Sharp Practise
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6/12/2009 5:13:05 PM
Time to take stock
So, all the mixes are done and it’s time for the final checks and adjustments. I’ve played the tracks on every type of system I can find, from the car stereo to the hi-fi via the computer and the studio monitors. I can now classify the material into three groups.
The first group is the good mixes. There are about three songs I can safely leave alone as they sound good under all listening conditions – the vocals are level, the drums aren’t dominated by one sound, the tracks are exciting.
Then there are about six songs where things are pretty good but could be improved. Little jobs like getting the relative level of the lead vocal right between verses and chorus, tidying up odd sounds, adding some more movement to the mix etc.
Finally there are the other three songs where the verdict has to be “close, but that’s not what I’m looking for”. These will need remixing, either to add the spark that’s got lost somewhere or else to achieve what the song is trying to say. Fortunately, with the mixes memorised, it’s simple enough to make the right adjustments, such as roughing up the too polite guitar on Question of Love or not overplaying and undersinging I Will Decide.
So, I’ll go away and adjust now while I’m still in hyper-critical mode and not prepared to accept anything less than the best I can make those mixes. I’ll report back later on how it goes.
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