Deadlines when mixing

professorlamp

I are Joe
Nov 2, 2009
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Wales, United Kingdom
How long do you guys allow yourself to complete a mix for a client? (including editing)

on the 18th I tracked 2 songs for a band and told them I'd mix it and have it done for them in about 2-3 weeks time but it really feels like I'm putting pressure on myself and not giving myself enough time just to explore the song and fuck around with different sounds and such.

I'm not sure what to answer to the dreaded 'when will it be ready' question, do I just state a time and try my best to stick to it, or say 'in my own time'?

How long do you guys allow yourselves? It'd be interesting to see.
 
2 to 3 weeks is a huge amount of time. Most pros will wrap a whole record mix in that time, if not earlier.

I tend to like around 3 days for the first 'template' track, just to make sure it's okay. Sometimes if I'm really struggling I'll take up to a week, provided the timeframe permits it.. After that every new song, which will be mostly automation work, will take around a day or so. From what I understand this workflow of mine is fairly luxurious. Many guys will have the entire record done in a week. But since my overheads are minimal, and I tend to second-guess myself with fresh ears the next day, I like to take the extra time.

Think about it... 2 to 3 weeks for 2 songs. Do you plan to charge at least $1k per track? Because unless you do, your yearly wage isn't going to amount to much.
 
fair enough, I think it's more my relaxed (probably better to call it lazy) approach to it, time to knuckle down I suppose, I usually put in about 1-2 hours a night but it's not completely concentrated work I'll often be doing other things that distract me to no end.

Looks like it's just me...ughhh
 
Pretty much the same as Ermz, usually it's about three days for the first song and then a day per song. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get things going the way I want and sometimes the song just sounds right at the end of the first day, after which I can do two or three songs a day. It depends quite a lot on the material.

I've noticed the bands usually take more time sending me feedback about the mix candidates than I take mixing them. Seriously, how can it take over a week for the guys to listen to the song, put down some ideas and e-mail them to me? It kinda frustrates me. I promise the band to send the first mixes in a week, and they take the same time to just give me their initial impressions.
 
Yeah 1-2 hours a night isn't going to cut it. Admittedly it takes me about half an hour just to get into the zone, and get everything booted up.

Editing and re-amping if needed can take some time and grows with the song size. Mixing, maybe a couple days for the first/template song, then the rest go pretty quick, a day or two tops. Then a day working with the band, and day or two mastering.

For a full album it may take 2-3 weeks, since I usually end up waiting on band feedback and dealing with scheduling for changes. But it will only be dealing with them and working 1 or 2 days in each week and then working on other bands or my own music while waiting.

But if they get back to me quick and are generally happy with my initial mixes, then yeah a week is totally doable.

For experimenting with sounds and such, I usually do that during the tracking stage. In the mixing stage, you often have to shoot from the hip and trust your instincts and not overthink or overwork the mix. Some of my "rough mixes" actually come out better than the finals haha. Regardless, in this business with rates dropping and things needing to be done yesterday, efficiency is key.
 
Some of my "rough mixes" actually come out better than the finals haha. Regardless, in this business with rates dropping and things needing to be done yesterday, efficiency is key.

+1!!

This is so true! :D You just have to trust yourself when the first mixes are done in these days. Unfortunatly, there is not much time for experimenting.
 
Same as above; I like to get one track done, send it to the band. If they like it I will mix the rest of the songs with a similar approach (unless the songs need a different approach, which I then would discuss this with the band). So two days for the first song, then a day per song afterwards.
 
no offense intended dude, but do you even take yourself seriously? are you looking to make things happen in terms of a career?

like i said, no offense meant, but i would never work with someone who invested so little energy into a project. if you are seriously only doing 1-2 half assed hours a day how can you expect to make anything good happen
 
well at the moment I'm just starting out recording bands, I've recorded myself for like 2-3 years but that's always been at my own pace and just mixing as i go, yes I do intend to take this seriously I wouldn't have invested the majority if not all of my money into this, but workflow is very slow, I never used to edit my own stuff because I'd try and play it as tight as possible and be uber anal about that stuff but now that im editing/cutting/fading hundreds of times in a song I realise that I've got to invest more time into it.

no offence taken,I'm going to aim to do more per day, it's just I honestly do procrastinate like a bugger :lol:

edit: actually, thanks for being brutal it put me in line
 
The best thing you could do to rectify that workflow is some live sound. It forces you to get your shit together pretty quickly, and get a mix up on the fly. Failing that, doing day demos, or assisting at an already established studio that's tracking bands will probably get you into the right mindset.
 
well at the moment I'm just starting out recording bands, I've recorded myself for like 2-3 years but that's always been at my own pace and just mixing as i go, yes I do intend to take this seriously I wouldn't have invested the majority if not all of my money into this, but workflow is very slow, I never used to edit my own stuff because I'd try and play it as tight as possible and be uber anal about that stuff but now that im editing/cutting/fading hundreds of times in a song I realise that I've got to invest more time into it.

no offence taken,I'm going to aim to do more per day, it's just I honestly do procrastinate like a bugger :lol:

edit: actually, thanks for being brutal it put me in line

no problem dude :)

the only reason i would say that is it is in your best interest. I would fire someone instantly who took that long, so I figured it would help

work hard and it will happen, however, if you continue as you are, it will certainly not
 
I just started a new record with a band that has to be done by October 1st. 12 songs in about 5 weeks. That's all tracking, editing and mixing. It'll be tight, but I'm mixing as I go. As in the guitars will track do basically the final drums. First time I'm doing it this way, but I think the performances will benefit from a more polished sound. Pro Tools HD deant give me any grief either which is I love.