Mixing is fucking hard

[rvs0002]

It also makes it hard to listen to a cd just for the sake of enjoyment now. I constantly fight to just enjoy the music I hear instead of thinking about the snare compression, or panning of instruments, guitars sounds, etc.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Yeah but when you guys post stuff up on the RMM I can FEEL the hard work through the speakers. Surely that must count for some sort of awesome.

 

[drew_drummer]

Mixing is a piece of piss

 

[t-rave]

I like tracking, and sometimes even editing and designing sound with effects...

But I do not have a huge interest in mixing for myself..

I love to come here and listen to peoples amazing mixing skills though!

 

[gabriel g.]

I know we take the process for granted here, since so many of us do it on a regular basis but.... seriously, mixing to a world class standard is freakin HAAAARD. Not only do you rely on stellar performances, recorded tones and possibly even some tight editing, but you also need to be 100% tuned in the whole way through the mix. A 0.5dB bump at 150Hz on the bass guitar can make or flush your overall record sound. An extra half dB comp on the snare can be the difference between punching you in the face and getting lost in the back.

Not only this, but the way the levels and tracks interact with each other is amazing. It's like a microcosmic society inhabited by frequencies that you're trying to micromanage. You need to be on top of everything from the punch of the drums, to the EQ curve, decay of the rooms, room samples, various verbs, delays etc. How the guitars fill out the mid-range of the record, where to cut them for the bass growl to come through, where to cut them for the vocals to sound clear and crisp, how much high mids to add to the vox in order for them to sound crisp and in your face. How much vocal comp is the difference between constantly being up-front, and constantly being drowned out and lifeless. Kick/bass interaction (arguably THE thing that sorts out the men from the boys) above all is one that bends me over and takes it home almost each and every mix I do.

Seriously, this job is only for the masochists among us... No wonder our little corner of the industry is so niche.

Btw, I'll have an alternative/industrial rock thing to show you guys soon

Everything soooooooo fucking true!!!!

Also I think it is also very difficult to find the right balance between over-edited and live-played!!!

The last projects I did (2 full length and one EP) were all screaming for tight-in-your-face productions with a live-feeling.
This is the reason I love a lot of Zeuss work, because he archived this.

The 0.5 dB thing on snare and vocals is killing me sometimes!!!
And the translation on other systems. It is so annoying to find out that your master sucks on your ipod but crushes your monitors....

It is a tough job!!!!!!!!

 

[Force666]

I agree, it's not easy. But, have you ever had a real/normal job? Cause mixing, editing and everything else to do with production is easier and more fun than any other job i've had.

 

[Metaltastic]

I agree with you, but I still wanna add:

Mixing is fucking fun



I think it's one of the most addictive things in life. Whenever I start a mix, I just can't stop because I just have so much fun.

Word

 

[crillemannen]

@Ermz. Yeah i would be happy to share whatever you and everyone else want to know, but i have tried to share my view of mixing in the past here and all i get is somewhat irritating responses from bedroom mixers.

The thing i've learned the most at Studio Fredman was that there is no magic going on there, just really talented people with good trained ears.

Fredrik use that technique for guitars witch has been well covered here at this forum but on the other hand its still hard to reproduce such a good tone that Fredrik can dial in in a few seconds

On the mixing side of things, it all comes down to trusting your ears and knowing what sound you are after, and that comes with practice. I have been doing this since i was 18 and know i am 24 so that is 6 years of experience, and i am really dedicated to what i do. I dont get any surprises any longer when i move my mixes to another stereo etc, and that is a very confident thing to have to really trust your monitors. And then you need to practice and practice as with everything else

Cheers

 

[slashvanyoung]

it all comes down to trusting your ears and knowing what sound you are after

And that's why Andy still rules above all doing his thing. His mixes aren't that diverse but he just knows exactly what he wants and how he's going to get there. That confidence, experience and ear is worth more than all equipment in the world.

 

[jval]

I like mixing... i feel like tracking to a professional standard is a lot harder and a lot more exhausting. Either way I would agree it's a masochist's job! I'm usually happier when mixing but still, I'll often finish a day, go home and not be able to sleep because I'm thinking about what I could still do better. This job definitely consumes you.

the worst is when you finish a mix and you're feeling good about it... then you a-b it against CLA and you start thinking it might be time to change your career path...

 

[Ermz]

Yeah I'm familiar with all those cliches. Many here have already heard this, crillemannen, but to shed some perspective of where I'm at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/285689/Music/Untruth - Drones.mp3

As my mixing has progressed I've found the amount of concentration and effort required to sustain the level required to fullfill my own goals has become... extremely draining to say the least. It's not so bad on projects I've produced and tracked myself, but I frequently get outside mix projects which invariably have elements that aren't ideal. It's very important that each new project is the very best I've done, or at least an improvement over prior works in some way. As they say, you're only as good as your last record.

