Retro Mixes for Vinyl - Hard Panning Drums and Bass

[recky]

Hi,

I'm about to start recording and mixing an album project destined for vinyl first, with digital formats a secondary concern. Note that this is not techno or anything, we're talking retro rock/pop ca. 1968. I have never mixed for vinyl before.

I will be panning things hard left and right, including bass and drums, leaving lots of room in the middle for the vocals. I'm slightly concerned about mono compatibility. Is it possible AT ALL to create phase issues when only recording mono tracks? OK, the drums are recorded with three mics, but the rest is all mono and no mic bleed.

I know that the mono button will be my best friend, but do you reckon that when mixing tracks like this, a phase meter might come in handy? Or would you say that it's unnecessary as no stereophonic tracks are recorded?

Thanks for your help,
Recky

[lerone]

Originally Posted by recky

Hi,

I'm about to start recording and mixing an album project destined for vinyl first, with digital formats a secondary concern. Note that this is not techno or anything, we're talking retro rock/pop ca. 1968. I have never mixed for vinyl before.

I will be panning things hard left and right, including bass and drums, leaving lots of room in the middle for the vocals. I'm slightly concerned about mono compatibility. Is it possible AT ALL to create phase issues when only recording mono tracks? OK, the drums are recorded with three mics, but the rest is all mono and no mic bleed.

I know that the mono button will be my best friend, but do you reckon that when mixing tracks like this, a phase meter might come in handy? Or would you say that it's unnecessary as no stereophonic tracks are recorded?

Thanks for your help,
Recky

If the mic positions are correct, there should be no probs. But yeah, mono the mix and use a phase scope if it makes you feel more comfortable. Don't worry about the mono bass thing either, its a misconception. good luck with the mix mate

[seaflux]

I'm no expert on mixing or mastering for vinyl but I believe you would have to keep the low end within fairly tight parameters when hard panning kick and bass as it can affect the tracking of the stylus.

[Franco]

I recall asking a vinyl mastering engineer a while back if having stereo bass on mixes was a problem. His answer was that some stereo effects people use on mixes can be a problem, so it's always best to discourage creative stereo effects on basses, but mono-ing the mix and making sure your bassline doesn't disappear would be a good thing to do.

[Paul Gold]

It depends on what you are going for. If you want a loud cut that will track at 4AM in a club then stick with mono bass. If you want hard panned bass and drums and a normal LP level is okay than you can do it. I cut a 7" with hard panned bass and drums the other day. I got it pretty loud too. No elliptical EQ either.

[duomo]

its not a big problem, to cut panned drums and bass, but be aware of effects that can cause phase problems even if the track was mono. And in the mastering stage it shouldn´t be compressed and limited too much, because heavy panned bass frecquencies + compression causes very complex groove architecture... that can cause distortions....
but like paul said its possible without problems...

[lerone]

exactly, its not going to b an issue unless its abused. But yeah, tight margins is certainly not a bad measure at all.

[recky]

Thanks a lot for all your replies!

To be on the safe side, I'm going to use a phase meter. Sometimes you still get lucky on eBay - I've just scored a cream-of-the-crop used RTW phase meter for a measly € 62 ($ 80)!
RTW Product Description 1260C

Cheers,
Recky

[recky]

Something else: I'm having difficulty finding a mastering and cutting studio in Germany that is capable of working from 1/4" tape without any digital conversion. Is it illusive to expect a completely analogue chain these days?

Any pointers perhaps?

Thanks a lot,
Recky

[lerone]

Originally Posted by recky

Something else: I'm having difficulty finding a mastering and cutting studio in Germany that is capable of working from 1/4" tape without any digital conversion. Is it illusive to expect a completely analogue chain these days?

Any pointers perhaps?

Thanks a lot,
Recky

The Exchange in London would be the best bet I'd say. They specialize in working with analogue formats. Might really be worth your while to get it done there. If you really wanted to attend the session, I'm sure you could get from Germany to London in about an hour, and with a cheap last minute flight you could get a return for about £70 and get a day travelcard for any tube/bus at the station for £5, you could be back home by tea time if you got up early!

[recky]

Dontcha just love the globalised world?

I've just found out that Jason of Transition Mastering in London can do it, too. As can Organic Music in southern Germany.

Cheers,
Recky