i quit

[chris harris]

You should be happy that they're having someone talented mix it.

Just wait until you have a client who takes your beautifully recorded tracks to some fucking hack who happens to have a semi-recognizable name because he's in a semi-successful band, and lets HIM destroy your recordings, and then they RELEASE his hack mixes because his name is more important to them than the end result. Not saying that happened to me or anything.....

[MoreSpaceEcho]

hey at least you had someone semi-famous destroy your nice recording. i recorded a band once where we got the 2nd best drum sound in the entire recorded history of music (levee breaks being 1st of course). the band took the tracks and mixed themselves, when i heard the finals the drums were barely audible behind a wall of guitars. oh well.

leftoverking, that mix sounds fine. don't quit.

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

If you're trying to make records regularly on at least a semi-professional basis it's important to try to figure out how to care about a projects outcome without that tipping over into you becoming so emotionally/personally invested in it that it becomes a huge ego blow when something like this happens.

Easier said than done, I know.

The best advice I was ever given about making records was: try to make the best record you can today, and then try to make the next one better than that.

[leftoverking]

a little detachment would soften the blow i suppose. i cant help but feel connected to a project, and want to see it through to completion. there is something satisfying about that kind of accomplishment, but many hands can make light work i suppose. i don't really record often enough these days to get any kind of momentum going, but i definitely learn something new each time. tape op has been a big help over the years with my learning curve. that's why i asked for an opinion here on the message board. an outside opinion can be helpful. glad i did, cause i learned a few things. it's o.k. not to have to do everything on a project. maybe even normal. i was just having some serious doubts about whether or not i should even be doing this anymore. like, perhaps it just took me thirty years to figure out, "hey, you're not very good at this."

[agershon]

I think this sounds pretty good, actually. I have a feeling, with some time, you would have shined this up nicely.

<sarcasm>Perhaps these girls thought a "professional" mixer would be able to make their performances better?</sarcasm> It sounds like you got decent tones during the recording, but the performances are a tad rough. Which is fine for that genre.

[leftoverking]

thanks adam. yes, i think we could have done some re-tracking of a few parts, and fine tuned things further for a decent recording. they really did accomplish a lot for just 20 hours of basic tracking time.

[agershon]

they really did accomplish a lot for just 20 hours of basic tracking time.

true dat

[eh91311]

I've been in your shoes before. So many people who visit this forum have as well. Fact is, a well-known recordist told me some things a decade ago. Musicians are some of the most shallow, insecure people on earth. Most of them will and have done any number of things to be successful, and loyalty is not something many of them consider important enough to care about.

My take on this is, when you engineer a project for money, you are a technician and you need to distance yourself a bit from the artistic part of the music. Do your job to your best ability. Get the best sounds you can, put your caring into the sounds that you capture. When you deliver a rough mix, do so having done your best, because as soon as people hear that 'rough' mix, they'll think that is your interpretation of their vision. Either they will continue to work with you or entrust their art to someone else. Don't take it personal if they go on to someone else with their project. It's hard to distance yourself sometimes, but you have to.

Never, ever let anything or anyone influence you to stop doing something that you like and want to get better at.

The fact that the ladies paid you for your time and effort makes you a winner in this. Learn from the experience and move on to the next one with a clean slate. Consider every project you do as being something for what it is, and no more.

[leftoverking]

thanks for the response and words of encouragement eh91311. well, the good news is i am tracking another project this weekend. back on my horse so to speak. i'm gonna forge ahead.

[eh91311]

Good to know. Hope your latest project goes well.