Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins

by Bjorgvin Benediktsson, James Wasem (Editor)

Learn a Proven Step By Step Mixing Process That's Helped Thousands of Musicians Like Yourself Make Amazing Mixes in Their Home Studio, Using Only EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay, and Saturation
"This is the NO BS guide to taking your mixes to the next level! Björgvin has been teaching and writing about recording for a decade, and really understands that stuff that we all struggle with in the home studio. Step By Step Mixing takes you through the full process of making sure your mixes rock from ruff to radio ready!" -Lij Shaw, Award winning Producer and Podcaster of Recording Studio Rockstars

If you answered yes to one of those questions - don't worry - you're not alone.
If you want to make better mixes immediately in your home studio that translate to every speaker system, whether you're working on demos for your band or mixing records for your clients, then Step By Step Mixing is for you.
Here's What You'll Learn
Step by Step Mixing covers the theory behind each processor while giving you simple to use, practical audio tips you can use to improve your mixes.
Every chapter is broken down as You're exhausted with your trial and error process that keeps you second-guessing yourself about whether your music sounds any good. If you're tired of individual tricks and wished you had a clear set of instructions on how to make your mixes sound like the professional records you love so much, then Step By Step Mixing is your clear and concise reference guide for better sounding music in your home studio.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

156 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2019

Reviews

[Brian Blickenstaff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been playing guitar and writing songs since high school. My big pandemic hobby has been learning to record and mix the songs. I don't have any rock star ambitions. I just figured it'd be nice to give them a place to live outside of my head. Turns out recording and mixing is super fun, but it's also complicated. If you don't know what you're doing, and if you listen to the YouTube advertisements for expensive aftermarket plugins that you are bombarded with once the internet learns you have a home studio, you might end up spending money when you don't really need to. So I figured I should try and get a handle on the stock plugins before I go buy anything fancy. This book was exactly what I needed: a concise breakdown of how to use the basic tools that come with any digital audio workstation. minus one star because the last section on saturation felt a bit like an afterthought and wasn't nearly as robust as the rest, though still useful.

[Matthew Pennell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and well-structured for the most part, with enough information to make you feel like you at least understand a little bit of what you're doing with the most common plug-ins. The book suffers from the same issues as any self-published one, namely poor formatting and the lack of an editor, but it's far easier to refer back to than a thousand YouTube tutorials.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good beginner’s guide. Even if I never use this info, I’m glad I learned a bit about music production and I like the way he adds an example right where you need it to make things clearer.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Step By Step Mixing is a book about getting 80% of your mixing results from 20% of your efforts. The author focuses on 5 primary plug-ins that he argues will make the 80% difference. Those 5 plug-ins are EQ, Compression, reverb, delay, and saturation. The author takes you through each of these 5 plug-ins and explains what the knobs and buttons on each do the characteristics of the effect. He also outlines some of his best practices for applying these to different instruments & tracks. Overall, the book was pretty basic but that's exactly what I was looking for. If you're new to mixing and want something to help you cut out a lot of the noise, this is a good place to start.

[Liam Ravita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal tome of knowledge on mixing music. Took me a while to get all the way through only because I was taking notes and absorbing as much info as I could. Throughout reading this book, I was actively practicing the mix techniques on several different projects and it made an immediate difference. I’ll continue to use this book as a reference. Highly highly recommend to anyone interested in mixing audio.

[John Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent easy read

Five stars everyday from me. An easy to read step by step guide. Taking you from from a single recorded track and walking you to the finish line in a very light hearted way. And as a summary... Practice, practice and practice some more. Time wasn't built in a day. Thank you Bjorgvin

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

straight forward & very useful reading

Easy to read and digest. Great for beginners as it’s easy to throw too many ‘toys’ on
a mix and loose sight of the main aim. This book explains the importance of understanding the foundations of mixing and the most important plugins to use from scratch.

[Rodney C. Ladson · Rating 5 out of 5]

He Got Me!

Never thought I would read another book on mixing and mastering, but this one caught my eye. So, I downloaded a sample and he drew me in! The book was a great fast read that I learned a lot from. I put in a few bookmarks that I known I will reference while I am working on my own projects. I feel more confident about the process than I ever have.

[Stephen Bontz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent and well written guide. The fundamentals are the building blocks to your music, and Björgvin laid them out in a very easy to digest way. Thank you for all of the information and added resources at the end of the book. Björgvin seems like a pretty chill guy and teaches will humility. Definitely pick this up if you’re interested in producing/mixing music.

[Pzyqer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For mixing relatively ordinary music, this is some decent advice. I also like the fabfilter plugins which are often mentioned throughout the book. I wish he had mentioned the next types of plugins that would come on the list of the most important ones.

[Andy Caffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I needed to develop some audio mixing chops as I transition from iMovie to multicam work in Final Cut Pro. This audio book is well done and efficiently uses time. No fluff or self-promotion.

[David C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beneficial reading even if you think you know it all

I’ve been mixing for quite a number of years, but digging more into Reverbs and Delay sections really helped my current mix shine compared to my previous ones. Best advice here, using a little goes a long way…

[Doug Gilham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good,

A very well organized and simple to follow approach to mixing music. I wish I’d read this when I first started this journey but am glad that I have now and look forward to creating great sounding music,

[Kevin Qualls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using less forces us to be more creative. Bjorgvin knows his craft and helps his readers get a good understanding of how to use basic plugins that make mixes sound great!

[Zoltan Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading for getting closer to the topic and practical enogh to be able to reproduce it on my own material.

[Shane Lindeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it twice, lot's of great information that I use in every mixing session. Highly recommend.

[Kevin Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for what it is

[Steven Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book, great sidekick

I enjoy the book, great studio companion for musicians and producers. Give it a read, soak it in, take your time and make great mixes.

[j · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative guide for beginner

As someone who's just starting to get into mixing, I found this book provides a good introduction to the basic tools and provides a basic workflow to follow for mixing music.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this might make it seem like a scam, or some quick "top 5" listicle type thing. But it's not at all - it's a primer full of incredibly useful concepts. The author not only offers an organized look at practical tips and tricks for each of the 5 mixing tools (EQ, compression, reverb, delay, saturation), but also why you'd even want to use them in the first place, and how they can help your mix musically.

The author knows and understands that mixing is an art, just as much as songwriting and recording is. This is a quick read, but it helped me contextualize and understand mixing as a creative process, not a mechanical, tedious process. I recommend this to anyone who might be interested in mixing.

[Harvey Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and helpful tips on mixing

This book was great in helping me to learn more and how to apply it. I recommend this book to anyone who has trouble with mixes.

[Sue Bowes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent advice

Wish I’d read this $500 bucks ago and done more with less! Excellent advice, I followed the flow from this book and get 80% to 100% mixed fast. Thanks.