mixing in a foreign environment

nick_a · Post by **nick_a** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:06 pm

In a few months i will be mixing 7-9 songs in a room different from the room in which i tracked. It will be the first time mixing in a room outside of the room i have been working in. The room where i will be mixing is tuned, etc., if that matters to anyone reading this. Does anyone have recommendations as to ways i should prepare? Besides reference cds.....

thank you for your suggestions.

Slider · Post by **Slider** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:17 pm

I went through hell with this same thing a while back.

#1 - Bring any outboard gear you love from home.
#2 - Bring your own monitors! I didn't and it cost a couple grand in wasted studio time. I finally broke down and rented them and recalled everything.
#3 - Yes not only bring, but carefully listen to stuff you like (and stuff you've worked on) in the new environment.
#4 - Make sure someone who knows the room is there to help you.
An unfamiliar console can be freaky to work on. Have someone there who can answer questions.

That's all I can think of right now.
I've discovered I really like to mix at home!
It's fun to track all over the place though.

Shawn Simmons · Post by **Shawn Simmons** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:52 pm

The last time I mixed in a different studio, I spent the first 3-4 hours (on the first day) just listening to CD's and the raw tracks I was mixing. I played with panning, fader levels, and monitor levels. I walked around the control room listening. Played around. Talked with the in-house engineers. Then I went to lunch and when I came back I was ready to go.

I think that approach helped a lot. I didn't feel pressure to start mixing a song when I wasn't yet comfortable with the room. I got to spend some time just listening. I took some mental notes on what I would need to watch out for. And then I went to lunch and came back relaxed and ready to go.

Good luck.

shawn

soundguy · Post by **soundguy** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:59 pm

see if you can show up a day early and sit in on a session, then do what shawn suggests on the first day you have booked. between now and then, start learning a pair of headphones and bring them with you just as a reality check. Also find some little shitty boom box that you can pack in your luggage and start comparing it to your room so you can see how things change. The bottom line is you just need to learn the room, but since you have some time, you can start learning some portable systems just so you have some kind of baseline for comparison while you are on the road.

dave

Rigsby · Post by **Rigsby** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 12:17 am

Does anyone use a spectrum analyser when mixing? I was reading an interview with Endino in issue 13 yesterday and he was talking about how that helped him if he had any doubts or concerns when mixing in studios he wasn't used to.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:44 am

Rigsby wrote:Does anyone use a spectrum analyser when mixing? I was reading an interview with Endino in issue 13 yesterday and he was talking about how that helped him if he had any doubts or concerns when mixing in studios he wasn't used to.

I use one if something is going on and I can't nail it down by ear.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 9:55 am

Bring a cd or two that you know inside and out what it sounds like everywhere. compare everywhere with where you are

I just start working, and get a feel for the room by messing with the low end a bit more than I would if I was in my joint. See how the system (including the room/speakers/console/outboard) reacts to your normal way of working. Dont freak out, it is always the same old shit in a way. It is speakers in a room, and a bunch of people staing at your neck waiting around for you to make them sound good. No pressure

Just start working and get a feel for the room as you put up the drums, so you are not wasting anybody's time. By the time you are working on "room - R " you should have SOME clue as to what the hell this room is telling you.

Did you track it? if so you at least have some idea what you have, and how it differs in this room...

I agree with slider. I like having a mix room, but I kinda like to track all over the place. Sometimes. Or not.

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 9:58 am

I half expected this to be about mixing in France.
Pax, Steve

Ronan · Post by **Ronan** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:07 am

I mix in lots of different rooms all the time and many times it is not realistic to bring my own monitors so I brink a couple CDs I know really well and I listen to the constantly. Through out the day I will keep flipping back and forth between my current mix and the CDs I know really well. There have been very few times that I have run into big trouble with mixes not translating.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:07 am

Rigsby got it right. I'm getting a spectrum analyzer/crossover for my mobile rig, cuz, I set it up anywhere and everywhere in an hour and start tracking. I still use the same set of NS10's I've had 4ever. I got some newer monitors, but, I hate them cuz they're tooooo good. I like a monitor that sounds like "shizzle".

nick_a · Post by **nick_a** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:25 am

shit, i can't believe dave AND joel have responded to this post!!

to answer a question or two, yes, i am tracking the project. And both where i'm tracking and mixing have ns-10's, so i guess that's good.

thanks for the advice, guys!

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