Why Joe Chiccarelli Hates Mixing on AirPods - 15 Mixing Philosophy Tips

Learn audio mixing techniques and philosophies through a 12-minute video featuring multi-Grammy-winning engineer Joe Chiccarelli evaluating 15 popular mixing approaches. Discover professional insights on common mixing practices including high-pass filtering, reference track usage, mono mixing, drum quantization, monitor level strategies, car testing methods, drum tuning techniques, vocal automation, stereo bus processing, AirPods monitoring, reverb usage, drum mix foundations, plugin loading strategies, sidechain compression, and gain staging management. Gain expert perspective on which social media mixing hacks are valuable versus which should be avoided, delivered through Chiccarelli's candid professional experience working with artists like The White Stripes, Weezer, and Alanis Morissette. Explore the balance between technical rules and creative intuition in professional audio mixing through real-world expertise and honest industry insights.

Syllabus

• Introduction
• High-pass everything
• Always mix with reference tracks
• Mixing in mono
• Quantizing live drums
• Mixing at low monitor levels
• Checking your mixing the car
• Tuning drum toms to the key of the song
• Writing vocal automation to lead vocals
• Mixing through your stereo bus as early as possible
• If the mix sounds good on AirPods, it’s done
• Using only one reverb for the entire mix
• Starting every drum mix with the kick and snare
• Loading all or most of your go-to plugins before starting a mix
• Sidechain compression
• Keeping an eye on gain staging throughout your mix