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Yes, mixing can be torturous and time consuming but the rewards are great. I recently was having a spirited debate about this with a recording engineer who claimed that the little details and nuances that clients yearn for in their mixes have no baring on the big picture of the song or whether the song succeeds or not. He said the average listener doesn't really care about or notice the things that the songwriter thinks are important in the mix. I totally disagree with this philosophy. I think everything counts in a song. Every little detail matters. Listeners notice everything even if they are only aware of those things subliminally. Sometimes they don't know why they like a song but that doesn't mean that they aren't influenced by the relationship of the instruments to one another, the amount of reverb on the vocal, the sound of the snare drum etc etc. In my opinion the smallest of details can make or break a song. It's like the difference between using a hatchet and a scalpel.

[of course a mix can't turn a bad song into a great song but it can do the opposite]

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Stoneman

2/8/2012 2:28:49 PM

Mixing is my Achilles heel. My ears get fatigued real fast now that I am officially old. Also, I can no longer hear certain frequencies which is a big challenge. I am constantly asking people to review the mix for me. Oddly, my wife (who has absolutely no musical experience) is my best extra set of ears. She will immediately say "That sounds too tingy or could you turn that Bass down a bit. Then there is the infamous "I can barely hear your vocals". Ahh yes, I have been blessed with a good hearing woman! The fun part is creating and recording. After that it all gets really really tough for me. Mixing and re-mixing ugh! Not fun at all but necessary!

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Tom O'Brien

2/8/2012 5:42:58 PM

Not a strong skill for me either, I'm afraid. I hear things more theoretically than aurally - that is, I know how it's supposed to sound, and so it sounds great in my head, though it may not work in your ears.

Bob Elliott is a total mix master as far as I'm concerned, and has done amazing things with the mix of our upcoming "Dreamtown" CD. He takes months to do what I would do (poorly) in hours. Mixing is a whole art unto itself.

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Deborah Ellis

2/8/2012 7:03:40 PM

Yeah I've just spent the last three days intensively involved in a mix. You can really lose yourself. Especially when protools decides it wants to keep crashing on you! It's just a feel thing - you've either got the sound you want or you don't. You just persist until you've got that sound. Walk away for a while if you get frustrated and come back to it with fresh ears.

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John Pippus

2/9/2012 9:45:38 PM

Hah. Very timely. I spent all afternoon sitting in on the mix of a new tune. Ear fatigue is definitely an issue. Sometimes I think, oh just make it sound so you can hear everything ok, and make sure the vocals are on top. And then on the next pass, I hear the slightest little variation in the tone of the electric guitar, or the bass - not the tambourine, 'cause my old ears just don't hear that frequency - or whatever.

And then the whole shebang goes off to get mastered and that's another whole can of worms.

I love/hate the whole process!

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Steve April

2/9/2012 10:19:35 PM ---- Updated 2/11/2012 12:22:47 PM

Well, I relate to all the comments above.

Very good discussion.

So, in the spirit of that, I've also uploaded a new song, a work in progress.

Like the Statue of Liberty, may be 50 years before this song's completed.

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MPg

2/12/2012 7:14:12 AM ---- Updated 2/12/2012 7:18:37 AM

Joining in with a group again makes things interesting with different personalities. Especially with sound! I've spent hours and a few bucks to get the "sound" that everyone wanted (new amp, processor, etc.). Now comes the mixing and all the little "details" to the material. All four of us are very good musicians and we all have different opinions, but the good part is we have one goal for a specific sound. YES it all matters, and it has to be right for everyone. Otherwise you're wasting yours and everybody's time.

D.

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