Friday, December 5, 2008
New Overlay technology embedded in Elements of Mixing video
In addition to the gratuitous product shots, what you may also notice is that people and information are also embedded into the video, so if you want to do more research on that 1176 compressor, you just click on it and it takes you to the blog about that compressor. No more having to stop the video and go research it. It's built in to the video. You will also notice several alumnus of EOM2 at Legacy appearing as well. Any graduates that woudl like to cross promote their production company or product with us just send us a link and we'll include you in the next webisode. Ryan and I will probably be releasing these 4 to 5 minute webisodes leading up to the release of the Elements of Mixing DVD which will be longer, and deeper.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Elements of Mixing Seminar Vol. 2
Mixers Bassy Bob and Ryan West announce the plans for another Mixing Seminar for target date May 25th
2008. "The enthusiasm has been such that Bob and I decided to schedule another one. The guys from the last
one were all really talented producers from all over, and we're looking forward to another exciting one in May",
said Ryan West. "We're hoping to capitalize on the feedback we got from the last one to make it better and
more useful to the guys who really need this information, the producers of this generation," said mixing veteran
Bassy Bob.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Selective Focus
Much of what I do as a mixer over the course of developing a finished mix for a song is what i call Selective Focus. It's basically a glorified term for paying attention to one thing, or maby two things at a time while listening to playback. When I begin a mix, I always start with all the faders at unity and I start to sort of clumsily put together a perspective for the song, moving elements like bass, drums, guitars, and keys into a rough perspective. From that point on, I begin "shaving" off elements either by doing individual fader passes on the part, say the lead Vocal, while also paying attention to other tangential parts, like say a piano accompaniment on guitar lick that supports the vocal. I have always closed my eyes while riding things because it eliminates many of the things that might be getting in the way of my concentration.
it is a technique that sort of came to my by osmosis, I just found that once I began closing my eyes while focusing that it was easier to "see" the image of the element that I was riding, in this case the lead vocal. Once I have a decent balance on the lead vocal, I sortof place the backgrounds in the back of the mix and then begin the process of bringing out the elements that I feel are important to the listener.
Obviously, if the band or performer play guitar or piano or other lead instrument, that instrument is going to take nearly top billing next to the lead vocal. I think about the Edge and Bono, or Tori Amos and her piano playing, or James Taylor and his acoustic guitar. These elements do a contrapuntal dance through the course of the song. The current project I'm working on for Geffen records is a 19 year old operatic tenor, Griffith Frank, who is the son of legendary synth-pop R and B genius David Frank, who's band The System, had a string of hits in the 80's. David wrote nearly half the songs on the album, and plays piano on quite a bit of the record. In addition, there are some amazing orchestrations by Jeremy Lubbock, who I believe is one of the greatest living orchestrators. Part of my job is to navigate the constantly changing relationships between Griffith, David, and the Orchestra, all of whom may move into center stage at any moment for a beat or a bar.
This is where my technique of selective focus comes into play...I decide before I begin a playback of the song to focus my attention on one or two things at the most.
In this case , maybe the lead vocal and grand piano, who are doing a musical dance where the piano, if well excecuted, is nicely playing in the cracks around the vocal.
I close my eyes, get my ears squarely between the monitors and I focus my concentration on the two things Im thinking about, with my fader on whatever I'm riding. Once they get into wht I believe is a good perspective, I continue with the process with the next supporting instruments until everything is in good perspective.
I usually do this process many many times before using any EQ or COMPRESSION or other processing, particularly with liverecording that are phase sensitive, like Orchestras, Pianos, and Drums. Many mixers are happy to dive right in EQing the drums individually before getting a proper balance and perspective. The problem I have with that approach is that it immediately begins messing with the overall phase of the kit which makes it harder to "see" the images. The same happens with any stereo image when EQ is employed, because EQ is by definition accomplished by altering the phase. This is why many legendary recording engineers use little or no eq when recording live instruments. The same applies to mixing. Not so much with a mono instrument like a guitar, but definitely with multi miked things like drums and orchestra.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Ryan West and Bassy Bob in association with DynamicProducer.com announce Elements of Mixing Seminar
Elements of Mixing
For Immediate Release
January 22nd, 2008
Multi-Platinum mixers Bassy Bob and Ryan West will begin
teaching hands on music mixing in their new seminar," Elements of
Mixing", hosted by Dynamic Producer, a grassroots organization that supports up and coming music producers.
Bassy and Ryan have worked for
Many of the top record producers in the world (P Diddy, Babyface,
Trevor Horn,Ron Fair, LA Reid, Just Blaze, Brian McNight, Pic Conley) And
synthesized many of the insights they've gained into a compelling and
intensive training program geared towards producersand students alike.
