Mixerman Radio Show Theme Mix

[krid]

Hi Mixerman,

I really like your mix on the Mixerman Radio Show Theme.

Care to share the gear and some techniques you used during this mix ?

Thanks.

[Mixerman]

Hi Mixerman,

I really like your mix on the Mixerman Radio Show Theme.

Care to share the gear and some techniques you used during this mix ?

Thanks.

There were something like 75 tracks when we were done. This is not uncommon, and almost a necessity when producing a song in this collaborative manner, particularly with people all over the world. In general, the musicians want to cover some bases, so that something works out in the end. In some ways it's almost "dub" style, except that there was quite a bit of advance planning and discussion of directions and ideas. It's the implementation along the way that makes things interesting.

I used an analog console, and a DAW to input into the analog console. The DAW is not my favorite playback machine for mixing, but with this many tracks and no budget, it's a requierment. In this case, mixing it from a DAW makes my life easier, because there was extensive editing, both in form and in arrangement decisions. I almost always base my gear decisions on what makes my life easier, which is a luxury that I'm most thankful for, because many times we must settle for what we have.

I mixed this song at a studio called Total Access which is in Redondo Beach, CA. I've been mixing there lately, because it's near the beach, I like the owner and the staff, and my mixes translate well out of there. He has HD1s there, which are the kind of monitors that are not very flattering. They make you work to mix, and as much as I like to make my life easy, if the monitors are too easy, your life becomes harder later.

The first part of the job, was to figure out what the fuck I had. The answer to that was, a lot.

I'm going to have to break this into segments, so come back tomorrow for more information, and feel free to ask more questions along the way.

Mixerman

[Thumper]

Can I get some samples of that snare drum? Whoever played it was amazing...

And what kind of drum was it, so I can buy one... Maybe...

[Brendo]

I guess you're going to buy the drummer's arms too?

[Thumper]

Possibly.

Depends on what he want's for them. I'm down with Paypal, and I need the tax writeoff.

[conejito]

Mixie, how do you deal with laying out 75 new tracks in the DAW, and were they labeled well when you received them?

Did you end up doing a lot of looping and copy-pasting sections?

Sorry if I'm getting ahead of the story here.

This is a very cool thread idea, BTW.

[otek]

I guess you're going to buy the drummer's arms too?

In this case, don't even.

Shipping will be exorbitant.

[Pimp-X]

In this case, don't even.

Shipping will be exorbitant.


Not only that, but the hands on those arms are usually making fists so you'd want to check how you intended to handle 'em. May I suggest a hybrid of a firemans suit and a dog-handlers suit?


I mean, I can't think of anything more difficult to control than an angry dog thats on fire... ?

[clicktrack]

I mean, I can't think of anything more difficult to control than an angry dog thats on fire... ?

How about an angry girlfriend? At least with the flaming puppy you can yank on the leash...




(Oh God...I really said that out loud...no wonder I'm single...kidding of course...)

[dnafe]

How about an angry girlfriend? At least with the flaming puppy you can yank on the leash...




(Oh God...I really said that out loud...no wonder I'm single...kidding of course...)

I've seen your girlfriends...easy to make such a mistake

:icon_eek:

[jerryskid]

ooooooooo...that was low......

[Unfcknblvbl]

I'm going to have to break this into segments, so come back tomorrow for more information, and feel free to ask more questions along the way.


Sticky please.

[jerryskid]

bump....(not a sticky but close.)

[pounce]

fwiw, i have a friend who has been asking about hearing the raw tracks for the same reasons, he liked the mix a lot and was curious to basically guage if those raw tracks were anything like the raw tracks he makes. ie: was the quality of the raw tracks, or the quality of the mix, responsible for the impressive outcome. or i should say what amount did each thing, musical talent, raw tracks, and mixing ability, play in the final outcome.

[Goes211]

What impressed me most is that he played the tracks as you would play an instrument. Mutes included.
I think you have to remember that Mixerman also produced the track. And he did so with very much taste because there was A LOT of material there.

[Pimp-X]

To my ears, the track sounds like a lot of time was spent listening holistically as well as critically. Approaching the mix as a system rather than a collection of elements is a great way to make sure it's breathing and has emotion, and Mixerman's mix has both these elements in spades.

[Mixerman]

fwiw, i have a friend who has been asking about hearing the raw tracks for the same reasons, he liked the mix a lot and was curious to basically guage if those raw tracks were anything like the raw tracks he makes. ie: was the quality of the raw tracks, or the quality of the mix, responsible for the impressive outcome. or i should say what amount did each thing, musical talent, raw tracks, and mixing ability, play in the final outcome.

