Mixing and Loving It! May 20, 2008
Posted by Chris in Audio.trackback
This past weekend we had Married Life Live at our Church. It’s an event that married couples attend to have fun and give attention to their marriages. I always love these events cause we get to do songs that span all kinds of genres and it really stretches my mixing.
Here was the set list….fun stuff!
So I thought I would share a little insight into my world of mixing….some of you have been asking…so here goes.
For this event I wanted to take some risks. I feel like I’ve been in mixing rut so i thought….why not…let’s go all out and go for it.
I started with the list above in itunes and just listened to the originals. I got used to them the way they sounded and listed the details that I thought were significant. As I listened I just made notes. I threw in my molds and just started typing all the things that i thought I could do. Here’s the list:
Just simple things but they really helped me as a guide when I sat down at the console. Even while I mixed I had this playlist rolling in itunes and i could at any time just solo the song i was working on and listen.
This is the most fun I’ve had mixing in a while and it really challenged me to get out of the usuals everytime i heard a kick drum.
What do you do that helps you mix?
Thanks for the insight Chris. I am always trying to glean info wherever I can.
While on a week to week basis I don’t put as much time into rehearsing songs in iTunes, anytime a new song is thrown into the rotation, I do what I can to get familiar. Unfortunately we don’t always have the ability to pull off songs the same way they are recorded. I try to get with our worship leader to discuss specifics of songs and how they relate to the abilities of the band for that service.
One thing I have started doing recently though, and has proven helpful to getting more accurate reproductions when possible, is listening to tracks in the room I am going to be mixing in. I hear things differently in my monitors in my office, in my ear buds, and in the main sanctuary. That may be partially due to problems at hand, but either way, hearing a song IN the system it will be played in live later makes a difference for me.
I dunno, maybe those are no-brainers.