EZ Mix - thoughts?

[Mornats]

Hey hallowed recording peeps, I record and mix my own tracks, and also those of my band and I'm considering EZ Mix. I've played around with the demo but haven't wanted to use it in earnest on a track as I'd lose the mix when the demo times out. So I've been doing it the hard/proper way - using the compressors, EQ and whatnot in Reaper, along with some third party plugins (t-racks classic) to mix the tracks with.

As I'm still fairly new to recording and mixing, and am currently working my way through Mike Senior's mixing for the small studio book, I'm always trying new techniques. I've already gone down the heavy effect use route and I'm not learning a bit more about how all the tools work (compressors are still bloody difficult to get right), so I'm now pulling back and really thinking about what an individual track needs before using it. I'm getting a bit better but have a way to go.

So anyway, I was looking at Nectar Elements (Time+Space are doing an intro offer of it for £29) which I'm going to buy for vocal processing. The reason? I find it very easy to over-do settings. So I feel that starting with the presets, then tweaking away will stop me from over-processing. That's my theory anyway, and it may be wrong. So I though, if I'm thinking that way about Nectar, then how about using EZ Mix in the same way? Mainly, I just want to not be a n00b and over-do stuff and ruin a track.

If you want an idea of my current skill level, check out anything recent on [url="https://soundcloud.com/beautiful-skin"]https://soundcloud.com/beautiful-skin[/url] and [url="https://soundcloud.com/mornats"]https://soundcloud.com/mornats[/url]. The latest tracks on each should give you an idea. I really just want to do justice to the tracks my band are recording!

So, is EZ Mix any cop or would I be wasting my time?

[Skol303]

Hey Paul. Well, you can probably guess what I'm going to say... and that's practice, practice, practice!

EZ Mix does get positive reviews and if all you really want is 'ok ' quality mixes done quickly then it's probably a good investment. But...it will only do so much and I wouldn't expect 'great' results from it. Which might not be a problem - that's for you to decide.

I'm really not trying to be a mixing snob here It does take a lot of time to understand mixing - I'm still very much a novice myself and I've been at it for a few years as a hobbyist. And it's definitely not for everyone. I have mates who are talented musicians but view mixing in the same way most people view accountancy.

What I will say is that by persevering with your mixing you'll learn a SHEDLOAD of useful things that will benefit all aspects of your music making.

So maybe the solution is to buy EZ Mix as a short term fix (seems like a bargain at £29) but continue learning to mix with Reaper - because that's what's going to pay off in the long run.

Here endeth my tuppence-worth

[Mornats]

Cheers mate, that's where my head is at the moment too, EZ Mix isn't a quick fix and I should stick with the learning. (It's Nectar Elements that's £29 by the way, EZ Mix 2 is £111 which is too much IMO.)

[Skol303]

Ah... £100+ is a little steep for EZ Mix, but I can see why it might be worth the investment if you want quick results.

On thing that's always helped me is learning from pre-sets. In Reason, nearly all plug-ins come bundled with a good range of pre-sets that are never exactly what's needed... but they're a good starting point and a great way to learn the basics of compressors, EQs, reverbs, etc.

Pay attention to pre-sets and soon enough you'll be dialing in your own settings to taste. That's how I tend to get my head around things.

And importantly, don't beat yourself up about it! If you find a shortcut like EZ Mix and it works - use it. No shame in that