WHY do the masters mix songs on an album differently

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CyanJaguar

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hi,

have you guys noticed that if you pop a cd in , the mixing attitude on one song is totally different in a very subtle way from the next song? Even though it was the same mixing engineer and the smae mastering engineer and the same type of song.

Is this so that the listener has variety, or was it because the mixes were done on different days and the air temperature or humidity or something was different?

For example, one song will have more highs in the vocals or more body or more presence. Some will have too much, some guitars sound differnent even though it was the same guitar.

Why do they do this? And should we?

I had always thought that if I found a nice place, I should stick to it, as in effect and eq settings but now that is being turned upside down.
 
It's like hearing the same guitar through the same amp with the same effects on it. It gets dull after a while. Plus to try and get the mood of the song. If its a real bass driven song you may want to boost the bass to bring it out!
 
I don't think it is possible to get the same sound on two different songs! Just the singer singing differently will lend itself to being mixed differently. Throw in a few different guitars that were used and the drummer hitting a bit differently in every song, you could leave the same mixer settings and not change a thing with mic placements and what not and every song would sound different.

Ed
 
I think your posty explains it, sonusman. I wonder why that is the case though.
 
CyanJaguar said:
I think your posty explains it, sonusman. I wonder why that is the case though.
Click to expand...

Hey man! This MUSIC!!! It isn't supposed to sound all the same!! :) If you want cookie cutter production, work in ProTools, with Mackie preamps, and a POD!. Oh, and a NT1 ;)

Ed
 
No, I haven't noticed the mixing attitude change. On some CD's yes, sure. Every song sounds different. On others, the CD feels like a coherent whole. Thats the attitude as far as I'm concerned. That the songs doesn't sound exactly the same is obvious for reasons mentioned above.
 
sonusman said:


Hey man! This MUSIC!!! It isn't supposed to sound all the same!! :) If you want cookie cutter production, work in ProTools, with Mackie preamps, and a POD!. Oh, and a NT1 ;)

Ed
Click to expand...


Ohhhhhhh. So that's the formula for a multiplatinum album! :D
 
well, actually they are used

POD's are used a lot in multiplatinum recordings, I believe. So are Pro Tools...

NT1's and Mackie Preamps, well, I'm not betting any money on that. Neumann's and real expensive preamps who's name I don't know....I use Mackie and NT2's, however.:D

Of course if you're some bands, you use a bottle of multivitamins for percussion, so by hook or by crook, I say

RB
 
And also...

Some albums have multiple producers, music that is mixed down at different studios, and music constructed on different types of equipment.

You should want your songs to sound diefferent, because as earlier stated in this post by Wallycleaver, it will start to become redundant sounding.

My $.02....:D

spin
 
people sound different at different times of the day, let alone from day-to-day.

I agree with one thing though - the number of CD's with different tracks done by different musicians / producers, at different studios, has sharply increased over the last couple of years.

Now you can get a project in for mastering with some tracks on tape, some on ADAT, some on DAT, some at CDR data, from different places, at different speeds and bit-rates.......and then you have to turn it into one CD with a uniform sound/feel.

Consider that it takes a day to master a well engineered product, coming in one format from one studio. Get the product in in multiple formats, add at least another day. Get all songs to sound uniform if they come from different sources / ears / studios, add another day plus....

Most record companies today just don't want to pay loads for mastering, so they restrict it to a minimum..........and there is your answer. More and more CD's with tracks that sound totally different from each other.
 
I like Sjoko2's response. I think it does an excellent job of pointing out the value of profesional mastering. Not only does it supply a fresh set of ears, but it helps make tunes recorded at different times and in different ways sound like they are all part of a cohesive whole. Well, at least it does if the mastering engineer is given time to do it right...
 
In a song, vocal is usually most important sound. Mixing engineer make compromises between groove, melody, and other - EQ, compression - to make room for vocal.
Here you actually hear recording budget. If singer record all vocals in same day, you get same vocals in every song; you can mix them same - just roll the tracks thru mixer and effects.
But if you just finished 1-week vocal recording session, you have vocals recorded differently- in morning, middle of the night, hungry singer, after-lunch singer ( burps included ), an so on.
Slightly different vocals need a slightly different reverb, and thing by thing in mixdown you got a slightly different song.
This is my experience. :cool:
 
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