EQ Magazine - September 2008 - (Page 42)

MIX BUS THE COUNTRY ROAD TO A GREAT MIX down about 2dB from the album mix. We also boosted the vocal by 2dB. Hewitt: The main thing we agonize over is the level of the lead vocal. Rodney likes the vocals really loud, and, sometimes, I’m like, “Wow, that’s too loud!” But he is the artist, so he has to be happy with it. Also, I’m really big on not being timid if you have a cool guitar lick. A lot of engineers go to a default move where you can hear the lick, but it’s tucked into the background. But I say, “If you’ve got something great, turn it up!” Do you go with the view that you should monitor at low levels to make sure everything is balanced? Decker: I don’t monitor real quiet. I monitor at a medium volume, and then I crank it up so I can feel the low end. I have a set of 18-inch Quested subs hooked up to Mackie 824 monitors. I’m a firm Mackie user. I’ve had everything in here, and I always go back to these Mackies. I also wired in a cruddy boom box, so we could easily reference that “lowest-common denominator” playback system. If it sounds good on the boom box, then we’re probably okay. How do you approach EQ? Decker: There’s an old saying I adhere to: “Find the pain, reduce the gain.” So I jam the EQ at 24dB, find where a frequency sounds the nastiest, and then I cut it back. I cut way more than I boost. In fact, hardly boost at all—it’s all cut. The main EQ plug-in I use is the Metric Halo Channel Strip. I pretty much use a lot of presets, and kind of change them from there. Everything I do is 100 percent in the box. No outboard gear, no summing—nothing like that. What about compression? Decker: I don’t use stereo-bus compressors. I just compress the individual channels. Do you think about the mastering phase when you’re mixing? Hewitt: The main thing I do is try to get Billy to leave us some headroom! Billy will mix things really hot sometimes, and if you give the mastering guy a mix that’s too loud, there’s not much he can do except compress the stereo mix and make it sound smaller. Do you tend to agonize over the individual elements of the mix? Decker: I mix really fast. Most of my mixes are finished in between two and three-and-a-half hours. To be able to do this, I use a lot of templates in Pro Tools. Instead of spending two hours EQing a kick drum, I can do it in 30 seconds, because I’ve set up templates for the album that outline all the basic parameters for each instrument. Then, I can focus on fine-tuning and bringing levels up and down—working on the entire mix, rather than focusing on individual adjustments. It’s a good way to work. It’s real fast, efficient, and, most importantly, it’s fun. cording at the Learn audio reof Recording Conservatory s. Arts & Science need 4.4 Call today! 888.60, AZ 85282 pe ool.co www.audiorecordingsch 075 , you career in audio recording If you’re serious about a to your ool that is as committed to attend a recording sch success as you are. teaches you ording Arts and Sciences The Conservatory of Rec ht world-class ing equipment in eig on state of the art record t live sound room. s, and a 6,000 square foo studios, six lab ard ed Gold and Platinum aw You’ll study under season it takes to succeed. know what aart, winning instructors who Tools, Logic Pro, EAW Sm ’ll earn certifications in Pro laptop package that helps You receive a Waves, and more. You’ll ess CRAS Connect follow along in class, acc you delivery system), (our web based curriculum ional access cat and gives you 24 hour edu e. And before you even while you’re at hom as internship graduate, you’ll complete help choose. at a location you When it comes to audio… 2300 E Broadway Rd | Tem ) rt, AZ 85233 (satellite facility 1205 N Fiesta Blvd | Gilbe ml m/eq.ht . LET WE ARE THE EXPERTS E MIX. US HELP YOU GET IN TH 42 EQ SEPTEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/eq.html http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/eq.html http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - September 2008

EQ Magazine - September 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Freak Folk Todd Rundgren Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Ableton Live 7 Portable Recorder Showdown Gadgets and Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - September 2008

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