Masterclass: Hip Hop Mixing with Jason "Cheese" Goldberg [MixCon 2024]

Main Ideas, Concepts, and Lessons

• Workflow philosophy: start “at Ground Zero”

  • Successful mixing begins before recording: understanding the artist, their personality, and how to maneuver within the recording environment to capture the best performances.
  • The guiding principle is always music first, with the technical process supporting that outcome.

• Portable, “gorilla” recording/mixing approach

  • Jason emphasizes working anywhere (hotel rooms, apartments, B&Bs, even tour buses) with a portable rig.
  • “Major hit” results are still possible when environments are compromised, as long as the process and tools stay consistent.

• Speed without sacrificing coherence

  • Some projects (e.g., “Heart & Soul” and “Black Ball”) are described as reaching a finished mix quickly—often around 45 minutes to an hour in certain cases.
  • Speed comes from templates, consistent gear, pre-planned session organization, and stems/sampling strategies.

• Consistency of tools = faster troubleshooting and repeatable results

  • By repeatedly using the same types/sets of tools and workflows, he can quickly identify why something sounds off.
  • He generally avoids unfamiliar studio gear because it slows workflow—unless he’s already comfortable with it.

• Recording hygiene makes mixing faster

  • He stresses getting recordings that are clean, fluid, and easy to manipulate—“right off the bat.”
  • Early takes/feel often become what the world ultimately hears.

• Texture-driven mixing style

  • Instead of only “correcting” sounds, he often creates texture using:
    • EQ shaping (including distortion-like character from specific EQ moves)
    • Parallel/duplicate processing
    • Automation (sometimes minimal, sometimes strategic)
    • Reverb/delay throws and layered vocal effects

• Session organization supports speed

  • He color-codes parts (example: intro/outro yellow, hooks red, verses blue).
  • He uses stems and buses so he can jump between sections while keeping everything cohesive.

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Methodology / Step-by-Step Process (As Presented)

1) Pre-production Mindset (“Ground Zero”)

• Understand the artist:
  • their personality
  • their current context
• Plan how to create the best possible music within the room/environment limitations
• Build the session around what will help performances translate into final mixes

2) Recording Strategy (Mobile/Portable)

• Set up in non-studio spaces (examples mentioned):
  • bedroom areas, hotel rooms, living rooms, corners, desks, nightstands
• Use a consistent portable monitoring setup:
  • nearfields kept close (equilateral triangle)
• Capture vocals/performances intended to be editable and manipulable downstream
• Commit to capturing “version ones”:
  • the initial captured feeling often becomes the final product

3) Vocal Chain Approach (High-Level Stages)

• Use Auto-Tune (Artist mentioned: Auto-Tune Artist) as part of the vocal pipeline
• Apply compression and EQ in small amounts across multiple stages, rather than one major move
• De-essing repeatedly:
  • multiple DS instances targeting different frequency areas
• Use multiband and leveling to control tonal balance and volume while building character
• Add stereo tools and controlled spread once the vocal core is stable
• Include harshness reduction when needed (example mentioned: Oeksound Soothe 2)

4) Session Building & Routing Workflow (Stems + Buses)

• Import stems and align them sample accurately
• Create bus structure for:
  • drums, music, and vocals
  • pre-master and master routing stages
• Organize vocal tracks and effect throws:
  • raw lead vs. processed/doubled tracks
  • EFX/throws for ad-libs and stabs
• Use buses to “glue” multiple vocal layers together via compression

5) Drum / Music Arrangement Workflow (Stems and Texture)

• Create and route stems to buses such as:
  • kick / low bass / distorted bass
  • hats (high hat layers, open hats)
  • snare elements (including a creative split approach)
• Example processing concepts described:
  • EQ-based distortion: boost mids + shelf lows/highs to create character
  • stereo delay/ping-pong for certain parts
  • snare stereo illusion:
    • split snare into mono
    • pan L/R
    • apply delay to one side (≈ 6 ms mentioned)
    • cut high end to preserve low, textured presence

