platinum mixer

2010-12-11T18:40:00.001-08:00

Getting ready to go into the studio today here in Ulan Bataar Mongolia to record a song for Mongolia...very excited...

New Maya Solovéy record Preview Vol1(English) and Vol2(Spanish/Portuguese)

2009-08-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of two EPs slated for release in the Fall. This one is in English and contains some haunting and enchanting songs. The second EP is in Portuguese and Spanish and contains some beautiful Brazilian 7 string songs from Maya's Latin side. Headphones strongly recommended but not necessary. And yes, thats real "Cabin Thunder" on Touch courtesy of Robert "Chicken" Burke in his Woodstock Cabin Hideaway...

Here is the second EP in Portuguese and Spanish.

Muzapps announces new iPhone app: iSINGR

2009-08-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Playing for Change

2009-06-20T00:35:00.000-07:00

Today i feel a bit silly to have come across this so late in the game. but as they say, better late than never. I have often opined about the power of music to move people, emotionally , spiritually, but I was really taken by surprise when I came across this video on YouTube. I guess part of it is my heritage of being born in New Orleans, which still has such resonance for me, even though I've made New York City, my home for 29 years. I was moved, literally to tears when I watched and listened to this. Music indeed i sso much more than a business. It is part of our world, will always be and is a big part of what interconnects us and makes us most human. Enjoy.

How many speakers is enough??

2009-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt from a response i gave to a student inquiring about "how to make sure that the mix sounds good everywhere, i.e. in clubs, studios, little speakers, headphones":

From elementsofmixing.ning.com (our social network for mixers)

Hey john,
This is a very old school answer, but i think the best way to insure it plays well in all mediums is to have those mediums.
babyface, one of my favorite producers to work for, often would go out into the parking lot jsut to listen in the car. the "car test" is so important, that joe tarsia, who quilt sigma sound studios in philly where the o'jays and many other philly soul artists recorded, had a volkswagon bug shell in the studio, you could get in and listen to your mix in the car. he also had the equivalent of a little radio on the console, and he had a mini broadcaster hooked up to the console, so you could listen to the mix coming out of the radio...im always buying cheap boxes at little stores and bringing them home, the shittier the better... a colleague often reffered to it at the "secretary effect", because secretaries often have a little box on their desk at a low volume...an excellent way to test if the lead vocal is speaking, you can hear all the parts , etc...of course, i also recommended a three way rig like the krk rig i have with a subwoofer. if you are making anything like hiphop its absolutely crucial that you hear whats going on down in the bottom of the mix, near-field monitors are cools for balancing, however when it comes to 'tuning the low end" of the mix, its crucial that you hear whats going on. i would have as many monitoring situations as you can get, the more ways you hear your mix the better. bbb

IS the music bizz dead? (Quick answer):NO!

2009-06-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

It is certainly easy for artists to feel overwhelmed and defeated in today’s marketplace. Because the Majors , in their sloth and greed did not define a new direction, they failed. Not only themselves, but the whole industry of listeners. When software companies and video game companies were innovating, sometimes more than once a year, the record companies were litigating and praying for a miracle. As a good friend once said, if it was a shoe store with only two good pairs of shoes and everything else was garbage, they wouldn’t last a season. Well, they lasted a little longer than a season, but mostly from catalog sales, and now the internet has wiped that out forever. Also on the independent artist front, I empathize with the overwhelming feelings that most indie artists have , between social networking, printing up flyers, answering emails and posts, and writing, producing, and manufacturing, most artists are doing the work of ten people or more. This is a stark contrast to what I used to see when I would go into labels for meetings. It was not unusual to see most of the people on the floor surfing the internet, chatting with colleagues, or just daydreaming.
That was then , this is now. I predict in the next two years a collapse of the major label system, similar to the intransigence of General motors in the face of competition from abroad. While toyota innovated and listened closely to customers, the labels sued their customers. The get what they deserve. As for artists, I strongly suggest reaching out to the vast talent pool that is being created by the economic downturn. As an engineer/producer that had many hit records and awards, I can personally tell you that my mantra is innovate or die. I am looking into more and more ways of trying to make my projects a better experience for listeners, whether its adding HD mixes, videos, biographical material, free mp3s to share with friends. All these add value to the listener, and echoing what I read above a happy listener is the name of the game. the music business is not dead, its only lying in the middle of the road…It’s high time we pick ourselves up and get out there and prove that the indie model can work. Ive seen it first hand.

Bassy bob is a veteran of the business, with 30 years mixing records for artists like christina aguilera, sheryl crow, bob dylan, and biggie smalls. He now considers himself an “indie” artist. He also teaches mixing now to indie producers and mixers.

