dumb question on mixdown/mastering

[jbal122819]

for reference: I do home recording of my songs on a Tascam 788, using a drum machine & singing/playing all instruments.
Sorry if this seems incredibly basic but..............
When I mix down (pre-mastering in Tascams parlance) it is done in REAL TIME, that is , there is no Pause control, etc that would allow me to make subtle adjustments. I have to move the faders on the fly; call up different windows for Panning or Sends, etc on the fly. This results in some mixes that are great up to a point but have some flaws that can only be corrected by doing the whole thing over !
Are there systems that allow one to mix down more leisurly & precisely ? Do all the big studios actually mix down in Real Time ? am I missing something really BASIC ?
comments welcome - even snide ones !

 

[amoeba]

am I missing something really BASIC ?

Maybe not quite basic, but you could automate your mixes using a MIDI sequencer. The 788 responds to continuous controller messages.

FWIW, it was quite common in the old days, before automation was widely available, for the mix engineer to "play" the console during mixdown. It was quite an art form in its own right. Assistant engineers or other innocent bystanders would sometimes be called upon to help execute fader moves or mutes requiring more than two hands.

a.

 

[LfO]

I work exclusively on the PC, where you can automate everything from faders and panning to the ratio on a compressor.

I'm fairly certain that as you move into pricier and pricier mixers/hardware, there's more an more physical automation. Back in "The Day," though, I suppose they did have to do it all realtime.

BTW, when you're talking about getting levels/panning/effects set up correctly, that's mixing (mixing "down" is an akward way of putting it). Premastering/mastering involves tweaks (mostly compression/eq/limiting) to a finished mix (just a final stereo track - the mastering engineer typically doesn't have access to individual tracks).

 

[mixsit]

On an analog mixer set up it's typical to ride the mixing, make lots of tape marks net to the faders, ect. Then there is automation -on a mixer, or nearly complete automation and/or recall of a mix InTheBox' which is a very attractive way to work. Cheap too.

 

[FALKEN]

I rock the faders. sounds better that way.

 

[Mixerman]

for reference: I do home recording of my songs on a Tascam 788, using a drum machine & singing/playing all instruments.
Sorry if this seems incredibly basic but..............
When I mix down (pre-mastering in Tascams parlance) it is done in REAL TIME, that is , there is no Pause control, etc that would allow me to make subtle adjustments. I have to move the faders on the fly; call up different windows for Panning or Sends, etc on the fly. This results in some mixes that are great up to a point but have some flaws that can only be corrected by doing the whole thing over !
Are there systems that allow one to mix down more leisurly & precisely ? Do all the big studios actually mix down in Real Time ? am I missing something really BASIC ?
comments welcome - even snide ones !

If your mixer is capable of playing back moves that you do on a pass, it would be an astoundingly retarded design to not be able to update your moves. I would delve into the manual a bit more on that.

Professional automation allows for updating a mix until it's done. The sexiest automations allow you to automate FX sends, EQ (on/off), and a variety of other fairly unnecessary and useless functions (unless you have a very limited number of inputs). I find the more complex the automation, the worse it is, but I use massively large desks which allows me to automate any function I want merely by duplicating a signal into another input and using the mute button.

Regardless, all professional and even semi-pro automations that I know of, allow for updates. Otherwise it's not automation at all. I mean, playing back what you can input into a 2-track in the first place is kind of useless.

When I don't have automation, I leave 2 empty tracks on the playback machine, and then record to them. For instance. If I'm using my Radar and an unautomated console, I'll record the mix onto 23 and 24 of the Radar a little bit at a time. I can punch in endlessly and seamlessly on those two tracks.

Once I have a good basic static mix, I'll start printing to those two tracks. If I hear something I don't like, I'll stop the deck. Rewind. Then punch in before the mistake. Let's say I want the guitars to go up 2 db at the chorus. I can record past the chorus. Go back, bring the faders up to the level I desire on the guitars, and then punch in right at the chours. Voila! Guitars punch up instantly louder at the chorus.

After a while, you'll develop techniques that make this a fast and fun process.

I have no idea whether you have enough tracks to do this sort of thing, but regardless of the multi-track recorder, this will always be an option.

Personally, I love mixing that way.

Mixerman