Hi Friends, I hope you are doing marvellously well! Today, we have another mixing tutorial coming your way.
My good friend and Studio One expert David Mood was kind enough to share this amazing tutorial with us:
How to add excitement to your mixes by using automation.
Automation is one of the most impactful techniques you can use to finish up your mix and take it to the next level. It allows you to create excitement & tension, keep the listener’s interest throughout the song and help it to build progress. It’s the stuff that makes you listen to a song over and over again, and enjoy it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Sometimes you’ll only notice these little tweaks after having listened to the song for the 100th time. But your brain notices these small changes, even if you don’t recognize them consciously at first.
Listen to any mix by one of your favourite engineers: Be it Mark Endert, Andy Wallace, Dave Pensado or others. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice how much automation is actually going on in the background. And that’s what keeps the song interesting and fun!
If you know you can deliver good mixes, but are looking to add the special sauce that will make your mixes stand out from the rest and make clients seek you out as an engineer, this tutorial is for you.
David discusses several ways to add interest to your mixes by automating effects, volume, panning and more. But more importantly he explains the thought process behind his decisions, so you can apply these techniques to your own mixes when called for.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial with us David!
Check out more tutorials by David Mood:
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please leave a bunch of questions and comments below and let us know how you are using automation creatively. Let’s have a great discussion. Thank you ever so much for all of your great comments and for being so supportive and helpful to one another. – You rock!
If you haven’t yet, please also check out our latest free mixing series: “Mixing A Pop/Rock Song“.
Free multitracks included!
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
Warren