6) Parallel Processing for Vocal Texture

• Use a parallel bus approach:
  • duplicate vocal processing paths
  • sometimes keep one path lighter and one path heavily processed
• Use parallel compression and hard-limited textures to add edge without losing clarity

7) Effect Throws as Performance-Support Tools (Not Only Final Polish)

• Treat delays/reverbs as part of writing and performance flow:
  • “play/drop as you record” to create movement
• Use effects so the vocal line feels like it’s continuously evolving

8) Arrangement Micro-Edit Technique (Timing-Based Impact)

• Change dynamics with timing edits:
  • cut out two bars
  • repeat them
  • drop the beat differently
  • bring in strings/drum breaks after the timing change
• Lesson: timing edits can create major mood shifts even with similar raw elements

9) Mastering Workflow (After Mixing)

• Do a relatively fast mastering pass soon after mix decisions:
  • listen on speakers after headphone review
  • monitor input/output levels (targets mentioned included -15 to -14 LUFS-style near intro; checking -9 to -8 range during beat)
• Key steps described:
  • Trim/adjust levels if input is hot
  • EQ moves to shape a low-end curve that “pushes out mid-range” (without fully removing low end)
  • Multiband for low-end “texture control”
  • Limiters for level control (watch limiter behavior)
  • Additional saturation (example mentioned: BX saturation)
  • Ozone usage:
    • music bus width/widening
    • pre-master EQ/compression clean-up
    • final mastering (imaging/limiting), including final imaging for “surround” feel
  • Final pass: reduce EQ/compression and adjust imaging to match the desired “surrounding” listener experience

10) “Black Ball” Faster Version Workflow Demonstration

• Reuses the same general routing/session logic as the earlier song
• Works from a two-track (instead of rebuilding everything), then:
  • drops stems
  • flies through the record
  • fine-tunes the master for “smack”
• References minimal real-time edits:
  • copy a reverb segment and drag/slice it while recording
  • clip/texture adjustments during the process

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Tools and Gear Mentioned (Examples)

Plugins / Software

• Oeksound
  • Soothe 2
  • (Soo 2 referenced for vocals; spelling inconsistent in subtitles)
• Auto-Tune Artist
• iZotope Ozone
• Waves CLA (referenced)
• BX saturation (BX)
• Exciter
• “Decapitator”-style overdrive (mentioned)
• SSL channel strip (mentioned)
• SansAmp (distortion mentioned)

Hardware / Processing Chain Examples

• Nearfields: NHT (exact model spelling unclear)
• Mac Mini + Apollo X4
• Microphones / monitoring headphones: Sony MDRs (mentioned)
• Preamp: 88 RS preamp (as referenced)
• Compressor: CL1B MK2
• Tube Tech (threshold/ratio-style settings discussed)

DAW and Routing

• Pro Tools (templates and lead tracks)
• Uses buses/sends, including color coding (yellow bus mentioned)

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Speakers / Sources Featured (From the Subtitles)

Primary Speaker

• Jason “Cheese” Goldberg (producer/engineer/mixer; host of the masterclass)

Video / Host / Event Sources

• Justin Kety / Justin Kety (?) of Sonic Scoop (intro host voice; may be misrecognized by captions)
• MixCon 2024 (event presenting the masterclass)
• Oeksound (sponsor; discussed for Soothe 2 and Bloom plugin)
• Sonic Scoop (platform/sponsor/channel; promotions and giveaways mentioned)

Artists Referenced / Session Context

• NBA YoungBoy (“Top” referenced in subtitle context)
• Travis Scott
• Tyler, The Creator
• Nick Jonas
• Megan Thee Stallion (spelled variably in subtitles)
• Dex (mentioned as a buddy on “Black Ball”)
• Julie Lewis and Fizzle (referenced in relation to building “Heart and Soul”)