Hi, welcome to my studio. Weâve got lots of knobs and blinky lights. Letâs turn off the outboard gear and blast 24K Magic or Cirkutâs Blow remix and just feel the sound.
Today we celebrate the release of @shantheband Ghost Girl. This one features 3x @chrisnthomas_music , @dannygarrettmusicandwords with rotary harp FX, me doing bass and mix shenanigans, and Shannon as the Oracle of Delphi. Mastered by @rollmottle at SENTRALL Sound, Los Angeles.
Mix notes! Not a burden, an opportunity.
My first mix is my best interpretation of what your song wants to sound like, but it doesnât end there. Your feedback takes it to the next level, and weâll keep working until itâs exactly the song you envisioned.
When I started recording, I didnât know much about plugins. We were unsatisfied with the sound we captured, so we moved the SM57 around.
I noticed that amps sounded more distorted than live, and that a bit less gain allowed for more definition. I couldnât edit well, so we tried to nail the parts. We made our own sound effects with instruments and baseball bats and N64 cartridges.
Those early mixes turned out kinda bogus, and probably couldâve done without all the EQ. But between instinct and limited resources, we made some decent records.
The tools were just becoming accessible, but not ubiquitous. I wish more people had that opportunity today.
I know a great cook. Sheâll serve a meal and start critiquing it even before I can take the first bite.
Donât undersell your work before the audience can come to appreciate it.
If something about your song is keeping you up at night, try to address it before apologizing. Reach out to a friend with fresh ears for help.
Practice pressing play, sitting on your hands, and keeping your lips sealed. You made this.
Hereâs why I donât show songs before and after mixing.
First, this is your song. You did the hard work. Whoâs a mixing engineer to swoop in and take creditâpubliclyâfor making it sound great? Iâm only interested in serving the music, and feeding my ego doesnât do that.
Second, this work is all about trust. The last message I want to send to potential clients is, âhire me, Iâll post you with your pants down.â
And finally, I work with some great producers who know how to select and balance sounds. They donât lean on the mixer to make the song listenable. The more you do this, the better the rough mixes start to sound, and the best before/after comparison just isnât all that flashy.
Your best work is my best work. It will speak for itself without the cringy A/B.
Hobbies? Sure. When Iâm not mixing your songs, sometimes I play an instrument. Working on one âtrack guyâ project, and one project where I record bass and then mix. Iâm still #mtd4lyfe, but this MIJ Jaguar Bass is the sound of rock.
A moody slow burn from @drawing_mazes , âFixatedâ.
Drums by @francpratt .
Bass by Andy Warner.
Electric guitar by @nickson81 .
Mixed by yours truly.