Teamwork, checking egos at the door, trust in each other, and listening (both musically and though communication) are the reasons that I feel the outcome was great. And I'm very proud of the outcome.

Honestly, I think that this is one of my best mixes of all time. So does Aardy and Malice. But we can make this evaluation because we were a part of it.

I've been very sick with the stomach flu for the past 40 hours. I'll make this a sticky, but I don't have very much energy at this moment, so give me time.

Thanks,

Mixerman

[jerryskid]

no prob, Mixie we'll wait.....

[Mixerpuppet]

I've been very sick with the stomach flu for the past 40 hours. I'll make this a sticky, but I don't have very much energy at this moment, so give me time.

Thanks,

Mixerman

Sorry to hear you've been sick the Stomach Flu... 40 hours of it is torture, Norwalk like Virus.... Nasty bugger.

Get better...

Wash your hand before making it a sticky...

Wash your hands alot!

I have a disease of the stomach and the Stomach flu usually sende me to the ER. I asked about avoidance since all the ER people see it daily... Wash... keep your hands away from your mouth. Carry a cleaner of some sorts....

[conejito]

Hope you're feeling better, MM!

[Aardvark]

I am surprised if any here actually heard Mixerman's mix. He did submit a modestly capable effort to his team but it was Erased and Redone...




























...by Aardvark. :lol: :lol:






Cheers,
Aardvark

:Razz:

[conejito]

Hey, Aardy, your mix sounds great!! :Thumbsup: :Thumbsup:

I always figured that Mixerman guy was just a hack! Smart thinking, replacing his crappy mix like that! :lol:

BTW, did Mixie die of the flu, or what?? Health update, please!

[jerryskid]

(aardvark)

[Mixerman]

I'm alive and well, although I must say that was one of the worst fucking flus I've ever had. Even after it's been gone I've been down for the count.

Thanks for your patience everyone. Yes, Aardvark's mix is pretty good, but he can't tell the story about it like I can. So, I'll continue the story very shortly. Of course, I'll let Aardy tell about how the nubile 19 year old assistant (with no personallity) fucked him on the console, and that's where he came up with the idea of "aardvark." Clearly, he's much better than me at telling the sex scenes.

Mixerman

[drummertom]

There were something like 75 tracks when we were done.

Mixerman

Only 75 tracks? Sounds like at least 100!

[jerryskid]

I'm alive and well, although I must say that was one of the worst fucking flus I've ever had. Even after it's been gone I've been down for the count.

Thanks for your patience everyone. Yes, Aardvark's mix is pretty good, but he can't tell the story about it like I can. So, I'll continue the story very shortly. Of course, I'll let Aardy tell about how the nubile 19 year old assistant (with no personallity) fucked him on the console, and that's where he came up with the idea of "aardvark." Clearly, he's much better than me at telling the sex scenes.

Mixerman







































(aardvark)

[magicchord]

...Clearly, he's much better than me at telling the sex scenes...

Yes, he's quite adept at writing fiction.

[Fulcrum]

Of course, I'll let Aardy tell about how the nubile 19 year old assistant (with no personallity) fucked him on the console, and that's where he came up with the idea of "aardvark." Clearly, he's much better than me at telling the sex scenes.

I hear Trazan laid down some cool wah-wah guitars. In fact, before Aardvark got hold of it, it sounded like this:

MIX-er-man... SLIP-per-man...

woka chicka chicka chicka woka chicka chicka chicka

MIX-er-man... SLIP-per-man...

woka chicka chicka chicka woka chicka chicka chicka

<< followed by high-pitched woman screaming >>

AARDVARK!

[Trazan]

<< followed by high-pitched woman screaming >>

AARDVARK!

Hey, Kenny might be watching this thread! How'd you like to be called high-pitched?

[Mixerpuppet]

Mmmmmm

I personally would not pork a chick who shouts out Zoo animal names....

But hey...

Im not Canadian either...

Furthermore...

Who want to touch a sweaty fader...

I mean like Ewwwww...

[Mixerman]

Okay. So, after some disccussions of direction and some general ideas, Aardy, our songwriter, made a demo. Some of the elements of that demo made the final, and they included the tremelo Stratocaster (on the right), the drum loop, the Indian tambourine, a tamboura (which was replaced), and various other rhythmic instruments. The demo included Aardy singing the "Mixerman, Slipperman, Aardvark" parts, and the singing the "Aallahhey ahma. Meyexormaan" or whatever the fuck he's saying there, he told me it was Indian for "Praise Mixerman." but I question this.

