Listen Here: Addressing the mix…again

Revisiting the mix of a piece of music after it’s been released into the world isn’t something any of us particularly like doing. It’s often a tedious, thankless task that’s a little more confronting than we’d hoped. So, when should you do it?

Have you ever had that sinking feeling, listening back to a mix, going: ‘Where the hell has my fantastic two-track masterpiece gone?! It was so awesome a few months ago – or at least that was my recollection. Now it sounds like brown wallpaper with a vocal on top!’

I can assure you, this feeling isn’t unique to you, or your work. Most engineers suffer this emotional poleaxing at some point.

So, what exactly has happened here? Why is the mix, to which you dedicated so much of your technical expertise and musicality (that was an incredible achievement of sonic artistry, back then) now exhibiting ‘issues’. While that question remains, one thing is certain: amid the shock of discovering that it’s nowhere near as good as you thought it was, the mix sure sounds like it has unfinished business that needs attention.

This is something we all confront from time to time. Feeling like the floor just fell out from under you when you listen back to a recently released track can make you feel several things: like running for the hills, despair that you’re useless at your job, or frustration and panic that someone (or something) has somehow mangled your mix. Often, these feelings come crashing down on you simultaneously, which is never pleasant.

If this has been your recent experience and you’re not keen to repeat the performance, how do you prevent it from happening again? Is there a solution (that doesn’t involve never listening back to your work ever again)?

YES… AND NO

Well, strictly speaking, no… but maybe. (More on this in a sec.)

Irrespective, there’s no question about it: at some point, we all need to face our work head on. Problem is, most of us don’t like doing it. Why? Because we’re often disappointed by what we hear; ‘that vocal was too low, the snare is too loud, all those beautiful textures sound like mush…’ and so on. Our inner voice is sometimes more critical of what we’ve failed to achieve than it is glowing of our success.

And of all the musical snipers out there that might throw us a hurtful barb from time to time, the worst of them is often ourselves. We cut ourselves no slack, we’re unnecessarily negative and often torture ourselves over the pettiest things. Why we do it is anyone’s guess… maybe we can blame the school bully or bad parenting… who knows.

The best way to mitigate this feeling and become more relaxed in our own skin about our (often very public) work is to listen back to our mixes after they’re released, whether we like to or not. If it’s inconvenient, too bad. If it’s too confronting, suck it up. Otherwise, ironically, we may find we’re the only ones oblivious to the shortcomings of our work.

We don’t revisit our mixes nearly often enough, even though it’s one of the best ways to understand where our weaknesses lie. It’s also the best way to grow more accepting of our perceived ‘mistakes’.

Here are several ways to avoid the feeling that you’re on a busted elevator going down!

A/B Against Awesome Mixes

Sometimes the stark reality is simply that. For innumerable reasons too vast to delve into here, our mix simply isn’t as good as we thought it was. This may seem like a bleak truth to confront, but the important thing is to take your medicine during the mixing process, long before the song is released, as often and as regularly as you can. It might not be too good for your ego, especially in the presence of others. But what would you rather: face the music now (literally) in front of three people, while you still have the capacity to rectify the situation, or later in front of millions when you don’t? Surely the choice is obvious.

All the best engineers do this as part of their daily mixing routine, and none of them is immune from the feelings of disappointment and frustration when A/B-ing their mix against some knock-out rivals. Having the wherewithal to then do something about it is where the power of a good mix engineer resides. Facing this comparison test is, to my mind, a professional requisite.

So, breathe deeply, swallow your pride and take the comparison test squarely on the chin (like a RAT). It’s hard on the ego but good for the mix. Later, when the song is sounding truly awesome, no-one will remember any of the stepping-stones along the way. The finish line is all anyone cares about.

Inspirational Listening

This idea relates in part back to the process of A/B-ing your mix with other masterpieces of audio. Only, in this case, what I’m talking about is really delving into other people’s music outside work hours. Listening deeply to other music that you love helps open you up, spark inspiration and get your ideas flowing.

I do this every week at some point; stay up late marvelling at the work of other artists just as I did when I was 10. I am in awe of some of the mixes people pull together, and I’m always striving to be better than I was last week. But I don’t do it out of an innate competitiveness. I just love truly great sounding music. When I listen to it, it replenishes me, inspires and motivates me in ways nothing else can. It’s the thing that prevents me from ever growing tired of music or sound production. The well of inspiration runs deep, and you must imbibe.

Trip Hazards

Other things to be wary of that can unwittingly throw your mix out of balance right at the death-knock can include things like a last-minute overdub, fatigue with the song, a lack of funds, rushing to meet a deadline, poorly managed band politics (and countless other issues!).

The first on this list, the last-minute overdub, is a classic for producing a slightly off-kilter final mix. The thing about tracking another instrument just as a song’s closing in on the finish line is that they’re typically the last sound to get pushed up in a headphone mix while the musician is recording the part. If the mix engineer is also the recording engineer tracking the overdub, and if they are also listening to that headphone mix for the duration of the process, their perspective will be skewed by it. This is why I always try to avoid printing a final mix of anything on the same day as I recorded a final overdub.

Remix, Recall & Destroy

But let’s just assume now that none of these problems existed when you printed your original masterpiece. There were no final overdubs to trip you up, you hadn’t been rushing to meet an unrealistic deadline and the funds to finish the project were plentiful. Nevertheless, the mix has a problem (or problems) and you’re more than a little freaked out about it.

There’s an obvious solution here (which I’m sure many of you are aware of). Go back into the mix, assuming it’s recallable, and make the changes that seem compelling to you. This might only take an hour or two with your fresh ears, but even if it takes longer, do the work until you’re satisfied that the improvements are for the better. Once you’re certain of this you can start to make plans for it becoming the ‘new master’.

The best-case scenario here is that the original song was released online for streaming and download purposes only. If that’s the case, all you have to really do now is remaster the song and repopulate the sites where the original file was stored with the new one. It will be as if the dodgy mix never even existed!

If, however, the song was also released on vinyl, CD, and cassette (yep, that’s right, cassette) there’s really nothing you can do to recall those units that have already sold, but all is not lost. You can still address the masters of these ‘hard-copy’ release formats, if you’re feeling motivated, to include the new mix. These ‘remasters’ will ensure that the problem doesn’t keep getting printed over and over again. If you’re in the position to recall any unsold product from the first print runs, you could even take it to that extreme if you’re really determined to eliminate (almost) all trace of the problem. But that’s costly, possibly impractical, and most likely not your decision to make.

Whichever way you deal with this issue, if you find yourself in this tangled mess at some point in the future – and without wanting to sound glib about it here – let it be a lesson to you. In the future, wherever possible, make sure any mixes to which your name is associated are to your satisfaction. I know the real world is often far messier than that, but still, try to be content with anything that you hand over as a master, because once you do it becomes exponentially harder to deal with any problems that might arise.

Andy Stewart owns and operates The Mill studio in Victoria, a world-class production, mixing and mastering facility. He’s happy to respond to any pleas for pro audio help… contact him at: andy@themillstudio.com.au or visit: themillstudio.com.au