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Author Topic: 13 songs....4 days  (Read 7243 times)

j.hall

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13 songs....4 days
« on: January 29, 2007, 10:02:38 PM »

i just mixed 13 songs in 4 days (mon - thursday of last week actually) and i'm doing recalls tomorrow on the whole thing.

so....aside from cranking this thing out at lightning speed, i had a few thoughts to toss out.

1.  there was no time, nor budget to use samples for the drums (even though i really wanted to) and on top of that, the artist said no dice to samples.  

this forces you to "make it work".  typically, i'm not that happy with this, but i'm a pretty laid back guy and i don't express that to the artist.  in this case, i think it was a great excercise in getting creative with the drums to pull it off.  they were recorded very dark and the drums themselves had a few unappealing issues.

2.  mixing at this speed forces you to make fast decisions and go with your gut constantly.  i found it really refreshing to NOT have options.  the first thing i thought of per tune, was exactly what i did.

i'd prefer not to work at this speed all the time, but i did find it quite enjoyable.

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John Suitcase

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2007, 01:19:54 AM »

So, on a project like that, do you get a basic setup, then tweak for each song? Or do you start from scratch for each tune? I can see advantages to both, of course...

I think there's something to be said for working with what's there. It's easy in this age of samples and reamping to try to get things sounding 'perfect' when what really is important is character.

I'm trying to think of mixing the way a 7 year old would do it. Get rid of all the preconceived ideas about what sounds 'good' and stick to what sounds cool.

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resolectric

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2007, 06:59:13 AM »

I believe independent production budgets in the U.S. are quite different from the budgets we get this side of the Atlantic.

Most of the time a band here has enough to pay for 12 hour studio time and, in that time, they have to record 10 to 12 songs, mix and master all of them. Finished product in a couple of days. That's about a US$400 budget.
The albums are released and, quite often, they're getting airplay and some credit from their public and music critics.

How much do independent labels invest on studio time in the US?
And, what really is an "independent production/label" over there?

The one that is now considered the most important independent label in Portugal (www.bor-land.com) is run by two students, from the apartment of one of them and has a budget of, i guess, some US$10.000 per year to invest in production (recording) and CD manufacturing.
None of the albums they release is profitable in sales and i believe most of the income results from concerts they promote through the released CDs.
CD distribution is independent, of course, and is mostly based on bona-fide display in a few record stores or internet sales.

So, when they bring a band to my studio it usuallly means: get it done in a couple of days for 500 bucks.

Do you get anything similar?

What i mean by this is: working fast, capturing the performance, the whole band playing at once and recording simultaneously, overdubbed vocals... al in one day. Mix and master the following day.
Everyday.
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rankus

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2007, 01:50:43 PM »

 Shocked

Wow!

I generaly do an independant album in about 100-150 hours at a rate of $30.00 per hour.... This does not include mastering which I strongly encourage bands to have done by a pro....

This is as low as I will go...
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Rick Welin - Clark Drive Studios http://www.myspace.com/clarkdrivestudios

Ive done stuff I'm not proud of.. and the stuff I am proud of is disgusting ~ Moe Sizlack

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pg666

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2007, 02:15:21 PM »

13 songs in 4 days isn't bad at all if it's a monotonous type of sound with the same setup throughout (think: punk rock album). you spend 8 hours on the first song and then make only necessary tweaks from there-on-out. i don't necessarily see it as a negative thing; some of the best albums ever are made this way.

but yeah, if the songs are diverse and there are lots of overdubs, it would be quite the challenge.
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j.hall

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2007, 09:47:52 PM »

well, for one, i quite enjoyed this session for reasons stated above.

secondly, i had clusters of songs with the same vibe and feel.  so general things like Drum treatments could be copied to every song, but i had to basically mix each tune from scratch.

i mixed 4 the first day and 3 each of the other days.

i recalled 13 tunes today and i'm beat.

i think the record turned out cool.

once it's mastered and done, i'll toss an mp3 up for all to hear.
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compasspnt

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2007, 12:29:50 AM »

Good.

Then we won't have to BUY it!
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resolectric

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2007, 06:07:02 AM »

pg666 wrote on Tue, 30 January 2007 19:15

...spend 8 hours on the first song ...

That's what i manage to do on major productions around here.
Most of the time it's 8 hours, all songs tracked.

rankus: yes, i know it's hard but indie production with money to spend is a seldomly seen luxury.

You can imagine how glad i am when indie clients come here and ask for a full week studio time. I think to myself: wow! I'll be able to equalize the vocals and put more than a single SM57 on the guitar amps. Razz
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j.hall

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2007, 10:33:46 AM »

compasspnt wrote on Tue, 30 January 2007 23:29

Good.

Then we won't have to BUY it!



when you hear the one tune, you'll rush to iTunes and buy the whole record.

then again, i'll most likely direct you to the band's myspace account where you can hear my mix brutalized by their codec.
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Electric Warrior

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2007, 01:59:38 PM »

where is this "itunes" place? Can I buy CDs there? Wink
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Iain Graham

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2007, 06:10:58 PM »

I'm usually expected to mix a 12 song album in 3 days.

It makes it tough to catch different vibes from different songs properly without copying settings from song to song.

Luckily I mix ITB apart from some 2 bus compression and EQ, so the inevitable recall isn't a problem.

The artist always seems to grudge having to come back in.

Does no-one understand mixing and why it takes time nowadays?

Just because the recording process has been sped up, doesn't mean mixing is that much faster. Does it?
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Iain Graham

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compasspnt

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2007, 06:57:07 PM »

Iain Graham wrote on Wed, 31 January 2007 18:10


Just because the recording process has been sped up, doesn't mean mixing is that much faster. Does it?


It should not be.  In fact, recording that quickly might even necessitate more detailed mixing.
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xonlocust

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2007, 01:38:22 PM »

pussy.

i just finished mixing 12 songs in 1.25 days.  well, 1.5 with the 2 recalls i did - and it's the best sounding record i've done yet.

Smile

Iain Graham

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2007, 05:59:12 PM »

Even on records where there is a bit of time to spend on  the recording, people seem to think mixing will be an easy, quick process.

I've yet to figure out why that is.
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Iain Graham

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Iain Graham

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Re: 13 songs....4 days
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2007, 06:06:12 PM »

To add to that, there's then a steady stream of short tweaking sessions, that cause everyone involved stress and problems that would be easily solved if there was enough time to actually live with the mixes a little as they were being done instead of getting them close and printing them at that. Then making smalle changes 2 or 3 or 4 times each.

And it takes the same amount of time to do it either way in the end up.  Rolling Eyes
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Iain Graham

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