Episode 72 - The Future of LWMR
Show Notes
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 72
Nov 9, 2021
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 62
Show notes by: Bradley Will
The Future of Live with Matt Rad
Editor’s Note: Jon and Matt spend the first 37 min discussing the future of LWMR and what forms it might take.
Matt:
It’s important for me to never have LWMR behind any kind of paywall and to give people free access to this information.
Controlling Midrange
Matt:
I think so much about low end and high end and midrange becomes the thing that I think about the least, but it’s the most important range because that’s where the vocal is.
When I hear people who are having trouble with the midrange, it is usually because there are elements that are in the way of each other.
Jon:
I’m the opposite. I love mids. I don’t want to mix “scooped”.
I shape the midrange by doing a lot of cuts and reductive EQ and then tone-shaping with tubes or saturating plugins to re-integrate that warmth.
You have to get separation of each instruments and then you have to put it back together. You have to find a way to glue it all together.
People think that they like super separated mixes, but they really don’t.
Midrange and transients is how we get things to jump out of speakers.
I think about dynamically controlling transients.
For example, I took a lot of high-mids (almost 10db) out of a piano today and then I used a tape emulator and transient shaper to put the definition back in.
People tend to think of high-mids when they say mids because that range (2.5k-5.5k) is the most offensive, but also the most exciting.
You don’t want to get rid of too much of this range, but you also don’t want too much, so dynamically controlling this area is important.
I like 2kHz quite a bit. A lot of people think that’s weird, but a lot of our favorite records have quite a lot of 2k.
2k is really musical. It’s harmonically energetic without being hurtful.
Matt:
Taking 4k out of a vocal with the Weiss De-esser allows you to get that super-bright modern vocal without sounding annoying or ear-piercing.
Jon:
Today I took 15dB of 4k out of a vocal. I’m not afraid to do big moves.
Most people don’t know that you can make moves that are so dramatic. Most people think you have to do subtle moves.
Sometimes you have to make the bold decision that’s going to make you hear the sound the way that you want to hear the sound. Use your ears.
This range is hard to do well. For a time Tony Maserati thought my mixes were too warm because of this, but I’ve been a lot more careful in the last 5-6 years.
You can tone-shape these regions in with the Weiss De-esser or the Izotope Spectral Shaper.
Being too close to the mic or stacking up background vocals through a cheap converter will give you too much 5k-7k. Those are not frequencies that sound good to the human ear in large amounts. That needs to be controlled.
Matt:
People who push things too hard are what change music.
For example, Dylan Brady of 100 Gecs is putting a ton of short-decay reverb on his sounds and it makes things sound wide and upsetting and in your face. It’s so opposite the way music has sounded for the last 10-15 years.
When I try to duplicate those sound it makes me do things that feel extreme to me.
Jon:
Doing a move like subtracting 15dB of 4k will open up so much space in a mix and will then allow you to go somewhere else.
These are door-opening moves sometime.
If you’re doing lots of mixing reps and your being subtle about it every time, then you’re probably not going hard enough.
Q: What’s your protocol if you want to make an edit during the mix? Do you just go for it? Do you present an alternate bounce?
Matt:
There is no straightforward answer to a question like this when you as the mixer are stepping into production land.
It’s all about the relationship that you have with the artist.
If you’re going to do things beyond the credit you were hired for, don’t just make the move as the main version.
Unless the move is really extreme and everybody loves it, don’t go trying to weasel your way into revenue streams and points for the song. Don’t try to leverage it into a co-producer credit.
If you’re the mixer, just make an alternate version and present it as “Hey, I tried this slight re-cut”.
Jon:
When Tony Maserati was mixing ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz, the version he received had a lot of drums all the way through the song.
Because of Tony’s relationship with Jason he was able to say “I think this song would be better if the drums stayed out for longer in the song and just focused on the guitar and vocal.”
Tony is invested in the artistry. He’s simply trying to make the best move for the record.
Matt:
If you are continually communicating to the artist that your goal is to make the best thing that will go a long way.
Sometimes you have to give them different levels of assurance that although you may be making crazy moves, it’s their record and if they don’t like it then it won’t stay on the record.
Jon:
The more you are open to possibilities in a mix process with a collaborator and when you choose and pick your battles, the artist will hear you out better when you do decide to stand up for something you feel strongly about.
As long as you keep communicating openly there will be trust built in that openness.
That comes with being experimental, open, and no ego involved. The moment you pull the trigger and put your foot down, they will be more receptive to what you’re proposing.
Matt:
The number one trust builder is having success together.
This is why long term relationships with artists and collaborators is important.
