Mixer Brain: A Principle Based Approach to the Art of Mixing
What is the Mixer Brain course?
Let me start by telling you why I decided to create this course. I’m in a very unique position because, as one of the top music mixers on earth, I open up hundreds of DAW sessions a year (Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, Studio One, Cubase, FL—you name it) from the world’s premier music producers down to the bedroom producer heroes, and everything in between. This gives me a rare and unique glimpse into the true state of music production and engineering as a whole—exactly where everyone is excelling and where they are falling short.
One thing almost every one of them has in common—yes, even at the highest levels (in fact, especially at the highest levels)—is that they’ve all come down with a sickness I call “Mixer Brain.”
Mixer Brain can be broadly defined as any state of mind other than the one a little kid has in their bedroom, listening to music and falling into the daydream of the song. All music creators—mixers, engineers, producers, songwriters, famous artists, etc.—if left untreated, have all been infected with a terrible case of Mixer Brain.
I’ve seen firsthand the extent to which Mixer Brain has wreaked havoc throughout the music industry. It’s far worse than you could ever imagine. From a terrified A&R at a major label to an insecure artist working on their first big-label release, to an unknown singer working in isolation, scared to ever release their first EP—to a Top 40 artist that internally loathes their own voice—Mixer Brain is deviating almost everyone.
I myself once had a very bad case of Mixer Brain, and it’s always lurking around every corner, ready to infect me again.
You see, I’m convinced that almost no one who calls themselves an engineer, mixer, producer, or artist ever truly listens. The creative part of their brain, which is used to process and feel emotion, is shut out by the analytical part of their brain that approaches music from the entirely wrong perspective. The way they listen to their favorite bands and the way they “listen” to their own music or productions is entirely different.
I know for a fact this is true because I often open DAW sessions from the biggest Top 40 artists in the world, only to find that some “engineer” has put 15 plugins or more in a vocal chain, erasing all semblance of the artist's emotional expression, personality, and unique character. After removing all of this unnecessary processing, I often find a perfect vocal performance underneath.
How could this be possible? These are the top producers and engineers on earth.
In music production, we are not trained to listen and feel. We are trained to act and process. Who’s got the sickest vocal chain? Cardi B’s vocal chain has this... The Weeknd has that. It’s all about the paintbrush and never the canvas.
The reason for this is we have an education problem in music. Any kid who wants to get into music production in any capacity—whether to record their own music or to be a producer for others—has these four options:
Option 1: Subscribe to Online Content
This method often accidentally trains students to copy the “chains” and presets their heroes use, without any real context or reason why. As if somehow this is going to unlock the magic and art within a song.
It is extremely common for me to see the plugin techniques taught in these courses plopped into unrelated songs for no real purpose other than “Famous Mixer X does this.” This is a profoundly non-artful approach and is Mixer Brain.
Now, many of these resources can be quite good, but without the broader context of the “why,” students will often simply become plugin- and technique-focused rather than understanding the bigger picture of art and emotion. They struggle for years wondering why they just can’t seem to get what they are hearing inside to come out of the speakers. Mixer Brain (The Course) endeavors to be your WHY
Option 2: YouTube, TikTok, and the Forums
This option is an utter minefield. There are endless YouTube content creator “teachers” just barely out of recording school, spreading disastrous groupthink garbage techniques. Without 10+ years of experience—and even then, you might not be equipped to see how terrible most of this advice is—you’ll have no idea how, in almost every case, the advice they’re giving you will make your music worse and extend the time it takes you to get good by a decade.
Or you will spend a decade learning the exact opposite approach to what makes music FEEL good. After ten years, your mixes may be no better than when you started—just simply a lot louder and brighter but emotionally lifeless.
This is all too common and the place where most people will end up. (remember, I open everyone’s DAW sessions).
There are some exceptions to this and good sources out there, but without a deep understanding of the principles, you’ll have no idea which is which. Also, music commerce and the plugin industrial complex have infected this style of education to such an extent that the principles of making great art (which generally sells nothing) are completely ignored. Mixer Brain, (The For Profit Online Course Brought To You By Jeff Ellis Worldwide) will be your guiding light, a filter by which you judge all sources if learning as you progress your craft.
Option 3: Recording School
I went to an audio engineering school, and though it was helpful in getting my foot in the door, absolutely nothing contained in this course was ever touched on in school. Schools often take an overtly technical and scholastic approach to music, which, to some extent, can be helpful, but it is often a prison you lock yourself into creatively.
Again, focusing way too much on the paintbrush and not enough on the canvas. Everyone comes out of recording school with a bad case of Mixer Brain.
Now, I am very glad I was able to get my formal education in audio engineering in school. It is a great structured, curriculum-based method to learn the important basics of audio engineering. But when it was all over, I felt like something was missing.
My 15-year career has been the search for that something, and I have distilled it all down into the principles you will learn in this course. The Mixer Brain Course is an absolute ESSENTIAL add-on for any student currently enrolled in audio engineering school or fresh out and ready to take on the world.
Option 4: Internship and Apprenticeship
This may be the best option; however, there are maybe only five people on earth who I think would train you right and not leave you confused with a bad case of Mixer Brain (actually, maybe just one). If you ever wanted to learn directly under me, now is your chance.
A New Era
I created this course as my attempt to save music and begin the process of healing everyone’s Mixer Brain—ushering in a new golden era of music, not saddled with a billion plugins, but with true emotion, art, and human expression.
Mixer Brain is the constant insecurity we all feel, making us question every move we make. Mixer Brain is when we listen to the new Kendrick album and suddenly decide our music and art are trash. Mixer Brain is when one day you feel fully connected with the music gods, only to wake up the next morning thinking you’re a fraud.
Mixer Brain takes on many, many forms, and I created this course to help cure your
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Jacob Ray - Artist, Producer (Joji, Niki, Keshi)
Dale Becker - Mastering Engineer (Billie Eilish, SZA, Doja Cat)
