Slight issue with a client

[Mooseman0389]

Hey guys. I'm still new to the game and I've encountered a situation I don't know how to handle. I tracked a bands drums and just finished editing them. No disrespect to the drummer but I had to do a lot of work to make the performances work. And some parts weren't even completely editable. Beat Detective wouldn't even grab most of his kicks so I sucked it up and copy-pasted a good hit for almost all of them.

The guitar player wants to mix it himself and asked me for a MIDI track for all the shells so he could trigger his own kicks100% and blend snares and toms 50%. I sent him the sessions with all the tasks completed as requested.

But now he has an issue with the kick audio (which he is going to replace) because of the replaced hits. And because I replaced with a solid hit the velocities came out 127 in the MIDI track. He doesn't think the kicks are dynamic enough................. And he said the MIDI was too compressed.... which.... isn't even a thing... since MIDI is information and not audio... kick drums aren't generally dynamic at all... If anyone I know was mixing it.... they would all be 127... and completely replaced....

He wants me to re-send him sessions with the OLD not edited kick audio....

I'm chain smoking and trying to figure out what to do. At what point can I put my foot down? I don't want to blow one of my first clients but I also don't want him to put something out that doesn't sound up to modern standards and attach my name to it.

Time for another cigarette. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dtabs85]

I posted something recently dealing with a similar situation. I had a bass player that wanted no processing on his bass at all. Wanted it to just be the DI track. Total BS and went against everything that is right with mixing haha. Ultimately, your job is to make the client happy, no matter how absurd the request. They are paying you to do the service and as long as they are happy, they will recommend you to others. I know it's hard to do something that you know will mess up the sound and goes against common good practice, but at the end of the day, the customer is always right.

In terms of not wanting your name attached to it, I would just say you don't need to go out of your way marketing this project and move on and focus your energy on the next one!

Hope this helps

 

[Mago]

edit the midi kick velocities to liking? what's the deal here?

If you had to fuck around with the kick that much, chances are no one wants the "natural" feel of that drummer anyway.

 

[Mooseman0389]

I posted something recently dealing with a similar situation. I had a bass player that wanted no processing on his bass at all. Wanted it to just be the DI track. Total BS and went against everything that is right with mixing haha. Ultimately, your job is to make the client happy, no matter how absurd the request. They are paying you to do the service and as long as they are happy, they will recommend you to others. I know it's hard to do something that you know will mess up the sound and goes against common good practice, but at the end of the day, the customer is always right.

In terms of not wanting your name attached to it, I would just say you don't need to go out of your way marketing this project and move on and focus your energy on the next one!

Hope this helps

Yea initially I was freaking out but I suppose if that's what they want... it's what they want.

 

[amoss5150]

Consider hourly pay... they would pay you to record them, on that day for the hours, preferably in cash, they don't pay you to edit or mix.. then dont do it, your hands are clean... work it out all upfront, CYA buddy. After that, it's out of your hands, move on to something better... lesson learned... tell the guitarist to learn to randomize and adjust velocities in midi... I bet he's probably using one shot samples anyway lol. Send him the original sessions, maybe it will show him how shitty the drummer actually is.. put it in perspective.. it is in NO WAY your fault their drummer is shit... if he's gonna try to tell you how to do your job, sounds like he got a few problems of his own... just move on... waste of time band. (this ain't a band worth having your name tied to anyway)

 

[amoss5150]

Our job as recording engineers is to be transparent, record what the mic hears... period, show him what the mic heard... it'll speak for itself, cant argue with stupid

 

[EOC]

Send him the edited drums, but as there are parts where you had to replace with another hit, leave those kicks alone, even if it is un editable. That is what he is asking. Then he will see that what he is asking is nonsense but well HE is mixing so he should know what to do in a situation like that and he should have the right tools to do it (of course he doesn't)
The best way to show someone that he is wrong is play along with them until they realize that what they wanted was wrong.
If there is anything I learned I could say to a band is "be careful what you wish for"