steve (et al),
thanks for paying attention to this, sir(s).
the estimable simon taufique pointed me to this thread, so:
fwiw, in hindsight (as that interview was conducted more than 18months ago):
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
There was a funny part in it where he was relating some famous (unnamed) mastering engineer yelling at him over the phone while he was in front of his A&R guy. The reason? Because the ME was trying to piece together a CD with tracks sent in from 7 different producers (of which David was one).
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i think i exaggerated, a bit, in the heat of the moment;
i believe that there were only 2 other producers, and (maybe) 3 other mixers.
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
This of course after David relates how he had put this mix through peak limiting, eq on the 2 buss, and sent it through a 2 buss compressor not once but twice before sending it on to the ME.
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honestly, i often find myself using 2 compressors on the 2-buss, even in much more open, less saturated mixes --- as a coloration device, wherein one of the compressors isn't doing any real compression, at all.
but, yeah:
all of these 3 mixes were printed w/peak limiting, in order to control the height of the peaks to -.7dB;
2 of the mixes were indeed pretty danged "loud", ie not particularly dynamic, displaying high average levels:
i dunno why, but:
1) that's what sounded "good" to me, in this case --- which's definitely NOT true of all of my mixes, and
2) those were precisely what the artist, his management and the major-label A&R dude all loved and approved.
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
After relating earlier in the article how he has worked to overcome losing hearing in one of his ears, and how he really doesn't like his Genelec monitors in his box shaped rooms because he feels they are pretty inaccurate.
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yup.
i've still got them gennies --- i kinda learnt them, so --- but have added tetras (first 405's, then 505's) w/an edge amp/evidence cabling.
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
But - he stated he couldn't understatnd the ME's beef at all as none of the peak levels on his track went above -0.5dBFs (althouh he does state that the average level was pretty high) and said the wav forms "looked ok" - and that everyone he played the mixes to (including the A&R guy) thought they sounded great.
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si.
the ME and A&R dude were at the session, together, thousands of miles away from me;
i found it unacceptably callous & cowardly of this guy that he would so obviously belittle me in front of the label (w/o my own presence in the room).
otoh:
the ME's criticism was so strong that i really had to take it seriously, as i do not generally presume my technical knowledge to be even remotely comprehensive:
remember, that i've had recordings mastered by greg calbi, bob ludwig, ken lee, etc, wherein i certainly attended the sessions, in order to learn (and approve, of course).
so, i invited 2 well-known, experienced mixer/producer friends (independently) to come over to my place & criticise without reservation my mixes, both by *ear* and by *eye*:
i learned something from them both, but their minor criticisms were truly FAR out of alignment with the ME's.
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
He was wondering why the ME couldn't just match everything to his track instead of giving him a hassle in front of the label people. And he finished by saying that he would never use that particular ME in the future.
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si.
TotalSonic wrote on Wed, 28 September 2005 00:12 |
Good lesson to all of us: never yell or get upset at a client if you want to retain their business in the future! Diplomacy and tact are very important skills.
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some other suggestions might include:
1) presume (and show) a base level of mutual respect,
b) know the person with whom you speak, musically and/or reputationally,
9) use private phone conversations, iChat or email for intense communications, when an involved party is "remote",
E) consider *how* and *why* one's communication might be construed as condescending, and whether such is necessary and effective, or not, and
19) it might be useful to occasionally keep-in-mind who is responsible for creating the music.
just to cap it all off, fyi, as i haven't had the opportunity to read the tape-op piece, yet,
1) i wrote and/or co-wrote those tunes, and
2) the tune in question won a..... hmmm..... "Major American Music Award", for whatever that's worth.
best,
dt / spltrcl