So on the demo, there was no bridge, and really no chords to speak of. I remember clearly exclaiming to Aardy, "What the fuck is this? No chords? How the fuck do you have a song with no chords?" He had no explanation. Fortunately, after putting it on the server for everyone to hear, Trazan laid down the great arpeggiated chord changes that occur in the "Praise Mixerman" section. We were saved.

Okay, well not quite saved. At this point we had only two musical sections. Clearly, we needed more. Then Trazan produced a Bridge which he demoed up with a drum machine, bass and guitar. We loved it. It rocked.

With our basic sections skteched out, Aardy and Trazan uploaded their demo .wav files, and I put them into a DAW to try and cut up some sort of form. This is a critical part of the process, because if you cut it too tight, you don't give your musician's enough room to maneuver. If you cut it too loose, your musician's will meander. So I cut up a form that was hopefully just right. Like fucking Goldilocks.

More later.

Mixerman

[Mixerman]

In our initial discussions, we talked about an Indian trancelike song, which included the names of the hosts. Everyone loved what Aardy had come up with, it was brilliant. Trazan added these awesome lush chords, and came up with the hramonic structure of the bridge (some might consider the bridge section a chorus, I call it a bridge because it happens one time). Trazan also came up with that great distorted guitar playing the same line as Aardy's Stratocaster.

I certainly had enough to make a form of the song. I basically used Aardy's demo as the body of the song, used Trazan's scratch guitars for lift and forward movement. Put in the bridge, which trazan had also done a chugging transition into. Really, the cutting was about trying to imagine and feel how the song would progress forward, so that the musician's would be able to put in their parts. After the bridge I placed Aardy's rhythmic tracks with no guitars for 8 bars, and then I believe I vamped out with Aardy's original demo. Now we needed an intro.

I had an idea. Why not start with tamboura and a lone Indian singer, who in his chant sings the names of out Radio Show hosts. I "demoed" that up, tacked it on the front, and now it was off to Slippy for drums.

The most interesting part of making records, is listening to someone elses take on something. When I go into an overdub session, and I hire a player, I usually have some idea of the approach I'm looking for. I also usually say nothing to the musician, and wait and see what he does to see if it's any better than what I was thinking. I'm interested in hearing another "take" on things. But in that case it's an interactive process. I can hear what they are thinking, then we can adjust, discuss, try other approaches, etc...

In this situation, the tracks were being sent to Slippy, and he was going to put his "take" down, and that was pretty much it. Especially with drums, because "touch-ups" generally don't work.

Within 24 hours of delivering a form for Slippy, he delivered to us drum tracks. I was surprised. It was nothing like I expected.

More to come.

Mixerman

[Bob Olhsson]

...I also usually say nothing to the musician, and wait and see what he does to see if it's any better than what I was thinking. ..My experience has also been that truly great recordings almost always exceed the concepts of the individuals who created them. They really take on a life of their own.

[Aardvark]

...Within 24 hours of delivering a form for Slippy, he delivered to us drum tracks. I was surprised. It was nothing like I expected.

More to come.

Don't go there.



Please, please don't go there.




Slippy will be tres, tres pissed if you tell everyone he was replaced by a bunch of Kenny's drum samples.




I suspect he will kill you very slowly while reading Chaucer out loud and smoking a nice Havana.




Cheers,
Aardvark

[jerryskid]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[dwoz]

Don't go there.

Please, please don't go there.

Slippy will be tres, tres pissed if you tell everyone he was replaced by a bunch of Kenny's drum samples.

I suspect he will kill you very slowly while reading Chaucer out loud and smoking a nice Havana.

Cheers,
Aardvark


well, I wasn't gonna say anything, but isn't that disc 2, track 14 of EnGioia Drumming vol 1?

I could swear....

dwoz

[Tim Halligan]

Slippy will be tres, tres pissed if you tell everyone he was replaced by a bunch of Kenny's drum samples.


So you're saying that the drum part wasn't "erased and re-done by Aardvark?"


Curious.


Cheers,
Tim

[Aardvark]

So you're saying that the drum part wasn't "erased and re-done by Aardvark?"


Curious.


Cheers,
Tim

It was...I erased and re-did some of Kenny's drum samples...the ones that sound well recorded.


That should narrow it down!


