It’s been a while since I’ve blogged but I’m back. I’ve been extremely busy (thankfully) mixing while I’ve been trying to expand my studio to offer a greater depth of services. I’ve also been working to complete by mix engineer handbook as well as get the finishing touches together for my online audio mixing school. There were a few but significant technical hurdles to conquer in an effort to ensure that the clients experience would operate as smoothly and as quickly as possible. Beta testing soon.

I’m in the early stages of offering audio mastering as well as mixing services to my clients. I’ve been asked too many times to ignore the question any longer. I spent time researching mastering software that I could incorporate into my recording studio so I could take advantage of my analog gear as well as all of my hardware and my expansive plug-in collection. I’m comfortable with the balance I’ve struck.

I’ve also updated my pro tools rig to a Mac Pro with a dual 8-core processor with 12gig of ram as well as Pro Tools 9. There is always too much time spent converting from the old to the new, but it’s crucial that it’s done correctly.

I’ve been working with a lot of interesting independent artists lately who are not afraid to take chances and are making some bold musical statements. It’s an enjoyable time for music and an exciting time for me as I venture into the unfamiliar world of mastering. I’ve been working on a bunch of EP’s and singles for itunes and a very big full cd live album release, my confidence growing with each project. While I’m extremely comfortable mixing, I’m getting there with my mastering abilities.

The producer and the band liked some sections of some songs to be locked solid to a grid, but other sections felt too stiff.  We tried recording the songs at several tempos and then edited the sections together, each having it’s own tempo.  But some songs still didn’t “feel” right.  The answer came in the form of elastic audio.  We averaged out the tempos, recoded the song to a click at one tempo and had the flexibility to change tempos of different sections using elastic audio until the song worked as a whole.  While certain sections felt good at a specific tempo, but when the song played through some of the sections still needed to be tweaked just a bit to get the whole song to feel right.  I’ll state the obvious by saying that this was inconceivable before daws/pro tools came along.

Also, some of the arrangements are huge with many layers of vocals and guitars that would have taken tons of bouncing down and comping to make room for further overdubs.  We had the luxury of experimenting with varying arrangements thanks to the massive track count in pro tools.  Being that I wasn’t sure if I would be the mix engineer for the project, I made sure that the tracks were cut n a way that would allow for maximum flexibility during the mix.  The quick example is that I made sure to take a dry di signal on all of the guitars and bass for the purpose of re-amping.  Being that I am indeed mixing the record I’m glad that I thought of the mix engineer when recording.

Having spent much of my time over the past years mixing, I had a pretty clear picture in my minds ear of how I though the record would sound when finished.  By getting better at mixing, my recording engineer skills have also improved as well.  I have a pretty good sense of how different instruments blend together in a mix so I’m able to record them in a way that facilitates the mixing process.  Keeping the final mix in mind as I’m recording helps me tremendously when it comes time to mixing as I hope that when other engineers mix tracks that I’ve cut find that there is less damage control going on and just having fun with the balances and imaging.  It was a tremendous experience working with such a talented team and using all of what pro tools has to offer to cut an awesome record.  On to mixing……

No matter how successful you become, there will be someone new who wants your gig.  I highly recommend that you, the aspiring mix engineer, try to work on as many genres as possible.  This is a difficult task because as you become proficient and successful in a particular style, you’ll get more work in that style, and it’s difficult to turn away work.  This is not a bad thing, but a good situation.  Success breeds success.  But try to think a few years ahead and set goals.  What might be popular today might not be popular a few years from now and your name will be connected with a fad that’s passed.  You will become pigeon-holed whether you like it or not.  It is a challenge to diversify, especially when considering the city in which you work.  There aren’t too many country records being cut in New York.  If you are living in a city where one genre is the bulk of the work, you have a challenge ahead of you.  If it means taking a few low/no paying gigs in an unpopular genre on the side, take them.  Take them and build your discography.  Your mixes are your business cards.  There have been very successful engineers that have had great, long lasting careers working in a single genre, but you can increase your odds by expanding your resume.  The sad truth is that often your work as an engineer is often overshadowed by sales or lack of sales.  There are mixers who get a lot of work based off the hits that they’ve been involved with, sometimes with less than stellar work.  You might be a great engineer, but you might be overlooked (for a while) due to lack of sales.
I think that it’s even more important now to be diverse and competent in a wide range genres due to declining overall sales and even more importantly, because genres are being mashed together with great ease thanks to pro tools and daw’s in general.
You should strive to be a great mix engineer, not a great”___” engineer.  Bruce Swedien is my favorite example, as well as being one of my heroes.  His work has spanned decades and many genres and he is one exceptional mixer and a great guy to boot!

When mixing a demo, treat it like you’re trying to beat Sgt. Peppers or Pet Sounds or any of your favorite recordings.  Any mix engineer worth their weight in patch cables should never put anything less than 100% into their demo mixes or rough mixes.  There are numerous instances in my career as a mix engineer where the rough mix was as good as if not better than the final mix.  As mixers, we tend to get in our own way when attempting to make a mix perfect.  I find that it’s often the imperfections in demo mix or rough mix that give a record its charm.  There certainly are instances where the arrangements are far too complex nail a mix when doing a rough.  Mixing records that are complicated require much more time to realize than an hour or so.  But there are plenty of occasions when putting together a rough mix that the mix kind of falls into place.  Sometimes its unconscious and there is something to be said for that.  It’s a good tool to have as an audio engineer, that tool being the ability to “get out of your own way”.  Also remain conscious of the fact that there is always a chance that the rough or the demo might become the actual record.  Never underestimate your own abilities when mixing demos.  Mix every song, be it a demo, a rough mix or a final mix as if it’s going to be the one that get’s you the Grammy award.

To start, the most appropriate microphone should be chosen, not the best. Often the most expensive tube microphone will not sound as good on a particular voice as an inexpensive condenser mic. If given the luxury, set up 3 mic’s next to each other and have the singer run through the song acapella. Switch between the three mic in the control room (make sure the singer doesn’t have headphones on, this will drive them crazy) and one of them should jump out as the obvious choice. One chosen, have the singer run through a verse or chorus with their headphones on and listen to how the sound of the vocal “sits” in the track. No that you’ve picked the appropriate microphone, it’s time to place it. First, raise the mic to the height of the singer’s mouth. Then flatten your hand and hold it parallel to the ground and place in between the capsule and the singer’s mouth. This is usually a good distance to start from. Finally, place a pop filter in between the mic and mouth and you’re ready to record.

What does this have to do with mixing records? Well, we don’t spend all of our time as audio engineers mixing. A well recorded vocal will make your life exponentially easier when it comes time to mix.