Studio screwed up

[amt7565]

I worked very hard for 10 months to create 8 guitar instrumental tracks. I took it (My computer and soundcard and synth etc.)to this studio..all analog....no digital editing....the first time I spent 12 hours and $500.00. Out of the 8, 3 came out decent....5 had the drums too loud. So I took it again and spent 6 hours redoing 5 for $330.00.
I brought it home and it sounds horrible.
What a waste....$830.00 down the drain...
I have given up on this. I am very disappointed and sad. If anyone takes their system to the studio..be careful.....take your stereo with you...and make sure each song sounds to your liking on your stereo.

Anyone want to share their horror stories?

 

[Freudian Slip]

Have you had other people listen to it as well as other stereos?
Did you have a mix you liked before you took it in?
Most studios I've been in have home stereos you can listen through as well as the monitors. I can't see walking out of a studio and not knowing the drums where to loud for you taste..


F.S.

 

[amt7565]

Yes, I loved it when I took it there. howevefr I mixed it using different monitor speakers. When I took it there we had to adjust volume levels all over again. The studio had a home stereo, but it was a big one...with un matching speakers...which sounded very bad.

As for the drums, no I did not notice....it was not tha loud...but loud enough to steal away from the rest of the mix on my stereo and on my computer.

 

[Freudian Slip]

How long has it been? Maybe in time you will grow to like it more. I notice you said it was great before you took it in.. so It may take you a while to get used to it. when mixing your own stuff. It's easy to get caught up in putting your self or your favorite way out front. He may have tried to achive what he thought was balance. After listening to something for months that you thought was great any change might sound like crap to you. listening on computer speakers is hardly a fair way to judge any mix. I would slap that thing in every car stero and home stereo I could find. you can adjust the stereo and get a decent sound out of most of the sources He has done at least an ok job. One thing you can do in the future is take a cd that has the sound and mix you want and listen to it with the engineer on his system. That way you know how the mix you want sounds on his system and you can stand gaurd a little better. You know what you want. You have to be the producer on the project unless you want to pay the BIG $$$$$.

I don't doubt that this is not the guy for you. You should go check out several studios and listen to some of what they have recorded. Also try to pick the engineer that did a project you like.

Hey it was a learning experiance I've been down that road. The worst song I've got on an ep was the one I had the most input on But then I had a good guy


Later

F.S.

 

[amt7565]

Yes you are right actually. I have been listening to my tracks for 10 months now....and I am sick and tired of my own tracks!!!!
Just now I took the CD to a friends and tried it on his expensive system. It sounds much better than I thought.

I will be more cautious next time...
Thanks!

 

[Freudian Slip]

Cool!! That's great!! Just remember I wouldn't have known if I hadn't have been there

The first time I heard my vocals recorded at a pro studio (not live) I thought I was being slaughtered!! truth is I had never heard my self before All of my band mates thought it was the best they had ever heard! Boy I learned alot that day.....

If your guy did his job right you can hear everything.. and that is the main point. Some times you can't have what you consider the ideal sound for an instrument and still hear the whole mix.
I love a crunchy guitar that shakes the room when I mute it, but I can't record it that way It would intrude on the drums and the bass guitar too much... All by my self though I crunch away
When I mix I have to sacrafice for the over all sound...


Later

F.S.

 

[pipelineaudio]

I dont understand this at all. You recorded some guitar tracks at home on your pc then took them to a studio and had a drummer play on them ?

 

[amt7565]

Freudian cool man. Your remarks about guitar makes a lot of sense to me too!

Pipeline. Yes I recorded the guitars, piano and Bass by myself at home. The MIDI module generated the drums and other synth sounds. It was mixed at the studio.

I took my equipment to the studio. The tracks were routed through the "direct out"s of my DELTA66 OMNI studio.

 

[Shailat]

A few suggestions.....

1. Always visit the studio you want to record in. Make sure the engineer is a personality you can work with.

2. Make sure you goto a studio were they understand your style.
A good country music studio doesnt mean they understand Hip hop.....

3. Ask to hear Demos of that specific Engineer.

4. Preplan the session with them either by phone or better go down to the studio and explain your set up and make a plan as well as setting expetations (your budget-how many hours you want to spend on mixing etc.....)

If for any reason they refuse to any of the above then simply say bye and look elsewere. IF you can't get them to comply with those then don't expect more later on........

6. Do several different mixdowns with different balances (nothing extreme but some slight changes). You might want to choose a different mix at the end.

7. Don't annoy the engineer while he is working by constant questions but if you hear after a few hours of work that its not going in your direction then don't hesitate to tell him so and bring a sample if what you want to hear. Don't say to him "make that snare sound like a owl in the night with a bagle in his mouth". Say "listen to this cd. I like that type of snare sound".

Last but least remember that if you are sitting there along side of him and you don't open your mouth then you also have a responsability on the end result.

Good Luck

 

[DigitMus]

Hmm... well, the only thing I can add to this discussion is an observation:
I've never been to a pro studio yet where the engineer would even attempt to mix 8 songs in 12 hours. Most of the engineers worth their salt will want at least half a day per song. Also, there was no mention anywhere of mastering.

BIG DISCLAIMER- The above applies to mixes going out for reproduction, (though not necessarily big lable, major distribution). If you told the guy it was "just a demo" that could account for less than stellar results, and the small amount of time it took.

Scott