How to move forward

GussyLoveridge · Post by **GussyLoveridge** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:12 pm

So I guess I'm kind of stuck. I keep reading about recording music, and I keep recording music. The gear I have is decent, but I feel like I'm at a bit of a plateau. I don't know how to get further along. I'm happy with what I'm recording but I just don't know how to get up a level. i don't feel like I've run out of room to get better as a result of the gear I have or anything, the gear is certainly better than I am. it's just like I can't hear better/quicker.

Here's the last thing I engineered/mixed.

http://fileshare.marcatodigital.com/alb ... 0Davis.mp3

My question is I guess, how do you deal with the need to keep a session moving so that the folks that are paying for it feel like there is movement, while taking the time you need to listen adequately to really hear how all the different elements sound.

I guess I feel like I could do better with more time to listen, but I'm just worried that things aren't moving quick enough for whoever is footing the bill.

Ever get that feeling?

standup · Post by **standup** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:34 pm

The audio is OK, but the arrangement is maybe the thing to look at. Over crappy earbuds anyway, I'm hearing room for improvement elsewhere than quality of audio

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:16 pm

sounds pretty damn good to me. shame about the vocals.

thethingwiththestuff · Post by **thethingwiththestuff** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:47 pm

your biggest problem is panning. everything's on the left!

AND WHO THE HELL IS THIS???

nordberg · Post by **nordberg** » Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:30 pm

that song is fucking awesome!!!

it's like rocket from the crypt playing with a dirgey bluegrass band with tom waits singing! (no offense to the singer if he doesn't like him... not everyone does.)

but yeah, why is everything on the left side??

besides panning (and the relative volumes that it would affect) the only thing i have issues with is maybe you might want to slow the attack on your drum compressor(s) down to let a little more 'punch' through and possibly a slight 'plate' on the vocals and violin.

...not saying i'm right, just that it's what i would do.

nice job!

GussyLoveridge · Post by **GussyLoveridge** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:37 pm

wow, maybe i'm crazy. I'm not hearing this as being super left heavy. i wanted to split some things to left and right to give the music some definition within such a large group. I'll definitely go back and have another listen and a good listen.

will try backing off the attack on the compression on the drums. i was pretty happy with the raw sounds, but yeah, not super happy with the punch coming through in the final mix.

but what about the time issues of wanting to spend more time listening to everything -vs- having to keep the session moving to save money for the client?

the band is:

http://www.myspace.com/tomfunorchestra

nick_a · Post by **nick_a** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:51 pm

tell the band to take a lunch break...but stay behind and listen then...? while eating a sandwich...?

the finger genius · Post by **the finger genius** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:58 pm

Was the band hinting (or directly mentioning) that you were taking too long? I find it's mostly a feel thing. In general, as soon as I'm pretty confident what I'm getting will be usable (rather than perfect), I stop messing with it so the band can begin playing and I'm not killing any momentum they might have going. This does depend on the band tho'.

thethingwiththestuff · Post by **thethingwiththestuff** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:47 am

you haven't told us very much about your workspace or anything... do you have a separate control room and tracking room, or is everything together in one space? i'm not sure why you can't listen objectively while the band is tracking. and don't feel like you have to rush through everything. budgets and time constraints are important, but it's not a live show with doors in an hour. if the band is getting antsy because you're actually listening to the 9 instruments they use, you've got to find a way to calm them down and explain the necessity of what you're doing.

and anyway, it doesn't seem like you're getting bad tones at all. the tracking is pretty good, it's the mixing that needs to be ironed out.

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:01 am

nick_a wrote:tell the band to take a lunch break...but stay behind and listen then...? while eating a sandwich...?

No! Take a break.

Sometimes it's the best thing you can do to regain perspective.

GussyLoveridge · Post by **GussyLoveridge** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:44 pm

workspace is a separate control room, live room, booth. Occasionally I make use of the hallway and the lounge. I can listen objectively, I just find it overwhelming sometimes to try and take in everything within a take or two getting set up. I don't want to be constantly trying to mess with pres and comps while the band is tracking and I don't want to be 10-15 takes into a song before things are more or less dialed in.

No one has ever complained about my sessions taking any unnecessary time. I'm just relatively new at this (2-3 years semi regularly) and feel super bad when 3-8 folks are sitting around waiting for me to get everything mic'd up and dialed in. Maybe this all has nothing to do with time, and more to do with me need to listen better.

thethingwiththestuff · Post by **thethingwiththestuff** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:28 pm

ah ha! you'll get faster. after a few more years, you'll make all kinds of "go to" setups for various instruments and you'll be able to quickly assess whether what you're hearing is working or not and adjust from there.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:45 pm

My advice is to keep things in a macro view during the setup. You can take more risks in the mix process, just see if things are gelling and communicating. It seems identifying subtle sonic problems in advance is one of the hardest earned, and most valuable aspects of the job. I feel like everyone inches along in that respect. I also think it has a lot to do with knowing your room(s) and your speakers.

I also think narrating the process to the band if it slows down can be helpful. Comments like "I think the whole kit sounds rad, but something about that floor tom isn't right yet." Can usually help keep the patience up.

I also like to do a short unattended mix session on an EP, or a couple on an album before I get the band involved. They never seem to get anything out of sitting on the couch while I clean things up and get some very general eq things in place. Usually that cleaned up, semi-rough mix goes into their hands and helps them get psyched with ideas about levels, effects etc. After that we usually have a fun mix session where the reverbs, distortions, delay and more artistic aspects come out.

GussyLoveridge · Post by **GussyLoveridge** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:18 pm

thanks a lot everyone. all of this is super helpful. losthighway - thanks for that - doing some initial mixing to clean up and whatnot is a great idea. then bring the band in for the creative stuff.

standup · Post by **standup** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:29 pm

long-ago band in an actual studio, when we went up to the CR to listen to a take -- it already, definitely, sounded good. We took a lunch break and the when we were back the rough mix sounded even better. Monitors were big, but mostly the guy knew what to do.

For Garges, this was reflection studios in Charlotte, NC with Mark Williams at the board.

Message Board

How to move forward

How to move forward

Who is online