Cheers,
Aardvark

[Mixerman]

Within 24 hours of delivering a form for Slippy, he delivered to us drum tracks. I was surprised. It was nothing like I expected.

Mixerman

When I delivered the guide tracks for Slippy, I figured he was going to give me a replacement drum part. He's a drummer. Drummers prefer to keep the beat. I also figured, I was going to throw out some of his drums, because I liked the trance aspect the drum machine provided. Apparently, so did Slippy, and instead of trying to provide a replacement part, Slippy created a wholly complimentary part. This part allowed me to use the drum machine all the way up to the Bridge. This was important, because it accentuated the contrasting nature of the Bridge.

After Slippy laid down his drum tracks, I created a stereo mix of the drums for the team to use. This way the team didn't have to download all 10 or so drum tracks. Next up was Malice on the bass.

Before I provide my impressions of what Malice delivered, I'm going to let him tell the story from his perspective. And for that matter, I'm going to ask Slippy to put up his perspective at the time.

More to come.

Mixerman

[malice]

I dreamed of this moment.

Finally I will settle my account with Mixerman once and for all.

To start with, nobody told me about the correct sample rate.

So I started doing bass wondering why the strange tuning on the song. After an hour, I peep on a post about the key and I realise my mistake ... Grrrrrreat, why nobody told me files were in 48k ?

Huh, back to work ...

switch to 48, I'm doin my thing after an hour: drrrrrring, Mixerman skyping.

Me: hey, why nobody told me it's 48k ?
MM: it's not 48k you dumbass french idiot.
Me: Yeah ? And I'm the Queen of Sweeden, it's in 48k or my Lavry clock needs serious maintenance...
MM: What files have you downloaded ?
Me: WTFFFFFFFFFFFFuck !!!!!!!!!!

Back to downloading.

Reworking on the bass track

uploading

MM cals me:Where's the bridge, you haven't done the bridge part ????... ... Dumbass
Me: okay, okay, I'm going to work anothaday on this Muthfu&#king song.
MM: Hey, I want Jaco fucking Pastorious on this for tomorow morning and you better do this right this time.

Jaco Pastorius, hehehehehe, that's an idea ...

I guess that is when I decided to send him 8 tracks of bass to make sure Mixerdick, huh, Mixerman have a reaaaaaaaal hard time to mix this shit (hehehehe)

But the fucker did one of his best mix. He did not even cut much of the plethora of information I sent him.

amazing

:Wink:


malice

[Aardvark]

...I realise my mistake ... Grrrrrreat, why nobody told me files were in 48k ?



Hehehe....our team thread had a post in which I said "I will send out the demo shortly, all files at 44.1/24 okay?"

Somebody didn't read the posts.

Somebody not from France.

Somebody who is, on occasion, a Friday or two shy of a long weekend.


No names.


Hehehehe


Cheers,
Aardvark

[Slipperman]

I was going to throw out some of his drums, because I liked the trance aspect the drum machine provided. Apparently, so did Slippy

OK. Here's my deal on drums:

When yer a fukwit hack. You skate by and hope that nobody notices.

Hadn't played the drums with any degree of persistency in about 2 decades at this point.

Ironically... I started playing a respectable amount of hours(3 a day) again this year on Feb. 5th, months after this was done. Was playing the best I've ever played from a 'musical' standpoint in my 35 years on the instrument in late August. Starting to get strong and fast again under my blubber suit. Had my 'bricklayer' hands back in full effect.

Quit again on Sept. 2nd.

Tough Titty. No time.

Anyhoo... I did the same shit I've done on all the CAPE stuff, and anything else I've been stupid enough to get roped into in the past 15 years or so...

That is:

Record every single thing that I play in my first 5 listens to the track.

Reason being.

Take 1: Don't know the format, but find the 'path to joy' in the arrangement. Usually has a decent fill or verse groove or some such thing.

Take 2: STILL don't know the arrangement. But now I'm so happy to just be doing the thing that I used to love the most in de verld, that I've forgotten that I don't play the instrument anymore and I'm playing with enthusiasm and even better, reckless abandon.

Take 3: Now I know the song, I'm still jazzed about beating the living hell out of everything I can get my hands on, and I haven't started thinking about how I suck yet. I'm still in denial. This take will be the one which has 80-90% of the shit I will end up keeping most of the time.

Take 4: Just starting to "think too much". Start playing tighter, but also 'stiffer' to the click. Fills and segue's are MUCH more solid though. I'll grab most of those from here. Usually nail the 'outro' or ending on this one as well.

