Mixing Insight

[ernstinen]

May 9, 2008, 4:09pm, lyle wrote: I love my '72. Man, I wish my buddy still had his '72 Rick bass. I told a story in another thread about how my "band house" got ripped off, and they stole the '72 Rick, my '65 Strat, our whole P.A., and --- gasp! --- a borrowed Gibson Stereo 355 with gold humbucking pickups! Turns out it was our landlord, who was an ex-con. The cops did nothing, and the landlord vanished.I saw my '65 Strat (which had a one-of-a-kind modification) on eBay a few years ago, going for $15,000. Sheesh! I had no proof it was mine, but I'm sure it was. At least I bought a '63 Strat right afterwards for $200. I think it's worth a little more than that, now. Ern

[devin]

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.LOL! Good one Mark I was going to offer you the choice of the red one, or the white one...Ah, nevermind. Sorry Glenn! Here's another tip just to make nice with the gang: All things being equal, the louder track often sounds better.Let's say you've got three acoustic guitar takes down, and you go back to do a forth. Due to mic position, or fatigue, or adjustment on the preamps, etc, the volume level ends up being a bit different.If I'm cycling through my options, and last track was better (timing, technique, feel, whatever), but it's a bit quieter, the last track might not rise to the top of my list.If a track is a bit too quiet compared to the others you are evaluating, do a quick gain process (or assign to another track and move the fader up a bit). Make the gain equal before judging, so you can focus on the other characteristics fairly.

[wodinlord]

May 9, 2008, 1:22pm, milfus wrote:well anyone can make music sound good on GOOD equiptment =0)No, not anybody. I have heard first hand proof. Wodinlord

[davekershaw]

May 9, 2008, 12:54pm, ernstinen wrote:I believe that's also the first song Paul used a Rick bass on, too.BTW, if you're a David Crosby fan, check out his first solo record called "If I Could Only Remember My Name." It's fantastic! Ern Thanks Ern.I'll check out that record.Funny how Paul McCartney went on to use his Rickenbacker bass throughout Wings, and is now back with his Hofner violin.

[frodo]

May 9, 2008, 2:38pm, mazz wrote:It's not the tools, it's the ears.MazzSo true!But if everyone knew that, lot's of people would be out of work! - until next timefrodo

[frodo]

May 9, 2008, 12:17pm, wodinlord wrote:May 9, 2008, 12:04pm, milfus wrote:well scientificly, 80db is the end all be all level to mix at, its where your lows and highs have the most level response sonicly, but your ears can adjust to anything, what I do, is I will mix at 80 db, but I take a break, just 10-15 or so every hour to let em rest, and let me shift focus off the mix, so I can come back with fresh ears, now if I am mastering, after an hour, I need a bit longer before I go back in, just cause I really strain my earsbut that doesnt mean I am saying ONLY mix at 80db, just that you should at least check your mix at 80db now and then, just because its pretty standard, at 60db your bass is slightly boosted, and at 100 your highs would be boosted If anybody is interested in how the ears frequency response changes with volume - Google Fletcher - Munson curve (Munsen? I forget)WodinlordWell, isn't the sweet spot for bass and treble around 83-85?Still, come to think of it, - how many people listen to radio at that level??? Anyways, - what I was planning to mention, it that when listening loud - even just for a very short time, - the balance in the ears are affected, so - even just 15 sec of 100 db can make everything sound dull and 'to-little-salty' at 60...- so - I would say, in a mixing or mastering session, - be very careful with the volume, even for short periods, - because it will affect how the ears perceive sound for many hours, maybe the rest of the day.Well, YMMV.- until next timefrodo

[ernstinen]

May 10, 2008, 1:18am, davekershaw wrote:Funny how Paul McCartney went on to use his Rickenbacker bass throughout Wings, and is now back with his Hofner violin.Yea, that Hofner bass has quite a unique sound. Not much sustain, which works well for recording certain styles of music. BTW, Paul was really influenced but intimidated by one of the best bass players EVER, James Jamerson, who did all the Motown stuff. Jamerson played a Fender Precision, I believe, and modified his bass by putting some sound deadening material inside of the wood to cut down on the sustain.What's so wild with Jamerson's playing is he played ALL the bass notes with his index finger. Not 2 fingers, not finger and thumb, not with a pick, ONE finger. Listen to the early Stevie Wonder song "I Was Made To Love Her." It'll drop your jaw on the floor! A bass-player friend of mine said that he had to read a transcription of that song and learn to play it in school, and he said it was almost impossible with TWO fingers.But I digress! Er --- mixing tips. Get a bass or bass samples without a lot of sustain, compress the hell out of it, and it will clean up your tracks ala McCartney and Jamerson!Ern

[ernstinen]

May 10, 2008, 1:14pm, billg wrote:Ern, both Jamerson and another one of my favorites, Chuck Rainey were both known for that wonderful "no sustain" thumping bass. A lot of it has to do with using flatwound bass strings & not recording when they are new. Jamerson's bass on The Four tops Bernadette still blows my mind. Woops, sorry . . . now back to mixing!Ha! I just got my James Jamerson fix --- listened to "Bernadette" and "I Was Made To Love Her" back-to-back. Wow! HOW did he play all those 16th notes with ONE finger? I've seen guys come close with two fingers --- close, but nothing like that.Plus, even with playing all those notes, he always accompanied the song, hitting all the roots at the right time and didn't step on the lead vocal. Pure genius.O.K. --- Mixing question (kinda ). What kind of amp did Jamerson play through, and how was it miked? I think McCartney around that time switched to a Fender Bassman. I know the early Bassmans (brown face) distorted really easily, and make great guitar amps. I assume the black face Bassmans were a lot cleaner. I had a black face Dual Showman w/2-15" JBLs, and it was EXTREMELY clean. I recorded a rhythm guitar track once with that thing on 10, and it barely broke a sweat. Man, was that amp LOUD! My neighbor lady actually phoned me while I was recording it to see what the hell was going on --- Ern

[ernstinen]

Aha! Straight into the board, eh? Very interesting stuff, Chuck!I know that McCartney began going "direct" after playing through his Vox amps for quite awhile. When Lennon heard about this, he got really excited, and asked George Martin if they could wire his brain to go directly into the board --- Seriously!George Martin said, "Well, John, that would mean inserting a jack plug into the side of your head." Lennon sure had a wild imagination, or was on drugs, or both! Ern

[davekershaw]

May 10, 2008, 8:07pm, ernstinen wrote:Lennon sure had a wild imagination, or was on drugs, or both! Ern Yeah, I think both Ern!