is it easier to mix canned sounds

  • Thread starter Thread starter jugalo180
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jugalo180

jugalo180

www.moneyistherecipe.com
hello everyone, i ask this question because i've been reading up on mixing for quite some time and i realize that most engineers achieve a better mix when they spend more time on it and break it up in days. as a paying customer who wants to get a very good mix i am curious to what to expect. i've been to a few studios to visit and i've narrowed my choices down to one for the moment. i've failed to ask this question at the studio, so i'm asking it here. i think it's safe for me to assume that mixing canned instruments from synths and drum machines is a lot easier than mixing live instruments, so does it still require long hours and days to get a mix right when the only live sounds are the vocals? i'm only asking because i'm trying to figure out my budget.

right now the studio is going to charge me $76.00hr if i choose the 13hr lockout and $95.00hr if i do anything under an 8hr block. i feel comfortable with paying $1,000.00 for a 13hr block session and recording two songs. i can knock the two songs out in under two hours which would give the engineer about five hours to mix each song. is that pushing it or is that a comfortable time? my instrumental tracks usually are at 12 and my vox range from 6 to 8 tracks maybe more depending on what i'm trying to achieve.

thanks in advance
 
jugalo180 said:
hello everyone, i ask this question because i've been reading up on mixing for quite some time and i realize that most engineers achieve a better mix when they spend more time on it and break it up in days. as a paying customer who wants to get a very good mix i am curious to what to expect. i've been to a few studios to visit and i've narrowed my choices down to one for the moment. i've failed to ask this question at the studio, so i'm asking it here. i think it's safe for me to assume that mixing canned instruments from synths and drum machines is a lot easier than mixing live instruments, so does it still require long hours and days to get a mix right when the only live sounds are the vocals? i'm only asking because i'm trying to figure out my budget.

right now the studio is going to charge me $76.00hr if i choose the 13hr lockout and $95.00hr if i do anything under an 8hr block. i feel comfortable with paying $1,000.00 for a 13hr block session and recording two songs. i can knock the two songs out in under two hours which would give the engineer about five hours to mix each song. is that pushing it or is that a comfortable time? my instrumental tracks usually are at 12 and my vox range from 6 to 8 tracks maybe more depending on what i'm trying to achieve.

thanks in advance
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For me, the "canned" instruments are definitely easier to mix, for the simple fact they are well-recorded to begin with (i dont have to spend as much time tweaking them after tracking)... As far as mixing goes -- I would seriously doubt this engineer's ears lasting 13 straight hours! I start to get a headache after only half that time... Personally, when I record, I'll do a rough mix, and then leave it alone for at least a few hours (just to get it out of my head), and then go back and REALLY try to mix it. That because it might sound good at the time but after a while youre gonna start noticing things that are problematic... IMHO the worst thing you can do is rush through this phase. And why are you paying $1000 for just 2 songs??? ...that sounds like a bit too much to me (I might just be spoiled cuz i have my own home-studio, but still...) You could record a whole demo for that much... I hope you already asked for samples so you know the quality of this engineer's work. I'd be pissed if I over-paid AND ended up with crap! Hope this helps.
 
crunkthanamug said:
For me, the "canned" instruments are definitely easier to mix, for the simple fact they are well-recorded to begin with (i dont have to spend as much time tweaking them after tracking)... As far as mixing goes -- I would seriously doubt this engineer's ears lasting 13 straight hours! I start to get a headache after only half that time... Personally, when I record, I'll do a rough mix, and then leave it alone for at least a few hours (just to get it out of my head), and then go back and REALLY try to mix it. That because it might sound good at the time but after a while youre gonna start noticing things that are problematic... IMHO the worst thing you can do is rush through this phase. And why are you paying $1000 for just 2 songs??? ...that sounds like a bit too much to me (I might just be spoiled cuz i have my own home-studio, but still...) You could record a whole demo for that much... I hope you already asked for samples so you know the quality of this engineer's work. I'd be pissed if I over-paid AND ended up with crap! Hope this helps.
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i appreciate the feedback crunk. i figured since the sounds that come with most sample discs and sound modules are pretty much mixed that it would cut out a lot of time during a recording session but i just needed to hear other peoples thoughts instead of just assuming. i'm paying a grand for two songs because i appreciate the hard work that goes into mixing. i tracked, mixed and mastered my current underground cd. it was rushed because someone else was supposed to do it but they were slacking off. it came out ok, but let's just say i wouldn't call myself an engineer. i've never been in the company of a true engineer so i really don't know what actually goes into a mixing session other than what i read.

for $1,000.00 that would give me 13 hours in which i would utilize 1 hour for the engineer to import all of my tracks into pro tools and about an hour a piece for the tracking of both songs. that would give him 10 hours to split up between mixing two songs. I'm happy you questioned the pricing because that's what i was really trying to get at. if i have everything on my portable harddrive seperated and sequenced to individual tracks and the engineer only has to drag and drop these tracks into pro tools, only having to track my vocals, would this require a lot of time? would 5hrs be more than enough for a seasoned vet? i haven't heard any of his work but there are silver, gold and platinum plaques hanging on the studio wall. now of course i realize that doesn't mean anything if HE hasn't recorded those songs. the link to the studio is below

SHEFFIELD RECORDING STUDIO
 
That really should be more than enough time if this guy knows what he's doing. You might wanna take some extra tracks with you just in case you finish early...so all that money doesnt go to waste! Personally, when i mix other people's songs it goes really quick -- like 2 hours a song, assuming everything is tracked ok (ie I dont have to fix anything "in the mix"). That shouldnt be an issue for you recording at a PRO studio. Loading all the tracks in PT shouldnt even take 20 min. So im guessing 2 hours for vocals (1 per song) + 2 hrs mixing per song + 1 hr (just cuz delays happen) = 7 hours ...Id shoot for at least 3 songs (4 might be cuttin it too close) Good luck.
 
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