Have you been asked to significantly change the tonal character of the 2 track mix?

[Blast9]

Just wondering...

With all this talk of some mastering jobs altering the mix in a detrimental way, I'm wondering if you've been specifically requested by a client to "remix" the 2 trk you've been presented with, i.e. radically change the tonal character of the mix or maybe add character with distortion, or add drama to a section of the track by applying "compression as an effect"?

At what point do you say "OK , this is a remix credit!"

[Ged Leitch]

Originally Posted by Blast9

Just wondering...

With all this talk of some mastering jobs altering the mix in a detrimental way, I'm wondering if you've been specifically requested by a client to "remix" the 2 trk you've been presented with, i.e. radically change the tonal character of the mix or maybe add character with distortion, or add drama to a section of the track by applying "compression as an effect"?

At what point do you say "OK , this is a remix credit!"

i've lost a job in the past for actually not changing the tonal character of the mix!

I did my usual method, the mixes were really good, only needed a tiny touch in the bottom and top, and a tad of compression.

Turned out they went for the other dudes masters, which was fine by me.
Cause i listened to them and was shocked at how much they were different to the original mixes!

Tons of tape saturation, no highs, some tunes sounded like they were breaking up due to the tape compression.
But thats what they went with, and they're the customer!

It was a huge learing experience for me.

Im a big fan of adding some tape sat but i'd never have thought to use so much!

It really is a must for me to know exactly what people want from mastering.

usually the mix should already have "The sound" in the first place imo...

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by Blast9

Just wondering...

With all this talk of some mastering jobs altering the mix in a detrimental way, I'm wondering if you've been specifically requested by a client to "remix" the 2 trk you've been presented with, i.e. radically change the tonal character of the mix or maybe add character with distortion, or add drama to a section of the track by applying "compression as an effect"?

At what point do you say "OK , this is a remix credit!"

Never a remix credit... even if I suppose we deserve it. You never know how much credit for the sound should be given to the mastering engineer. After all, the mix engineer probably slaved for weeks on the sound and we only spent a day.

The more "crushed" they ask me to make the master, the more radically different it ends up sounding from the mix. Whether that's a good thing or not is another story. These days we have extremely powerful tools, which I hope we use wisely, and in collaboration with the artist/producer's wishes.

I've done everything. I once suggested and applied a flanging effect on a section of a song about Timothy Leary, for a psychedelic effect. Applying extra compression as an effect on one section of a whole mix can sometimes work for an effect, like going into overdrive, but I'd be surprised why the mix engineer didn't go for that in the first place and it almost always sounds better if he did.. maybe just on the electric guitars instead of on the whole mix, for example.

BK

[MASSIVE Master]

I have a project in the works right now where the client had an entire shopping list - Do this to the guitars, do this to the bass, cut a hair off the hat, add some snap to the snare, make the guitars sound like this band and the vocals sound like that band... There was more - MUCH more...

It was the freakiest request I've ever had... No concept at all of what happens during the mastering phase.

[Masterer]

I did a project [fairly elaborate stems "mix"] where the A&R guy asked me to replace the keyboard part. It was a string part that he had a strong hatred for and the producers were ambivilant about [so they weren't gonna replace it]. I figured out the part ["mistakes" and all] and re-played the part with a "better" string sound.

In the end everybody was happy, even the producers.

Stupid human tricks.

[Ben F]

This happens a lot. Delays on the fade outs, editing the hell out of a breakdown or radio edit, adding reverb to certain parts, asking for stems and changing the kick drum for a different one. I kind of like it. Not really mastering but Sequoia can handle almost anything- it's like having Logic and ProTools combined, very powerful.

[jayfrigo]

Originally Posted by Masterer

I did a project [fairly elaborate stems "mix"] where the A&R guy asked me to replace the keyboard part. It was a string part that he had a strong hatred for and the producers were ambivilant about [so they weren't gonna replace it]. I figured out the part ["mistakes" and all] and re-played the part with a "better" string sound.

In the end everybody was happy, even the producers.

Stupid human tricks.

Been there. I've played a wurlitzer piano solo over an end vamp, added an acoustic guitar intro, and a couple other things as well. At least they gave me perfomance credit in addition mastering credit, and it added billable hours.

Sometimes a client really wants you to change the mix radically. I wouldn't do this without a request from a client. I assume, in the absence of direction or evidence to the contrary, that they mixed it the way they did for a reason. I try to key into the vibe they've (hopefully) already created, and help bring them a couple steps closer to their creative vision. If that vision includes tearing up the mix in mastering, then so be it, but they need to request drastic measures.