Take 5: OFFICIALLY "Thinking too much" now. Remember why I stopped playing the drums in studio now. Filled with hate/dread for the undertaking. Just wanna engineer. Usually get a small thing or 2 that I can use at the beginning of this take. Thereafter I am usually playing TOTALLY retarded/random bullshit, wasting everyone's time by the end of the second verse. I invariably end this wholly dreadful take with an embarrassing barrage of nervous energy/disgust/testosterone/misanthropy/threatened drummer fills. Drop the sticks, whip off the cans and usually just chuck the drum throne the length of the room for good measure.

Select and edit takes: The staff(who have seen this little skit more than a few times in the past years) are already packing up the control room as I head back from the live room although nothing has been said. I sit at the back of the control room and listen to the takes and get more and more depressed/angry/filled with self-loathing as each one rolls by. I'm calling out my bleak observations, and the staff is taking notes as the takes roll. Needless to say... we come to the series of "take yield conclusions" I have already outlined above. The takes are flown off the 2" to the DAW in sync. "Take folders" are packed and color coded. Rough edits are made. Final directives, decrees and death threats are handed out. Somebody heads off the the "Batcave" to edit my aimless bashing. Later, they play it for me. I try not to listen for ANYTHING but bad edits. The content "is what it is". Basically, somebody who doesn't play that instrument anymore. End of story. It's consolidated as left aligning WAV. files.

Done till next year.

Hopefully I'll be dead by then.

HOHOHO.

XOXOXO

Slippy

[TSTW]

A couple quick questions:

Slippy: How did you mic up the kit?

Mixerman: Are you applying the techniques used in the mix of the 'Radio show' track to you mixes professionally? or is it a completely different approach?

[Slipperman]

OK. Here's my deal on drums

Yeah whatever.

What a whiney douchebag excuse making boat anchor.

OK.

That was TERRIBLE, and hardly in keeping of the spirit of the thread or the CAPE. My apologies.

Here's a better way of looking at it.

MM sent me the basic guides w/drum machine.

Stuff was cool and already very funny.

I can't/hadn't been playing for shit so......

Did 5 takes of whatever came into my head as I sat behind the kit.

Edited them some to get something that played front to back as an accompaniment to everything(including the drum machine part).

As much as it pains me to admit it.... MM really did do a marvelous job of weeding thru what worked for the song and the rest is what you hear.

That is not only a more proper presentation of the facts, but also a more accurate one.

Best regards,

SM.

[studjo]

I got the feeling MM kicked in your nuts after that first presentation of your drumming :lol:


Jo

[malice]

Yeah whatever.

What a whiney douchebag excuse making boat anchor.

OK.

That was TERRIBLE, and hardly in keeping of the spirit of the thread or the CAPE. My apologies.

Here's a better way of looking at it.

MM sent me the basic guides w/drum machine.

Stuff was cool and already very funny.

I can't/hadn't been playing for shit so......

Did 5 takes of whatever came into my head as I sat behind the kit.

Edited them some to get something that played front to back as an accompaniment to everything(including the drum machine part).

As much as it pains me to admit it.... MM really did do a marvelous job of weeding thru what worked for the song and the rest is what you hear.

That is not only a more proper presentation of the facts, but also a more accurate one.

Best regards,

SM.



It floors me how drummers think that the mixer made them look good.

The reality is much simpler.

The bass player is the culprit.

malice

:D

[Slipperman]

Slippy: How did you mic up the kit?


Here's a wild guess(Not being a smartass BTW). We spent a sum total of 4-5 hrs. between performance and set-up on some random afternoon we could sneak into my "B" room. My memory ain't that good.

6pc. Sonor Phonic+ kit w/Nobel and Cooley wood snare.
Paiste Signature brass.

Kik: D112
Snare: SM57
Hats: AKG 451
Ride: SM81
Toms: EV ND408
Ovhds: Josephsen C42 mod x-y
Rooms: MTGefell 930 pair in ORTF facing AWAY from kit about 10ft away from the kick drum.
Mono Room: AEA R84 directly below the 930's with the + facing the kick.

All pre's are AMEK Mozart RN desk. Probably no Eq. Maybe a HP here and there.

This is my usual "lazy bastard" set-up when I gotta play the drums on something.

Cheers,

SM.

[Mixerman]

I got the feeling MM kicked in your nuts after that first presentation of your drumming :lol:


Jo

Are you kidding me? No way. Personally, I think the first presentation was the better and more accurate of the two, and is precisely the kind of insight I was looking for in this thread.

