Is my logic backwards?

[chamelious]

My bands going to be recording a short album. We don't have a lot of money, we're trying to spread the cost out and save where possible. The plan is:

Track drums in local studio, spend lots of time getting great tracks down.

Track guitars in my bedroom, re-amp at local studio with our gear (6505, 3120, tiny terror, cabs with V30's)

Track synth and vocals in my room(essentially home studio) Borrow or rent the best mic/pre we can and spend the time getting the best performances we can.

I'll mix it. Then we pay for the best mastering job we can to get the best out of my admittedly limited mixing skills, this is where my question about logic comes from. Perhaps we'd be better off spending our money on a mixing job. My thought process is, i can do an OK job mixing our music, i know it in and out and have had practise with it. But i don't know the first thing about mastering.

Let me know thoughts/suggestions.

Example of my mixing skills can be found in my bands (shit homemade) music vid: YouTube - The Sun Explodes - Weigh Your Sins Track is essentially unmastered.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

A good mastering job is like a good car detailing job; it'll make a brand new showroom BMW look absolutely incredible, but it can only make a rusty old Ford Pinto look like a rusty old Ford Pinto that's been detailed for some odd reason. Don't hand a Ford Pinto to a mastering engineer. Make sure you've got a nice BMW mixed up first.

*BUT* that doesn't mean just handing your tracks to any old studio either; there are a million studios out here that couldn't mix their way out of a paper bag, and frankly couldn't care to, because their engineers don't see themselves as producers, and another million who do see themselves as producers, but want only to impose their production vision on the mix, without any regard for yours.

What you really need is to find someone who is willing to work with you on the tracking and the mixing to act as producer or co-producer to make sure you get the most out of your tracks and tracking and who will get you a quality mix that is actually true to the sound you want.

Oh, and one more thing; don't be in a hurry to get into the studio, the world is not going to end tomorrow. Practice and make sure all your boys are ready to record without having to take three hours each just to get 3 minutes of good tracking down. You want to get the tracking right - that is the key to everything else - but you don't want to unnecessarily burn up your budget doing it, either.

G.

 

[Greg_L]

I agree with what SSG said, with one caveat - be your own producer. No one knows your shit better than you do, and some wannabe shmoe in your price range isn't gonna add any credibility or value to your session. Practice, practice, practice so you're ready to emo rock, and find a good engineer that can get you some good tracks. Then mix it yourself the way you wanna mix it. While that's going on, talk with mastering engineers. Find one that you like, and ask how he would want the finished mixes. Good luck.

 

[chamelious]

Cheers guys. The local engineer we'll be working with in the studio is great and the plan was to call him in to the later mixing sessions as well. That's probably the way we'll go.

The only tracking where we have any sort of pressure to get it done quick is the drums, and my brother is by far the most consistent among us. Its one of the reasons i'm keen to track the other stuff at mine, i figure i'd rather have a really great performance recorded well, than a rushed ok performance recorded exceptionally.

 

[PDP]

I've done projects with very similar plan and gotten good results, just remember if you havent worked with that studio, its a new experience and there are always unknowns with a new experience, so I agree to do/know as much as you can yourself.

 

[Elton123]

Just my two cents, but I would try to track everything with a good engineer in a good studio with good gear!!
By this, I'm talking about not only good mics, pre's etc, but the RIGHT equipment to capture your tracks. A good engineer will know what pieces to use based on his experience, and more importantly what you sound like. In addition, he will have good rooms to track in. The source is everything, and room plays a huge part in what you get.
I'm sure there are guys on here who will tell you they have spent countless hours trying to correct tracks that were not recorded properly. If you want the best shot at mixing it yourself, get great tracks. If you have that, then you are well on your way to a good mix and master. Plus, you will have a great time doing it.
Good luck!!

 

[jjjtttggg]

I can't say I've done a lot of studio work... One demo with a band in Boston in 1988, so take my thoughts for whatever they may or may not be worth. That said, you say cash is tight. In my one experience, the same was the case, and it totally messed us up! We could never get into our "thing" because we could feel the meter going kaching, kaching, kaching in the background the whole time and all felt way too much pressure. So, I like your strategy. The only thing I might try if it were me is rather than just the drums, try to get the bass and drums in the studio, not because it would be hard to get a good sound for bass in your studio, but because I think you get a better feel if you can record the "foundation" with the two musicians working together in real time, feeding off each other. Depends on whether your bass player and drummer play better together or not, but that's pretty much always been the case in the handful of bands I've played in. Tracking the other stuff in your home studio, you'll be chill and able to take your time and really get the feeling for the song. Judging by your video, I'd say you are more than capable of handling the mixing. I wouldn't think you'd need to pay somebody for that if money is tight Whatever you do, based on the video, I suspect it will come out great! Good luck...

J