Bad Mixing/Mastering Advice Rant: "If It Sounds Right, It Is Right"

I read a lot on music, so I've come across my share of interviews with pros in the field of recording. When asked about the specifics of a particular mixing/mastering technique, I've noticed that many guys will respond something like this: "Man, if it sounds right, it is right." Then they talk about how one time they had to boost the snare by 16dB at 5.38kHz and it really made it pop. The album made platinum and the mixer was presented with the “Best Snare Sound Award” from the Canadian Council of Superior Recordings.

That’s a great story and all, but in my opinion “If it sounds right, it is right” is the worst piece of advice you could ever give someone learning about mixing/mastering. Why? Because most newbies to recording have neither the experience nor the training to be able to hear the way a mixing/mastering engineer has learned to hear. What sounds right to a newbie could sound right for all the wrong reasons. Amateur recordists should actually dedicate a fair amount of time trying to learn what it is exactly that the pros are hearing.

Once I was...eh-hmm…"mastering" a track and trying to give it some sparkly top end clarity like a radio cut. Over the course of the session, I thought I was making all the right moves. In my mind I was a mastering badass. The next morning I almost wet myself when I heard how absolutely horrible I made the track sound. Instead of making it sound radio-ready, I made it sound like a straight pin was used as a stylus on a record player.

My point? Newbies don't know what "right" sounds like. Heck, it took me a good year before I was able to hear how each of the parameters on a compressor changed the sound of the effect. Do you remember your first experiments with EQ? At that early point in our development as mixers, how were we supposed to know what a tasteful amount of EQ sounded like? I know I‘ve made my share of bad mix moves over time. But through these mistakes—and hopefully through critique as well—we slowly start to understand how a pro hears.

Anyhoo…now that I’ve been around the block a few years, I know what the pros really mean when they say "If it sounds right, it is right." So, let me translate for you, because I think it’s instructive. Here’s the translation:

“In my 25 years experience working in the recording industry on hundreds of major-label projects, where I've become extremely familiar with the best gear money can buy, I have learned through countless opportunities of trial and error that occasionally it's okay to violate a general recording guideline in order to achieve the sound I think will benefit the song as a whole. And even though I will sometimes push a principal beyond what is typically acceptable, I make sure that my decision will not jeopardize the sonic integrity and fidelity of neither the individual part nor its relation to the whole."

This is what they mean. Not as easy to toss off as a zen-like maxim, I know. But, until you're in their same situation, which won't be for a while, you may think twice when the violation of a generally-accepted recording axiom sounds "right."

My advice: if you're new to mixing/mastering or recording in general, just stick to the general guidelines you read about in trusted books and blogs. You might not create stellar mixes but they're also not going to suck really bad because you decided that boosting all the tracks 12dB at 2kHz sounded “awesome.”

So, what can you do right now to start hearing like a pro? Continue making and learning from your mistakes. Try out the suggestions given in books and magazines. Get advice and critique from someone who’s ahead of you. Train your ears with products like David Moulton’s Golden Ears, or take the quizzes at sites like Easy Ear Training or Dan Comerchero's QUIZTONES. Watch mixing/mastering tutorials with your headphones on. Take mixing lessons from a local mix engineer. Read Bobby Owsinski's isolated track analyses and listen for what he hears. Look for tutorial sites that include audio examples, like AudioTuts+. Study those examples until you can hear what they're hearing. It won’t happen overnight, but you’ll slowly improve your ear over time. Until then, appreciate the level you’re at right now and have fun.

Happy Mixing!

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