I have no idea why Slippy posted the addendum, but it's fine either way.

For the record, the drums were brilliant. They were nothing of what I expected, and exactly what I was hoping for.

Enjoy,

Mixerman

[conejito]

Personally, I think the first presentation was the better and more accurate of the two, and is precisely the kind of insight I was looking for in this thread.

I have no idea why Slippy posted the addendum, but it's fine either way.

I wholeheartedly agree. The first post was very insightful, even revelatory. The second post was made with good intention, but lacked the substance of the first.

Slippy's a humble guy, but he usually gives us the real deal. That's why I pay extra attention to his posts.

[Calvin]

Someday, whenever MM and team have some spare moments, I'd love to read some additional installments. I dig what's been written so far. Much appreciated!

Calvin

[Calvin]

Bump.

Would love to hear more!

Calvin

[Mixerman]

Okay. My bad. I'll finish what I've started either later tonight or first thing in the morning.

Thanks for keeping on me.

Mixerman

[Mixerman]

Alright.

Slippy's drums are done. There is a general form of the song cut up (longer than what we ended up with). There were now drums. Malice turned in his bass parts, and I can't remember precisely, but I believe he had tried several things on this, and I liked one direction better than some of the others. In this particular case I was acting as a producer. Many ties in Cape, you get what you get. But I felt malice had nailed it on one particular part, and felt it was better for him to approach the whole song in that manner. Fortunately, he agreed, and we narrowly avoided a team-wide, name-calling, accusation riddled cluster-fuck over it. Or maybe, we didn't come anywhere near one of those.

So, Malice, trooper that he is, agreed to redo all of his parts. I just want to be clear here. I remember signing on to my computer the next morning and immediately getting a Skype call from Malice. He was beaming over the Skype. We have no cameras, you know? But I could hear in his voice his smile.

"Mixerman," He addressed in his thick French accent, "you are going to be very happy now. I made you a leetle mix to hear. You must download it right away."

Malice had an air of confidence about him. The kind of confidence that you have when you know you nailed it. So I downloaded the song from the FTP site. I listened. I smiled. I laughed. I guffawed. Holy fucking shit! The verses were perfect. He sewed up the bottom end on the mix with a simple part. The Bridge was much better. He more closely followed the guitar line. But the ending. What the hell did he do? What were those crazy, beautiful sounds? That's malice? That's a bass? That gorgeous distorted lead line is a bass? Then there was his Jaco Pastores impersonation. And it all fit together perfectly. Like a symphony. Clearly malice wanted his moment.

But would he get it?

You know, I have to tell you. Malice was a real trooper. I mean, this is a Cape song. Who the fuck am I to ask him to do play his part again? And why would he do it? Yeah, we're friends. But even so, clearly I was way out of line given the rules of Cape to make such a request. And as much as I make a joke about the possibility of it becoming a cluster-fuck, given the wrong words from me in combination with a closed mind by him, and it could have been ugly fast. Even for friends. So how did I avoid the cluster-fuck? He and I followed some basic rules of engagement.

Rule #1: Never deal with this sort of thing in full view. If I had asked him to redo his bass parts in front of the entire group, rather than coming to him privately, it is possible he could have been embarrassed (kinda like now!) and reacted negatively. There was no reason to involve the whole group in this. This was between us. Ultimately, in this sort of project, he needs to be happy. If he redid his parts, and he didn’t feel they were better, then I would have been somewhat compelled to respect his wishes. It’s at that point that we involve the rest of the group, so long as he’s open to other opinions.

Rule #2: Never deal with this sort of situation in writing. There is just too much chance for misunderstanding. I have to be able to feel him real time. If he is getting defensive, I must be able to adjust my tact. I need to get some understanding of how open to the idea he'll be. When dealing with sensitive issues, or dealing with egos, you must be able to react quickly. Writing a long letter to him, explaining my position is impersonal, and doesn't allow me the ability to react.

Rule #3: Drop the ego. Both malice and I have egos. This is no secret. If I approach him like I know better than he does, and/or if malice reacts to me like he knows better than me, we're done. Toast. Nothing is going to happen. There must be a mutual respect between parties. At the very least, there must be a treatment of respect. If malice became adamant against my suggestion, then I would have backed down. It's not that important. If he believes in it, then that's fine. We’ll make it work. In this case, malice listened to my notes, and came to the conclusion that he should at least try out what I was talking about. After all, we could always go back, right? So what’s the harm?

