Summary
Highlights
Chris rates 'high pass everything' as garbage (2/10), emphasizing the importance of listening to how filters affect the sound, as they can sometimes increase low end or make vocals sound tiny. He gives 'always mix with a reference track' a perfect score (10+), highlighting that a reference track for the client's desired sound is crucial, but warns against chasing the specific sound of other recordings, instead advocating for chasing the emotional memory of a recording.
Mixing in mono receives a 7/10, as Chris believes most people listen to music in mono, whether they know it or not, and it's essential for ensuring a mix translates well. Side chain compression gets a 3/10, primarily seen as a production technique that can be overused and potentially lead to issues like reducing the low end of a kick drum.
Checking the mix in the car is a 10/10 if you're familiar with your car's sound, but a 0/10 for Chris, who doesn't drive. EQing to the key/scale of the song is dismissed as nonsense (0/10). Tuning every vocal is also a 0/10 for a mixer, as it's not their primary job and can strip away the singer's emotion if overdone.
Mixing through the master chain as soon as possible scores a perfect 10/10, as Chris prefers to hear the final result throughout the mixing process. Hard panning guitars left and right gets an 8/10, with a suggestion to vary panning for dynamic effect, such as tighter panning in verses and wider in choruses.
'Never boost EQ, only cut' is rated 5/10, with Chris recommending trying cuts first, especially for vocals, and only boosting as a last resort. Using only one reverb for the whole mix is a definite 0/10, as multiple reverbs are needed for diverse spatial effects. Assuming a mix sounds good everywhere if it sounds good on AirPods is also a 0/10, emphasizing the need to listen on various systems, not just headphones.
Stereo imaging plugins are rated 10/10 for their ability to spread sounds and create distinct spaces, especially for making mono sounds stereo. Parallel compression receives a low 1/10, as Chris finds it overused and prefers direct control over compression, often finding it creates more problems than solutions.
Mixing at low volumes is a 0/10; Chris advocates for mixing at loud volumes to feel the compression and sculpt the low end effectively. Color coding every track before starting a mix is an 8/10, highlighting the importance of session organization for an efficient and focused mixing process.
Gain staging is rated a crucial 10/10, as it underpins the entire mix, preventing reliance on limiters to compensate for poor gain structure. Volume automation on vocals also gets a 10/10, as a single vocal level or EQ setting is rarely suitable for an entire song, requiring dynamic adjustments throughout.
Starting every mix with the kick drum receives a 7/10. While the kick is often the first element unmuted in groove-oriented songs, Chris quickly brings in the snare, hi-hat, and bass to understand how the rhythm section interacts, as EQing the kick in isolation is not effective.