Help! I Have 24 Hours to Save a Horrible Mix, Part II

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, engineer and the owner of recording studios in both Nashville and New York City. Cliff is also a regular contributor to EQ Magazine and Pro Sound News. He can be reached at [email protected].

Part 2

Too Late! I’ve Only Got 24 Hours To Fix My Horrible Mix

OK, so you didn’t have a chance to read the first part of this article before you made the mistake of promising your mix to someone in the music industry and, as it stands, the mix just isn’t going to cut it. What do you do? Well, there are a variety of options and, as with almost everything in life, it’s only a matter of money. After explaining a bit about why a mix may be horrible, I’m going to give you three financial scenarios and how you can repair your mix in each of them. By the way, no matter what the scenario, be clear with the engineer up front that you’re under a considerable time crunch and give them an exact deadline. This way, there can be no misunderstanding about when you need your mix.

Why Does My Mix Sound Horrible?!?

For the sake of this article, we’re going to limit ourselves to the mix itself as the culprit. Often, especially early in one’s recording career, the bigger issues of a mix go back to the actual recorded performances. Unless the players/singers involved have a decent amount of studio experience, their performances tend towards the tentative or worse. But as I said, we’re going to assume the performances are solid and it really is a mix issue. Mixes can sound bad for a variety of reasons and this article is not really the venue for a technical explanation so I’ll keep the following descriptions brief. If you’re a beginning sound engineer here are a few things to think about. With the instruments, it generally comes down to a lack of each instrument having its own place in a mix whether for reasons of volume, panning, EQ or compression. With vocals, the issue is usually clarity (level, EQ & compression) and effects (reverb, delay, etc.). When a mix sounds dull and unexciting, it’s generally because things are over-compressed. If you’re not a sound engineer and you’ve gotten your mix back from someone who is (or claimed to be) and you’re not happy, the above descriptions are a good place to start when describing your problems to your new mix engineer.

Scenario #1 – Money Is No Object

For obvious reasons, this is the best position to be in with a bad mix and very little time to fix it. There are some real miracle workers out there who can take a crummy mix and bring the whole thing to life in relatively short order. Also, even though these folks are busy, it’s likely that not every one of the projects they’re working on is urgent. Your best bet would be to come in, explain the urgency of your situation and bring the mix (and mix files) with you so the engineer in question can give it a look/listen on the spot. Without necessarily saying you’ve got all the money in the world to throw at this mix, simply say that you understand this is last minute and you need their best work right away. Ask them what their fee would be (they ought to be able to give you a very close estimate) and accept. This is not the time to haggle as you’re asking for a lot from someone who is probably busy enough to say “thanks but no thanks” if you start to negotiate. By the way, whether you have the money right now or not, it’s in your best interest to familiarize yourself with the best engineers/studios in your area. You might not need them now but some day you might. It’s generally free to go visit a studio and talk to the owner or engineer and get a sense of their capabilities and rates.

Scenario #2 – You’ve Got A Few Hundred Bucks

You’ve got a couple of options here. First, you might want to ask a top engineer if they know of anyone who’d be willing to work for less. Often, top engineers have assistants who do good work and would love a chance to work on something at a more reasonable rate. A second-and perhaps better-option is to consider the world of independent producer/engineers who are in every town especially the music towns of Nashville, New York and LA. These guys might not have the reputations of the big engineers but will still do excellent work at reasonable rates.

Scenario #3 – You’re Out of Money

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you’re kind of screwed. You can pass up whatever opportunity was 24 hours away and hope that when your finances are a bit more flush you can go in and repair what’s wrong. Or you can turn the mix in as is. In this scenario, I’d almost always opt for passing on the opportunity. In the music industry, it’s very easy to poison the well by turning in something that isn’t ready for prime time. It’s better to make up an excuse and pass than to turn in something half-baked.

However, there are a few other options. First, the same top engineer that has assistants might also have interns. These guys might get the use of the studio from 2am to 8am and would be willing to work for nothing to gain experience and your loyalty. It’s certainly worth asking the top engineer if there are any interns who’d like to do the mix. The downside, of course, is that you’ll be working with an intern and there’s no guarantee you’ll get something better than what you’ve already got. Then again, you might. Second, if you’re really creative, talented, and lucky as all hell, there may be another way. Let’s assume you’ve got a terrific song and an almost “sure thing” to get it placed. You can always offer an engineer a significant piece of the pie if/when the song gets placed. Let’s assume the engineer loves the song and understands that there’s real potential. In a best-case scenario, the song does generate income and you end up giving half or more to the engineer. Be aware that this could end up being much more money for the engineer than the original mix would have cost you had you paid directly. You’ll have to chalk it up to experience and look at the placement as more of a resume builder than an income generator. I feel the need to say that this scenario is extremely rare. Most talented mix engineers are making a living by being paid for their work and not by taking chances on songs that are brought to them by unknown clients at the last minute. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I’m a firm believer that if you want to earn income from your music, you have to treat it like a well-run business.

