Recording - February 2013 - 18

Any other gear that you found essential? The gear I use at Brent’s place is a MacBook Pro 7.1, an Apogee Duet, a pair of API 512c preamps, an elysia xpressor. At Brent’s I used KRK RoKit 5 monitors. I also have a setup at home, where I use a 27" iMac that’s a little more powerful than the laptop, and a pair of old JBL L56s monitors that I’m used to. After mixing at Clare’s house with Brent, I’d go home, check the mixes and make adjustments. For those mixes, I only used compression to slightly change the attack on certain instruments, like vibes, marimba, or to warm up the DI bass recording, in order to maintain more natural sound. Tell us about how the editing for this music compares to the one you do for a rock or pop record. In a rock song I would normally clamp down on the timing of the instruments and really lock everything in. With the Clare Fischer pieces, the rhythms are allowed to be a little looser. Most of the sound I’m getting is through level automation and “broad strokes” of eq and compression. There are also no delays being used, which would be odd in a rock mix.

mixes, most of my life. But with the new SSL Duality they opened the door to a new versatile style of mixer. It can be used for very transparent mixes and also for very effected ones that need the extreme character that’s necessary in rock or R&B. As far as the processing, it was very natural, very little compression, and reverbs such as the EMT250 and Bricasti M7. I do a lot of fader rides, it replaces the use of compression to hold things in place, especially with a very dense arrangement like in this case. How much do you rely on the score and Brent’s guidance? I always check the score, especially for these kinds of mixes, but I start without it. I rely on my instincts first and build the mix following my gut feeling. Later in the process I go through the score and see if I am missing anything. Then I rectify anything if necessary. How much editing or fixing did you have to do? There wasn’t much editing involved because Brent had already taken care of it beforehand. I only edited some specific passages that were clearer to understand once the mix was up. Very often these edits have to do with parts of the arrangement that get buried, frequency- and level-wise, by other elements of the mix. Sometimes you have to recreate the space of these elements by moving them slightly to be better understood. Who will master the project? How do you coordinate with that engineer to obtain the best final product possible? Stephanie Villa at Marsh Mastering mastered the project. I always give instructions if I feel there is anything significant to be

Rafa Sardina on mixing

Brent Fischer with percussionists Alex Acuña and Poncho Sanchez
PHOTO BY TJ TESH

What’s your approach to this music that’s not a typical pop album? Rafa Sardina: I think the main challenges always have to do with understanding what is the main element of the song, the one conveying the message and vibe of the song. I always take it from there and build the rest, never missing sight of it. Please tell us about the mix tools, effects, and processing you used for this album? One common element in my mixes is the use of the SSL Duality. I am in love with this mixer! I have always used classic consoles for a more natural approach, like API or Neve, and SSL, mainly for pop and rock
18
RECORDING February 2013

mentioned. I’m not afraid of giving examples to follow if I haven’t worked with a specific mastering engineer. It wasn’t necessary in this case, but I always encourage them to do so. This way, the engineer can understand where you’re coming from. It’s also essential to listen and make comments on the master once received. We thank Brent Fischer, Matt Brownlie, and Rafa Sardina for their input. For more info: www.clarefischer.com www.linkedin.com/in/mattbrownlie www.rafasardina.com Beto Hale (beto@recordingmag.com) is Recording’s Editor-At-Large in Los Angeles.

http://www.ribbonmics.com http://www.clarefischer.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbrownlie http://www.ribbonmics.com http://www.rafasardina.com

Recording - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - February 2013