Mixing and the perfectionist… to pefect or not too perfect?
I’ve been in a little slump lately, haven’t finished any mixes and trashed the ones I’ve worked on. I’ve been feeling like lately if it isn’t flawless it’s not worth it. I know many say that it’s never going to be perfect and a little human element sounds good, but I guess I’m just striving for a little too much, especially since I haven’t been back in the game very long.
Does anyone else share this frustration? What are your thoughts on the matter?
I used to, then I started to hear little mistakes in others mixes and said fuck it. Maybe you need to make an adjustment or something? Change the way you mix so it’s a little different?
yep, that’s why i focus making studio mixes instead of live mixes now.
what i can do live is not bad, but there are always atleast a couple imperfections. i figure that if i’m recording at home, might as well take advantage of all the tools available to me - not to mention the opportunity to record several takes of say one transition and then choose the best one to use.
dont beat yourself up about it. I find that i just need to put in more time when i am in a slump. Instead of picking tracks out as you play… Choose a bunch you really like and then arrange them in a playlist till the progression is really good. Them practice mixing them in that order but find the mixes that work…whatever way you need to. Since you using controller…you now have many many ways to transition. For me…when i put the work and effort in i usually get gold back. All my mixes over the years i can still listen to and really enjoy them all myself. I like hearing what i did…to re affirm my self confidence. What do you find thats going wrong? It could be your work method.
I say try completely free styling it…then planning a detailed mix and see what is better.
Im learning with me at least…a straight freestyle jam session gives great results or at least ideas for you to expand on. As Alec Baldwin would say: “A.B.C.” …Always Be reCording…
well… my 2 cents… are that… only genius will be seen or noticed from imperfection. No one will notice something or remember it if its so perfect and flawless. as stated above the live mixing will get you those things you can later bring back into a studio session.. But without it… you lose the bigger picture when trying to find something that is working or not in a studio scenario. It just my opinion, but the moment you set yourself up for studio ear fatigue, you will stray from the mark, and in some cases it will be for the better, but in others you will want to move on to other ideas or just not get it out the same way.
Id rather hear 10 mixes from somebody that try things out which I will mabey have never heard before compared to that 1 mix that is so perfect just because its pulling off whatever tricks that everyone knows is perfect.
What Im trying to say is the more you try and make the perfect formula the less it sounds original..
It depends what the purpose of the mix is for. As a promoter i prefer people to send me live mixes so that I can get a true picture of how they are going to play at my night. If theres a couple of minor mistakes but they are generally decent then that is perfect for me. If someone sends me a mix thats totally perfect all the way through and an obvious edited studio thing, how can that give me a true representation of how they will be live?
I would say keep studio edited mixes for those being sold in the shops and things along that line!
I like hearing a flaw or two per hour… shows that the computer is not doing all the work. That being said, I have a pretty dope 90 minute mix I did and never released b/c I dropped a track in one the 15th beat and not 16th. I should just put the damn thing out there.
In Traktor at least that’s pretty easy to fix if you keep same master vol.
Try making a take of just that mix portion until its like what you wanted, then cut and paste it into the master mix (in an audio editor like audacity or something). If the editing is good it should sound seamless. I’ve done that a couple times.
For me the first 4 tracks have to be perfect… Ive been working on the one mix now for over a week and ive only just got to a point were im happy with the first 10 minutes… however, now i feel i can relax and enjoy the rest of the mix… its just selecting those first 4 that always takes me so long.
i’ve gotta say freestyle all the way. its the only way to keep things fresh but I record every time I play. just knowing you are recording tends to put the pressure and you get the chance to go over what tracks and mixes you liked. then setup your playlist for the final mix.
if i feel like things are getting stagnant or im getting frustrated I will start playing totally different genres. it might be a day or even a week playing another genre but it really helps when you cant seem to get creative with your mixing.
Keep practising til you can do two hours without an obvious mistake. Then you can really start to express your ideas with your recordings, personally i hate “clinical” sounding mixes, i dont like to hear trainwrecks either but a little glitch here and there is fine with me I have to go thru a few mixes every day running the soundcloud group and OMG you guys are fucking geniuses compared to some of the shit we (sarasin is a mod also) dont let thru
i can forgive hearing a couple minor technical fuck ups in a mix as long as the tracklist is interesting , but i don’t get why anybody would prefer to hear them.
it’s not like computers can make mixes by themselves, even guys who mix with ableton and automate everything - still takes a person to make it happen and make it sound good.
but i agree with the freestyling thing to come up with ideas for mixes, it’s the only way to do it imo. takes experimenting and fucking around in the mud for a bit to come up with new and interesting ideas to be applied in either a live setting or a studio setting.
I feel your pain man, I only got back into all this last December and only got my full midi set up in April. I was a vinyl DJ for 7 years before having a 4 year break after I moved house. Now I’ve got the soundcloud page setup I wanted to put some mixes out there to try get some gigs but I have been trying to get a mix that I’m happy with that are as good as I used to be before stopping. Only problem is that they just aren’t at the moment. Whether it’s listening back to them and not being happy with the tune selection, if it’s a couple of glitches with the mixes or messing up something you have worked on prior it’s really frustrating!!!
I’m not one of these absolute perfectionists but I critique other people all the time when I’m out or hear something that someone has done wrong so I think I should try and make sure I have a good standard.
I know it’s just a question of getting my head down and practicing, keeping a level head while doing it and not TOO much planning as then there is more for you to feel like has gone wrong if not perfect.
It’ll come man just give it time and enjoy what you are doing, I feel better already haven written this down!!!
I went snowboarding with a friend who is pretty much a ranked expert. He told me, “If you don’t fall down, you’re not trying hard enough”. I’ve used that philosophy in just about everything… although I understand why you’d aim for perfection when recording.
I should just put the damn thing out there.
I have to go thru a few mixes every day running the soundcloud group and OMG you guys are fucking geniuses compared to some of the shit we (sarasin is a mod also) dont let thru 