"Many of the greatest lessons I learned came tome from great mixers and
producers I trained under at the top studios in NYC when I was an assistant",
says Bassy Bob..."now that most of the big rooms are closed, where are the
young new mixers going to learn their craft, in music school?? They teach you
how to operate a console, but not how to mix pop music. That's what we teach,
and why we chose to teach.. Because there's a huge vacuum out there. We're
hoping to fill that void", said Bassy.
"And with more producers than ever mixing in their home
studios, they need help, either by learning mixing
themselves, or by hiring a young competent engineer who can", says
Ryan West, "we will be training the next generation of those mixers."
Together, Ryan and Bob have mixed records that have sold over
250 million Copies worldwide, testament to the consistency of their work and talent. And, unlike many teachers, they are still mixing hits.
The first seminar will take place at
Baseline Studios( home of Just Blaze) on:
Saturday, March 29th from 10am to 630pm.
Lunch and Light dinenr will be served.
For signup information please contact Felisha@DynamicProducers.com
At: 1-770-456-5365 or email:
Elementsofmixing@gmail.com
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
What are the Elements of mixing?
As Ryan and I prepare for our first master class on March 29, 2008, these are questions that we have been batting around for about 6 months. So far this is what we've come up with ...I'm sure we will be tweaking this over time but for now these are our thoughts on the elements we have dealt with on our mix sessions. Industry professionals feel free to chime in on your thoughts, this is an open source project.
Balance
Arguably the most important aspect of mixing, creating the balance between the individual instruments, the "scaffolding" of the MIX. In pop music, typically the relationship
between the Lead Vocal, the kick , sn, bass , and background vox. In many classic records, for example Motown a rythm instrument like the tambourine or piano or bass played an important role in the "feel" of the record. Often the role of the mixer is to analyze the content of the tracks and figure out which elements in the mix are the most important. In a hiphop mix , for example , the "Hum", or low bass drum is very important...in a Crunk record , it might be a flashy hi hat program...In latin music , it is the "clave". All these genres require a mixer who is sensitive to the musical elements of that particular genre.
Equalisation
Another mode of featuring a particular part by enhancing the phase of the instrument using an analog eq like SSL, NEVE, API, LANG, EMI, or a plug in EQ, such as Digidesign, Waves, Bomb Factory, URS, Steven Massey, and many more. All EQs have a particular character and strength mostly based on the type of circuitry (Class A, Class A/B, Integrated). All these methods of altering the hi, mid and lo frequency have been employed since the early days of recording. We plan to focus on both analog(outboard) eqs and plugin style eqs that are inserted or chained on an individual track or the whole mix in Pro Tools.
Pan
Panning has only played a role since the advent of stereo recording which is basically the mid 50s. Prior to that the sound of the record was determined by the balance and use of space (room size) or outboard reverb (plate, chamber). Now with the emergence of surround 5.1 sound (tv is going all 5.1 in Feb 09) the possibilities of creating more space in the mix is more inspiring and exciting than ever. Panning can really enhance the listening experience by separating out the parts in the stereo or surround space to make it easier to "see" them. Most listeners are not sensitive to panning, but appreciate a "good mix" where you can hear all the parts of the song.
Spacial FX
The most typical of spacial effects is reverb. Reverb is a natural acoustic phenomenon which is created from distance delay and diffusion. (think the Grand Canyon and craggy rocks) Some spaces are more diffuse than others, hoever musicians love to play in an environment where their sound is "amplified" by the room. think a cellist alone in a great concert hall or theatre.
Most recordings you hear today in the pop and rock genre have alot of reverb although you might not notice it (if its mixed well...). In the early days of recording studios had three types of reverb: plate, spring and chamber. Plate was a thin layer of metal plate with a transducer on one ened and a phono tye pickup on the other end. When you sent a signal into it like a vocal or snare drum the plate would ring like a musical saw. the spring reverb, long a favorite of great dub mixers like king Tubby was a box with a series of springs that were vibrated by the input and resonated. It produced a sound very different from the Plate. the last reverb was the chamber, which was prominently featured on the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations", which was recorded at Sunset Sound in los angeles which at the time had several great sounding chambers. A chamber is a long odd shaped space with a speaker at one end and typicalls two microphones at the other end to capture the reverberations of the space. Other great chambers are to be found at Avatar in NY which was originally called the Power Station.
Compressions
Compression can even out a poorly recorded vocal or create a drum sound from the overhead microphone or enhance the "pump" of a mix by accentuating certain frequencies by supressing others. All of those aspects are used frequently in pop mixing. We use the term pop very loosely to indicate a mix which you would expect to come out on a major label and be heard on radio. Indie record have stepped up considerably because of the availability of plugin compressors like the SSL compressor from Digidesign, the Waves RVox and L2, L3, te Steven massey C4, and emulation compressors from URS, Bomb Factory, Eventide, and many other third party software developers. Although it was a rocky start for compressor plugins, great leaps have taken place sonically in ths last few years. Some of my favorites are the George Massenburg labs, the Roger nichols series, and the Sony Oxford as well as those previously listed. Compression is a very important aspect of modern mixing... often one that separates a good mix from a "hot" mix. Often just the addition of mix buss compression can make a stale sounding mix "come alive". Compressions can often bring "energy and punch" to a mix.
