Mixing Cliches (You know, that overdone crap)

[Irony]

Alright guys, what are some that, for whatever reason, make you cringe when you listen to a few newbies recordings.

When a mixing technique has made it's way onto a top 40 album, it is no longer cutting-edge.

[Blue Bear Sound]

The stepped-vocal effect (that originally wasn't an autotune but is now easily re-created with an autotune) immediately comes to mind... and it's STILL being overused as we speak!

Bruce

[Track Rat]

Telephone voice. Originally a cool effect, now way over done.

[Blue Bear Sound]

..."ultra-dry" recordings... the ones where there's NO reverb or sense of ambience or depth to the tracks - they are all "in-your-face"

This is done intentionally by the pros, and inadvertently by amateurs and novices....

But I think tracks need "some" life around them!

[Sonic Valley]

I hate the Antares Auto Tuner now. I hear it done on every song now and it's always sucky. FX like that should be like compression...it's a tool that should not be heard. You shouldn't know it's there doing it's job.

Death to Cher! lol

[Track Rat]

Death to Cher! lol

[JuSumPilgrim]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
..."ultra-dry" recordings... the ones where there's NO reverb or sense of ambience or depth to the tracks - they are all "in-your-face"

This is done intentionally by the pros, and inadvertently by amateurs and novices....

But I think tracks need "some" life around them!

The ultra dry sound is coming to an end after dominating for the last decade. The use of reverb in a tasteful way is where its at now. Not swathed all over the guitars, vocals and drums (like current aerosmith or posion 15 years ago) just some vocals and drums here or there. I think the coolest stuff now gives the sense of space and openess without losing the intimacy.

[Lopp]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
..."ultra-dry" recordings... the ones where there's NO reverb or sense of ambience or depth to the tracks - they are all "in-your-face"

This is done intentionally by the pros, and inadvertently by amateurs and novices....

But I think tracks need "some" life around them!

Heh. No doubt. I used to love my "in your face" mixes because that's what I wanted to achieve. However, I didn't know how I did it and I didn't know how not to make an "in your face" mix.

That reminds me. I've got to go commit Ed's reverb post to memory.

[VOXVENDOR]

I remember back in 1989-90 when ever damn song on the radio had those Tr808 Drums....

Madonna- Vogue, Express yourself
Pet shop Boys-So Hard
Black Box- Whole album

Fuck, even Depeche Mode used them for there biggest song of all time "Enjoy the Silence"...

So, I don't miss those drums...

As for recording... I think the whole nineties was a washout..... When grunge and alternative broke, it seemed that everyone wanted to do a live one of the floor, without regard to performance.... The just wanted to sound "garage-ey"....

I mean there were good recordings, but this trend im talking about was definately in domination....


It appears that big productions are coming back.....Im glad.

[elevate]

As for recording... I think the whole nineties was a washout..... When grunge and alternative broke, it seemed that everyone wanted to do a live one of the floor

I don't think that's entirely true. Pearl Jam's Ten, Alice in Chains' Dirt, and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger all had good recordings, IMO. Of the three, I think Badmotorfinger sounds the best - props to Terry Date. Tool's Ænima is another well recorded album from the mid-90's, better than Badmotorfinger IMO.

[LooneyTunez]

This isn't really related to the mixing aspect, but I'm really, really tired of hearing the Hiphop/R+B/Rap thing where the chick sings a line, and then the guy follows with some sort of rapping, grunting, bellowing thing. It was cool when J Lo and Ja Rule did it ONCE, but it got old right after that.

Sorry! Go back to your mixing cliches now.

[VotaIdiota]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
The stepped-vocal effect (that originally wasn't an autotune but is now easily re-created with an autotune) immediately comes to mind... and it's STILL being overused as we speak!

Bruce

Bear, what's this stepped-vocal effect? I've probably heard it, but I don't quite know what it is... If it's the same as "Robotic sounding voice due to massive autotuning", then I know, but if not.....

[VotaIdiota]

Oh, I just thought of one.....
Man, I'm glad this died for the most part with the 80's.....
That awful fucking gated reverb..... Guy starts singing, massive reverb kicks in, guy stops singing, reverb trails for about half a second and then just STOPS........ ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!! I'm convinced "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey is the worst offender of this...

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by VotaIdiota


Bear, what's this stepped-vocal effect? I've probably heard it, but I don't quite know what it is... If it's the same as "Robotic sounding voice due to massive autotuning", then I know, but if not.....

The Cher tune "I Beleive" is an example.... although that wasn't done with the autotune at that time ( the autotune hadn't come out yet!)

But has been WAY overdone ever since the autotune made it SO easy to mimic!

And I think any producer who still uses it should be forced to listen with NS-10s for a year!

Bruce

[OrangeGangster]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
[B]The Cher tune "I Beleive" is an example.... although that wasn't done with the autotune at that time ( the autotune hadn't come out yet!)

damm..i always thought that was a Flanger efx ,like VAnHalen´s guitar on "fAIR wARNING"...isn´t it?