Andy is no longer one of my references. That sort of thing I found was much easier than trying to attain the big budget, major label style productions the top guys in the states do. My drive to reach this has become... nearly obsessive in recent months.

I've never really pulled off the Fredman cab mic'ing thing myself. Never quite had the opportunity. Just to clarify (I know this is likely on the forum somewhere) does he set up the main mic directly on axis to the dustcap of the speaker, and how far back is it all usually? Touching the grille?

Other than that man I've always been curious to know what amps made it onto Clayman and Sweet Vengeance. Sweet Vengeance I always bet was a 5150 slaved through a Savage, and it would be cool to know if I was even in the ballpark.

 

[slashvanyoung]

That's a nice mix there Ermz, though I think the drums could be a bit higher in the mix. Guitars have a nice crunch on the chords! Was that the Booger?

 

[crillemannen]

Ok, ermz i think you are really talented and you can probably be a succesful producer but if you are ready to really take it to another level, and if you are willing to commit i suggest you do as i have done, build my own studio.

Its a big step and a big investment for sure but its so worth it because then you have a chance to experiment and most of all you have 2 dedicated rooms for mix, and recording, that helps more than you could ever imagine.

And i totally agree, you are for sure only as good as your last project and i think its even more important trying to improve when you are in my shoes, a unkown producer. Andy and other well known producers works with the best in those genres and the tone is as much in their hands as in the tone you dial in as you know.

I think there is a sticky on fredmanb style, but just trust your ears, its hard to fail with a good room, good amp and a sm57

I remember Fredrik told me that Clayman is as much Marshall valvestate as it is 5150. I got some raw cguitar clips from fredman and they require almost no eq to sit well in the mix, they have some sort of high end shine to them, and maybe that is from a really good signal chain?? from cab-->mic-->A/D???
I get my Crane song spider late january and then i can shed some light on how much converters and micpreamps do to the sound, cause then i have Digi 002 preamps (and converters) to Octopre Le, and then offcourse the spider with preamps + A/D converters

 

[Metaltastic]

Ok, ermz i think you are really talented and you can probably be a succesful producer but if you are ready to really take it to another level, and if you are willing to commit i suggest you do as i have done, build my own studio.

Hahahahaha, I know what you were trying say here dude, but I thought this was hysterical the way I read it ("if you really want to take it to another level and are willing to commit, build my studio" )

 

[Chryst Krispies]

That's a nice mix there Ermz, though I think the drums could be a bit higher in the mix. Guitars have a nice crunch on the chords! Was that the Booger?

I'll plus 1 everything here.


This is a cool mix though.

 

[Ermz]

Cool, crill (ok if I call you that from now on? typing the full name constantly makes me dyslexic). Thanks for the insight into the tones.

Building a studio here is not advisable. Both facilities I paired up with to do my freelancing out of closed within the last 6 months. There is no market, no business and ultimately no clients willing to spend decent budgets on recording here. I'm fairly happy with a project/home studio that's mostly specializing in mixing, DI tracking and reamping. There is no point spending hundreds of thousands of dollars building a studio just to record drums. Budgets are decreasing across the board and large studios will not be self-sustaining for much longer.

I honestly don't feel I need gear or rooms to 'take it to another level'. It's all in the operator, so it's my own skillset and ear that needs to improve to take it anywhere. Ok well that's a slight lie, I do have a few compressor clones coming, but mixing with outboard is a lot more fun...

@slash & chryst: The guitars were reamped by GH. 6505 boosted by the Maxon into the Oversize. Interesting comments about the drums. I always thought they were too loud if anything. How loud are the drums in current trends? haha. Is it perhaps that the kick has barely any low-end punch that you're referring to? That bothered me a bit, but I was happy with the bass guitar dominating that whole spectrum.

 

[John_C]

It is a nice mix, myself i like the drums at the volume they are already. I can hear clipping though, which is a pity.

 

[CatharsisStudios]

Man up Bitch.









jk haha mixing is fun, editing is not.

 

[slashvanyoung]

@slash & chryst: The guitars were reamped by GH. 6505 boosted by the Maxon into the Oversize. Interesting comments about the drums. I always thought they were too loud if anything. How loud are the drums in current trends? haha. Is it perhaps that the kick has barely any low-end punch that you're referring to? That bothered me a bit, but I was happy with the bass guitar dominating that whole spectrum.

It's mostly the kick that drowns a bit at parts, yes. The actual level of the snare seems to be okay upon second listen, I just think it could use some more high-end "snap". Down to personal preference I guess.

I'd probably would have raised the whole drum bus a bit, but the body of the snare could be overbearing then.

Anyway, great job on the bass!

 

[Ermz]

Forgot to mention the leads were done with a 6505 into impulses. GH did the rhythms.

@slash: Yeah I've taken a few pointers from that CD into the next. I now do custom kick and snare samples for almost every new mix I do. Still I think it does the job for an EP, considering the takes were generally sloppy and the only really edited thing was the drums.