Mixing an entire album...where to start?

[judge_banks]

So I did the whole "Write an album in february" thing, and I took it quite literal. Not just a collection of songs, but an album with a central theme.

All the tracking and arranging is done, and now it is time to mix it down.

I'm struggling with a few points here:

1. I have a tendency to mix as I go. I record in a shitty room with shitty gear, so I use effects quite liberally to try and compensate to the best of my ability.
I learn so much on a daily basis on this forum. Take for example a thread currently in progress about reverb. A GREAT point was brought up about using mono reverbs - something I've been thinking about but not using. But in my haste to get something recorded, I usually send a lot of stuff (not all) through a single stereo verb send. So getting to the question...I'm happy with the way most of this sounds as it is, but is there a chance I'd be better off bypassing all those plugins and starting from scratch? Or is it probably a waste of time?

2. It's a fucking lot to do lol. Where does one even begin? I know everyone will say "do whatever works for you, or whatever comes naturally", but what I've been doing hasn't been working. I know part of it is just having a trained ear and experience but insights into some other workflows can potentially spark something in my own.

Do I just turn everything down to 0, and slowly turn it up one instrument at a time?

btw I'm well familiar with macc's "moneyshot" thread and keeping levels under control etc.

This is a huge undertaking for me and an important project. Where would you begin?

Thanks

[Mad_EP]

tbh - i see there being two diff issues in your post. 1) how to mix a track vs 2) how to mix an album....

personally, i approach the two differently. if you've already read macc's money thread... then mixing a track shouldn't be a total mystery. that doesn't mean you have automatic mastery - even people who have been doing it forever and doing it well have tracks that take them ages to mix properly. just as an example - i have spent the past 2 hours trying to balance the kick vs the claps vs the basslines in one track. and i am talking about a difference of +/- .05 db. it is all about your ears and not giving in to thinking it is "good enough".

as for mixing an album - that is a whole different game. basically, if you have your individual tracks mixed well, then you are primarily looking for volume matching between the tracks so that they flow well together. to me - this is where mastering comes in. yeah, i can do some volume correction with normalization, etc.. but the ME's have other, tastier tools to get tracks that are already sounding nice to sound a bit better - not just by themselves, but together....

[Sharmaji]

mix a track a day. I find it really tough to do more than that.

if you can afford it-- and there's reason enough to do so-- mix them the best you can, and book some time at a well-appointed studio to re-visit the mixes. You wanna learn something fast? The hot seat is a great way to do it.

[judge_banks]

book some time at a well-appointed studio to re-visit the mixes. You wanna learn something fast? The hot seat is a great way to do it.

That's interesting advice, thanks. I've been thinking about doing this for my vocals. I hate standing alone in my apartment belting into a microphone haha. I also have neighbors and can't always listen to mixdowns as loud as I'd like (especially with the dustup stuff), so that's why I use my headphones quite a bit.

[safeandsound]

I would begin with your self suggested best track and just get stuck in.

Take it from there, one day after the next, take a rest day in between if you have the luxury.

cheers