Chris Shaeffer
Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone want to talk about tips and tricks for managing the band while mixing?
Here's what I have coming up and why I'm thinking about it.
A young, very cool band has already recorded their demo- engineered by a co-worker of mine who is solid but not phenomenal- and I'm going to mix it. Its a rare treat to mix something that I didn't track, so I'm excited about the project. I've known the singer since he was 14, the rest of the guys I've met so far seem cool and appreciative...
But I can tell they're nervous I'm going to change it or do something they don't want. The guitarist has mentioned a couple times "I like the way the guitars sound now..." and the singer is obsessing on his parts. Again, nice guys, but I smell potential trouble. They co-wrote all the songs so there is no one who can serve as a de-facto producer- and they don't have anyone else playing that role.
What I want to do is mix it by myself, but the band members live pretty far apart and only meet once a week to rehearse. They have a hard deadline coming up- if we have to mix, gather, listen, leave, fix, gather, listen, etc.- we probably won't get it done all that well.
My gut tells me that they'll like my mixes, but have a host of conflcting minor changes they want to make. If I have them all there I'm pretty certain that it'll work if I can manage them correctly. That means I'm looking at doing semi-final draft mixes on my own then scheduling the band for a final polishing session...
And ideas for how to prepare them? Pitfalls to avoid? Anyone have stories or insights about mising with the whole band present? I know I can give them really good mixes that they'll be very happy with- I just don't want the process, which appears to be getting more and more charged for them as the project moves towards completion, to be a cause for tension in the band.
Take care,
Chris
Here's what I have coming up and why I'm thinking about it.
A young, very cool band has already recorded their demo- engineered by a co-worker of mine who is solid but not phenomenal- and I'm going to mix it. Its a rare treat to mix something that I didn't track, so I'm excited about the project. I've known the singer since he was 14, the rest of the guys I've met so far seem cool and appreciative...
But I can tell they're nervous I'm going to change it or do something they don't want. The guitarist has mentioned a couple times "I like the way the guitars sound now..." and the singer is obsessing on his parts. Again, nice guys, but I smell potential trouble. They co-wrote all the songs so there is no one who can serve as a de-facto producer- and they don't have anyone else playing that role.
What I want to do is mix it by myself, but the band members live pretty far apart and only meet once a week to rehearse. They have a hard deadline coming up- if we have to mix, gather, listen, leave, fix, gather, listen, etc.- we probably won't get it done all that well.
My gut tells me that they'll like my mixes, but have a host of conflcting minor changes they want to make. If I have them all there I'm pretty certain that it'll work if I can manage them correctly. That means I'm looking at doing semi-final draft mixes on my own then scheduling the band for a final polishing session...
And ideas for how to prepare them? Pitfalls to avoid? Anyone have stories or insights about mising with the whole band present? I know I can give them really good mixes that they'll be very happy with- I just don't want the process, which appears to be getting more and more charged for them as the project moves towards completion, to be a cause for tension in the band.
Take care,
Chris