This is some key knowledge for all recording studios in Ottawa.
Hey guys, I felt like it was important to start off this blog strong with some wise words straight from the heart of The Cave. Today's tip originates from my childhood understanding of the basics of mixing. I will be writing articles that - I hope - will help young engineers figure out how to best present their work to the world. It's a jungle out there and you gotta make sure that your material stands out versus the competition.
True or false?: If you want your mix to sound like an industry mix, you should listen and reference to other industry mixes in order to get a good idea for where the levels should be sitting? (Yes) We all know what the answer is supposed to be but for SOME reason, many engineers still feel like they can make do without it. My question is why? Why would you challenge the OGs? I feel that the FIRST thing you should do when you step into any studio (including your own) is play a reference mix in order to calibrate your ears to what industry levels for frequency balance and dynamics should sound like. This will help you establish what the levels for your mix should be, regardless of what room you're in. Trust me, unless you woke up lucky today (which does happen to me) then you are not going to come out with the mix you wanted unless you reference other industry songs. One day, some engineer decided what an ideal balance of frequencies for a good mix were and we rolled with it. It's changed a little bit over the years but THESE ARE FACTS PASSED ON FROM ENGINEER TO ENGINEER OVER THE YEARS.
BRINGING REFERENCE CDS TO EVERY RECORDING STUDIO IS A power MOVE
I was fortunate enough to learn this at an early age. I was about 12 in my basement on a winter in Ottawa with some cheap JVC speakers when it happened. I started by pulling out the classic albums i grew up on like Nas' Illmatic or Dre's Chronic (2001 is better mixed than the original IMHO). Immediately I could tell the differences of the industry mixes versus mine. I had either way more bass or not enough. Too much treble or not enough. After a lot of experience, I can tell you that a common noob engineer mistake is to make the voice too bright and too skinny. I don't blame you. Sometimes, especially in untreated rooms, it's hard to tell what could be wrong with a mix and why it's not sounding fully cohesive. This has to do with the physics of sound and how different frequencies react in different room settings. Most guys start off in the bedroom or the basement, like me.
Now, I recommend that you listen to modern songs and those that you feel have the best mixing. I've included a few links to some albums that I personally feel are mixed and mastered amazingly.
Good luck my young mix gods.
LJ out