Platinum mixer Tony Maserati talks about Focus

2009-05-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Legendary mixer Tony Maserati talks in this video about how to attain focus in the mixing process, using his signature Maserati plug-ins from Waves, Tony talks about working with the producer to attain the right level of focus to develop the producer's vision and bring out the most important aspects of the song.

Pixel linking with Embedded Video Placement

2009-05-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is a video that describes how to embed information from advertisers into your video presentation. Viewers can click on something they find interesting, bookmark it, visit the site, and continue watching the video. This is definitely a new alternative to tradidtional lower third advertising, and pre-roll, post-roll ads.

mastering two with titles2

2009-05-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Bassy bob and Ryan West are both decorated Grammy winning mixers. Bassy Bob from Elements of Mixing shows you how to master and gain a track in ProTools using the Steven Massey L2007. (Eng)

Get away from the speaker, sir....

2009-05-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

As a mix engineer who has spent way too many hours in front of a pair of near field speakers, it wasn't until maybe twenty years into my career that I started "getting away" from the speakers and going to other parts of the control room , or better out in the hall to listen to the record. You might think that that's crazy, given you can't hear right from left, or even localize anything. But the amazing thing about getting away from the speakers is that you hear things in the mix you'd never notice sitting in front of the monitors, like the fact that the lead vocal is not really speaking...little things like that. When I was a bit younger a tech told me a story about an engineer that put a pir of ns-10 speakers on the floor in front of the ssl, pointing out towards the studio glass. I thoght that was totally crazy, so I immediately copied it...

It was amazing the things I heard on those speakers on the floor, much like the badly setup dorm speakers from my college room mate. I could tell if certain bass notes were too loud, I could tell the vocal was still dark, and too soft. For a couple years I did that NS-10 trick on the floor. Then when I built my mix facility in 1998 I discovered that there was an anomaly in the control that I couldn't really hear true bass sitting right in front of the console, so my partner Yaron Fuchs and I got into the habit of having one of our assistants "run" pro tools from the front so we could listen from behind the producers desk. It had a big impact on me, my mixes got better, and when I felt my attention fading or my ears get tired, I would go out in the hallway and listen form there on the couch. It was so easy for me to hear things that were impossible for me to process sitting in front of the speakers. Give it a try sometime, you'll be surprised the things you hear when you're in the next room, out in the studio, or just on the other side of the room.

the Producer's always right...

2009-05-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

There's an old saying in business...the customer is always right. I've been having an ongoing discussion with some of my younger fellow engineers about studio demeanor, bedside manner, what ever you want to call it. The demise of the traditional studio system has left many young engineers and mixers wondering what they should be saying, or not saying in the control room. Many think that the producer they are working with is "an idiot, doesn't know anything about music, or worse, doesn't care." What do you do when you think you know better than the man (or woman) in the producer's seat.

Well, I answer...Who's the producer? If it's the person who hired you, you are lucky indeed...You have a chance to help your producer achieve what he/she wants to by helping them through the decision making process. But that can only happen if they trust you. How do you gain their trust? Well, for starters, you're not going to even be on the session for more than a few minutes if you alienate your producer by telling them how stupid and tasteless they are, even if that's what you're thinking. Tact and a gentle demeanor can take you a long way in the business. There are always ways to get your ideas into the mix without alienating people. For starters, you're probably going to be in that room for hours, days, maybe even years! I was in room at Puffy's studio for years...Because the producer is busy with other things besides being in the room constantly poring over the sn drum eq, there are abundant opportunities to make creative decisions in the mix. You need to absorb all the feedback you're getting from the producer, produce those changes quickly, be responsive to the producers needs, and keep the mix moving forward as quickly as possible. People's ears get tired quickly, and most musicians and producers don't have the Ear endurance that we do. I have also found that in my years as a mixer working for many legendary producers, I sometimes thought I knew better..."that vocal is way to fucking loud, why so much reverb, who's idea was that drum machine part?" only to find that those changes the producer made at the end of the mix were often part of what made the song a hit. Producer's *(good ones) think MACRO. Good mixers think MICRO, massaging every detail until it's a finely honed ice sculpture, but are able to absorb MACRO ideas, and still have the mix be slamming, with a great vocal, and loud drums. It's a balancing act, but just remember, jsut because you've been sitting with the track for three days doesn't mean you have the answer. Like film making, mixing and producing records is a group experience. The more you can help the producer to realize his dream without interjecting your own ideas, the happier he/she will be, and the better chances you will have of being called again...and again, hopefully!

2009-01-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

Bassy Bob in session

2009-01-04T16:37:00.001-08:00

Elements of Mixing Seminar 2

2008-04-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

New Promo video for Elements of Mixing seminar May 25th in New York City.

Selective Focus

2008-02-04T18:18:00.001-08:00

Much of what I do as a mixer over the course of developing a finished mix for a song is what i call Selective Focus. It's basically a glorified term for paying attention to one thing, or maby two things at a time while listening to playback. When I begin a mix, I always start with all the faders at unity and I start to sort of clumsily put together a perspective for the song, moving elements like bass, drums, guitars, and keys into a rough perspective. From that point on, I begin "shaving" off elements either by doing individual fader passes on the part, say the lead Vocal, while also paying attention to other tangential parts, like say a piano accompaniment on guitar lick that supports the vocal. I have always closed my eyes while riding things because it eliminates many of the things that might be getting in the way of my concentration.
it is a technique that sort of came to my by osmosis, I just found that once I began closing my eyes while focusing that it was easier to "see" the image of the element that I was riding, in this case the lead vocal. Once I have a decent balance on the lead vocal, I sortof place the backgrounds in the back of the mix and then begin the process of bringing out the elements that I feel are important to the listener.

Obviously, if the band or performer play guitar or piano or other lead instrument, that instrument is going to take nearly top billing next to the lead vocal. I think about the Edge and Bono, or Tori Amos and her piano playing, or James Taylor and his acoustic guitar. These elements do a contrapuntal dance through the course of the song. The current project I'm working on for Geffen records is a 19 year old operatic tenor, Griffith Frank, who is the son of legendary synth-pop R and B genius David Frank, who's band The System, had a string of hits in the 80's. David wrote nearly half the songs on the album, and plays piano on quite a bit of the record. In addition, there are some amazing orchestrations by Jeremy Lubbock, who I believe is one of the greatest living orchestrators. Part of my job is to navigate the constantly changing relationships between Griffith, David, and the Orchestra, all of whom may move into center stage at any moment for a beat or a bar.

This is where my technique of selective focus comes into play...I decide before I begin a playback of the song to focus my attention on one or two things at the most.
In this case , maybe the lead vocal and grand piano, who are doing a musical dance where the piano, if well excecuted, is nicely playing in the cracks around the vocal.
I close my eyes, get my ears squarely between the monitors and I focus my concentration on the two things Im thinking about, with my fader on whatever I'm riding. Once they get into wht I believe is a good perspective, I continue with the process with the next supporting instruments until everything is in good perspective.

I usually do this process many many times before using any EQ or COMPRESSION or other processing, particularly with liverecording that are phase sensitive, like Orchestras, Pianos, and Drums. Many mixers are happy to dive right in EQing the drums individually before getting a proper balance and perspective. The problem I have with that approach is that it immediately begins messing with the overall phase of the kit which makes it harder to "see" the images. The same happens with any stereo image when EQ is employed, because EQ is by definition accomplished by altering the phase. This is why many legendary recording engineers use little or no eq when recording live instruments. The same applies to mixing. Not so much with a mono instrument like a guitar, but definitely with multi miked things like drums and orchestra.

The Essence of Perfection..

2007-08-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

Mixing this record is such an amazing experience, Hering Queen Latifah go for it, challenging predeccesors Dinah Washington, Ella, Nancy Wilson, and Patti Labelle...This girl can fucking sing..simply put...What is amazing to me is not just Latifahs voice , but the caliber and soul of the musicians...abe Laborial Jr on drums, Abe Sr. on Bass, Paul jackson Jr. on Guitar, and Michael Thompson on rhythm.....truly a joy to mix with such amazing musianship...I also think Ron Fair having a baby and becoming a father has affected his production...I think it;s better that it's looser and not so perfect..he doesnt have the time to perfect, and I think the end result is a more soulful record..And it doesn't hurt that latifah is one of the best singers of this generation...along with christina aguilera...oh year, who was her producer? I must also report that my assistant , N8 tha GR8 is the model apprentice even expressing interest in hearing about nicherin buddhism while he holds it all together for me...all the details of the record , faithfully documented for my bipolar confusion, not to mention that I'm a Gemini , which also makes me twice as likely not to be able to make a decisioin...N8 is there on point like a mutherfucker...shout out to N8...

Bassy goes to LA to mix queen Latifah

2007-08-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

Bassy Bob is headed to LA to mix Queen Latifah's second standards album , which is prodced by legendary Multi-Grammy winning producer A and R man Ron Fair(Christina Aguilera, Mary J, Pussycat Dolls, Keisha Cole). Tunes on the record include "Poetry Man", made famous by Phoebe Snow. bassy will also be working with herbie hancock on a new album for unsigned artist Maya Solovey, tentatively titled "Touch". bassy will also be meeting with top level digital HD video people in connection with his two TV shows, "NiteSessions" and "RockOut NY".