Your Best Bet

No matter which of the above scenarios you find yourself in, you’ll have sacrificed the one thing that music has to offer over most other businesses…fun. By adding a tight deadline, you’ve just introduced stress into the equation that, in most cases, could have been avoided. As I mentioned in the first part of this article, when it comes to mixing, your best bet is to be methodical, patient and sure you’ve got a mix you’re proud of before you start finding uses for it. After all, this is music we’re talking about and enjoying the process of making it is one of the best things a career in music has to offer.

Comments

[Kevin]

In short, hire somebody or give up. Nice. Seems like logical advice but there's one big hitch. Trying to land some legitimate record deal you can hang your hat on is like trying out to be an NFL quarterback...it really only happens for people who are outright bad asses. And for them, getting "hooked up" is no problem. But, for the 99% of musicians out there who would trouble themselves to read such an article as this, it's my guess that they don't fall within this illustrious 1%. Thus, non-bad asses. Thus getting "passed on" because of material that wasn't completely tricked out is not even a logical scenario. Nobody who is outright blindingly talented would be passed on because their mix wasn't up to snuff. Here's the real advice for the 99%. Learn to mix yourself. There is an endless list of resources and online forums full of people who are willing to peer review/guide you along the way. Sure you'll suck at first, kind of like you did when you played your first bar chord...but over time...you'll rock it. Just be logical. That's all it is. Logic.

[Dan F]

Musicians these days are expected to be their own managers, PR department, web designers, marketing force, video producers (camera operators, actors and gaffers), why the hell can't they learn how to mix as well?!

And while I'm on a rant - since when has a '24 hour opportunity' ever (and I mean EVER) turned into something financially rewarding? It never happens. Jobs on spec never turn into a lead, rush submissions never turn into a job. Fact. Of. Life. Take your time. Learn your trade. Mastering requires outside help - but you should know how to mix your own songs before learning how to edit your PR shots in PhotoShop.

My best bit of free mix advice: Watch your levels. Keep all your channels bubbling around -12db in your DAW and everything becomes easy. Not loud enough? Buy bigger fucking monitors! There is no correlation between red lights and success.

One last blast of steam: This blog post just goes to show that the majority of A&R people (the gate keepers to the money) haven't got a fucking clue and need demos to 'sound like the hits on the radio' ... a talented A&R should be able to spot a great song played on an untuned banjo recorded mono to C90. But most can't.

[Jeremy Sterritt]

I read this looking for a how-to and was dismayed to find something written for a non-existent audience. This is shameless shilling for advertisers and Tunecore's mix engineering *promotions.* Tunecore's excellent user experience and convenience at the right price is why customers find value in paying for something they can do themselves. By preying on those customers' scant resources, TC undermines their credibility with artists. TC should wise up and not shoot themselves in the foot chasing ancillary revenue streams that jeopardize their primary one -- and risk ending up with nothing.

[B Bynum]

Option 4: Simplify your demo to make it easier to get clarity. Take about half of the decorarations off of it, and tell the A& R this is a rough and to use their imagination (it might be remotely possible that they have one) Or if you are showing it to a producer note that they like to hear less rather than more- avoid over-dressed mixes, too many little doodles here and there. That is not what they are really listening for. Be sure you bare the raw soul of the song, capture the flavor of it without smearing stuff all over it. A cake with too much icing makes you wanna hurl.

[Patrick]

I'm all for DIY, but if you're a talented musician, you really should focus, and be carefull not to let your DIY ambitions interfere with the amount of time you spend making tunes, and hence the quality of the music.
Learning how to mix from scratch takes years, and it is definetely something that, if you can, you should leave to a dedicated, talented and well chosen mixing engineer.
saying that, if the mixer doesn't deliver a satisfying service and manages to send your good tune through the toilet, i don't think you should pay him at all.

[Juan Tingmore]

total trash story. space filler, shameless self promotion. slightly offended that I even read it. Tunecore, please give your customers more. seriously. at least tell us to fix a drum mix with some tambourine, that was actually specific and helpful.

[Mato]

I've always said a good song can stand on its own. Any A&R guy worth his salt can spot it from a mile away.Let them pay for the mixing.

[Dko]

I'm amazed at the abilities some people seem to expect A&R guys to have. Most of what they sign is rubbish and loses the label a lot of money. Don't expect them to be able to hear a gem of a song in a shit recording. The majority just aren't good enough at their jobs to do that.

[Oli]

So we take an unlikely scenario, "you will be rich and famous in 24 hours if you can fix a bad mix" and suggest the most general of unhelpful suggestions, "if you're rich, pay a top flight engineer from Nashville"

Well, that is helpful, glad I read.

