How Long Do You Spend On Your Mixes ?

[VOXVENDOR]

Wow. Alot of quick mixing. Doesnt anybody go back to retrack a vocal? A guitar part? Drums? Perhaps double sometyhing with a dif mic? Am I the only one that has spent several weeks to a couple of months mixing a song? Usually the more tracks in a song the longer it takes. Songs with 50+ tracks (which double when you take into account doubling, and delayed panning) can easily take weeks.

Most of my songs are around 75-100 Tracks... Still goes quick... Maybe im just comfortable with my formula.... Im not sure..

My song.. "In my head" has about 110 total tracks.. and I think I have only about 4-6 hours wrapped up in it.... Total... (Incl. tracking and mixing)

About going back to retrack.... Never!

I don't move onto the next part of a song till the part i'm working on makes me happy, so I rarely, ever have to go back and fix something.

Cool Thread.... I like this stuff.

 

[knownuttin]

Nearly forgot to give my answer: Depends on what I'm on.
-kent

 

[ridl]

I DJ so it's live mixing. But when I do tracks I attempt to get everything perfectly recorded, see how they fit mixed straight from that, and then make minute adjustments and add effects if necessary.

 

[sonusman]

I take as long as it takes to do the best job. That DOES of course depend upon how much the client can afford to spend.

No more than a day (usually 8-12 hours) tops! Any more than that and I usually just am not happy with stuff that can't be fixed.

I have mixes that sound pretty good that came together in less than an hour. It just all depends on what is needed and how well it was all tracked (just like what was stated earlier by others).

Ed

 

[littledog]

My song.. "In my head" has about 110 total tracks..

Wow! That would be my worst nightmare! Do give each string on your guitar a seperate track?

 

[Gidge]

probably so...Vox is known as Mutt Jr.

id guess 90 of those tracks are background vocals.....

 

[mixmkr]

It sounds like I might record/mix in a similar fashion as Vox.... when I record MY stuff, I basically am kinda mixing as I go along. When all the stuff is finished tracking, the mix is pretty close too. I like hearing all the effects, reverbs, and stuff as I go along...and not just add that stuff at the end, so to speak. This is usually because I like to create it as I go along...writing, etc. Knowing how a "effected" guitar part might interact with another part, is important for me. I also dislike the idea of using stuff like Amp Farm and stuff like that. How can you change your guitar sound after the fact? That seems so alien to me.

And for customers...which I am prefering to do less and less nowadays...I make sure you get the performances down, then go thru the art of mixing. I usually say to the people..."plan to spend about the same time on mixing as you do tracking." 4 hours tracking a song....4 hours to mix it GOOD. But, I usually spend half that time or less. The "clock" usually is getting watched ...or its 3 in the morning!!

 

[VOXVENDOR]

Wow! That would be my worst nightmare! Do give each string on your guitar a seperate track?

Hehe.... No... Not that intensive... But I do 75-85 Vocal layers.. and sometimes 5 or six guitars..... and then every drum and cymbal is on a different track....




I'm actually getting out of that though...... My current song is live drums with one condensor mic strategically placed to get the drum sound...

Very raw..... And real sounding...

I think my "big production" phase has past.... I'm really going right back to the basics now..In the past months.... I have been trying to record songs that can actually be performed, and sound like the album.


I think i'm almost done the latest tune and I'm only on track 8.....

But it's a bitch to mix......

It's actually harder to get the "real" (Raw) sound.....(in my mileage at least).......See, When I'm using samples and POD laced guitars.. I get a boost of help from the sounds... Cause they are good sounds to begin with.... These drum samples I used needed NO EQ at all..

But now.. Trying to EQ and compress and reverb one track of a whole live kit recorded through one mic... And try and make it sound like the kit does to the human ear as if your standing next to it.......Thats HARD!

Funny how it works that way eh.


Joe

 

[VOXVENDOR]

probably so...Vox is known as Mutt Jr.

I wish! LOL

So, that would make Shania my mom..... Hmmmm Hopefully I'm still breast feeding at 27.... Hehe

 

[littledog]

I'm still amazed. If you quadruple tracked an eight voice back-up section and gave each their own mic - that is still only 32 tracks. That leaves over 40 more to go...

I mean, i've heard of "wall of sound", but we're talking Great Wall of China here! Your track sheets must come in Volume One and Volume Two!

But really, I'd love to have a sample of a typical track breakdown for 75 vocal tracks (11 sopranos, 12 altos, 7 tenors, 8 baritones, 10 basses, 6 contraltos, 14 boy sopranos, 3 castratos, and 4 tibetan throat singers?)

 

[DeadPoet]

knownuttin

Sorry for the late reply, many posts have gone by now...

dinner-jazz: just smooth elevator muzak, for rent at all your parties, receptions, marriages, ... nothing special.

I put up a demo here (Girl from Ipanema).. check out the sax player, this guy is 21 and has Brecker's chops, Hawkins' sensitivity and most of all, good taste

release-the-commercial-pig-inside-me Well I'm used to jazz, latin and fusion, so making a 4 to the floor happy house tune was like searching for a techno producer inside me.. I've grown respect for them producers now.. (check out here )


Herwig

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

110 tracks...

You PT users... don't know when to fuckin quit!!!!!!

It was good after take 3, but no you had to continue until the vocalist was lying on the floor like a fish outta water..........

 

[VOXVENDOR]

I'm still amazed. If you quadruple tracked an eight voice back-up section and gave each their own mic - that is still only 32 tracks. That leaves over 40 more to go...

I mean, i've heard of "wall of sound", but we're talking Great Wall of China here! Your track sheets must come in Volume One and Volume Two!

But really, I'd love to have a sample of a typical track breakdown for 75 vocal tracks (11 sopranos, 12 altos, 7 tenors, 8 baritones, 10 basses, 6 contraltos, 14 boy sopranos, 3 castratos, and 4 tibetan throat singers?)

LOL

I don't do vocal singing sections.... It's just me, doing it track by track....

Actually it's usually a 3 part harmony.... 25 of each part...

Or sometimes it's a 2 part harmony and the lower part is doubled and split in half for stereo.....

25 Upper part... and 25 Lower part (L) 25 Lower Part (R)



You can hear these vocals on my NWR page...
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/rockpop/voxvendor/singles

"In My Head" is a good example

Joe

 

[littledog]

I think I get it now. (Sorry, can't download to listen at this time). You're a one man Mormon Tabernacle Choir?

But don't you ever find, for aesthetic reasons, that the same vocal timbre stacked 75 tracks deep would be more interesting of you added in two or three different voices as well - you know, like 15-20 tracks of four different vocalists rather than 75 of just you?

75 Voxvendors - I guess you're either gonna love it or hate it!

 

[VOXVENDOR]

But don't you ever find, for aesthetic reasons, that the same vocal timbre stacked 75 tracks deep would be more interesting of you added in two or three different voices as well - you know, like 15-20 tracks of four different vocalists rather than 75 of just you?

But then I wouldn't be the VOXVENDOR...I would be part of the VOXVENDOR GROUP... and thats not fun now...Is it?.....

I know what your saying... but I get an amount of satisfaction knowing I did it all myself...

 

[littledog]

That's more than cool, if it is a part of your artistic vision. Actually, I'd really prefer to hear your stuff in it's pristine form. Any way i could buy a CD? Are they available on Amazon or CD Now, etc? If more than one is currenlty being sold, which title would you recommend, especially for the 75 voice concept?

 

[VOXVENDOR]

The new album has been a 1.5 year work in progress still ongoing...

My NWR page is the best I can offer for now..... The encodes are decent though... I'm actually happy with the sound, as compared to other MP3 encoding jobs I've heard....

Joe

http://www.nowhereradio.com/voxvendor

 

[sjoko2]

completely depends on the material, and on hearing stuff that "is just wrong and has to be redone".

If everything is perfect ---- from a couple of hours for a simple vocal plus acoustic instrument(s) track, to about three to 5 days for more complex works with boatloads of tracks. Bisedes that, I've worked on plenty one week plus a song projects.

It helps if you establish a formula of mixing that works for you, and stick to it. That way you can create some uniformity in an album project.

Roughly,mine is as follows:

1. Listen through a couple of times, in the car, at home, and at least once in the studio
2. Listen through and make notes, find errors, tonal troubles, anything that might need fixing.
3. Plan the "fixes" and execute them.
4. Pick 2 songs and do rough mixes, without applied processing. This often establishes the 'feel' for the project.
4. Pick a "leading" song, and mix it down.
5. When happy with #4, apply simular processing to the other tracks. (drums, bass, guitars, vocals etc).
(In other words, use the song you are happy with as a start-up template for the others).
6. Start tweeking and balancing.

 

[littledog]

you and i work very similarly, sjoko, especially with the "template" concept.

but i find i often have to use multiple templates on many cd's that have multiple style/mood changes, picking from such things as -

the ballad template
the shredding/screaming template
the reggae template
the shuffle template
the hip-hop template
the acoustic template
etc.

hopefully i can limit it to two or three per CD.

 

[jake-owa]

I start with a "20 minuite mix" which can take anywhere from 10 minuites to an hour and move on to the "two hour mix" which usually does the trick and finally I'll tweak until I'm happy, which can take years.