when is a mix done?

centurymantra · Post by **centurymantra** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:35 am

I ran across a good quote that I've repeated on occasion:

"A mix is never finished, it's merely abandoned..."

That's how I often feel.

apropos of nothing · Post by **apropos of nothing** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:55 am

Q: How many audio engineers does it take to make a mixdown?
A: Two, one to do the mix, and one to shoot him when he's done.

vier-personen · Post by **vier-personen** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:31 pm

for me it?s this way:

when I mix my own material - never
when I mix my own material for a project (movie, compilation cd, etc.) - 5 minutes before I have to deliver the thing, than I run to the subway
when my material is mixed by someone else - when the time that was agreed to be used for mixing is up + 1 or 2 days.

joelkriske · Post by **joelkriske** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:37 am

i'm mixing my own stuff now...
CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A DEADLINE!!!
NO, SERIOUSLY, PLEEEEAAASE!

i've decided on may 1

lapsteel · Post by **lapsteel** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:12 am

once you start hearing things that aren't there

Try getting an opinion from someone else, you don't have to go with what they say but it's helpful to know what someone else would have done.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:51 am

cozrulz wrote:once you start hearing things that aren't there

oh man. so true. i mixed a record last year, totally obsessed over it, due to deadlines i had to master it myself as soon as i was done mixing (never a good idea)...when i was mastering it, it was like all i could hear was the overtones and the reverb, not the actual instruments/songs themselves.

turned out great.

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:03 pm

Put it away for a week. Come back with fresh ears.
Have someone who knows absolutely nothing about the technical aspects of mixing listen and just see what their gut reaction is. I use my wife for this all the time and she has a great knack for hearing little things that bug her which I have glossed over or didn't notice. She doesn't know what to call it but she'll say something like "it sounds bumpy, or it sounds too busy...." She's always right.

Dammit.

Good topic.

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:00 pm

Professor wrote:[
It's bad because you are second-guessing yourself, the time spent can be physically and emotionally draining, and it really eats away at the profits.
It also puts a curious strain on the client relationship. At a certain point they will start to wonder if it's dedication or inability that keeps you going back again, and again, and again.

When I start obsessing and really digging into a project, I usually get nervous looks from the artists who are wondering how much all the extra time is going to cost them. I reassure them that I'm doing it because I want their project to sound really great and that I'm choosing to put in extra time and effort because I like their work. Usually I cap that off with a line like, 'if I didn't like you guys or didn't like the music, you would be done already.' That reassures them.

-Jeremy

word. my biggest problem. i don't mind putting in hours, even days of working on a mix at no cost... i'm extremely meticulous about getting things as perfect as my skills can provide.. sometimes it takes a while.. but that is what burns me out.. i don't mind working 20 hours to mix a song, but only charging 8, but its exhausting when you use up all of your free time just for that... but at the same time, i pretty much only record bands who i enjoy them as people as well as their music.

I don't think there will be a day in my life where i don't second guess anything i do, except for girls, drugs, and drinks.. sad, but true,

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:54 pm

joelkriske wrote:i'm mixing my own stuff now...
CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A DEADLINE!!!
NO, SERIOUSLY, PLEEEEAAASE!

i've decided on may 1

Make an appointment with a mastering engineer. It's gotta be done to go to mastering. There are a couple good guys in Chicago, including out oun Carl Saff.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:58 pm

dsw wrote:Put it away for a week. Come back with fresh ears.
Have someone who knows absolutely nothing about the technical aspects of mixing listen and just see what their gut reaction is. I use my wife for this all the time and she has a great knack for hearing little things that bug her which I have glossed over or didn't notice. She doesn't know what to call it but she'll say something like "it sounds bumpy, or it sounds too busy...." She's always right.

Dammit.

Good topic.

That idea is why I like to not have the client around for most of the mix. I like to get it really happening and then have some new ears react.

carlsaff · Post by **carlsaff** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:40 pm

drumsound wrote:There are a couple good guys in Chicago, including out oun Carl Saff.

Thanks as always for the shout out, Tony!

Of course (and I really hesitate to mention this), I frequently get new mixes *after* doing a first pass at a recording. Sometimes mastering can highlight problems in a mix that can only be corrected via remix. I'm happy that the price-structure of my service allows my clients this luxury, but... the option of remixing during the mastering phase doesn't help the client to finally feel that wonderful "done" feeling!

The best way to fix your project in stone is to pay someone else to record and/or mix it, ideally in a format you don't have access to. You can't drive if you don't have the keys! This is one of the more subtle values that studio time provides -- you can only afford so much mixing, which means at some point, the hard decisions HAVE to be made and the mixes HAVE to be finished.

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:42 pm

centurymantra wrote:I ran across a good quote that I've repeated on occasion:

"A mix is never finished, it's merely abandoned..."

That's how I often feel.

I think that was Sting.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:08 pm

carlsaff wrote: This is one of the more subtle values that studio time provides -- you can only afford so much mixing, which means at some point, the hard decisions HAVE to be made and the mixes HAVE to be finished.

nice. good point.

qball · Post by **qball** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:40 am

The mix is done when it sounds like a RECORD.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:09 am

you mean after mastering?

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