I would include:

a) recording: recording at 48k/16 bits, lots of microphones, no phase check, try to record without a click.

b) editing: editing with very low monitor levels and chopping reverbs, breaths > Kurt, that is a hell down here, have lost the numer of times I had to apply overal reverb at mastering/mixing.

c)Mixing: Normalizing, inserting the fucking 2-bus compressor with a threshold lower than hell and limiting till it sounds/looks like a pancake falling down the pan

d)mastering: adding doens of dbs at lows, sublows, making the program material sound like a big fart at small stereo systems.

:)

Jeeezz...i cant remember that far back...so i dont faux or pas....

I guess not remembering to have a count in on EVERY song..no matter how it starts...

You know we dont use cliks...they get in the way of the breathing.

Once(lolol)I did a perfect mix...manual, about 20 tracks and probably a 'reduced drums to stereo'....I was really flying on this mix,,,there was a lot of little moves and man it was sounding good...the 2 trk was moving and everything was PERFECT...except those rascally little red lights on the two track....uhhhhh....duh

Originally posted by Kurt Foster:
What, in your opinion is the biggest faux pas made by budding engineers when it comes to mixing?

MONITORING TOO LOUD! :d:

--Rick

Haha. Lets see. I'll list down all the mistakes I've made and spotted throughout the past year (since I started recording stuff and mixing it)
Heck, despite the size of this list, some of which are really embarrasing, in a few years I'll be looking back on the stuff I'm doing *NOW* and shaking my head the same way. Experience kills. ;P

1) Small-speaker-syndrome - Subsonics way too loud, too much 200-400Hz range, muddy-sounding.

2) Lots of reverb on the kick drum. :d:

3) Totally dry vocals, maybe 29347923423 dB louder than the music

4)Ahahha.. this is a good one. Trying to record guitars direct from guitar-->Danelectro Daddy-O-->sound card input, then running it through 3 different amp sims in series.

I reckon I continue to make all the biggest mistakes you can think of. (One of the first mistakes that came to mind for me was using a click track, tho I see not using a click is at the top of some folk's list and I still use one if it seems really necessary. Anyhow . . .) I think the biggest hurdle for me was (and is) learning to really limit what I'm trying to do with the mix. The more I mix, the more I focus on tracking, on having a real clear idea of where the project's going from the first track. I try to keep that clear idea at the front of my head, and I try to make sure we really, really get it while tracking. The mistake, then, is thinking that the "magic" is going to happen in the mix.

Here is one- trying to make everything huge and/or heavy and then finding out that it makes everything sound small. Also not checking the mix at different volumes, on different speakers, different rooms. Doc

Mixing for 87 hours straight through. Day & night.

Getting everyone "altered" including the engineer.

How about: recording on 24 bit and STILL limiting the life out of EVERY input to "maximize the use of bits". What a bunch of crap.

Why is it that most of my LP's have more dynamics on them than most of my CD's, yet the CDs have 2x the dynamic range?

Digital, even 16-bit is way better than tape, IMHO, if you LEARN TO USE THE MEDIUM. Anyway- how about another one:

Making sure all the mics "look" like they're set up correctly. How about using your ears?

#1 mistake I've seen new engineers make (and have made myself, back before I had the green slapped off me :p ) is to think the equipment can fix any and every sloppy tracking mistake.

Dan Roth
Otitis Media
Audio - Video - Film

Hey! I found an old track of mine where the drums are panned hard left along with the bass, the singer is dead center, and everything else is hard right. Do I win a prize?

making critical decisions at 4 am in the morning when everyone's fried

:) How about this one...after a 24 hour, 2 album marathon session. "Dude, we listened and partied for 2 days with the track dubs, like...will you buy some back so we can get some more beer?"

Duh, ahh OK. :d:

--Rick

Originally posted by MAProTulz:

Making sure all the mics "look" like they're set up correctly. How about using your ears?

Dan Roth
Otitis Media
Audio - Video - Film

Yea,

A few millimetres mic-tweaking is worth a rack of parametric EQs!

:D

Mark

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"Oscillators don't, amplifiers do....."
Anon.