I will finally share some secrets about mixing!

[Vance Dylan]

Good post Ed. You know this already but I'm about to delve into a country album...never spent much time doing that genre. To help me out I'm hiring a producer who's familiar with country and he'll be responsible for hiring the guns as well. I may not even engineer it but I should stick around to get a feel for it. What would be your approach to a whole new genre you've not encountered before? Am I doing the right thing by sourcing out?


Vance

 

[sonusman]

LOL Vance! I want to hear the results now!

This IS a real issue that professionals face a lot. I LOVE working on new genre's. There is never going to be another like the first! Even if it was bad. LOL

But seriously, I just take a listen to a couple CD's that the client want's to sort of sound like and get to work. Once I know the kind of sound that is needed for the songs, engineering country is no harder than any other genre. If anything, from my experience of mixing a few country bands live, that genre tends to be easier to work with because the musicianship is usually pretty good, and they mostly get very good tones out of their instruments. They almost "mix themselves".

Ed

 

[Vance Dylan]

Hmmm

When you put it like that it sounds so easy and I'll be able to put a few extra G's in my pocket instead another guys and I'm gonna have some smok'n players on it. But I don't wanna have to do all the arrangements of the music and getting the players and all that. I've got three other albums going on as well. To me it saves me alot of headaches....Still pondering the whole thing. Put on your parker Ed and haul ass up here. We got accomodations. I'd sooner dump some quid on you!

Vance

 

[JFogarty]

JF, i was just kidding dude....

ED, you da man!

yeah, I know. I suppose I should've put in some more smileys

 

[JFogarty]

Ed, you're tips have become a 16 page word file that is full of very very usefull stuff. I think that I have some competence as a song writer, and I pass as a musician. But that hard stuff is getting my mixes to sound good. This goes a long way in helping.

 

[zip]

Printed and in the binder...

...that I always read prior to mixing...

"When determining what you want big and small in the mix, you must do this with EVERYTHING YOU WILL HAVE IN THE MIX turned up. The reason I recommend doing a mix with just "faders up" before you get into anything else is because you can then hear what instruments, and more specifically , what PART of an instruments sound is "masking" important elements in the mix. Once you have determined that, you can then worked toward removing unwanted frequencies from specific instruments so it doesn't mask other instruments. This I feel is the first "need to do" in mixing."

Good advice Ed...

Thanks!

zip >>

 

[Flash]

This is so wierd! Well it's wed. night bowling night but I've been waiting to post to this. Maybe had one to many beer's, who know, but here goes. This is really a great post in a way. I am confused a few(maybe more) places though. Right now I can't remember them all, but here's a few. I almost get the feeling that you are sometimes saying to the newbie's(as they refer to us) even though a newbie maybe someone with more experence than you could ever imagine, that instead of posting on this bbs that we should just try stuff before we ask question's. Well, I don't feel that is the case. Sometime's I ask question's just to get answers from other people just to see if my reasoning is right, before I "blow my equipment up or something". Another that that had me puzzeled was you said something about getting the sound of your equip. like you wanted it when you track it. That confused me because most people tell you to record it as plain as poss. Did I misunderstand something in there?

 

[JFogarty]

It maybe that its late here, but that didn't make a lick of sense to me...

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

I gotcha, Flash. (I think)

(JF, allow me to translate)

I think that when long-time posters and people with experience refer to "newbie" they mean different things. Most of the time they are talking about people who are new or inept at recording- regardless how high their post count is. If you feel like a newbie that can be somewhat trying, but if you are NOT a newbie don't let it bother you. We don't know each other here so there really is nothing to take personally.

About tracking it as close to how you want it to sound. Think of it this way, if you know you are going to roll off the bass on your rythm guitars why go through all the trouble capture those frequencies? Instead, place your mics so that you capture the frequencies and nuance you know you want to keep. If you have enough experience and you know what you're doing- why not do it during tracking? It will save time fussing with knobs when you are mixing later.

Record plain as far as effects, yes, but get your basic sound as close as you can to your goal during tracking.

Did I understand your dilema correctly?

Chris

 

[Flash]

Good job chris, so when recording try to get the sound you want but no effects. No I didn't take anything personal on the newbie thing either.

 

[ausrock]

BUMP!!!

 

[recedo]

Thanks for the Bump!

Thanks for bumping it up for me! This post deserves to stay at the top forever! Well done mate, you should set up a pay pal account, so people could donate money to you, I don't think you should charge for it in a book or whatever because people like me wouldn't buy it (no offence intended!) because I got minimal money! But I would make a donation of a small amount to you, lots of small amounts would soon add up! Think about it!

Cheers
Simon

 

[sonnylarsen]

I love this!

This thread is maybe the coolest I have ever seen. I've been a member of this bbs for almost two years and I only found this yesterday, mainly cause I haven't looked at this board much. I just wanted to know how the heck to get my equipment to work right. Now that I have become more interested in learning how to mix and master, this thread seems to have been sent by God.

Seriously Ed, thanks.

 

[zip]

Ah shit!!

"this thread seems to have been sent by God. "

Now you've gone and done it! LOL

 

[OrangeGangster]

I´m glad and i feel like i must say this,i´ve just "signed" as a new staff member for the studio i´ve been working as a guitar sessionist for the last year.
I knew i could not only play guitar there but also to be on the prodution team,so i risked myself on the mixing and mastering technics,spent hours and printed so many stuff to read on my way to the bus,...and there it came after one year.
This all goes to say you people here have been a great help on my "learning curve"... SO...truly..thanks a lot you guys..!!!

I´m NOT leaving!!!!

XXEERRRSSSS!!!!!

 

[sonnylarsen]

I'm not normally prone to alot of religious experiences, but come on...read Ed's posts....heheh

 

[P Hallin]

12346 views!!! This is insane! (but a great thread anyway)

 

[zip]

I'm not normally prone to alot of religious experiences, but come on...read Ed's posts....heheh

I've read, printed, inserted into binder of keepers..........

(In the mean while Ed slowly drifts from earth towards the right hand of...... ) LOL

It is a great thread tho...

zip >>

 

[battleminnow]

Thanks for bumping it up. This thread is awesome.

Pete

 

[zip]

yes it is...