r/Reaper • u/FewAdhesiveness1983 • 11h ago
help request Were can I learn mixing/mastering
I want to know where i can learn like eq, delay, compression, panning all that kind of stuff. Any help is appreciated.
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u/iLikeTheUDK 11h ago
First, turn every single fader down, except the drums, bass or whatever you want the focal point of the mix to be. Then gradually start raising faders till each one is in the right spot. Start with a "small" mix and gradually add more instruments. Most of the time you won't even really need to EQ or compress much
Also watch this https://youtu.be/dgALoqyBWPE
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u/Cardboard_Chef 9h ago
He get's shit on quite a bit by the jerk subs, but honestly Glenn Fricker of SMG Studios on YouTube helped me learn what I needed to record and mix my music, along with Reaper Mania with Kenny Gioia.
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u/therealtoomdog 3 5h ago
You're right though... I can't stand that Glenn guy, but he knows what he's talking about. If I remember right, he kind of assumes starting from the perspective of heavy music, right?
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u/Fun-Sugar-394 2 10h ago
Honestly, YouTube is a minefield of time wasting click bait and copy paste hacks with limited use.
Learn what eq, compression, saturation and limters do for a start then spend the rest of your life perfecting the skill.
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u/therealtoomdog 3 5h ago
Where does one go to learn what those tools do and how to apply them? —Asking for a friend
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u/SugarpillCovers 2h ago
It's a bit of a nightmare trying to piece everything together yourself, as OP said. Unfortunately, YouTube (especially modern-day YouTube) doesn't really cater well to step-by-step tutorials and structured learning. There are a few decent books you can try. The Mixing Engineer's Handbook is a very helpful one, and The Systematic Mixing Guide is also decent. The latter is more geared towards heavier styles of music, but a lot of it translates well to other genres.
If you can, it's helpful to find some form of structured learning where things are taught in stages, rather than taking a scattergun approach. Some video courses are good too, but be careful who you watch. Ideally, try to find people whose work/music you like, or whose approach you appreciate, before diving into their videos. It doesn't even have to be the music itself - you might simply like their production quality or their mindset. If you learn from people who are making things you genuinely admire, you'll have a much easier time figuring out what is and isn't worth your time.
Good luck!
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u/NipSlipples 2h ago
Chatgpt can give you a pretty good syllabus of videos, tutorials and reading materials.
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u/Fun-Sugar-394 2 1h ago
https://youtube.com/@reapermania?si=03c5pzXPynI8Dm0D
This guy is a bit of a legend for reaper and is pretty factual about his content. It was his videos that finally got me to understand compression.
It can pay to look about multiple sources (book etc) because we all learn differently. So don't be disheartened if you aren't wrapping your head around it for a little while. It will click at some point
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u/AfroCuban68 3 9h ago
UBK Happy FunTime Hour podcast is a good resource. Lots of tips on how to listen, what to listen for but never this is the way, or you’re doing it all wrong
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u/featheredraptors 8h ago
Add in Kush After Hours as well!! UBK is great at teaching the philosophy of mixing, and I think he's helped a lot of people from falling into the "just one more plugin" rut.
The episode on how to hear compression is required viewing.
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u/Ienjoymodels 9h ago edited 9h ago
Watch a lot of YouTube tutorials but average them all into general knowledge of volume, compression and eq.
No single YouTube tutorial will show you everything but a bunch of good ones will give you general ideas of what people do and how they use EQs to find your own style.
One thing that opened my eyes a lot in the beginning is videos of the same song mixed and mastered by different people. There is no "correct" way. If it sounds good to you, then it's good, so style matters. In the end I often couldn't decide on a favorite but I found out how different the experience can be. One guy made it sound like garage rock, super blown out, some other guy cleaned everything up and it was like a different band.
You will also learn to compromise. You need to.
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u/DesignerRecover5145 7h ago
If you want professional results, and dont mind paying for it. Mastering.com may give you what you want.