Automation moves
Whether its a special pan move, or the addition of a sweetening eq on the chorus, or dropping the important auto tune on a particularly troublesome vocal line, automation has made the job of engineers and mixers much easier... Pro Tools allows the user to automate almost any parameter of a plugin or any of the other typical moves like Volume, EQ, Pan, and Bypass. By using automation and the typical copy and paste commands, you can copy intricate moves from one section of a song to another, such as a special pan move on a scratch or vocal sample.
Dynamics/eg. De Essing There are many plugins and outboard effects that infuence the sound of a particular track or mix. It is not uncommon to de ess a vocal or vocals then have the mastering engineer do the same at the end of the producton process. De Essing was originally done to eliminate the loud and often harmful S sound to recordings to protect the cutting lathe
that burned into the vinyl master. Later with the advent of Cds it was less technically critical than irritating to listen to the harsh esses'. That said there are many classic recordings that are hits with distorted esses all over them. Sses also dostort on radio , which is another reason the get rid of them beforehand. Same for television broadcasting. Its not uncommon to hear really offensive esses on live broadcasts like Jay Leno or Letterman because broadcast engineers cannot keep up with the live performance of a lead vocalist. because the lead vocal is typically one of the loudest instruments in the mix, esses are important.
Sound Replacement
Sound replacement is a relatively new phenomenon in mixing and recording. Examples of drum replacement with the old school AMS 1580 delay are Def lepperd hysteria, Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA" mixed by Bob Clearmountain. "Simply irresistable" by Robert Palmer, which wa recorded and mixed by ET Thorngren ( a power station grad like Clearmountain) actually was the first mix to sample the famous room sound of the Power Station to create the "gated effect". Same is true of early Phil Collins records which were mixed by hugh Padgam, who also did all the Police records. Now that is done through an algorithmic AudioSuite program called Sound Replacer, introduced by Digidesign about ten years ago. there are now many third party plugs like Drumagog that also accomplish the same thing, which is to add to or replace a less than scintillating snare ofr kick drum sound. This is especially important with drum sounds on live bands, where the competition for a great drum sound is fierce, and often the great sound is not captured in the recording.
Processing/ Pitch shift, Envelope follow etc...
There have been many great outboard boxes that create a special effect , usually involving pitch or envelope filtering. Some of the greats are the echoplex, Mutron, Moogerfooger, and Eventide 910 and 949 which are responsible for many of teh colorful sounds of the great hit records of the last thirty years. Now there are literally thousands of options from vintage companies that emulate the behavior of classic effects or in the case of companies like Ohm Labs, Steven Massey, and Bob Moog. These effects are the color you hear on many parts of a creative production.
Balance
Arguably the most important aspect of mixing, creating the balance between the individual instruments, the "scaffolding" of the MIX. In pop music, typically the relationship
between the Lead Vocal, the kick , sn, bass , and background vox. In many classic records, for example Motown a rythm instrument like the tambourine or piano or bass played an important role in the "feel" of the record. Often the role of the mixer is to analyze the content of the tracks and figure out which elements in the mix are the most important. In a hiphop mix , for example , the "Hum", or low bass drum is very important...in a Crunk record , it might be a flashy hi hat program...In latin music , it is the "clave". All these genres require a mixer who is sensitive to the musical elements of that particular genre.
Equalisation
Another mode of featuring a particular part by enhancing the phase of the instrument using an analog eq like SSL, NEVE, API, LANG, EMI, or a plug in EQ, such as Digidesign, Waves, Bomb Factory, URS, Steven Massey, and many more. All EQs have a particular character and strength mostly based on the type of circuitry (Class A, Class A/B, Integrated). All these methods of altering the hi, mid and lo frequency have been employed since the early days of recording. We plan to focus on both analog(outboard) eqs and plugin style eqs that are inserted or chained on an individual track or the whole mix in Pro Tools.
Pan
Panning has only played a role since the advent of stereo recording which is basically the mid 50s. Prior to that the sound of the record was determined by the balance and use of space (room size) or outboard reverb (plate, chamber). Now with the emergence of surround 5.1 sound (tv is going all 5.1 in Feb 09) the possibilities of creating more space in the mix is more inspiring and exciting than ever. Panning can really enhance the listening experience by separating out the parts in the stereo or surround space to make it easier to "see" them. Most listeners are not sensitive to panning, but appreciate a "good mix" where you can hear all the parts of the song.
