Three minute reads for artists and producers
who want to make better records

By Thomas Dulin

Hey Reader, hope you're having a good week so far.

Here's this week's Take Three email.

TAKE ONE: QUICK LINKS

• Record Labels Sue AI Music Generators Suno and Udio for Copyright Infringement (via Wired)​
• Pro Tools 2024.6 has released and it looks amazing. Everything you need to know from Production Expert.
• ​Five audio randomization tips to break your writer’s block

TAKE TWO: RECENT RELEASES

I had nothing to do with this song, and it's far from recent, but I have been obsessing over this Molly Tuttle record the last week or so. If you haven't heard it, check it out.

Dooley's Farm (feat. Billy S... Molly Tuttle, Molly Tuttle &... PREVIEW   ​

TAKE THREE: MIX PREP MATTERS

Could you write down every step you take when getting ready to mix a song?

Until recently I didn’t have an exact “system” that I used to prep every mix. I would create my mix bus which was pretty much always the same, and then create my subgroups that fed my mix bus. But I always just did things manually, one thing at a time.

And then I looked at my calendar a couple weeks ago and realized that I have about 40 songs in my queue right now.

“I don’t have time to create a system or a template.”

This is what I told myself.

But the truth is that I don’t have time NOT to be using a systemized template.

So I enlisted the help of my friend Carl who agreed to help me make a template and prep all my sessions for me. That way I can get to the studio, open a session, and immediately start doing creative work.

What should be in a mix template?

The answer is everything you think you might need.

Take a mix you’ve done that you like, remove all the audio, and use that as a starting point. You can even add plugins that you sometimes like to use, and deactivate them on the channel. That way, you don’t even have to search for the plugins you like, you just have to turn them on!

Here are some ideas for things to include:

• “Default” state plugins that you like on all channels
• Folders, colors, and visual preferences
• Mix bus and subgroup plugins and routing
• Effects returns — create as many as you want and deactivate them

The effects returns are my favorite part of this. My template has a folder called “Lead Vocal FX.” That folder contains a hall, plate, room, and chamber reverb return, each with several different plugins all deactivated for super quick reverb access.

Other kinds of preparation

Writing out a checklist of all the preparation you want done, whether by you yourself or an assistant, is super important.

Here’s mine:

• Open the session and “Save As” SongTitle_Prep
• Place all audio into correct folders with correct routing
• Color all tracks according to the color scheme
• Strip Silence on all tracks and create any fades needed
• Make sure the rough mix is included as a track at the bottom with fader down and muted.
• Mono audio on stereo tracks: If any stereo tracks appear to be mono, make absolutely sure they are mono, split the track into mono, and get rid of one side.

Your system is probably pretty different from mine, which is 100% fine. Just make sure you at least have a checklist or a template. Your mixes will be better, more consistent, and more efficient.

I am curious - what’s in your normal prep routine that’s not in mine? Hit reply and let me know?

Until next week, happy music making, Reader.

Thomas Dulin Producer / Engineer / Mixer