#1 MR. I HAVE IT ALL BUT I STILL SUCK

Start small, don’t invest in expensive equipment unless you can see yourself using it, all the time or atleast most of the time. Research gear well before you commit to buying it. Top of the list of the worst mistakes ever made.

#2 MR. RUSTY STRINGS

Use new strings on guitars, new cables for instruments. Warm up your voice if you’re doing a vocal take. However, this guy is only a measly second to MR. IAMTOOLAZYTOTUNEMYINSTRUMENTSLOLZ. Those belonging to that category have lost all hope, and deserve to be jailed next to the city litter dump.

#3 MR. NOISY

Eliminate noise, buzz from instruments and surroundings. Do it one step at a time. Optimizing your source signal beats post-processing, anyday.

#4 MR. CLIPPER

Don’t clip when recording tracks – watch the gain knob on your inputs. But sometimes, clipping can have interesting effects if you need them. You feel like killing me already don’t you?

#5 MR. MUDDY MOE

Don’t ignore the low-mids (250-500Hz)! Good control over the low-mids is required to add warmth, and remove mud from beefy/muffled recordings.

#6 MR. TURN UP THE BASS

Hold your horses. keep the bass under control. Learn more advanced techniques like sidechaining if you still want to use tons of BASS in your recordings, since MOAR BASS = SECKS anyway. Right? Yeah.

#7 MR. TINNY TANNY

In same fashion, don’t overdo the treble. While good high-end in a song screams quality recording, overdoing it can easily kill the mix, making it sound small, trashy, and sterile.

#8 MR. VOCALS TOO LOUD

Seriously, what are you yelling for? Realize that a good mix is about finding the right balance. Right balance will give out the right vibe, and convey the message of the song. There is no formula though. If there was one – you wouldn’t be reading this would you? You’d be rolling in your silk sofa in your bay area mansion.

#9 MR. DROWN IN REVERB BCOZ IT IS KOOL

As the old saying goes ‘Don’t let your cat drown in your cappucino’.

No one cares if you’re not heard. Unless you want that?

#10 MR. I DONT PAN MY INSTRUMENTS

Think of your song as a plate you’re holding out to someone serving you food. Would you like it if they stacked tomatoes, curry, icecream, yogurt, and tartar sauce on top of each other? Pan wisely, use the stereo spectrum to your advantage. Surprise your listener with intricate pans.

MOAR TIPS:

1) Hang out on interest forums and ask questions. Learn, contribute and share and you will benefit immensely. www.freq20.com is one such forum.
2) Listen to music, more music, and even more music. Even if you can’t hear things consciously, your subconscious picks up minute details like spacing between sonic regions that will help you make better mix decisions when you’re recording. No music is bad music, unless it’s Coldplay of course.
3) Use a Spectral Analyzer – while you must understand that your ears are the ultimate judge, they’re also tricked easily. Use a Spectrum Analyzer (like this free one) to guide you visually. Be careful not to base entire mix decisions on the spectral analyzer though.
4) Use EQ wisely – Too many people have said this already. Just google ‘EQ tips’ to see results. Cut more often than boost.
5) Compression – Mastery or atleast a good understanding of compression will take your recordings and make it sound as monstrous a horny elephant on hormone shots. You could start by reading this.

And now, brave new recordist – you’ve come thus far. Why not ‘like’ this post to share and help other brave new recordists?