Typical Time Frame for Mixing

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:40 pm

This question might be so general it's silly, but I really want a lot of data from folks on this:

How long do you *typically* spend mixing a rock and roll 4 song demo, and how long on a full length album?

Of course it is ALWAYS different, but average your many jobs and figure on if things go fairly well in tracking- about how long do you think it should take?

I ask because I was rushed a lot on some projects over the winter, and recently I started a mixing-never-ends situation with this quite simple little punk rock record. The most opinionated band member is a slave driver, and totally willing to spend the money to spend fifteen minutes going back and forth between "guitar up 2 db version" and "guitar down 2 db version" of one song after investing a couple hours A/Bing kick drum eqs.

It's fine with me, any time spent on your craft can only help you get more familiar. And it doesn't hurt to get paid for a few extra hours watching him scratch his chin. It just makes me wonder. How long should it really take?

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:52 pm

I tell clients that my average is 4-6 hours. Some songs end up taking less time, some more. I just mixed a record where the longest mix was slightly over 2 hours.

Waltz Mastering · Post by **Waltz Mastering** » Sat May 16, 2009 5:11 am

I agree with Tony. It can vary greatly, depending on how well the band was tracked, what the client wants, how anal they are, instrumentation etc.

One thing is, I'd rather take the time to get it right and what the artist envisions, then get rushed through a project and have it sounding half ass.

My work load is about 80% mastering 20% mixing.

I do a lot of projects with out the client present, at least in the (getting sounds stage) which can be great and less distracting.

The more you mix the better you get at it (so many variables).

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:30 am

drumsound wrote:I tell clients that my average is 4-6 hours. Some songs end up taking less time, some more. I just mixed a record where the longest mix was slightly over 2 hours.

4-6 hours total, or per song?

decocco · Post by **decocco** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:49 am

Anywhere from 1 to 4 days. It depends on the budget and the anal-ness of the band. You know, if I have to do 100 fader rides of background vocal #17 and tune every other bass note, then it'll take a while. If the tracks are in good shape, and there's not really any "fixing up" to do, 1 day is no problem.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Sat May 16, 2009 8:37 am

losthighway wrote:
drumsound wrote:I tell clients that my average is 4-6 hours. Some songs end up taking less time, some more. I just mixed a record where the longest mix was slightly over 2 hours.
4-6 hours total, or per song?

I assume that he means per song. My answer would be the same. 4 - 6 hours per song.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:07 am

subatomic pieces wrote:
losthighway wrote:
drumsound wrote:I tell clients that my average is 4-6 hours. Some songs end up taking less time, some more. I just mixed a record where the longest mix was slightly over 2 hours.
4-6 hours total, or per song?
I assume that he means per song. My answer would be the same. 4 - 6 hours per song.

Yes that is right 4-6 hours per song. Every record seems to have one song the comes in way under that and another that kicks my ass and takes much longer.

roscoenyc · Post by **roscoenyc** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:19 am

Stuff that we recorded...3 songs per day on the average.
Stuff someone else recorded.... could take longer and I usually
do a bunch of 'pre-mixing' at home before I bring it to the studio

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Sat May 16, 2009 10:50 am

How much time do you have?

Peterson Goodwyn · Post by **Peterson Goodwyn** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:01 pm

How much time do you have?

+1

Try as an experiment to give yourself a shorter amount of time than you would usually estimate. In my experience, one will always "Overmix" if given time.

Waltz Mastering · Post by **Waltz Mastering** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:08 pm

rwc wrote:How much time do you have?

Depends.. What's the budget?....

Dakota · Post by **Dakota** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:53 pm

losthighway wrote:How long do you *typically* spend mixing a rock and roll 4 song demo, and how long on a full length album?

It all depends on the "standard" to which the release is to be held, and what makes sense with the budget.

A 4 song demo that is really "a demo", that probably should all get knocked out in one work session.

For something to be held to a "major label" or "dignified indie" standard, I like to do one song per day session, which could be 4 to 10 hours, depending. Hopefully out of that, time is alloted to go listen in a car or two, and in different rooms on different systems, probably some additional close headphone listens, and a meal break or something in the middle to help with objectivity.

2 songs a day isn't ideal, but can be workable if that's what the budget is.

With high stakes high quality album stuff, sometimes a song might get a full mix day and then a few weeks later another mix day for revisions. Sometimes a third go, hopefully not often.

TapeOpAl · Post by **TapeOpAl** » Sat May 16, 2009 1:08 pm

Dakota's experience is what I'm working with generally speaking but really I'll take as long as I've got whether that's a day a track or half a day for a 4 song demo. I wouldn't work much quicker than the time I have.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Sat May 16, 2009 5:43 pm

I think I'm starting to realize I have this often disappointing, and totally unrealistic expectation to make a rough mix for a band in fifteen minutes and have it totally floor me on the first listen on a favorite studio. I guess that's engineer's hubris. Most of my work in the past couple years that I come back to as sounding 'right' had a lot more mix time on it.

Someone mentioned earlier the song on the record that takes no time to mix well, and another that kicks your ass. Often happens to me. Here's what's the weirdest though: you mix a record with all the same instruments/vocal setup through the whole thing, not a lot of dynamics- and the same super easy mix song, and a super hard to mix song happen.

@?,*???&? · Post by **@?,*???&?** » Sat May 16, 2009 8:12 pm

$300 gets you a 12-hour mix of one song by me. I will spend time and do tweaks for the band as well on it. By the time tweaks are done and the mix gets printed it's more like 18 hours. But there is always good cohesion within the group of mixes.

For a record, it's always the same. Blazing through any quicker and you're just gonna miss some essential elements. I have mixed an entire record in a day and it came out. I have mixed an album in two days and it came out, but the 'core' mix of a song will always appear in around 6 hours time on a mix. Any more time is really spent sorting out specificity within the mix.

If you want Humble Pie, mix quick. If you want Sarah McLachlan, spend more time.

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