The more you listen to your tracks, the faster you begin to lose your objectivity when mixing. Listen to Chris Athens share his tips on objectivity and working quickly: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep166chrisathens/

Chris Athens is a mastering engineer with over 30 years in the industry. Formerly working at Sony Music Studios and Sterling Sound, he has founded his own studio, Chris Athens Masters in Austin Texas. Chris has mastered for some of the biggest names in hip-hop such as DJ Khaled, Drake, and Mac Miller as well as some rock artists including Coheed & Cambria, Architects, and Of Mice and Men. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Taking chances, even when you don’t feel prepared - Learning from mistakes - Surrounding yourself with the right people - Work/life balance - Working to the point of burnout - Why you need to get good at networking and marketing - Inheriting clients vs. creating clients - Finding people to partner with for your studio business - Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses - The advantages of working quickly - How to preserve your objectivity - Broad-stroke vs. surgical EQ - Getting big clear low end Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep166chrisathens/

Often engineers will add tons of compression with the hope of getting a fatter/punchier sound, but is that sucking the life out of your tracks? Listen to Martin Cooke detail how to use compression sparingly and effectively: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep165martincooke/

Martin Cooke has worked with bands such as Death Cab for Cutie (Grammy Nomination in 2015), Of Monsters And Men, At The Drive-In, Chvrches, HAIM, Kimbra, Sea Wolf, Chaos Chaos, Destroy Boys, Hayes & Y, and Cathedrals Martin hails from the great state of Texas and has been playing music since the age of 10. He spent two years at the University of Houston, studying music performance and music education, before attending Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, he discovered the world of manipulating and recording sound, and never looked back. After graduating with a dual major in Music Production & Engineering and Music Synthesis, Martin moved to Los Angeles and began working at the world class Henson Recording Studios. From 2013 to 2018 he engineered for producer/mixer Rich Costey, and has been involved in mixes for artists like HAIM, Phantogram, Chvrches, Foster The People, and many more. He is now established as an independent recording and mixing engineer, and has had the opportunity to work with great independent artists to help them take their music to a new level. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Audio school: Is it worth it? - Shadowing other engineers and adapting to new workflows - Calibrating your system - Making the switch from analog to digital - Getting an analog sound in digital productions - Understanding phase relationships and how they impact the sound - The pros and cons to using programmed drums - Mixing drums - Leaning into room mics to create a more realistic sound - Martin’s system for using parallel compression - His go-to tools for saturation - Using a “crotch” mic - The Brendan O’Brien kick/snare mic technique - Finding the sweet spot of a room to record in Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep165martincooke/

If you want your mixes to sound wider, sometimes, the simplest solution is to make your left and right channels sound different. Listen to Doug Boehm share his simple tricks for creating wide mixes: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep164dougboehm/

An American record producer and Grammy Award winning recording engineer, Doug has worked with some of the best Pop, Indie, and Rock musicians. His roster includes the critically acclaimed Girls, and their offspring-solo artist Christopher Owens, Tokyo Police Club and French Kicks. Recently, he has been in the studio with Aussie favorites Birds Of Tokyo, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Twin Peaks, Elle King, and LA's Dear Boy. Recording and mixing credits include Australia's The Vines, Paul Dempsey, Powder Finger, as well as American pop phenoms Katie Perry, Fallout Boy and Miley Cyrus. Other credits include Booker T Jones, Guided By Voices, The Whigs, The Pharcyde, Guru, Dr Dog, Company of Thieves, The Honorary Title, Islands, Liz Phair, Starsailor, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, and the Stone Foxes. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Quitting audio college as a fast track to working in the audio industry - How to rise up the ranks in a studio - Working for Jack Joseph Puig - The simple trick for getting things to sound good - How to analyze reference tracks - Getting mixes to translate - Why your monitors aren’t your problem - NS10s: why they’re the worst - Preserving the sound of a client’s rough mixes - Getting bug, wide guitars - His simple approach to micing guitar amps - A trick for getting wider drum room sounds - Working with Tokyo Police Club - Using Transient Designers on room mics - Committing to sounds on the way in - The importance of automation to make mixes sound exciting Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep164dougboehm/

Do your mixes elevate and serve the song? Listen to Matt Bishop share his advice on how a pro makes a great mix: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep163mattbishop/

Over the last 10 years, Matt Bishop has earned himself an impressive credit list ranging from Taylor Swift and The Killers to U2 and Two Door Cinema Club. Whether it's engineering, producing, or mixing, Matt Bishop has proved himself time again as a trusted industry professional. With experience working in many different genres of music, he utilizes this unique perspective in all the projects he takes on. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Working with indie bands vs major label artists - Embracing imperfections - Samples vs raw drums - How to stop overanalyzing your work - Creating “utility” templates - Scheduling ear breaks - Working with Taylor Swift and U2 - Reverse-engineering records Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep163mattbishop/

When mastering, do you consider the sound of the album as a whole? Or should you focus on individual tracks? This week, TW Walsh reveals his wisdom on mastering records that stand the test of time: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep162twwalsh/

TW Walsh is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and engineer who's worked with Sufjan Stevens, Jimmy Eat World, Julien Baker, J. Tillman (Father John Misty), Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), The Shins, Chris Staples, Damien Jurado, David Bazan, Starflyer 59 and many others. Over the years, he's been in several bands, including Pedro the Lion, Lo Tom, Headphones, and The Soft Drugs. Currently based in Boston, he continues to master records, write and record songs, and collaborate with other artists. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - To go to recording school or not? - Making the switch from analog to digital - How loud should your mixes and masters be? - Navigating the loudness wars - How loudness can impact the sound quality of a mix - Should you master to -14LUFS? - Creating cohesiveness between songs on an album - Using AI tools during the mastering process - Personal taste vs. consumer expectations - Using templates in mastering - Picking a DAW for mastering - Mastering in a non-mastering-specific DAW - Why you don’t always want to master each song to sound the best it can Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep162twwalsh/

"Fix it in the mix" is a saying that we need to stop using, just get the sounds you want at the source. Alex Estrada shares his tips on how to get incredible recordings that make mixing easy: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep161alexestrada/

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA Estrada comes from a diverse musical background. The son of a world renowned Mariachi musician and a former professional Folklorico dancer - He was raised in the studio as well as on stage. As front man of Alternative / Electronic rock band Silver Snakes he released 4 full length albums and toured the United States and Europe with the likes of Korn, Glassjaw, Coheed and Cambria, Bring Me The Horizon, Chevelle and more. Known for his experimental production style as well as his keen sense of melody and pitch, Estrada has been a frequent collaborator in the studio with LA legends Touche Amore and Joyce Manor. In 2022 Estrada opened The Pale Moon Ranch, A recording studio situated in the mountains of Los Angeles county with panoramic views of the Mojave desert below. When he’s not making records, Alex can be found exploring various old west ghost towns with his cat Princess Pearblossom. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Growing up in a musical household - Reaching out to your favorite producers/engineers - Guitar tuning and intonation - Capturing feel - Technical perfection vs. raw performances - Making your productions stand out - Committing to sounds on the way in - Live off the floor recordings vs. tracking everything separately - Having the confidence to commit to sounds - Capturing natural ambience - Should you ever correct a musician’s technique? - Making demos in the preproduction stage - The importance of a good tracking room Check out the episode here: https://masteryourmix.com/podcastep161alexestrada/