Zen and the Art of Mixing

mixerman · Post by **mixerman** » Fri Oct 22, 2010 10:38 am

Zen and the Art of Mixing is NOW AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!

"Here, in a replica of a recently exhumed tome (miraculously preserved within the chassis of a Sound Tools rig at the bottom of the La Brea Tarpits), we present Mixerman?s philosophies on the art of mixing. Well known for his hilarious exploits in The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, the author now provides his tactical reasoning without the colored lens of absurdist big-label disasters.

In this work, Mixerman distills a successful mixing career?s worth of lessons and realizations into understandable and sensible terms for both enthusiastic musician and professional technician alike. As Mixerman points out, ?If you change how you think about mixing, you?ll be well on your way to learning how to mix.?

Testimonials

"Finally a book that teaches the Art of great mixing, not the pseudoscience. At long f*#@ing last." -Ken Scott (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Elton John)

"I never thought anybody could write a meaningful book about mixing, but Mixerman has done exactly that. Great recording, engineering, and mixing is largely a matter of keeping your mind out of the way, and here is one man's brilliant approach to accomplishing precisely that." -Bob Olhsson (Stevie Wonder, Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye)

"Without belaboring the technical, he encompasses the creative, spiritual, practical, and business aspects in a simple and entertaining read. This will surely be a huge help to budding mixers and interested music consumers alike!" -Ron Saint Germain (U2, Mick Jagger, 311, Whitney Houston)

"Dough head. You gave away the farm!" -Aardvark (cohost of The Mixerman Radio Show)

Interior Quotes

If you'd like to read various quotes from the book, you can go to the thread on Thewombforums.com titled "Zen and the Art of Mixing: Quote of the Day!" In that thread you can find the Table of contents, but I can certainly post it here if that's alright with everyone.

Availability

You can get Zen at Amazon or your favorite retailer. Now, while Barnes & Noble and Borders brick and mortar sellers have both made purchases, this does not guarantee you'll find it in any individual store, so be sure to call ahead.

The book will be available worldwide, but there is typically a few months delay between when a book is released in North America and when it comes out elsewhere. It's quite possible it will be available at Amazon UK in the not-so-distant future, but I can't give you anything definitive on that.

Enjoy,

Mixerman

mixerman · Post by **mixerman** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:14 am

Just to follow up, Zen and the Art of Mixing is now available in Kindle format, and you can get the Kindle ap for iPhone or iPad FREE!

Enjoy,

Mixerman

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:21 am

I totally recommend this book.

Very useful information.

blungo2 · Post by **blungo2** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:03 pm

I'm just reading it right now. Great book, and really well written. Hard to put this one down.

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:33 pm

I just got my copy; bought it when I saw this post. Read 50 pages last night until I couldn't stay awake any longer. I love the casual writing style, and it's really fun and interesting so far. One or two "ah-ha!" moments already.

Jon Nolan · Post by **Jon Nolan** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:21 pm

another plug for this amazing book. i want all my music friends to read the parts about songwriting, parts, how they "pass the baton" in the timeline of the tune and make each successive part do it's thing in the best way possible. Too succinctly stated insights to list....

so good.

Slau · Post by **Slau** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:34 pm

It truly is a great book and worth re-reading a few times. For anyone interested, the latest episode of my podcast features an interview with Mixerman:
http://www.sessionswithslau.com/mixerman

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:24 pm

The engineer/soundguy side of me agrees with a lot of what he's saying, but the punk rock side does not. For example if you're working with an underground band that's pooled its savings to make the album they've dreamed of for the past year, or years, or lives, then you can't go "underdubbing" parts willy-nilly. Really, the same thing goes for most punk/metal bands in the underground scene; each band member gets their part and that's that. That's the way they want it, end of story. The punk rocker in me thinks, "who is this fucking mixing engineer who thinks he knows better than me how my songs should sound?" Then again, the odds of that kind of band working with a guy like Mixerman are low anyway; we just pay one guy to record, mix and maybe produce, maybe not.

It's not always about "the song". It can be about "the band" or "the album". Right?

Slau · Post by **Slau** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:29 pm

Bro Shark wrote:The engineer/soundguy side of me agrees with a lot of what he's saying, but the punk rock side does not. For example if you're working with an underground band that's pooled its savings to make the album they've dreamed of for the past year, or years, or lives, then you can't go "underdubbing" parts willy-nilly. Really, the same thing goes for most punk/metal bands in the underground scene; each band member gets their part and that's that. That's the way they want it, end of story. The punk rocker in me thinks, "who is this fucking mixing engineer who thinks he knows better than me how my songs should sound?" Then again, the odds of that kind of band working with a guy like Mixerman are low anyway; we just pay one guy to record, mix and maybe produce, maybe not.

It's not always about "the song". It can be about "the band" or "the album". Right?

Sure. I think the understanding is that a mixer has to gain the confidence of a band before getting too aggressive with "underdubbing." For a punk band, yeah, maybe there would be less of that kind of stuff happening. I do think it's easier to dissuade bands from making bad musical decisions during the tracking phase as opposed to getting tracks to mix and having to make such decisions. Luckily, I've rarely been in that situation but, coincidentally, I find myself in just such a situation with an album I'm mixing right now. There are definitely parts that need to come out. I have a great relationship with the band and they trust me completely so it won't be a problem to take stuff out. But if it was a new client and it was a first mix, hmm? that would be tough, yeah.

Jon Nolan · Post by **Jon Nolan** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:04 pm

Bro Shark wrote:
It's not always about "the song". It can be about "the band" or "the album". Right?

totally! i think the ideas he lays out apply to a lot of music though. I think he's making the assumption that a band/artist chooses a guy/gal to mix because they dig what they bring to the table from a sensibility stand-point. It doesn't come across to me that he's implying that a mix engineer holds a veto vote. quite the opposite, actually. that said, he *is* suggesting that one use their own musical intuition and skill , and not feel compelled to include something that was tracked "just because." (my paraphrase/interpretation)

Jitters · Post by **Jitters** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:15 am

Yeah there is a little bit of elitist stuff in there that just wouldn't work with the majority of us, but there is also a lot of good universal info as well. Seperate the wheat from the chaff like with everything else.

route-electrique · Post by **route-electrique** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 3:15 am

Ordered!.

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 10:42 am

Yes. You guys have a better perspective. That snotty punk in me is paranoid.

Neal · Post by **Neal** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:04 pm

Just picked this up yesterday and I'm like 60 pages into it. Good stuff. There are already some things I don't necessarily agree with, but lots of things that are right on. Part of me want to make everybody read it and the other part of me wants to keep it to myself.

Only complaint: what's up with always spelling kick drum "kik"?

Jon Nolan · Post by **Jon Nolan** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:46 pm

Neal wrote:
Only complaint: what's up with always spelling kick drum "kik"?

guess: abbreviated spelling most likely to be used on board track tape.
ie -
ch1. kik
ch2. snr
ch3. kazoo
ch4. kazoo parallel comp
ch5. kazoo echo return
ch6. sitar
ch7. hi-hat
ch8. more hi-hat

etc.

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