I love your work and your MWTM videos; so thank you.
I wondered if, in the early part of your career, you were confident in just trusting your ears, as opposed to trying to make a project sound like something that was already popular or well regarded?
I would imagine that some degree of confidence is eventually built from the reactions / sales associated with your mixes; but, before that happened, did you just go with your gut or use a reference track?
hey terry
good question
it took appx 10 years after leaving Sarm studios in London where i trained for 7 years to start getting comfortable with balances. at the early stages of your career you are usually not in a room you know well. that makes consistent mixing really tough…
the confidence does come from having hits for sure but for me it was getting to a place after 15 odd years doing all kinds of mixing and engineering where i had a working balance that was often better than the the ref mix. after 15 odd years that balance might be achieved in 30 mins as opposed to the day it would take me when i was starting out. the obvious advantages of that are my ears would still be primo if you like. i still had energy to go places in the mix. also by then i was working predominantly in studio C at metropolis and as you say i had trust in my monitoring/room and its ability to translate on other systems.
that fact alone builds huge self confidence
ultimately it’s all about cultivating your taste and yes going with your gut…
hope that helps
tom