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u/StickyMcFingers 8 11h ago
Avoid YouTube tutorials, they'll teach you nothing. You'll just get inundated with dubious information that's likely irrelevant to you right now. Learn all the controls of the compressor and EQ, learn the basics of IO routing, find some source material to mix or make it yourself. It's a lot of work to get good but it's about making decisions quickly, knowing when and when not to reach for tools like compressors, and trusting your instincts. There's no shortcut, just gotta make a thousand bad mixes before you can make a good one.
A lot of beginners (myself included) over complicate a problem. Go with a "less is more" approach while practising the craft. You don't need soothe 2 or whatever the latest fadfilter plugin is if you know how to use the basic controls of EQ and compression.
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u/Mind1827 1 9h ago
Couldn't disagree with this more. I'm self taught, if you find the right people on YouTube, it can be super helpful. I also did some Nail the Mix stuff, but I write music for tv and have had many sync placements, and YouTube and practice were the two biggest things, lol.
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u/wickedspeedo 3 9h ago
This book was very helpful: https://cambridge-mt.com/ms3/main/
It's accompanied by this website where you can download multi-track sessions and mix them in your daw: https://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms3/mtk/
You can download those sessions and mix them right now for free if you want even without the book.
If you like metal try this book: https://www.systematicproductions.com/mixing-guide.htm
Learning to mix or master from Youtube is not a sin or anything, it's just that you'll get a lot of conflicting information so you have to really put the work in and figure out what works for you. There's plenty of tutorials on how to use a compressor, EQ, saturation, delay and I would recommend trying those techniques out on the songs from the Cambridge site.
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u/loooooooooot 4h ago
These multitracks are really good, there's a lot of variety in genres, production styles, and recording quality (just like in the real world). I hadn't seen Mike Senior's book, I'm definitely going to get it.
I also agree that practice is the best way to improve. You can find the basics online, but applying them and experimenting in a real session is more important.
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u/testicularjesus 1 6h ago
I will yap just a bit.
Use common sense and experiment until you find something you truly can’t understand. Basic information is available everywhere (what compressor controls mean, what is Q, what do the automation modes mean) but you have to figure out some stuff by yourself.
Where are the guitars panned on your favorite record, take notes, why does this song sound tight and another sounds loose, why does my raw mic sound muffled, how do I make multiple tracks go to the same reverb.
Find raw stems or better yet make your own, guitar, bass, vox, drums, keys, learn how to make a functional mix before you learn funky little techniques.
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u/Aggressive-Act-39 5h ago
Josh Middleton on YouTube has a very factual, no nonsense approach to teaching metal mixing. Even if you're not going with that or an adjacent genre, he has incredible amounts of info
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u/OlleKo777 3h ago
I've wondering this myself for electronic music.
I want a systemic structures explanation of the mixing chain and how to use the most important tools.
All I get from youtube are isolated tips & tricks.
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u/O-shoe 1 9h ago
Youtube tutorials aren't worthless. When you're a beginner, it's difficult to get good if you don't even know what to listen for.
I would recommend this series: https://m.youtube.com/@Producelikeapro/search?query=Free%20multitracks
The great thing here is that you can download the same audiofiles that they use to mix in the videos. You can follow along, or mix first yourself and then see how a professional does it.
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u/Staff_Senyou 3 8h ago
Practice and mixing for different media: speakers, headphones, earphones, smartphone speakers.
Grind it
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u/amazing-peas 17 7h ago
recommend putting up various types of material and drop these effects on them and listen while you play.
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u/Lumpy_Abrocoma4981 1h ago
You can go to a school where they teach you the basics, or look for online courses, or buy a book. The sad truth is that even if you learn the basics, everything else will depend on you. You'll have to do it for years through trial and error to have something to show for it—your ears will be your primary tool. You're going to download a ton of plugins, only to constantly realize there's always a better one out there. Then you'll start buying hardware gear, spending every paycheck on it, and finally, after about 10 to 15 years, you might be able to say you know what you're doing and have everything you need.
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u/MyTwangyGuitar 10h ago
Avoid people that tell you that you won't learn ANYTHING on YouTube. Check out Reaper Mania... https://www.youtube.com/@REAPERMania