Is it me or # 386?

[Joseph]

I just got a return from #386. It was a pretty intense review. I hope they didn't get upset by this post...

-Joseph

[larrymagee]

Hi joseph. the feedback from the other posters here is that #386 is fair and accurate so I doubt that anyone at Taxi is upset about this subject. I just had to check because he was the only one that ever had a problem with my mixes.

I'm going to learn how to do it right. I tried to submit a cue for a custom critique on mixing but the site wasn't working. I'll try again.

[Joseph]

Yeah, I was being a little tongue and cheek. I just thought it funny that as soon as I say anything about this screener, they give me one of the harshest critiques I've ever had.

-Joseph

[TimWalter]

This is an interesting thread. I have had a handful of returns from 386 (no forwards). The first set of returns were just after I got two forwards from another screener on a very simllar listing (dobro cues), so I was disappointed when I got returns from 386. One of the reasons given was noisy recording, in other words there was a lot of string etc noise. I posted it on the forums for comments and I remember the consensus was that returning it was the right thing for various reaons. I recently had a return from 386 where he/she said the mix would be better if the piano wasnt panned to the side. (I started panning piano to the side after taking Ronan Chris Murphy's class where he said he usually collapses piano to mono and pans it hard left or right, as long as there is something else that he can pan the opposite side, like acoustic guitar, etc). Since I got that return from 386, Ive started to not pan piano hard left or right. Ronan is NOT a screener, and I want my stuff forwarded, ergo.....

I am not saying the returns I got from 386 were forwardable by other screeners... 386 is definitely not the only screener returniner my stuff, by a long shot.... I just recognize that 386 seems really sensitive to mix issues, especially panning..and he/she doesnt like hard panned instruments, based on the OP and my experiences.


Oh well, just need to make it so great that the screener HAS to forward it in spite of some niggling things they might not completely agree with.

Tim

[larrymagee]

Hi Tim - I never pan hard anymore because #386 returned a bunch of cues just because of that and he seems to review a lot of the stuff that I pitch to. I did write a note to the headscreener about it. The headscreener has been on the TV side of the business for a long time agrees that hard panning is problematic for TV. I've had lots of hard-panned stuff go through but I'm no longer taking any chances, I'm keeping it tight now. But it gets confusing because almost all of the reference songs have some hard panning in them and several of the guests on Taxi TV have advocated it; and it does make it much easier to make a mix feel open if some of the instruments are panned half way and some all the way.

I've psyched myself into hearing any hard-panned instrument as playing on some other stage to keep myself from doing it.

this makes things interesting when using purchased live drum loops because the drums often sound wider than the band. I've had to convert some of these drum loops to mono to make them work.

Nice to see this thread moving into a discussion about mixing.

[TimWalter]

I've psyched myself into hearing any hard-panned instrument as playing on some other stage to keep myself from doing it.

t

Making me chuckle!! lol

Larry

Thanks for your post and for revealing your thought process on panning . Good... I'm not alone.. and I didn't realize that hard panning could be problematic for tv.
Thanks.
TIm

[AndrewScott]

How appropriate that Screener #386 is critiquing our submissions and now we're critiquing #386's critiques.

[jnmorrison]

I would have to agree with the screener on this one.

The accordion is the star now, sure - but the guitars and drums are so far back in the mix that not much else can be heard.

As far as the drums go - it sounds like they are mic'ed with just 1 or 2 mics in a bathroom or something. They don't sound bad...just lots of room, and not a lot of life in them.

Sometimes it's a hard nut to crack. with "mix" issues.
One recipe doesn't always cut it.

Keep up the great work. It's a nice piece. =)

[larrymagee]

thanks for the great feedback, jn. I went ahead and submitted a different piece for a custom critique just on mixing. I want to get this issue behind me.

[larrymagee]

i requested that screener 386 do the custom critique that I sent in and he gave me some very helpful feedback. I just heard about Fett's book on mixing on this week's Taxi TV and I've ordered it.