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Mix 911 - Meryl's Song Session 1
Monday, March 7, 2011 at 11:16PM | Email Article The second song in the Mix 911 series. This time a song from Matthew Hess in the USA.
Matt wrote this song last year and feels it hasn't got the energy he would like.
Russ shows how he adds some additional parts and also take away some superfluous tracks to start this new Mix 911. Remember everything used is part of Pro Tools 8 & 9.
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Reader Comments (7)
Wow Russ your amazing! I wrote and recorded that song for my girlfriend and gave it to here Valentines Day 2010, she is still my girl ;-) Since then I have been trying to better the mix, add something to it, but it never sounded right this happens to a lot of stuff I do, I keep it simple or I will F&^% it up. Watching what you are doing to Meryl's song is awesome and so helpful, its like a door has been opened!!!! Thank you so much, I am grateful and humbled.
Matt.
A great job once again on once again a great song.
I'd love to see what exactly you did on the vocals though. I've been messing about with melodyne but it always started to sound robotic like when pitch correction took place. And it was not even that big of an adjustment.
Luc
I wanted to concur with Luc, I would love to get a video detailing your normal process for recording backup voices, and what plugins you normally put them through. If a video like this already exists, can you please let me know about it?
I'd like to know if it is normal for the mixing engineer to add instruments into a recording. I think that some of the folks I have worked with would be miffed if I just added vocals and guitars onto their track. Do you tell the artist you might do this, or do you just do it and hope they love it? I have a hard time with this question cause I think if they would just hear what I have in my head they would love it, but I dont want to run the risk of them feel like I wreck their song by adding a vocal or drum loop that they didn't want. Also, who pays for that? Do you charge them to add backing vocals or guitars of your own? Or again do you do it because the mix and song depend on you and your name and it is better with it than without?
I am not that great at playing, but let's just say I am better than most people I record and would love 2-10 more hours or tracks guitars cause I have ideas that they dont, but they dont want to pay for me to sit there and work out parts.
Help.
Tim
Amazing stuff, Russ. A great song getting the arrangement and mix it deserves.
@ Tim
I'd like to know if it is normal for the mixing engineer to add instruments into a recording.
>Is it normal, not sure, but often my role as been both engineer and producer and in that situation then there have been occasions where stuff is added at this stage to either enhance or fix the tracks.
Do you tell the artist you might do this, or do you just do it and hope they love it?
>Not always, I replaced the entire bass playing on an album with a session guy because the guy couldn't cut it - he never knew, just thought he sounded great, it saved the album.
I have a hard time with this question cause I think if they would just hear what I have in my head they would love it, but I dont want to run the risk of them feel like I wreck their song by adding a vocal or drum loop that they didn't want.
>The artist - producer - engineer role is about relationship, so I wouldn't recommend this if you just have punters coming in for a day to use your studio, in a lot of cases you just have to bite you tongue and let them do the best they can.
Don't confuse renting your studio out to anyone as the same as having a artist/producer role, they are a totally different dynamic.
Also, who pays for that? Do you charge them to add backing vocals or guitars of your own? Or again do you do it because the mix and song depend on you and your name and it is better with it than without?
>Not normally paid for it, again it's part of a project at a set cost so it's creative choice that needs to be made.
a couple Projects i actually put the vocal in elastic, and tuned it by sylables, im sure that wasn't the best or fastest approach, but that's how the singer heard it in a session and that's how he wanted it. i use melodyne and have my struggles with that, i dont like autotune for anything you want to be realistic. i never tried nectar though, may give that a go. have you ever "elastic tuned" a vocal?