Episode 74 - Q&A w/ Jon Castelli
Show Notes
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 74
Dec 7, 2021
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 64
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Q: Tips for producing/mixing and communicating on a spontaneous and tight deadline?
Matt:
If you figure out how to get things completed on a tight deadline you will get hired a lot. The people who can execute that will get paid a lot and hired forever.
Jon:
I like to get on a text thread and chat with the band if I can.
I make my boundaries clear in regards to how long I am available. I keep it communicative and open about what I need.
I’m full disclosure about my availability right from the beginning.
Oftentimes I’ll send a track off and then be working on another record in the downtime between notes from the band.
Matt:
The last minute things are where all of your preparation really shows up, like your organization, your communication, or your proficiency.
Being very communicative is super underrated.
I don’t always have something to say to the label or the A+R, but perhaps I should get in the habit of saying something
Communication makes people feel great.
The second most important thing after high quality is “Did everybody feel involved? Did they have a stake in it? Did they feel good through the process? Did they feel listened to?
These things are hugely important. It’s very underrated. Especially when things are stressful. Everyone is super invested and stressed out. The best thing is being communicative.
I pretty much never say “fuck these notes”. You’ve got to finish the project that you committed to and be a pro about it.
In the future if they approach you again and you didn’t have a good time the first time, then you should say “no” to their offer when it comes back around.
When you commit to a project you follow it through.
I can’t ever recall a production job where I got deep into it and then had to bow out.
Jon:
I’m never stressed about mix notes. They’re relatively easy for me to do.
If you try everything the client suggests, eventually they will realize if an idea is good or not.
If someone is asking for a note in a section, that usually means something is wrong in that section. Not necessarily exactly what they think they need to change.
I love prioritizing the fast deadline. That energy gets me going.
The times when people are coming to you with a tight deadline are normally going to come from people who you have a close relationship with and already know how to communicate.
Otherwise it’s going to be a referral from one of those people.
Matt:
The thing that marks professionals is the ability to take responsibility for things.
Jon:
We’re being hired for our confidence. The confidence to say “this is good” and “this is done”.
My favorite role is to be the finisher.
Matt:
It’s important to understand who is making the real decisions in the process.
Is it the artist, the producer, the manager, the label?
Figuring this out and being flexible is something to be mindful of.
It’s very important to be perceptive about that, but also keep everyone feeling engaged in the process.
Figure out who the decision maker is.
Q: How do you deal with mental health, when you feel so low and you still have work to do?
Matt:
Neither of us are mental health professionals, but I think one of the big overlooked factors for people who sit in a chair all day is physical health.
Getting outside and exercising will take you far and will help your brain to feel better.
Jon:
I feel similarly, but I also have this “blue collar” brute force mentality to my work and just push through things if I’ve already committed to do them.
Maybe i’ll prioritize a certain track to mix that I can relate to more in that moment instead of trying to jump into something that I’m not excited for at that time.
Matt:
Sometimes you just need to sit down and do the work, even if the inspiration isn’t coming.
Inspiration will come when you show up and simply start to do the work.
90% of success is showing up.
Q: What’s your workflow on recording and engineering big, bright pop vocals?
Matt:
Anything with good high end. Like a C800.
Make sure that the vocal chain sounds good and don’t over-commit to things if you don’t understand how the setup sounds in an unfamiliar studio.
Just get a little further away from the mic. Being too close will mess up your proximity effect and your sibilance.
Jon:
I reduce brightness before I add brightness.
I place the brightness in areas where people don’t think it should be for a pop vocal.
Sometimes it’s super-deep cuts in the upper-mid presence area. Getting the super clean air on top without having to add any.
Many people are far too close to the mic and that makes it very tedious for me edit out the issues that were recorded.
A tip: After you do all of the super-tedious work, go for a walk to clear your head.
It’s the only way.
For pop vocals you’ll often notice a constant density in the top-end. That can be exhausting.
Matt:
The Sony C800 is immediately brighter than most mics, but when it comes time to mix it you often have to do a lot more work to tame that top-end.
Having a mic like a 251 that’s a little more versatile gives you more control.
Jon:
I think there’s a better way to do what the C800 does.
A ribbon mic with a Pultec-style top-shelf boost will get you there sounding better. You just have to be braver with an EQ than you might normally be.
Q: Tips for dialing in attack/release on compressors?
Matt:
Start by maxing-out the compressor and see how it reacts in the extreme. See what the attack and release are doing and then dial it back.
Jon:
Don’t do any 10ms attack times on your drum buss or your mix buss. Ever. Don’t do it. Take my word for it.
Q: Thoughts on the Gracie Abrams record?
Jon:
I mixed this record. Check out the ‘Older’ vocal on her record. I really love the sound of that.
I took every plugin off and mixed it from scratch.
It took me more time to mix the vocal than it did to mix the instrumental. That what a mix usually takes these days.
It was a lot of clip-gaining. A lot of reduction into limiting. A lot reduction of the artifacts and making sure that all the consonants are balanced so that the energy is there. So that it’s pop.
I hate on records (like the Adele record) when the singer starts belting and you can hear the limiter clamp down on overtly emotional point in the song. I don’t get it. It makes it sound smaller.
The idea is “how can I bring the most character out of someone’s vocal when I mix?”
Instead of volume, If you automate upper-midrange presence on certain notes that are supposed to feel like the come out more it will sound like they’re hitting the mic harder.
Matt:
After evening out the volume and processing the vocal how I want, I will often clip-gain certain words up and down so that they hit the processing differently for emphasis and to make it more dynamic.
Jon:
Dynamics in records are how you get hips to move.
