EQ Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 26) Elegantly R aw at the mix stage was a nightmare, and it was often avoided—often to the detriment of the song. With ProTools, I can try radical ideas that may really improve the song—right up to the last minute before printing. W h a t wa s yo u r b i t r a t e ? P a l m e r : I’m not one for 96K recordings—24-bit/44.1K is fine for me. It’s funny that as we increase sampling and bit rates on the production side of music, the public is moving the other way, and downgrading to mp3s. They are showing us they really care about the songs, artists, and performances. That’s not an excuse for poor production and mixing, but it’s a reminder about what makes someone want to own a piece of music. The song is—and always will be—king. If the song is great, the recording is automatically in a good place. As they say, “The best cure for a bad mix is a great song. ” So h ow d i d yo u a p p ro a ch t h e m i x f o r V e n u s D o o m. P a l m e r : I mixed as I went. I feel that I can’t put off a decision until the mixing stage. I need to get it right immediately. I’ll put all my samples on the drums, ride vocals, put delays and effects on parts, and try my best to simulate the finished product. Doing this really helps prevent over-producing an album, and it keeps the music in perspective. I also think it really helps prevent “over recording. ” The HIM sound is not a meat-andpotatoes rock sound—there’s a lot of depth. The challenge is in keeping the raw, rock elements without taking anything away from the band’s soundscapes. As the arrangements are complex, telling the story successfully with the mix is vital. I try to keep the sound moving in sync with the musical changes so, when mixing, I’ll change my monitoring depending on what I’m listening to. To get a tight sound with the bass and the bass drum knitting together, I’ll play the music on the big speakers where I’ll get the best bass response. When I’m balancing vocal levels, I’ll listen more quietly onYamaha NS10s. For checking the overall fidelity, I go more for Genelec 1031As or the big speakers. And, of course, the car is a good point of reference.That’s where everyone is going to hear the album anyhow. instrument to play countermelodies, or to harmonize specific parts—such as playing a seventh or ninth on top of a guitar playing a root and a fifth. Things like that add dimension, not clutter. Palmer: Janne Puurtinen used a Roland V-Synth, a Fantom X6, and a Clavia Nord Modular for most of the album. But we also recorded MIDI tracks for all his parts, so that we could apply plug-ins to the data, and then print a combination of the keyboard tracks. Many ro ck bands are going back t o analog tape to record their basics, so w hy did yo u choose to track t h e e n t i r e a l b u m o n Pro To o l s ? P a l m e r : I’m not one of these people who romanticize the days of tape. I put in my fair share of years biasing 24-track machines! Of course, I love the sound of tape, and I still see its sonic appeal. But when you look at what you gain with the control and creativity of Pro Tools, then Pro Tools wins hands down. You can make extreme changes to sound and arrangements faster, and every change is non-destructive. With tape, crafting a completely new arrangement 26 EQ FEBRUARY 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.microtechgefell.com http://www.microtechgefell.com http://www.microtechgefell.de http://www.eqmag.com
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