Welcome to the official NAMM thread for Day 2, the 26th of January.
Watch the YouTube livestream replay here:
Our program for the day is as follows (all times are in PST):
10:00
Sylvia Massy
11:00
Bob Clearmountain
12:00
Chris Gehringer
13:00
Chris Lord-Alge
14:00
Tony Maserati
15:00
Young Guru
16:00
Stuart White
17:00
Tony Hoffer
@sylviamassy Hi, Sylvia! What is the most effective and productive way to time organise in mixing process? how to work quickly and not get hung up on the little things while mixing? Regards, Vlad.
@sylviamassy
Sylvia:
Have you ever dealt with being underestimated or had your skills devalued due to your gender? What advice would you give to other women in navigating this industry and this role in particular now?
Thank you.
What building or room will this take place? Iām trying to plan my day and where Iāll be walking.
Hi @Chris_Lord-Alge! Thank You for Your all videos here and on youtube as an inspiration for mixing. Iāve got 3 quick questions:
FIRST: From one of Your MWTM videos I āhaveā Your old Pultec settings:
Youāve got a new pair as I saw. Iām going to buy those as well. What settings would You recomended for the new ones - or share Your current settings.
SECOND: Going to have RND 5088 console which has +36dB of a headroom. What kind of gain staging would You recommend for console with such a headroom to properly start mix āat the zeroā.
THREE: I saw on one of Your videos as Your assistent is doing a gain staging for tracks at zero at 100% in Pro Tools. Do You always do it or only when Your asistens (knowing what You like) see that the tracks wonāt work at current gain i pro tools?
Thanks and from Poland with LOVE!
Hi Sylvia!
Iāve got a recording question. I know that Youāve worked on many vintage neveās with different vintage preās and I also saw Your picture in Museum studio in front of Rupert Neve 5088.
My question is: Did You get a chance to record through RND 5088 desings, especially using blue silk mode, which as people from Rupert said can add third harmonics with lower end similar to vintage neve consoles. If You use it - could you describe the differences/similarities between new one and old neveās preās?
Thanks and from Poland with love!
@Tony_Hoffer Hey Tony massive fan of your work. I love how your mixes, they have a sense of being larger than life without being drowned in reverb. Whatās your approach to get everything to still have definition without getting lost in verb? How do you manage your stereo field in a mix to achieve depth?
Hey Johnny. . . thnx!
I guess the main things I do is not put long reverbs on many elements. I might just save that sort of thing for the elements where it will be noticed the most. I often use some pre-delay to get the initial dry signal to poke thru a bit and often Iāll sidechain reverbs so the slightly duck out of the way from whatever is sending to it.
For stereo field, Iāll often go super wide (hard left/right and center). That usually gives me enough space for width and then Iāll play around with levels and different types of reverbs/rooms for the depth.
Hope that helps!
-Tony
Hi, @BobClearmountain! Throughout the past youāve helped not only mix but produce some of the most influential albums and singles in music history. What advice might you have for someone who is both recording and engineering their own music, be it with regards to arrangement, workflow, processes to follow, that may aid in easing creative block and feeling generally overwhelmed, enabling a fun and pleasant music experience? Thanks again!
@Chris_Gehringer Hello Chris! What are your preferred mastering tools and techniques for achieving clarity and cohesion in your masters?
Iād also like to know about your strategies for maintaining consistency across an entire album during the mastering process, particularly when dealing with tracks recorded at different times or in different studios.
Thank you.
Should we be mastering beyond -13 LUFS? Because all streaming services play music at -13 LUFS now. What concerns me, is that sometimes a client wants their music loud, but the compromise is crushed dynamics and chattering. And when it is played in spotify, it is brought down to all the songs on that level, and the non-crushed music wouldāve sounded better. So, should we be mixing and mastering beyond -13 LUFS? What do you recommend how to communicate that with the artist?
What do you think is that one thing that separates mid-level mixing engineers to the cream of the crop like you guys?
For upcoming mixing engineers that are trying to get their name out, what is your take on doing a āfree mix sample of 30 secondsā to hook potential clients? OR, a ā100% Money-back Guaranteeā this is assuming that the client is honest.
What would you recommend the best way how to handle sounds that are not recorded optimally, but the client expects that 1 million dollar mix. And re-recording is not an option.
Some projects I get, needs a lot of editing. Like timing, pitch correction, etc. When it comes to mix time, im mentally tired, and sometimes I start making lazy moves. When your under the gun with the deadline, how to do you navigate through that? Do you still take a break for an hour or more? Or do you push back the client for another day?
What do you think is that one thing that separates mid-level mixing engineers to the cream of the crop like you guys?
For upcoming mixing engineers that are trying to get their name out, what is your take on doing a āfree mix sample of 30 secondsā to hook potential clients? OR, a ā100% Money-back Guaranteeā this is assuming that the client is honest.
What would you recommend the best way how to handle sounds that are not recorded optimally, but the client expects that 1 million dollar mix. And re-recording is not an option.
Some projects I get, needs a lot of editing. Like timing, pitch correction, etc. When it comes to mix time, im mentally tired, and sometimes I start making lazy moves. When your under the gun with the deadline, how to do you navigate through that? Do you still take a break for an hour or more? Or do you push back the client for another day?
Should we be mixing beyond -13 LUFS? Because all streaming services play music at -13 LUFS now. What concerns me, is that sometimes a client wants their music loud, but the compromise is crushed dynamics and chattering. And when it is played in spotify, it is brought down to all the songs on that level, and the non-crushed music wouldāve sounded better. So, should we be mixing beyond -13 LUFS? What do you recommend to communicate that with the artist?
Question for Bob Clearmountain and CLA,
Iām 10 years shy of your vintage but have been following your careers for 40 years. I left full time studio work to pursue other income streams. Iām back after a retirement from that and see an entirely different landscape on the business side of our discipline. Sites like soundbetter and fiverr seem to be showing a race to the bottom on price points for mixers similar to what happened to production music over the last decade. Can you offer any outlooks and strategies to help us market and price in this new market? Competition is at an all time high, and price of entry at an all time low. Or just hire me as an assistant and we will call it square. Respectful Regards, Brad Heck Mix MPLS
@youngguru, what methods and processes do you follow most frequently when you have to track an artists vocals to not only capture the ideas an artist has on the fly, but to ensure those those ideas sound recorded as professionally and pristine as possible? Thanks a bunch, especially love your work on Jay-Zās 4:44!
@Chris_Lord-Alge Iām wondering how you approach or approached figuring out your desert island tools that you almost always have a specific designated use for, and to also not turn that into just a gear/plugin obsession, ultimately keeping focus on the music? Thanks a tonne, and your mixing on Museās 2nd Law album is biblical-levels of amazing!
Hey, I donāt know if anybody will see this or who to reach out to you but your stream isnāt happening. Hasnāt come on yet today.
It is working now. The link has been updated !
If there will be some video with answers to your questions or The Masters will come here and answer?
