Does a mixing engineer do this?

  • Thread starter Thread starter antacid
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antacid

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When you do your own recording but hire people to mix and master the material, who does vocal corrections/edits... like smoothly matching up doubled vocals, fixing pitch problems, etc. Does the mixing engineer handle these kinds of edits? If not, is there someone I can find around here who is used to doing this (sorry for the overly blunt question)?
 
Well...no one likes to do it because it can be a real PITA if there's a lot of editing required...but I think most will do it if you pay them to do it. Editing should happen before mixing, though IMO, it's the first phase of the mixing stage, and if it's just basic/typical tweaks, there shouldn't be a real negative attitude about doing them. Of course, if it has to be a painstaking process that goes note for note, beat for beat....that's a lot of work.
Some big-name mixers might have their assistants do it...etc.

If you hire someone to *mix*...they may not see editing as part of their process...but again, it's something to discuss at the start, and not something to be assumed by either party.

I do my own tracking, editing, mixing...etc...so it ain't no big thing, and I can edit pretty darn good when it's needed...but it's not something I enjoy doing for hours on end.
 
Miroslav is correct. This stuff is not part of the mixing process. it is best to have that done before and many mixers will refuse to do it.
 
Thanks for replying, both of you. If I'm not able to find someone to "mix" who is willing to do the editing stuff beforehand... then was is the editing person called?

I know that when a label puts together an album, they have the artist/band, the producer, the mixing engineer, the mastering engineer... who is responsible for organizing the tracks and doing the edits prior to mixing? Is there a title for that person, so that I can find one?

I've been doing some of the edits myself, but I should really be recording the next album right now. I'm under pressure to get all of my material down quickly for reasons that I won't burden you with. I have ten albums' worth of songs that I need to record. Don't laugh... actually, go ahead and laugh... but help me, too. ;)
 
antacid said:
... then what is the editing person called?
Click to expand...

He's called the Producer. :laughings: ;)

It's not so much about finding a specialist...rather it's about finding someone who will/can do it. It might be the same guy that's going to mix it...it might not.
Why don't you ask the mixer...he might do it, or he might suggest someone.
There's not really too many engineers who specialize mainly in editing and have a title of "editing engineer".

Are you not able to do that yourself?
You know best how/what you need fixed...so cut/move/match those vocals to your satisfaction...adjust pitch as needed...etc...
...or is that too difficult for you to do...
...or do you just not want to waste your time and want someone else to do it?
 
I can do edits myself to some extent, and am never afraid of learning new things when I can't. But for the sake of recording the rest of my material, I need to get help with things like this. There are just too many songs for me to be able to record them all if I'm doing the editing on my own.
 
Not sure how long you've been at this...but the better the tracking, the less you have to edit, but the more you edit, the better you get at it.

If you are on some kind of short time-line and need to get things done...it's going to cost you to farm it out.
 
Editing should be done during the tracking stage. Usually the recording engineer and/or producer takes care of that.
 
I guess you can do some editing on the fly as you track, but I prefer to get all my tracking done and then consider what needs editing. It's hard to make edit decisions on one track if you're still tracking others, IMO.
 
Editing is the most tedious part of recording short of a player who cant get his part right. It is however a necessity. I'm not sure I would trust someone else to do it for me.
 
I wind up doing it all the time......

.....because:
1) I tend to be more meticulous than many of the people I mix for
2) I don't mind doing t, because I get paid for it.
3) I can probably do it faster, since I have more experience.
4) Because an objective ear is usually better at hearing things than someone who is personally involved
5) Because the only way for a project to sound "professional" is for someone to do it prior to mixing.

Hope this is helpful! Get in touch if you need help with editing, mixing, or mastering.:)
 
mixmasters said:
.....because:
1) I tend to be more meticulous than many of the people I mix for
2) I don't mind doing t, because I get paid for it.
3) I can probably do it faster, since I have more experience.
4) Because an objective ear is usually better at hearing things than someone who is personally involved
5) Because the only way for a project to sound "professional" is for someone to do it prior to mixing.

Hope this is helpful! Get in touch if you need help with editing, mixing, or mastering.:)
Click to expand...



Hey MixMasters good stuff here and welcome to the forum.
 
mixmasters said:
.....because:
1) I tend to be more meticulous than many of the people I mix for
2) I don't mind doing t, because I get paid for it.
3) I can probably do it faster, since I have more experience.
4) Because an objective ear is usually better at hearing things than someone who is personally involved
5) Because the only way for a project to sound "professional" is for someone to do it prior to mixing.

Hope this is helpful! Get in touch if you need help with editing, mixing, or mastering.:)
Click to expand...


Kinda funny, I just had a client watch me do some editing. He said "Good thing you're fast at that or I'd be broke". I really gotta slow my ass down. LOL!
 
jimmys69 said:
Kinda funny, I just had a client watch me do some editing. He said "Good thing you're fast at that or I'd be broke". I really gotta slow my ass down. LOL!
Click to expand...


You gotta pace yourself Jim. ;)
 
At least in the presence of paying clients! LOL! I'm not in it for money. Just more gear. :)
 
Here is a sign for over the door.....

*Will mix for gear*
 
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