TO MIX OR NOT TO MIX?
Now that you’ve got your album recorded, what happens next? Many people believe that when they leave a studio after recording their album, all it needs is mastering. My good sir/Madame, you would be sadly mistaken. I could not count the amount of times I’ve been presented with music from various artists and was asked to master a song that wasn’t even mixed. When asking these people if they had anyone mix their music, they would respond in such confusion as if I had asked them to point me in the direction of the nearest unicorn ranch.
Many think that mixing and mastering is one in the same and assume it is done by the same person. Yes, it is true that a Mastering Engineer can switch roles and Mix an album, but that doesn’t mean that every Mixing Engineer can Master an album. Mastering requires a great deal of skill, special software/hardware and an acoustically treated room to achieve what is required of a properly mastered product.
HUNTING FOR A MIXING ENGINEER
Let’s start off by saying that mixing is an essential part of the completion of an album. It has been said, and is now written in stone! How do you find a good mixing engineer? There are plenty of options for mixing engineers... Actually, let me rephrase that... There is an abundance of mixing engineers. What you need to find is a quality engineer. How do you do this, you ask? Well kid, stick with me and I’ll show you things (said in a 1920’s Chicago mobster accent).
First, if you’re in a major city, it’s a good chance that you can find an engineer in your immediate geographical location. Second, THE INTERNET!... Speaking from personal experience, the internet is a great way to find qualified people to do a specific job that you need done. The majority of my clients, that I produce and mix for, don’t even live in the same country as me!
Regardless of where you find your engineer, make sure you do your research on them. Look for their discography to see what albums they worked on or who they’ve worked with and whether or not you think this person can understand your style of music based on their previous albums and what genres they’ve worked on. Choosing someone based on their previous work is a very smart thing to do, especially if they’ve worked on something that aligns with your vision of what you want your music to sound like. This is something that great producers like Rick Rubin do on a regular basis. If Rick Rubin has a particular vision for an album he’s producing, he knows exactly which engineers can make that happen.... So, if Rick Rubin does it, that means it’s right... Cause the man is a music producing god. Yup, I went there.
Next week, I will provide a checklist of some things you should keep in mind when looking for the right mixing engineer for you. It’s a short, yet sweet, checklist.
Until next time, keep making epic music! Also, please feel free to comment and share this article with fellow music making friends of yours... Unless you want to make better music than them, cause you’re a dubious person... Hey, hey, I don’t judge. People are entitled to being evil.
See you all next week!