Rule #4: Approach from the positive. What would have happened if I said, "Dude. This ain't happening"? I put Malice on the defensive if I do that. It is important to present what's right about the performance or parts, to illuminate what's wrong about it. You must approach with a clear-cut idea, and make a coherent and powerful argument. In this case, I found precisely what I thought was perfect about his performance, and asked him to approach the entire song in that manner. Once I have him listening to what is RIGHT about what he did (and mind you, nothing was actually wrong, it was a difference in feels, and I thought one feel was more effective than another), then I have him thinking positively about his performance, and how he can feature more prominently those positives.

And look what came out of it. A killer bass track. Because he was willing to take suggestions. Willing to put his ego at the door. And motivated to rock our world. Which he did. This is called being professional.

Next up. Trazan on guitar.

Mixerman

[Calvin]

Thanks for the installment, MM. Timely advice, given the upcoming CAPE.

Calvin

[malice]

wow,

I have a big nice chapter for myself by Mixerman.

You see, you can be the best musician in the world (wich I'm not), you have (want) to be part of a good team, and for that, you need to listen to the coach (in this case, you say "producer")

I'm kinda used to do some musician gigs. I started as a bass player when I was younger and the reason I'm mixing and producing now, is that while being a musician in studio, I always wanted to try the "other side". Being a producer is: helping musicians to give the best of themselves, and Mixerman is doing a pretty good job at it.

But I always try every year to do an album gig as a bass player, because I do want to stay connected with the musician in me. It helps me a lot as a producer and as a human being. And it's fun too, to start with ;)

Mixerman's way to get you to do what he has in his head are not the least painfull. He lets you be yourself and expose you ideas. Then he guides you into his vision, but you never feel excluded in the process.

Anyway, we usually have good laughs, so basicaly, he can ask me anything, It won't rub me the wrong way.

Friend for life

heheh

malice

[Aardvark]

Easy for you guys.

I had already erased and replaced the first bass parts and then had to do it all over again.

Great.


Cheers,
NearandafardVark
The worst part was getting the remix past Mixerman who still thinks we are using his mix...what a marooooon!!!!
:Wink: :Coolio:

[Mixerman]

Okay, sorry to take so long between entries here, but I have had a great number of distractions.

Trazan plays guitar.

All I can say about Trazan, is wow man. The guys is so fucking good, it's sick. He's not even using an amp, and the guitars are great. No one should be able to get away with recording guitars without an amp like this guy can. That's ridiculous!

After Trazan, the track went to Goes. I think.

Someone on my team needs to refresh my memory. Then I'll continue.

Well, this is a fine fucking entry.

Mixerman

[Calvin]

I'm very interested to hear about Trazan's modus operandi for tracking his parts. I realize that the real answer to why he sounds so good is he's a great player, but I'd still like to hear how he gets away with recording sans amp.

[CaptainHook]

... then what happened???

P.s Calvin you dont like the sound of a SansAmp?? :lol:

[Fulcrum]

Now, see, I thought that when I cut my keyboards, Trazan's gats were already in place, so I was waiting on him to spill the beans on his method. But we are talking close to a year in the past and, well, I don't keep copious notes, relying instead on the software to remember shit for me.

So Trazan's magic twanger and my incessant flailing could easily have been done more or less at the same time. Therefore I'll get my story out of the way first before Mixerman asks me for it. (Oh, hush. I think none of us has an accurate timeline with a year's worth of water under the bridge.)

My strategy going in was to basically throw a lot of shit at the wall and hope that some of it stuck through to the final mix.

I think the first thing I tried was a K-2000 patch called Zawinul that resembled something I thought I heard in Nubian Sundance from Mysterious Traveller, stacked fifths that made huge chordal stabs. I thought that might go well under Malice channelling Jaco on the ride out. That didn't make it, or if it did it's well to the back of the mix. That was the only synth I used that wasn't already in the box.

The three tanpur samples that open the track up were scavenged from two or three different Indian music web sites whose names escape me at the moment. None of the samples were actually pitched in A-- I think two were in C and one in E. I brought them up to or down to pitch with Melodyne and stacked and crossfaded them in Sonar.

To go over the drone, I found a decent, organic-sounding patch that sounded sort of like a violin if I phrased a certain way. I used a wonderful freeware Karplus-Strong synthesizer called String Theory (which turned out to be my secret weapon on pretty much every CAPE IV team for whom I added tracks).

I think the chordal pad that made it into the track was done with the Korg Legacy Collection Wavestation-- you can hear it when the bass modulates up to D and Slipperman starts banging on the toms in earnest. The patch escapes me at the moment but it's one of those tinkly-attack-to-warm-square-wave patches the Wavestation always did so well.

The Hammond noises were actually from the NI B4, probably a tweak of the patch called Emersons Basic; that's the one I always seem to start with. Maybe I overdrove it a little more than the patch default.

The sequenced pattern linking the raucous vocal section with the bass madness section in the ride out was a series of whole and half notes played legato on a specific Arturia ARP 2600 V patch that used the "analog sequencer" module. The actual pattern itself didn't change, but the pitch did as I played higher up the keyboard. I think the inspiration for that was when Mixerman asked for something a little Steve Millerish there, by which I took him to mean Fly Like An Eagle-- don't ask me why I chose that one instead of, say, Threshold or Swingtown.

That was pretty much my part in the process-- the rest was on Mixerman to use or not.

[Trazan]

I'm very interested to hear about Trazan's modus operandi for tracking his parts. I realize that the real answer to why he sounds so good is he's a great player, but I'd still like to hear how he gets away with recording sans amp.

Damn...sorry about that, Calvin. I don't pay enough attention to these sticky posts...


Actually, Mixerman is wrong as usual http://planetsmilies.net/obscene-smiley-1018.gif I did use a real amp this time around, but no air was moved. In previous Cape's I've been using a mix of Nigel (amp sim on UAD-1), Guitar Rig and POD. Some times amp sim into amp sim...whatever works :). This time I used all tube amps with speaker load/sim: Egnater M4 > power amp > Palmer ADIG-LB. It works nicely for some sounds (most of all convenient when you're alone), but there's no comparison to what it sounds like with air and cones moving. No comparison :Coolio:

[archtop]

Hey mixie, anybody ?

who is that saying " Aardvark" on the theme song. ?

[Fulcrum]

That would be me.

I erased and replaced the man himself doing it.



















































































Nah, it's Aardvark.

[Calvin]

Damn...sorry about that, Calvin. I don't pay enough attention to these sticky posts...


Actually, Mixerman is wrong as usual http://planetsmilies.net/obscene-smiley-1018.gif I did use a real amp this time around, but no air was moved. In previous Cape's I've been using a mix of Nigel (amp sim on UAD-1), Guitar Rig and POD. Some times amp sim into amp sim...whatever works :). This time I used all tube amps with speaker load/sim: Egnater M4 > power amp > Palmer ADIG-LB. It works nicely for some sounds (most of all convenient when you're alone), but there's no comparison to what it sounds like with air and cones moving. No comparison :Coolio:

Hey, thanks for the reply Trazan. Helpful info, as I've been stuck trying to track late at night in my not-real-well-soundproofed basement studio/office. I tried the no-air moving techniques a bit, but I'm getting better sounds out of a real quiet amp moving a tiny bit of air. I'd much rather crank it up and let it rip, though!

[Mixerman]

Okay good. Sorry about the delay. So, Trazan used an amp. That's good. Trazan is the guy that gave the song a harmonic structure. Aardy's demo stuck with the riff the entire time. Trazan laid down the chords, and made a bridge. The bridge in this song is pretty much the payoff. A one time chorus. But it's a Theme Song structure. Therefore, what would act as a Bridge in a normal song, is the chorus in this one.

Fulcrum's keyboard parts...all I can say about his work is "wow."

Seriously. There was NO ROOM for keyboards. He had to be exceptionally creative. And not only did he MAKE room for himself, he created a whole new section for us after the chorus.

Goes, of course, is just s killer vocalist. Goes created the Seal section (that's what I call it) before the chorus. He even added a rap, which was brilliant. But I had to make a decision between breaking it down after the chorus to a Rap before the outro, or breaking it down into a Pink Floyd style breakdown. I chose the latter, and cut out the rap in it's entirety.

It took me a full day to mix this song. I basically had an enormous amount of material, and had to cut it up into something usable. Now, each time someone finished their parts, I fine tuned the arrangement. But I was sure to always keep it on the long side. The goal is to have more than what you need. But not too much. Then you chip away at the rock and find the sculpture.

By the time we got to the mix stage, I had several ways to go with the song. I had all the material necessary, it was just a matter of making an arrangement both in form and in instrumentation, which pushed the song forward at all times.

I'm going to unstick this thread, and at this point, I'm happy to answer questions, and I promise I'll keep on top of it until there are no more questions. And if you have questions for other Team Womb members, I'll make sure they know about it.

Thanks,

Mixerman