2/10

[jr.]

Nice work, assmonkey. Looks like you pissed off every reader on the forum. Better luck next time.

[Mikelmarion]

Nice article, But I already knew this. I think some people, Almost every post is missing the point. DIY is not do it all yourself. A a successful band, or brand, or artist, If you did not go to school for enginering dont try to mix your potential hits yourself! Save the money and have it professonally done by someone that can do it beyond great!! After all, as a independant, your songs are the only things you can stand on so they better be great. Dont skimp out on quality professional mixing to just have more songs recorded.

If you can only afford to mix one song properly, Just record that one song. With todays low production cost, there ARE no more excuses for half assed demos. If your band is not pulling in enough money for professional mixing, all members should get a day job and in 2 weeks to a month, they should be able to pay for at least 1 quality mixing job!!!

[MikeAlike]

I slouched in a major label mix session- my friend and studio owner to one of the foremost recording complexes in Chicago was embarassed he brought me. I think he saw me cringe when the producer- shouted, that the major label heads we're going to love him for his mastering of a completely formulaic edit of a song that was almost sexier than Nick Lachey's # 1 hit that included back-ups from Kev(K-Fed)Fenderlings. Wow...at any rate I haven't masturbated since then.
None the less- alot of people in the music business are simple and corporate-just because I want them all to commit suicide doesn't mean they will. And whats with the advice for all new artists to learn how to do "covers" right? What The Fuck? How pathetic that Billboards advice is for struggling artists to not write, record, and make their own work. The industry is full of completely washed out-bland-unoriginal types- just yearning for a photo- op and somebody elses material. Then there's the development advice from a Starbucks media mogul in a sell out shirt that survived not being on reality T.V show...

[Patrick]

I'm all for DIY, but there's a distinct downside. i think it's worth mentioning that, while there is a possibility to do everything by yourself these days, the level of quality a dedicated pro can bring to your mixes/movies etc. is still something to consider. Saying that you can just as well shoot your own video is a bit of an insult to people who are dedicated filmdirectors, and the same goes for mixing imho. An experienced and talented mixer might bring depth and clarity to your music that you won't necesarily be able to achieve, (even though your mixes might sound very acceptable to you).
And more importantly, if your a talented musician, do you want to spend your time and energy learning how to mix, Shoot a video, or write music? Cuz it's different things, and the more time you invest in YOUR craft, the better it gets.

(i have no economic interest in any of this btw : )

[Dan F]

> the level of quality a dedicated pro can bring to your
> mixes/movies etc. is still something to consider.

As a paid mix engineer, I totally agree with you. I take my income from major labels and established projects who know what they want and the resources to get there.

The new kids trying to get a break really can't afford me and my overheads can't stretch to many freebies. If they have questions about how to improve their mixes I will tell them exactly what they need to improve with no strings attached, but only if they ask... there are a lot of lazy people trying to be artists.

[j greene]

what if Im a musician who writes and composes with a daw and I am also
a trained and experienced pro engineer? the way i make music and limited equipment, I have always used methods which I must render several times beginning with the conceptual stages to the end product! I struggled for years but such techniques have trained my ears and relentless pursuit has brought me unto an extremely effective production style! I always like to atleast put the mix in the hands of another to tweak it as much as possible. I think their is something to be said for artists who are fully engaged in boths sides of it as are many especially now days. Personally I have always pursued music as an individual because working with 1 ego is hard enough, and the thought of trying to effectively carry out ideas with three other idiots only involved to get a buzz and the occasional one night stand influenced me to work with machines... at least they show up right? but just want to encourage others out ther who might be struggling creatively because they are determined to apply cutting edge production methods. Stay at it! it is frustrating for a long time battling the machines but hang in their and the reward is ultimate creative freedom! i have yet to hear 1 legitimate reason why the musician doesnt have the exact potential to be as effective if not more than the "pro engineer" n

[Cliff Goldmacher]

Wow! Looks like I hit a nerve with this article. I'm guessing that part of it comes from the fact that readers didn't get a chance to read Part 1 where I suggest taking your time and absolutely (if you're serious about it) learning to mix for yourself. As to the accusations that I'm "shilling" for engineering services, I can only tell you that my intention was to give the readers options on how to fix a mix quickly at a variety of budget points NOT to send them in the direction of any particular studio. In ALL businesses that are successful, there is an understanding of what they do well and what they should hire others to do for them. As I've never heard any of the forum contributor's music/mixes, this isn't a personal critique or value judgment. It's simply a suggestion that if you take your music seriously, you should make the effort to become an expert in the areas that are important to you or go to experts in the areas that are not. I hope that makes things more clear and best of luck! - Cliff

[adam d]

Truth be told, everybody is selling you something. It might NOT be Cliff, however, any engineer that has time to give your mix a perfunctory listen has an economic interest in steering you into his services. If that means telling you that a mix is "GOOD" even in an understated way, he will do that. However he doesn't know any better than you how an A&R guy will react to his mix over yours.

