boiling the mix

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2002 7:09 pm

a good engineer knows when to stop, I call it boiling the mix. what are the warning signs before this happens?

how many of us the next day after a long session have turned on what you thought would be a killer mix, and then with shock, said... "shit... i boiled it". F****!!! Mad

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2002 8:24 pm

The warning signs are things like: it was killing me an hour ago, what happened? And: Let's see, I've changed the eq on the____ back and forth 4 times in the last hour but it seemed fine earlier. Stuff like that.

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2002 12:44 am

Sometimes this can happen early on in a mix.

Such as... any time you start considering patching a 4th box across any single channel, you should ask yourself "am I overdoing it here?" Most often the answer will be "Naaah!". But try disengaging the insert path anyway, just to be sure you haven't been sucking the life out of that track for the last half hour.

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2002 9:16 pm

When you only like it loud.

<img border="0" alt="[retard]" title="" src="graemlins/retard.gif" />

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2002 1:30 am

At least 3 Ear breaks a day, and A/B'ing to similar sounding CD's usually keeps me from going down this path. Producers always seem to fall into this trap. A lot could walk into a 'perfect' mix & still want to tweak it to feel useful.

A warning sign for me would be when a producer (a&r, band member, you, etc) starts solo'ing tracks that have no processing on them (cause they sounds good) and will want to do 'something' to it.

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 4:32 pm

A & R people....

I am thinking of proposing that all new studios be built to an international standard wherby for all new studios there is a booth for the A & R person to sit in that is out of the room so that they cant annoy, hassle, bitch, moan and most important suggest things to the engineer or producer. They have thier own talkback section like an artist would..heheheh and can do thier drugs in private instead of infront of the production crew and artists..

PEACE
Wiggy

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2002 5:15 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by wiggy neve freak:
A & R people....

I am thinking of proposing that all new studios be built to an international standard wherby for all new studios there is a booth for the A & R person to sit in that is out of the room so that they cant annoy, hassle, bitch, moan and most important suggest things to the engineer or producer. They have thier own talkback section like an artist would..heheheh and can do thier drugs in private instead of infront of the production crew and artists..

And they all get dummy knobs and faders that they can use to "tweak" the mix...
Wink

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2002 9:04 pm

Funk Logic to the rescue!

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2002 5:37 pm

Quote:

heheheh and can do thier drugs in private instead of infront of the production crew and artists..

I thought that was why they had toilet breaks every 10 mins. Perhaps I'm wrong and they just have weak bladders Wink

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2002 9:48 pm

When I was assisting I used to go into the bathroom and find lines and blades next to the sink. Not my deal but if it works for you.

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2002 12:47 am

I find lines EVERY time I go into the bathroom except there under my eyes and on my forehead.

"lines inside means lines outside"-Joanna Lumley,Absolutely Fabulous

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2002 5:48 pm

The use of most chemicals while mixing can produce undesirable results , and this includes caffine , alchohol and sugar.

The only reliable stimulant I have found to date to combat tiredness without unwanted effects on the ears is ginseng. It actually helps you find label managers vaguely amusing.

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2002 11:03 am

When I find myself wishing for better musicians!!

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2002 11:14 am

After you've reEQed the kick drum and bass guitar 50 times trying to get the low end right. And if you're mixing in a computer, once theres a compressor on every channel and when you start EQing the mix buss.
When I'm happy with my first mix, I save as and keep working. Then later when i feel like I've done too much ill take a listen to that mix, and most of the time I end up liking the first mix more, and just make a few small changes to that one.

This topic sponsored by: