Mixing is often the most challenging part of an album project for the beginner. With few exceptions, project studios are not designed well enough to produce a balanced mix. Talent aside, the acoustic design of the room and its speaker system must be accurate to produce a mix that works in the world outside your own studio. As a mastering engineer I frequently receive mixes every month that suffer from unbalanced acoustics and/or wrong speaker choices. If you have recorded the project yourself and have attempted to mix it but are unhappy with the results, it may be a good idea to have someone else mix it for you. I can offer two approaches to mixing your project.

Studio Console Mixing:

This method of mixing has the artist and engineer mix the record together on a console, typically analog with some form of automation. A 24 track rock song will take me about one day to mix depending on the complexity and the budget I'm working with. This is how I mixed for twenty plus years and how most records were mixed throughout the 70's into 2000's. The advantage is that the mixing becomes a performance of sorts, with many decisions being made on the fly. It can produce exciting results or mixes you wish you could re-do. My studio console mixing fee is $750 per day plus travel if necessary. This does not include the studio time or materials such as tape and/or hard drives.

In the Box Mixing:

This has become the most popular method of mixing for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason is the ability to recall a mix at anytime in seconds, make a small change and then move to another song. The other important factor is it doesn't require a huge console or expensive studio to work in. The processing power now available for audio production has exceeded everyone's wildest dreams of sound quality and flexibility. The old arguments about digital vs analog have been laid to rest. For people who still want “analog sound” there are many ways to deliver it without the use of a 24 track analog tape recorder. Probably the most overlooked part is the recording itself. Choosing the right mic, preamp, and tube limiter can impart enough analog “vibe” to any recording, leaving the digital domain for storage, editing, and mixing. One can also layback his/her stereo mixes to analog tape if s/he still wants more vibe. Some of the plug-in software now available models classic analog equipment and has come so far in development that people like myself can't tell the difference between that and the “real thing.” In my case, I go a step further and mix through a classic Neve console buss system straight to 1/2” analog tape.

After I receive your files I will do a mix to the point that I'm happy with it and post it on my server for you to download and comment on. I will make any changes you request and repost the mix. I can work on more that one mix at a time if necessary and everything is recallable.

My fee for mixing is based on a number of factors:

1. How many tracks each song has;
2. How much editing is needed (timing and/or tuning);
3. How many songs on the album;
4. The condition of the files and/or the recording itself.

Normally I will request to see and hear the files first before making a quote. The Tools sessions or .wav files on a DVD or firewire drive. In some cases I will mix one song as a test before committing to an album project.

Once the mixing process gets started I will upload the mixes to my server for your review and comments. Changes to a mix can be made at anytime during the process. In most cases a few revisions are all that is needed. I prefer a pay as you go method: when a mix is complete and approved by you, I'm paid for that song and then I move on to the next one.

Mixing fees are between $250 to $750 per song. The price includes all studio time and materials. In most cases I will mix to 1/2” tape and you have the option of purchasing the master analog tapes. I can offer discounts on the mastering if you would like me to handle that part of the process. See my mastering page for more information.

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