Mixing Meditation 1

This is the sixth installment in guest blogger Ryan Hewitt’s series on recording. Today he begins his examination of meditative practices that help with a mix. If you missed his last post on rough mixes, you can read it here.

Photo by Andrew Kelly

Working my way up through the ranks of runner and assistant engineer, I had heard stories about the meditative practices of engineers and mixers and seen some firsthand. The one about the famous mixer who supposedly started a mix by falling asleep for 30 minutes while the tape played over and over in loop mode, the song seeping into his unconscious, ready to be molded when he awoke. One mentor I have likes to take frequent breaks during mixes to tidy up the studio or place some new swap meet find in a just-so spot in his live room. I witnessed one of my heroes methodically work his way through a mental checklist as he readied a song for mixing, doing many of the things I was responsible for when working for other mixers – labeling faders, making markers in the automation system – all to gain familiarity with the song. Another will only ever listen to the song from top to bottom so that perspective is maintained. The mixers’ routines that I mention all have common themes: relaxing into the mix, taking time to familiarize, to rest, to walk away and return fresh to a work in progress after a short break. These habits have proved extremely useful to me, and I’ve found my own versions of them. Sometimes the solution to the frustration of not cracking the code of a mix is to walk away for a moment. Get some air, chat with a friend, answer some emails, fix the leaky sink, grab a bite, walk the dog – all good ways to rest the ears and refocus the mind. The answer to the problem at hand is usually an obvious one that’s been lost in the overstimulation of working many angles of a mix at one time, or conversely, perhaps it stems from going down the rabbit hole of a singular sound among the many that you are working on. In either case, walking away and returning to work with fresh ears will most likely make the problem area jump out and make itself known. Problem solved! Backing up for a moment to the first time I listen to the tracks that I’m given, I realize that I have a blend of all the processes that I witnessed back in the day. I listen to the rough mix to get a vibe for where the client left off with the recording process; how they were hearing the song when they made it. What is important to them? Where are things panned? Where does the groove come from in this song? How have they treated the vocals? And so on… I start building a quick mix to see what the tracks sound like; what condition are they in and how much damage control do I have to do before I can really get to being creative. I listen to the song a number of times on a loop to get the lay of the land and feel things out, and at the same time, start making arrangement decisions, panning moves and basic EQ adjustments. After a few times through the song, I can sit back and listen to the story, the arc of the song, and decide how to proceed from there. Now I’ve got the song in my head, and a definitive direction to go with the mix and I dive into more aggressive moves with EQ, compression, effects and other details. Where I begin with these things is entirely dependent on the song and changes every time I sit down to mix, but by this time I usually know what is needed in nearly every department, and build the mix accordingly. Sometimes I build a foundation with the rhythm section and add the vocal on top before adding the frilly bits. Other times I start with the vocal and accompanying instrument before really addressing the rest of the “band.” Given all of the above, I rarely sit for more than 90 minutes at a mix unless I’m on an unbelievably productive streak and I lose track of time. It’s important to step away for more reasons than the clarity of the mix! Always in record. RH Check back soon for the second part of Ryan’s mixing meditation. Ryan Hewitt on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanhewittinthestudio Studio Prodigy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studioprodigy