Andy Wallace's Huge but TIGHT Bass Mixing

[drew]

He mixed Shutter To Think's Pony Express record in 9 days and it's not simple stuff.

[drew]

I have the original mixes before he replaced the kik and snare. I was gonna mix it and then Epic decided to go over budget and take it to the master.

[Bang]

Drew, does it sound like he added samples in or does it sound like they are completely replaced? Can you tell us any other stuff?
Steve
www.bangrecording.com
www.blacklinerock.com

[mitgong]

Originally posted by drew
I have the original mixes before he replaced the kik and snare. I was gonna mix it and then Epic decided to go over budget and take it to the master.

Holy Cow! I'm gonna have to grill you on this one. Be prepared for a "Pony Express" thread.

An incredible album, out there swinging in the breeze.

[drew]

well, I don't know too much. it was tracked at a studio that I used to work out of but I wasn't directly involved except for almost mixing it. I had done other stuff with the producer, Ted Nicely. The drums were cut to an Ampex MM1100 2" 16 track, slaves were made and those tapes didn't come back out till mixing. the rest was cut on an 827. The board was a Trident 90. I believe the main gtr rig was a Les Paul into a Plexi, VERY LOUD. I'll try to think of some more details if I can.
drew

[jpaudio]

Funny coincidence... hung out with a buddy last night who's an assistant on the Epic records A&R staff... out of nowhere, he mentioned he visited Andy at Soundtracks to drop off files this past week, and got to watch him work for a few minutes... so as I'm sitting there awestruck, he tells me what a nice guy AW was, genuinely cool and not the least bit of ego or attitude. Nice to hear!

[NandoOg7]

Does anyone know where Andy gets his drum samples from?

[Kadden Heart]

Originally Posted by NandoOg7

Does anyone know where Andy gets his drum samples from?

i'd like to know that answer.

i dind't know hw did "everything sucks"
coincidentally i was listening to that album earlier.

[Led]

Wow, nearly four year old thread revival. AW can raise the dead.

[lordnielson]

I think they are mainly ambient or room samples that he uses to trigger verbs with. They could be "homemade" I guess

[dangoudie]

ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!ANDY!

[CorkyTart]

Originally Posted by jasonlivermore

He used little to no outboard gear.

hahahahaha

[NandoOg7]

Mappee, thanks for sahring! So awesome you got to work with him!

[Kadden Heart]

Originally Posted by CorkyTart

hahahahaha

why are we leaughing about someone claim that AW uses little to no outboard?
are you saying he really does?
i'd believe either claim.

[songbirdsound]

Let's get another revival going here...

ANDY WALLACE GUEST MOD



Maybe that's part of why we love him so much is that he's like Bigfoot or Elvis. Crazy how a behind the scenes guy can have such an impact. He really is the master of Modern Rock.

[songbirdsound]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Watching someone do something and doing it are 2 different things.

Especially since its common practice to switch streams when something isn't working so hot in a mix.

Yeah he may start out with something but just as quick take it off.


I think a better suggestion than gathering what he uses is to try to figure it out for yourself.

I think if you want to have the same kinda bottomn end that AW gets in his mixes, a better suggestion is to kinda take the same route as he did.

Start mixing rap,hiphop and dance. If any kinda music needs a huge bottomn end in the mix(and especially for the clubs), but needs to be clear and full(not distorted) its rap.

One thing though is that alot of the arrangements aren't complicated, so you have to find a way to makes things interesting.

I think one of AW's strengths is that he makes simple arrangements(rock and roll) sound present and complex.

But it still has the raw energy and power.

AW's background came from mixing 80's rap and dance. If you listen to a lot of the early rap and dance records from the 80's there is an amazing amount of energy and clarity, but they still had to sound full.

He basically took these concepts and translated it to his modern rock mixes.

I think the fact that he has done lots of styles of music and the fact that he is a great producer helps him in getting his vision across.

I think the worst thing a mixer can do is type cast himself.

If you do the same music all the time its gets old and after awhile the industry will move on to the next hotshot.

Its a good thing to be exposed to other kinds of music and adopt different techniques that will help you grow.

It helps develop the ear (technical) and heart (inspiration).

These are the two main tools i feel you need in order to be a successful mixer.

Just an opinion by the way.

I know this is an ancient thread but this is exactly what I need to hear at this point in my career. Coming from a Rock background I strive to make my stuff sound like the hot Rock mixers of today, particularly AW. Now I find myself recording/mixing Hip Hop and R&B...not where I imagined I'd be. I guess I feel better about it though knowing that I'll be expanding my horizons.

[equallyscrewed]

i assume he's not guest modding then? hah

Everything he does it outstanding, however to have your socks really blown off listen to "Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies" by Biffy Clyro (produced by GGGarth and mixed by andy) the album verson mind

The intro blew me away and always will

xcx

[Dean Roddey]

I'm not sure I want to know too much about any other guy's huge but tight anything...

[3rd world order]

one of the most amazing sonic experiences i ever had was listening to Serial Killers Don't Kill their Girlfriends (by Front 242, mixed by Andy Wallace) on a pair of Wilson Audio MAXX loudspeakers.. MIT cable, Mark Levinson amps, nice room....

he uses sooo many layers on just the snare drum, each section of the song adds one more... very nicely done and comes down like a ton of bricks on the Wilsons.

[Tom Hakala]

From Linkin Park's Meteora (Andy mixing)
YouTube - LPTV Episode 8 (2003) - The Mixing Of Meteora

[dregen77]

I love Andy Wallace's work. Two words for me: "Soup" and "Puzzle".

Cannot be topped.