During mix, I was faced with a new instrument…well
instrument selection that I am not altogether familiar with; miscellaneous
percussion. Well, hold on. Let me rephrase. I’ve mixed plenty of records with
miscellaneous percussion in them, but
not when the miscellaneous percussion is the only percussion element. Robin is a very gifted writer and performer,
and her instrument selection is unorthodox – to an engineer like me. I learned a long time ago that there will always be people out there that know more about recording and engineering than I. So when Kartikeya showed up with a car full
of percussion I knew that the recording session – and consequently the mix
sessions were going to be…interesting.
So, we’re in the midst of mix and I have to reconcile a
common conundrum I face. Do I compress
the crap outa the percussion elements so they are completely audible and up
front, or do I eschew the compression to let the instrumentation sound as
natural as possible and deal with the other instruments (which are compressed
already) as separate entities.
Compression can and will destroy the natural and beautiful attack timbe,
and it can turn it into a “pop” which cuts through but isn’t ultimately what you initially recorded.
See, I have learned a lot over the last 20 years and hundred
odd albums that I’ve worked on. Cohesive
mixing really is paramount in letting the songwriter’s artistry come
through. In the case of Robin’s record,
its even more important, since each instrument really is complimenting others
in terms of sound field and where it exists in the frequency spectrum. That’s a part of what cohesive mixing is all
about, but not the only thing.
Take for instance, a djembe and an acoustic guitar. These are two instruments that can co-exist
in a mix quite well, with minimal processing.
Now add Shakers. Still Good? Yep.
The shaker is primarily occupying a frequency space outside the Djembe
and co-exists with the acoustic guitar – to a point. Still sounds good. Add more percussion now, like say –
instruments you’ve never seen before.
These instruments produce sounds whose “Sweet Spot” occupies a variety
of different points on the frequency spectrum.
Your mix has now become more complex. If you approach mixing scientifically, you
can measure overtones of certain instruments (especially if they are pitched)
and make sure that there is no instances of kinetic ampli – Hang on.
I don’t approach Mixes that way. I feel them I guess. Comes with being self-taught I suppose.
Kartikeya’s instruments did
occupy a great many points on the sound field, and consequently required some
panning and compression so that their sweet over tones came through, on top of
Robin’s guitar, lead vocal and 97 backup vocal tracks.
Then I backed off the compression. I really liked the instruments without the
compression. Even though I have some
really cool compressors. Like an LA-2A
and LA-3A. Those compressors make me
really happy.
I'd created a Thin Mix.
After removing the compression the percussion got lost behind
walls of vocals and fun electronic and acoustic instruments.
So is there a right answer?
I’m not sure. In the good old
days, (people like to say “Old School”) there were limited options to creating
a full-bodied mix. I mean, listen to a Beatles
album that has not been Digitally Re-mastered.
Everything is raw, sometimes distorted.
While there is compression, it’s not as noticeable to me. Those engineers knew better than I ever will. And yet, if those albums had 30+ tracks to
work with, they wouldn’t sound as good as they do today.
I do have 30+
tracks to work with. I also have some of
the equipment available to Abbey Road Studios in that era. Yet the trend of music today, towards louder
and more “Phat” makes a lot of those techniques obsolete.
I am still going to try to love my compressors…even though
they sometimes hate me.
So, let me know if any of this “Resonates” with you. For now, I’m going to try to strike a balance
between a “Thin Mix” and a “Phat Mix”
j
No comments:
Post a Comment