a song and so I would say try and get that feeling to come out of the speakers first when you're mixing and then do your engineering duties to try and make those emotions and feelings I compete on against all the other songs that are out there but the most important thing is to get that feeling to come out and grab you again and to touch it the next guy down there on the on the on the totem pole to feel the same way it's kind of a subtle thing so think about that we all know the same rules are made to be broken well rules are not made to be broken they're made to be ignored now if you're not this talented this guy making the rule you might want to pay attention to it but I got to feel any more talented than the rules maker so just ignore them that they serve no value they they tend to restrict the freedom that you have to create and I think that's an important important way to end this these tips and if I could give you one more tip ignore the 15 other ones that are above this one alright guys thanks for listening you

Channel: LANDR

Views: 952,459

Keywords: Dave Pensado, Pensado’s Place, LANDR, sound engineering, music production, audio, mixing, music, tutorials, tips, DAW, Creativity

Id: 7AqNUNrO690

Length: 14min 32sec (872 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 14 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/White-Widow]

Summary from YouTube comments:

1. Listen on different systems to make sure your mix works.
2. Room treatment is important.
3. Use reference. Even different genres. Turn down volume and mix towards it.
4. You are selling your taste, not your skills. Emotion, what people feel, important, you'll learn automatically.
5. Mixing is not something you add to the production, it's what you do to finish the production.
6. Work with talented/gifted people around you. For learning and if they get discovered they'll draw you with them.
7. Study your heros' influences, not your heros.
8. Stop taking advice so literally. Use it as an opinion. Try to understand the concept though.
9. Teachers. They are there for help, ressource, etc.
10. Work on other people's tracks/mixes: You work with deadlines, pressure. You can get their opinion and feedback.
11. Deadlines are vital. They require commitment. If you don't know how to start, just start. It will work out for you.
12. If your mix gets rejected in favor of the rough mix from the artist himself, don't take it personally, but ask yourself: What was it about that mix from a person with probably lower mixing skills than me that it was better? It was probably done quickly, just focussing on the proportions of the instruments. The vibe/emotion is important and it was done to make it work together.
13. Mess/practise with tracks that are already mixed/mastered/done. See if you can make it better (eq, compression,...). See how things sit in the mix.
14. Get back to a song that really caught you and your emotions and try to hear something new in it. Get that feeling to come out of the speakers first and then do your mixing.
15. Rules are not made to be broken, they are made to be ignored. You might want to pay attention to it, but mostly ignore them. They tend to restrict your freedom to create.

[u/BeerIsTheMindKiller]

Hold up, I'm scrolling through this dude's credits - he mixed the first pokemon movie. damn.

[u/IonnoFry]

Loved this. I forget to look for ways to improve every so often and it’s good to have these reminders.

[u/johndatwat]

Wow....that's inspiring regardless of topic really...but fuck is this motivation! Thank you for posting this!

[u/rreighe2]

I love that dude. He's so damn smart and chill. I'd like to hang out with him some day.

[u/HIGH_IN_SWEDEN]

Man is that guy charming.