Spacial FX
The most typical of spacial effects is reverb. Reverb is a natural acoustic phenomenon which is created from distance delay and diffusion. (think the Grand Canyon and craggy rocks) Some spaces are more diffuse than others, hoever musicians love to play in an environment where their sound is "amplified" by the room. think a cellist alone in a great concert hall or theatre.
Most recordings you hear today in the pop and rock genre have alot of reverb although you might not notice it (if its mixed well...). In the early days of recording studios had three types of reverb: plate, spring and chamber. Plate was a thin layer of metal plate with a transducer on one ened and a phono tye pickup on the other end. When you sent a signal into it like a vocal or snare drum the plate would ring like a musical saw. the spring reverb, long a favorite of great dub mixers like king Tubby was a box with a series of springs that were vibrated by the input and resonated. It produced a sound very different from the Plate. the last reverb was the chamber, which was prominently featured on the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations", which was recorded at Sunset Sound in los angeles which at the time had several great sounding chambers. A chamber is a long odd shaped space with a speaker at one end and typicalls two microphones at the other end to capture the reverberations of the space. Other great chambers are to be found at Avatar in NY which was originally called the Power Station.
Compressions
Compression can even out a poorly recorded vocal or create a drum sound from the overhead microphone or enhance the "pump" of a mix by accentuating certain frequencies by supressing others. All of those aspects are used frequently in pop mixing. We use the term pop very loosely to indicate a mix which you would expect to come out on a major label and be heard on radio. Indie record have stepped up considerably because of the availability of plugin compressors like the SSL compressor from Digidesign, the Waves RVox and L2, L3, te Steven massey C4, and emulation compressors from URS, Bomb Factory, Eventide, and many other third party software developers. Although it was a rocky start for compressor plugins, great leaps have taken place sonically in ths last few years. Some of my favorites are the George Massenburg labs, the Roger nichols series, and the Sony Oxford as well as those previously listed. Compression is a very important aspect of modern mixing... often one that separates a good mix from a "hot" mix. Often just the addition of mix buss compression can make a stale sounding mix "come alive". Compressions can often bring "energy and punch" to a mix.
Automation moves
Whether its a special pan move, or the addition of a sweetening eq on the chorus, or dropping the important auto tune on a particularly troublesome vocal line, automation has made the job of engineers and mixers much easier... Pro Tools allows the user to automate almost any parameter of a plugin or any of the other typical moves like Volume, EQ, Pan, and Bypass. By using automation and the typical copy and paste commands, you can copy intricate moves from one section of a song to another, such as a special pan move on a scratch or vocal sample.
Dynamics/eg. De Essing There are many plugins and outboard effects that infuence the sound of a particular track or mix. It is not uncommon to de ess a vocal or vocals then have the mastering engineer do the same at the end of the producton process. De Essing was originally done to eliminate the loud and often harmful S sound to recordings to protect the cutting lathe
that burned into the vinyl master. Later with the advent of Cds it was less technically critical than irritating to listen to the harsh esses'. That said there are many classic recordings that are hits with distorted esses all over them. Sses also dostort on radio , which is another reason the get rid of them beforehand. Same for television broadcasting. Its not uncommon to hear really offensive esses on live broadcasts like Jay Leno or Letterman because broadcast engineers cannot keep up with the live performance of a lead vocalist. because the lead vocal is typically one of the loudest instruments in the mix, esses are important.
Sound Replacement
Sound replacement is a relatively new phenomenon in mixing and recording. Examples of drum replacement with the old school AMS 1580 delay are Def lepperd hysteria, Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA" mixed by Bob Clearmountain. "Simply irresistable" by Robert Palmer, which wa recorded and mixed by ET Thorngren ( a power station grad like Clearmountain) actually was the first mix to sample the famous room sound of the Power Station to create the "gated effect". Same is true of early Phil Collins records which were mixed by hugh Padgam, who also did all the Police records. Now that is done through an algorithmic AudioSuite program called Sound Replacer, introduced by Digidesign about ten years ago. there are now many third party plugs like Drumagog that also accomplish the same thing, which is to add to or replace a less than scintillating snare ofr kick drum sound. This is especially important with drum sounds on live bands, where the competition for a great drum sound is fierce, and often the great sound is not captured in the recording.
Processing/ Pitch shift, Envelope follow etc...
There have been many great outboard boxes that create a special effect , usually involving pitch or envelope filtering. Some of the greats are the echoplex, Mutron, Moogerfooger, and Eventide 910 and 949 which are responsible for many of teh colorful sounds of the great hit records of the last thirty years. Now there are literally thousands of options from vintage companies that emulate the behavior of classic effects or in the case of companies like Ohm Labs, Steven Massey, and Bob Moog. These effects are the color you hear on many parts of a creative production.
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