You don't know that the A&R guy can tell the difference!

The truth about engineering is that many people do it well, "expert" or DIY. What you have to remember is that some paid professionals don't have a clue how to do their job well in any industry . . . companies do have to hire somebody to fill a quota of production.

The suggestion that the best engineers are hired by professional studios or that some studio near your place of residence (any-town, hometown or stick-town U.S.A) has a core competency significantly above typical computer savvy end-users with a lifetime of listening to music and the DIY timetable to get the mix right is laughable. If you can't use a computer, don't know what panning is or can't tell the difference between -6dB and -15dB, you need an "EXPERT." If you can't track without clips, you need an "EXPERT."

However, you can arrive at a mix just as good as the Tech Institute graduate or the intern at your local music studio given a few years of experience and the vision to know what the music is going to sound like. In fact, you can get reasonably "GOOD" mixes your first try.

Mixing with specific ideas in mind is the best way that I work. The only downfall is if YOU use the same template of an idea for every project. The only conceivable downfall to a great DIY mix is the immediate impact that you CANNOT make on friends or audiences by citing that your resident engineering demigod oversaw the production on your latest album, although that doesn't necessarily make your album less spot on. DIY can make its own impact on your friends or audiences. Ride the wave!!!

If you have specific ideas for what you want each album or, MAYBE better still, each song to sound like, then I recommend taking the time to LEARN DIY.

[Moe]

Well...I read the article days ago and just now I read all the comments. I really think there is only ONE problem with the whole issue: FOCUS!

The thing is...if you even rehearse with a band, you must have at least a small sense of mixing. Otherwise everything will sound messy, right? Ok, that's a start. Now, there's another much more important point: who knows better than YOU how YOUR music should sound like??? Nobody. I write the music I would like to hear - after all, I call it MINE. If someone wants some of my music to be this way or that way, they can hire me to write a song and I will work my ass off until I please them.

I heard more than once Steve Vai saying "You can't say 'my noise is better than your noise'". I believe it entirely. If I don't like something, it's my opinion and not a reason to classify that as bad music (bad mix, bad hair or whatever). I was just listening to Sgt. Pepper's and the mix has lead vocals on one side and this kind of crazy stuff. I guess if YOU do this at home, people will say you're not an "expert" mixer and blew it. But everyone (or almost) love The Beatles. Don't WE?

About experts, I think an expert is someone who is truly devoted to something for a very long time and have experience. It doesn't mean someone who "makes the laws and sets the trends" for anything. Have you never heard a story about someone who had nothing to do with a situation and came up with a better solution than everybody else? A bit of distance can do that. It's not personal for someone who is not involved.

Now, here's a controversy: should your music deals be personal to you or not??? Of course you hear your music (or any) in a way that no one else does. So it is with your mix. In my opinion, you should ask yourself if you should be open to an outside opinion for a mix or anything and if you know exactly the results you want and how to get there. Believe yourself. Why? Because there is no other way, really!

If you can't pay, DIY. If you can pay, do you want to? Yes? Go for it. But don't lose a night of sleep over it. Trust your decisions. Know your strenghts and weaknesses (Sun Tzu, anyone?). If you can't get what you need, pay someone who can. There is a way to get there and it is pretty different for everyone.

About being personal or not...I make music because I love it. I don't know anything more personal than LOVE! If I were talking about a jingle, it's not MY song, it's THEIR song. But it's about my music.

And if you want respect for your opinions, do the same to others. After all, a song is only an opinion about how notes and other noises should be put together.

Moe

[Jonathan]

I know more than a few engineers that are young and independent. Now, I'm not saying they are making assloads of money, but then again, they have only been in the game for a little over 2 years. They produce mixes that are easily as good as the music you hear circulating in the mainstream (better, if you ask me) and more importantly, they do it with half the amount of equipment a pro studio might have. They save up, and every couple months they end up buying a new piece of excellent hi end gear. They study mixing books and publications. Also, and I think MOST importantly, they have interned and befriended great, creative engineers, who have passed on their knowledge. In fact, I've never met an engineer who went to school for it. It seems to me that most engineers got into it from making their own recordings when younger, and then became obsessed with getting good sounds. Thats all you need.

As for this article, all I have to say is, NO SHIT. Why on earth would you need to remind us that if money is no object you can spend a fortune and buy a slick sounding production. And then, the moment that matters most, what do you do when you have a limited budget - he just says we're screwed! We wanted mixing tips, not elitist attitude.

[Bare Beats]

The last paragraph really said it all . Don't ever get into a situation when you need to rush music as you loose a big part of why we make music . You need to have patience when making an album ...