[VOXVENDOR]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound

And I think any producer who still uses it should be forced to listen with NS-10s for a year!

Bruce

I love mine, and hopefully will be listeing to them for lots of years....

[TexRoadkill]

A typical mistake for advanced beginners is trying to throw in every trick they have in every song. They try to use 10 different keyboard patches, every effect they have and as many overdubs as they can fit into their tracks.

Keep it simple.

[VOXVENDOR]

Originally posted by elevate

I don't think that's entirely true. Pearl Jam's Ten, Alice in Chains' Dirt, and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger all had good recordings, IMO. Of the three, I think Badmotorfinger sounds the best - props to Terry Date. Tool's Ænima is another well recorded album from the mid-90's, better than Badmotorfinger IMO.

As I said, there are exeptions, but it definately was a trend that didn't agree with my likings...

[Blue Bear Sound]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by OrangeGangster
[B]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
The Cher tune "I Beleive" is an example.... although that wasn't done with the autotune at that time ( the autotune hadn't come out yet!)

damm..i always thought that was a Flanger efx ,like VAnHalen´s guitar on "fAIR wARNING"...isn´t it?

I had posted the SOS article of the interview with the guys who came up with the sound, and more recently Joe re-posted it again... if I recall correctly it is primarily a vocoder-based effect....

BUT... as I said, is now much more easily done with the Autotune -- so easy that EVERYONE is still doing it and I cringe whenever I hear it!

Bruce

[VotaIdiota]

does anyone agree with my gated reverb comment?

cause.......
it's true..... honestly......

[chessrock]

Man, I'm just getting so sick of that whole "vocals panned dead center" thing.

[jitteringjim]

You know - everything gets run into the ground, that's the business I guess. I'm recalling what I can remember here...

In the 70's most drums sounded like cardboard, right? - I remember watching a dude tune his drums back then - he put a friggin wide strip of cloth across the shell & then the head on it. Sure as shit, sounded like a cardboard box. Lame.
Back then everything had to be run through a flanger or a Leslie. Even the bass. A cool effect for awhile, but enough already - it faded out after awhile. And handclaps. Damn handclaps everywhere.
The early 80's, all things synth. You might have a real one, but we're gonna use the SYNTH. Man, that shit sounds so lame today. Super fat pads behind everything... quite a few good bands went belly up because of that lame shit. ...and that godawful 80's reverb... and the drum machines, don't get me started. It was bad enough that drum machines became the shit, but then you also had to add like 100 tracks of auxillary percussion that sounded, well, like a fucking drum machine. Even the damn handclaps. I remember watching a big regional band cut tracks in the studio in the late '80s. The "producer" says.. "hey, let's try this..." breaks down the drum kit (save for the cymbals) and sets up trigger pads - we're gonna trigger the drum machine but record the cymbals. "Sounds more radio," he says. LAME. And starting in the late 80's onward towards the present: sampling. Producers dropping in samples everywhere... most of the time incoherently. That Robert Plant tune from back then... everyone all excited... Led Zep samples WooHoo... how cool! LAME!!!
Shit, I could go on here, but I'm ranting and rambling (sort of pissed at the world at this moment I think.)
My point is this: (I think) even as a home recordist I have more shit at my disposal than a lot of commercial studios once did. Effects, editing capabilities, a world of shit to work with - all you need to do is listen to the radio to realize what's cliche.

(except for the telephone voice thing - I used it in one tune with a reverse reverb - had several women tell me it caused them spontaneous orgasms - I'm keepin' it.)

[crawdad]

I'm tired of the REALLY REALLY HUGE BIGGER THAN GOD drum sound all the freaking time. Even country records have it for gosh sakes! Why? (because we can!) I like the sound of a real kit in a great room played by a talented drummer so much more. Oh yeah--I hated that gated drum thing too!

I'm really sick of records full of digital tricks to get weird sounds that could never be duplicated again. Once in a while, its cool, but are you a band or are you a knob twiddler? (U2)

Every once in a while, I throw on the oldies station just to hear those old 4-track records. I love the sounds on some of those. The engineers had less to work with but found ways to make the performances even more magical. These days, I feel like a lot of the human-ness is edited out in favor of perfection. I guess we are listening through music filtered through newer technology is the only real difference.

Despite it all, I am feeling good for two reasons. First, there is some damn good music coming out these days--at least here and there. Second, the whole trying to sing higher than Robert Plant school of vocals has left the building. I thank God for that!

[JuSumPilgrim]

Maybe one day soon rock will evolve beyond 3 chords.

Maybe one day soon rock will evolve beyond beats that have the snare on 2 and 4.

Maybe one day soon rock will grow beyond the sing-verse-scream-chorus formula.


I think those are worse than the telephone filter, autotune, and all the bad reverbs of the 80s.



....and heres to rap/rock being dead by next fall. (6 years late). Please God.

[P Hallin]

damm..i always thought that was a Flanger efx ,like VAnHalen´s guitar on "fAIR wARNING"...isn´t it?

Flanging, and phasing for that matter are seldom good effect to use. Too electronic. (shudder...)