Mixing Insight

[milfus]

well anyone can make music sound good on GOOD equiptment =0)

[liamkelly]

May 9, 2008, 1:14pm, lyle wrote:May 9, 2008, 1:06pm, devin wrote:Mark, I've got an extra one here you can have. I ordered mine from Music 123, but they are only sold in pairs. What's your address?Pairs, eh? Can't fool me--those are Stereo Buttons. Nice try, pal.ROTFLMAO Very good, Mark.

[mazz]

One of the things I miss about mixing on a big board was the ability to pull all the faders down to zero if the mix wasn't happening and basically start all over again. With the computer "in the box" it's easier, in my experience, to get stuck going down a rabbit hole chasing something that should be scrapped. It was a bit scary but exhilarating to just pull all the faders down and admit that "that approach wasn't working, let's give it another go"! (of course, now with the computer I do a lot more mixing as I compose)And yes, to respond to an earlier poster, walking in to another room and listening with a door partially open or closed or some of both (in my case it's going upstairs from my studio in to the living room). Just another perspective. Of course, it's good to try it with some great commercial mixes you know well first to get your ears used to what things should sound like.Cheers!Mazz

[hummingbird]

May 9, 2008, 1:22pm, milfus wrote:well anyone can make music sound good on GOOD equiptment =0)ahhh, well, not always

[milfus]

haha, no doubtI've been there myself

[mazz]

If someone gave me a woodshop full of amazing tools, my table would still be wobbly and ugly and it would take me a month to finish! It's not the tools, it's the ears.Mazz

[milfus]

i dunno, if you know how to make a table kind ofit makes a big diff wether you have a saw and tape measure, or a peice of string and a chiselthis is asuming we where all moderate carpenters

[jonathanm]

May 9, 2008, 11:53am, mewman wrote:I had also read in a book that mixing with sustained volumes of over 85 dB resulted in certain frequencies becoming stunned in your ears to the point where you are no longer capable of hearing the full spectrum of sound. On a lark, I took the meter to a gig and measured the sound level. It was over 100 dB! Suffice to say I now wear ear plugs!I'm amazed at how few musicians understand this. I've worn ear plugs at gigs for years now (until this year, I'll explain). It takes almost no effort at all to get above 85 dB, especially when playing a relatively small venue.What I've been doing this year (without ear plugs), akin to mixing at a low level (as already mentioned) is taking gigs in small venues and playing at a low level. It's amazing how people enjoy the music so much more when they can actually hear it (instead of a distorted version of it). The first band I heard do this was a 60's-70's cover band at a VERY expensive hotel. They had to keep it down, but their volume control was so good (with some electronic help), that they were everyone's favorite because the mix was really well balanced as a result of their control. So that's what I shoot for now: a well-balanced house mix that sounds like a recording instead of a typical live-band sound.Great thread. I'm learning tons. Please keep feeding the hints.Thanks.Jonathan

[ernstinen]

May 9, 2008, 1:09pm, lyle wrote:Close...but Paul got his Rick in August of '65 and used it almost exclusively during the Rubber Soul sessions. Seems like the winner for first use of the Rickenbacker was probably "Think For Yourself". (I adore geeky Beatles gear discussions!)http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum_view_ ... Page=2Mark, that's another great forum --- talk about Beatle geeks! And I thought "I" was one. It seems like Paul used his Rick in the late fall of '65 according to those guys. But about "Paperback Writer," Geoff Emerick said: "It was the first time the bass sound was heard in all its excitement. For a start, Paul played a different bass, a Rickenbacker. Then we boosted it further by using a loudspeaker as a microphone." That session was in April of '66, so he probably recorded with the Rick before that, I would suppose. I guess I'll have to ring up Paulie and ask HIM! Ern

[Mark Kaufman]

The cool thing about "Paperback Writer" is those nice round high notes he played on a Rick, and nothing else sounds so cool, same with "Rain"...I craved one ever since, and now I love my '72. This thread drift has been brought to you by Rickenbacker International Corporation. We now return you to "Mixing Insight" featuring your host, Glenn Galen.