Like the mediocre cup of coffee one encounters everywhere, anyone can record tracks or loop samples and mix them down to a stereo file. However, attention to nuance and overlooked subtleties in the mix can propel your music above the average mass, like that elusive excellent cup of coffee.
You will undoubtedly be asking what makes me qualified to mix your music. In short, my experience, room/equipment and education.
- For several years, I have been focused on mixing in just a few genre specific styles gaining a broader understanding of the most important elements of the mix in electronic, jazz, folk and pop recordings. My ears have been trained and skills honed from this experience.
- My room is acoustically treated with GIK acoustic panels and bass traps to accurately ascertain the state of your mix using KRK Rokit 5 near-field studio monitors. (see my studio above)
- I have a BA in music from the renowned University of North Texas College of Music graduating in 2001.
You may further be asking why anyone would pay to have their music mixed. Can't I mix it myself and send it on to a mastering service?
- You certainly can if you are confident in the accuracy of your mixing environment, but please be cautious of corrective mastering which cannot give you the result that a properly mixed and mastered solution will bring.
- Continuing, many mastering engineers will ask that you go back and correct problems in your mix and would use corrective mastering as a last resort. Then there are those who will quickly churn out your master, warts and all, without giving you a chance to deal with the underlying issues in the mix, while gladly taking your cash.
- In other words, your focus should be toward getting the mix as good as it can be rather than relying on the mastering engineer to work a miracle with a flawed mixdown (this due to the effect of room modes from an untreated mixing environment as explained on GIK Acoustics' Room Acoustics Primer).
- Further, see this article regarding mixing mistakes from Universal Audio referencing the above issues. Please pay special attention to the information on the common problem of excessive low-end in mixes done in small rooms with no acoustic treatment.
- I am offering a mixing service for those who feel they have already done a tremendous amount of work by writing, playing and recording their tracks and would like to hand off the mixing duties to capable hands for a superior result in an acoustically accurate environment.
Finally, you can expect a trustworthy, forthright experience from me. I will do all that I can to help your music sound its best and to prepare it properly for mastering, which is the final step after mixing. I will gladly refer you to someone more qualified if I cannot provide what is needed for your project and will never waste your time or money.
