DO mixing engineers make house calls?

[swankdoc]

Has anybody ever asked, or has anyone been asked to go to a personal house project recording studio for a few hours of mixing with the owner?
Everything I've learned has been trial-error, and I think it would be useful at this point to get an experienced pro to come by a spend a few hours with me.
Reasonable request or pipe dream?

Anyone know a Seattle guy that they've worked with that is cool and might consider it?

[bjornson]

The ONLY reason our mid size facility is still afloat is by interfacing, collaborating with the project guys. Tuning rooms, loaning/renting gear, helping with mixes, it all helps make for a warm and snuggly audio community. I'm sure there are plenty of good mix guys in seattle who would help u out. Good Luck thumbsup

[AlexLakis]

Originally Posted by swankdoc

Has anybody ever asked, or has anyone been asked to go to a personal house project recording studio for a few hours of mixing with the owner?

Yup, all the time. Sometimes, I don't even have to mix, I just watch over their shoulder and offer pointers!

[NathanEldred]

Yes. I've gone to quite a few other peoples studios to give tips on all sorts of issues, from gear choice to signal flow questions, to monitoring and room tuning, to engineering technique for recording or mixing. I actually like it, it breaks up the monotony of being in the same studio all the time and it sometimes gives me an idea or two on how to do something differently. I would think anyone with the skills would want to do this if they have the time.

[Kris]

I believe Michael Wagener is one who offers this type of service...

[John_McEnroe]

wow I too would love to have someone come by to give pointers on mixing. Any of you live in the Vancouver area?

[dasbin]

Me.

[Shan]

Originally Posted by John_McEnroe

wow I too would love to have someone come by to give pointers on mixing. Any of you live in the Vancouver area?

I know a few guys in Van who will do one on one workshops.

Shane

[thethrillfactor]

Yes.

Its one way to keep working here in a city where just about everyone has a home studio.

Even my mom is learning how to add music and effects to her home movies of my niece on her computer.

(What has this world come to? Being squeezed out of business by my own mom).

[Jules]

Yes this is a new phenomenon that perhaps started becoming common over 5 years ago...

But it's not glamorous so, IMHO - that's why you don't hear a lot about it..

It is a mostly ungerground practice.

[panda]

i've done it. and yes, alot of the time i don't even mix. just give out pointers, and help with technical stuff.. some EQ and compression too. i was once flown over to tokyo to help some one mix there album on their laptop with PT le.. thats as cool as thats ever gotten.

panda

[Fletcher]

Have gun; will travel.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by panda

i was once flown over to tokyo to help some one mix there album on their laptop with PT le.. thats as cool as thats ever gotten.

panda

Damn bro that is cool.

[dasbin]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Have gun; will travel.

Not to Canada you ain't!

[John_McEnroe]

hey Dasbin im going to PM you.

[Fletcher]

I was in Vancouver last year for RADAR factory training... I was in Quebec a few months ago... so I'm not sure I get your point.

[gsharp]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

I was in Vancouver last year for RADAR factory training... I was in Quebec a few months ago... so I'm not sure I get your point.

Canada has very strict gun control laws. You can get in with something like a rifle for a hunting trip if you have a permit, but they'd never let you in with theserial number scratched off type of heat you'd usually pack.

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

I was in Vancouver last year for RADAR factory training... I was in Quebec a few months ago... so I'm not sure I get your point.

Guns, Fletcher. Canadian border people get all soggy and hard to light if they catch you with a gun....

[max cooper]

Man, Canadian Customs people get all freaky for no particular reason at all!

I've ventured to three or four home studios in the past year; in half of those cases, I've parlayed the visit into a little work here and there.

At this point, I'm down with just about anything.

[Albert]

I hire a mix engineer to come into my home studio to mix film scores and album projects. I've been doing that for years, and a lot of scoring guys here in LA do it that way. Pretty common practice actually.

[echotp]

I live in Seattle, I would be willing to give you a few hours for a reasonable rate, your room or mine, better in mine as I have lots of toys and plug-ins. Just shoot me a call-
anytime,

[Carlos Boll]

Anyone in NYC? I'll be getting into mix mode in the next few months and could use some help with a new project.

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Carlos Boll

Anyone in NYC? I'll be getting into mix mode in the next few months and could use some help with a new project.

there's a few of us here, thrill or me or jan folkson if you want a jersey guy
john noll would probably come out

[robmix]

I do it all the time here in L.A. though since I have my own room it's been less and less. I've got one client that has an SSL in his house so that's always nice . . . . .

[Gregg Sartiano]

Yes, in L.A. it seems to be common practice. I do it all the time. A lot of people are very good at getting clients and tracking but lack the skill to do in-depth editing and mixing -- yet they really don't wanna dump their s&*t on your hard drive -- that's actually a hassle if you think about it, especially if from their perspective they get to keep you AND the client(s) in their spot (ever notice how clients identify PLACE and TALENT together for some reason?) and the mixes are repeatable in their room in case they need tweaks.

As for the "how do I optimize my setup house call," I do plenty, but they're usually reserved for friends or at least friends-of-friends. And, yes, business relationships have emerged from that sort of thing.

[fross]

We've got a full blown project studio here in NYC. We'd very much like to hook with any of you pro engineers to help us out with the final mixes. Could you please PM me, if you're interested and in NYC, so we can talk about it further.

[Stick]

I've done a bunch of that sort of thing myself. Usually it's kind of fun. Generally they have less gear and DSP juice than I do, so it's a nice challenge to use their gear and make it sound good.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

A lot of people are very good at getting clients and tracking but lack the skill to do in-depth editing and mixing -- yet they really don't wanna dump their s&*t on your hard drive

The other reason I'd call someone over instead of dumping the project on their hard drive is that I wanna see how they do what they do!

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by Carlos Boll

Anyone in NYC? I'll be getting into mix mode in the next few months and could use some help with a new project.

I'd consider it, depending on my availability.

[djui5]

I'd be happy to do it in town.

I'd also do it out of town if the client paid my travel expenses