I just had the opportunity to mix a sort of "reunion" album for a band who's been one of my favorite bands since 1989. They tracked drums at my place, then did the overdubs at home, then brought it back to me to mix. We had a little more than a week to mix the whole album, which is luxurious in my day-to-day work world, but the band spent their available funds fairly wisely, I gave them a good deal (because I've been a fan of such a ling time and have worked with several of the guys before, so I knew it wouldn't be difficult), and despite a few technical file transfer setbacks here and there, it was all pretty efficient and it all worked out REALLY well.MoreSpaceEcho wrote:don't listen for what's "wrong". don't sit there like a scientist, looking for flaws. sit back on the couch with a drink or whatever, listen to the record as a whole. are you tapping your foot? being moved to sing along?
When I actually got to mixing, initially, I was TOTALLY listening for what was wrong. I usually do, especially if I'm mixing something I didn't track. What do I need to "correct" to make it acceptable and sometimes even possible to mix? What do I need to work on to make for a better starting point? What do I need to make clearer before I bury it or make it less clear? What's competing? What's eating up drive space or processing power? Are the background vocals loud enough? Too loud? Will the lead singer be happy with the level of the background vocals? How about the background vocalist? All these kind of things run through my head as I try to make everything somewhat audible and to find a space for it all.
But the next step is finding the toe-tapping moments. For me, everything has to be sorted out before that really gets attention paid to it. True, I'm always working towards that, even from the beginning, but sometimes other things get in the way. The drums might sound REALLY good loud, but are they too loud? If I pull them back and it feels wimpy now, what do I do about it? How important is being able to hear every word? Being able to UNDERSTAND every word? Being able to INTERPRET every lyric? Now, within that context, does the song still rock? Does it rock TOO MUCH? That's where the detail stuff really comes into play, but at the same time, I don't want to get bogged down with the technical details. I'm trying to think about whether to not MY foot is tapping and THEN whether or not the other people in the room are tapping their feet as well. And are they tapping out of nervousness, general enthusiasm, or because the song is REALLY making them want to? The latter is what I'm totally shooting for. It's rewarding to get there.
Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC