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[Lee Tyler]

TotalSonic wrote on Thu, 22 July 2004 09:59

I agree with Brad here.  I do some tracking also and I've always found much better mixes can be achieved by eq'ing individual instruments/tracks to achieve a nice tonal balance instead of just running something across the 2-buss as you get a lot more definition and space for each of the elements. Make it the best sounding mix you can do without resorting to lots of 2-buss processing and you're set. Best regards, Steve Berson

I just felt compelled to chime in and strongly agree with Steve AND Brad. I feel sorry for ME'S nowadays. As far as my inexperienced travels haven taken me audio-wise, they must be receiving hugs piles of challenging sonic troubles in the past decade or so that were not the norm in the analog days when the final mix product was usually of higher caliber and mixed by schooled and experienced engineers. Eq'ing, panning, LISTENING/THINKING <~~does this still happen?   .... and damn good recording techniques and mic placement prowess...and knowing what the frick to DO with the printed results to give to the ME. Am I on the same page here? An analogy is like a studio baking a cake and using some incorrect ingredients in incorrect amounts, and then asking an ME to bake it up to be a state fair blue ribbon winner of "Loaf Of The Year".  ---Lee

[Bob Olhsson]

Lets put it this way, I don't think a mastering engineer should be the one who decides if a mix should be bright sounding or dark sounding. Those are stylistic issues that ought to be the producer and artist's call.

[OTR-jkl]

Bob Olhsson wrote on Mon, 26 July 2004 23:55

Lets put it this way, I don't think a mastering engineer should be the one who decides if a mix should be bright sounding or dark sounding. Those are stylistic issues that ought to be the producer and artist's call.

Bob, I agree with you - to a point...

Let's say you get a mix in from a less experienced AE and you put it up and right away you can tell that it won't translate well. Then what...? Do you just say, 'Well, I guess they meant for it to sound that way.' or do you adjust it a little so that it stays in their ballpark but yet becomes "legible" in the outside world?

I think the experience of the mixing engineer plays a huge role in whether or not the ME makes a call on the EQ balance. A mix can be pretty dark or bright but only to a certain extent before it exceeds the "acceptable boundaries" of translation.

Did I make any sense? Maybe we're saying the same thing in different ways...

[bblackwood]

Agreed, Jeff, but I think Bob O was speaking entirely of the subjective aspect of mastering - deciding to make something brighter just because you think it sounds better brighter, for example.

Personally, I operate in the mode that they are hiring me for my technical abilities as well as my subjective ones, so if I think it's better brighter, or darker, or whatever, I do it unless instructed otherwise. Part of what we do is subjective and more often than not (IMO) is the reason you are hired - people like your subjective decisions.