Lesson Info
23. Mix Session Intro
Summary (Generated from Transcript)
In this lesson, the instructors introduce the mix session for the song "Alpha" by Periphery, playing the raw tracks first and then playing a provisional mix to showcase the difference between the two. The instructors also solo certain aspects of the mix to highlight key tones and textures in the song.
Q&A:
What is the purpose of exporting a version of the song with prerecorded tracks?
The purpose is to have a starting point for the mix session with all the necessary tracks already in place.
How does the provisional mix differ from the raw tracks?
The provisional mix includes the drums that were recorded the previous day, as well as some initial mixing adjustments.
Why did the instructors solo certain aspects of the mix?
They wanted to highlight specific tones and textures in the song.
Were all the tracks played in the lesson?
No, only a select few tracks were played to give an idea of the overall sound of the song.
Lessons
Class Introduction
02:08 2Learning Drum Tone
08:10 3Drum Head and Shell Selection
10:07 4Matt's Signature Snare
04:37 5Tuning a Snare Drum
31:44 6Tuning Toms
18:56 7Tuning Drums Q&A
13:00 8Drum Feel and Cymbal Selection
06:58Micing intro & Kick Mic Techniques
11:58 10Snare Micing Techniques
07:10 11Shell Micing Q&A
09:43 12Tom Micing Techniques
07:51 13Microphone Placement - Overheads and Room Mics
19:55 14Soundchecking the Drum Tones
33:45 15Drum Micing Q&A
11:55 16Working With Tempo
17:42 17How Drum Parts Evolve
09:48 18Preparing for Recording as a Drummer
12:49 19Writing Drum Parts
17:02 20Recording Drum Samples
13:53 21Tracking Drum Takes
19:31 22Comping Takes and Q&A
16:37 23Mix Session Intro
06:56 24Mix Session Organization
06:35 25Top Down Mixing Approach
28:51 26Mix Bus Compression & Saturation
21:11 27Mix Bus Q&A
14:32 28Mixing Drums Intro
06:59 29Mixing Kick Drum
35:00 30Mixing Snare Drum
20:53 31Mixing Toms
09:14 32Mixing Cymbal & Overhead Mics
15:39 33Mixing Room Mics
25:22 34Mixing Bass Guitar
35:57 35Mixing Rhythm Guitars
13:33 36Mixing Lead Guitars
22:57 37Mixing Synths, Pads & Samples
06:30 38Mixing Vocals
31:56 39Wrap Up Q&A & Final Thoughts
10:13 40BONUS VIDEO: Micing Guitar Cab
06:20Lesson Info
Mix Session Intro
I thought a really good place to start would be that I exported a version of the song and the song is Alpha from album Juggernaut Alpha. And this song has the prerecorded guitars, bass, and vocal tracks, and synths that you're seeing on the screen here, from the album sessions. And we've just dropped in the drums that we recorded yesterday, I did that before the session started today. What we're gonna listen to now is all of those instruments completely dry, so there's no mixing going on at all. Say from just panning and level adjustment. And it's not gonna sound very inspiring so, we'll just take a little listen to that now. (Alpha by Juggernaut) I did not mean to do that. You get the idea anyway. What I'm gonna do now, is mute that and listen to what's actually in the session, which is a provisional mix of the song including the drums that we recorded yesterday and we'll see what kind of a difference you get when you go from just those raw turns to the final turns. (Alpha by Juggerna...
ut) There's a little bit of a delay so I keep pressing the button twice. Anyway, hopefully that wasn't too annoying but I was going through and soloing certain aspects as they came in and out. To highlight some of the key tones or the textures that are in there. Obviously there's a lot more than what I showed you there but I also wanted you to hear some of the song.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Connor Smith
I haven't even finished the course and already my mixes have improved dramatically. Night and day difference. I haven't watched the portions with Matt as I'm using drum samples (GGD specifically), but I have no doubt it's great. Matt is always incredibly helpful and is a brilliant drummer. I thoroughly enjoy listening to Nolly, he's very articulate and his approach to audio engineering is flat out brilliant. I'm so happy I purchased this course. Before my mixes were good (balance and things of that nature) but lacked life and energy. I just wasn't getting the professional level sound I was searching for. Now, I am proud of my mixes and actually think they're getting to the point where they sound professional and don't sound like they were produced by a dude in his bedroom with about half of year of recording and audio engineering experience. The metal genre is difficult to mix as there's a lot going on and the "current metal sound" is very crisp and clear while still being very heavy and punchy. It isn't 80s dad metal where guitars are hissy and flubby. lol I am a huge Periphery fan and it's a privilege to watch Nolly share his knowledge. I really enjoy his approach as its very simple but very effective. He doesn't have insane mixing strategies, he just does what works and it's applicable to any DAW and is helpful for almost any genre of music. Brilliant course!
a Creativelive Student
This was an amazing course! I loved hearing from both Matt and Nolly on their thought process behind drums in general. I love the point they drove home about getting a great source tone. That seems to be forgotten in a lot of recordings and they try to fix it in the mix. Jolly did a fantastic job of making it look "easy" to take already great sounding source tones and making them really shine! Cant wait to put these concepts into practice in my own projects. What a great source of knowledge here. Thanks for this great class!
Adrian Gougov
Best course and overall learning experience I've had in a long long while. Nolly and Matt are superb. Nolly is an astonishing mixing and recording engineer and a great teacher. Not only does he explains his methods carefully and in detail, but also lays down key concepts in an understandable language. Definitely worth the investment if you wanna learn how to mix modern heavy music. Definitely worth the investment if you wanna learn how to track drums properly. Definitely worth the investment if you wanna see one of modern metal's best drummers track a whole song from start to finish. Props to Creative Live for bringing this material to us.