Mr. Shipley, Maroon5 'Hands all over'?

[PEImatrix]

I too would like to see a cool thread.

[galoz]

me too

[shipshape]

Hi Fresh , thanks for the interest.
It was mixed mostly on an SSL J console , the console was big , 88 channels but most songs had a track count around 120 tracks , had to some work in protools also and , yep , had to use itb compression on some stuff.
Used a lot of hardware compressors also .
The drum sounds were added to partly by Mutt and then by me , these songs went thru a lot of changes in the mix , production wise and sound wise .
Anyway Im sure I have bored u enough !!! It actually was a long process , had our own speakers designed and built for the mix at considerable cost at Mutts insistence so doing all that was great fun. Of course use BLA but I aint going there ,Mutt has 20 of them .
Mutt stayed in Switzerland and I mixed in LA
Shipshape

Hi Mike,

I've had the album on repeat and I think it's an excellent sounding album, certainly the best album they've done. I can't wait to hear the next project you two have. Is there one in the pipeline if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks again for the pair of you making such a wonderful sounding album. I have nothing but good things to say about it!! Any chance of a Def Leppard reunion with Mutt & Mike!?

[outofphase]

Originally Posted by shipshape

Hi Fresh , thanks for the interest.
It was mixed mostly on an SSL J console , the console was big , 88 channels but most songs had a track count around 120 tracks , had to some work in protools also and , yep , had to use itb compression on some stuff.
Used a lot of hardware compressors also .
The drum sounds were added to partly by Mutt and then by me , these songs went thru a lot of changes in the mix , production wise and sound wise .
Anyway Im sure I have bored u enough !!! It actually was a long process , had our own speakers designed and built for the mix at considerable cost at Mutts insistence so doing all that was great fun. Of course use BLA but I aint going there ,Mutt has 20 of them .
Mutt stayed in Switzerland and I mixed in LA
Shipshape

Mike, did you mix this one at Glenwood place studios?

I just bought the album (sounds fantastic btw) but the mixing studio is not credited, did you use Glenwood's J?

Congrats man! After all these years, you're still the best.

oOp.

[FreshSkweez]

Originally Posted by shipshape

Hi Fresh , thanks for the interest.
It was mixed mostly on an SSL J console , the console was big , 88 channels but most songs had a track count around 120 tracks , had to some work in protools also and , yep , had to use itb compression on some stuff.
Used a lot of hardware compressors also .
The drum sounds were added to partly by Mutt and then by me , these songs went thru a lot of changes in the mix , production wise and sound wise .
Anyway Im sure I have bored u enough !!! It actually was a long process , had our own speakers designed and built for the mix at considerable cost at Mutts insistence so doing all that was great fun. Of course use BLA but I aint going there ,Mutt has 20 of them .
Mutt stayed in Switzerland and I mixed in LA
Shipshape

Mike, thank you so much for finding the time to respond.
Trust me nothing regarding this topic could ever bore me... or my fellow slutz for that matter ;-)

Now to what I find really fascinating.

This is by far the 'fattest' sounding commercial release (I'm talking big time artists) I've heard in a few years. And by 'fat' I mean density in the 200-400Hz range. Even when I play it back next to Bon Jovi's 'The circle' (Bruce Sweiden) and Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' (Michael Brauer) (and I like both of those guys' work a lot) it still sounds bigger, and more defined in that part of the spectrum. And even more importantly it sounds bigger than your previous work with other artists (Nickelback, Shania etc.)

I guess the question is since it was obviously intentional how easy is it for you to alter your habits of building your mix top to bottom, decide to make a 300Hz-heavy record and go with it for 15+ mixes straight?

Jeez, I hope this makes sense... Words are awkward things sometimes...

[Derrick02045]

This thread is gonna get so awesome.. personally i didnt like the first single , but sonically it s absolutely amazing ! And Mike's mixes are always so amazing ! Hope the second single will be better (song wise)

[Teddy Ray]

Mr. Shipley,

Can you tell more about the speakers? The ones that were built for you??

Just saw in the Maroon 5 getting Mutt-ified thread that there's been some bashing going on and it may have upset Mike, it's quite frustrating when there are guys like us in the thread at the moment, who respect the work done by people like Mike and are looking for an insight into how to better ourselves, but then ignorant people just bash away.

Makes you realise why Mr Lange is so private!!

[dreamsongs]

I just posted in the other thread but I will repeat it here. I personally love the album, great production and beautifully mixed.

My only question was about the "vocal chain" used and the fact that I found myself sometimes wanting Adam's (Levine) voice a tad more upfront in some of the tracks. Maybe Mike can comment about that.

Aside from this, I love the songs, the production and the mix. Congrats...

[FreshSkweez]

Originally Posted by dreamsongs

I found myself sometimes wanting Adam's (Levine) voice a tad more upfront in some of the tracks.

Yes, you've certainly said it twice ... Just teasing

I absolutely LOVE the way vocals sound on this record. I don't think Adam's voice has ever sounded so full yet emotional. Not on the two previous records at least. The vocal chain is something I'm very curious about as well.

But one thing that totally blew me away about this album was bass sounds. The way the bass is brought into focus on this record makes the previous two sound almost 'bassless'. I'm sure the player's super psyched how this one turned out ;-) You guys did an amazing job choosing sounds for each song too and it looks like you've gone through quite a few instrument/amp setups.

So Mike, if you don't mind me asking, on the mixing side of things - what's your general approach to mixing bass?

Do you bring it up on several faders and if you do is it DI, Mic1 and Mic2 or is it the same bass sound across a few channels but with different eq on each?

How about FX? It sounds pretty dry to me but is there any subtle delay/chorusing going on?

As always any info would be highly appreciated.

[Conrado Davila]

Great Record!! Great Mix!!

[dreamsongs]

Yes, I forgot about the bass. Great kick and bass relationship, very tight and focused. That's how I want my lows to sound on my record. I want to hear more about this too...

[Jake 2.0]

Originally Posted by shipshape

Hi Fresh , thanks for the interest.
It was mixed mostly on an SSL J console , the console was big , 88 channels but most songs had a track count around 120 tracks , had to some work in protools also and , yep , had to use itb compression on some stuff.
Used a lot of hardware compressors also .
The drum sounds were added to partly by Mutt and then by me , these songs went thru a lot of changes in the mix , production wise and sound wise .
Anyway Im sure I have bored u enough !!! It actually was a long process , had our own speakers designed and built for the mix at considerable cost at Mutts insistence so doing all that was great fun. Of course use BLA but I aint going there ,Mutt has 20 of them .
Mutt stayed in Switzerland and I mixed in LA
Shipshape

wow! mike you rock so awesome of you to chime in here

The bass is likely to be built up with a synth, it's one of Mutt's tricks, had a thread on it a few weeks ago hut never ended up getting a proper answer!!

[Pastor Obviedo]

Now that Mr. Shippley agreed to share all this info with all of us, I beg to our honorable moderators to keep an eye on this thread to protect it against "Genius", "Trolls", "Haters" and "envy frustrated engineers" to scare away one more time the great Mike Shipley.

PO.

[FreshSkweez]

Originally Posted by Pastor Obviedo

Now that Mr. Shippley agreed to share all this info with all of us, I beg to our honorable moderators to keep an eye on this thread to protect it against "Genius", "Trolls", "Haters" and "envy frustrated engineers" to scare away one more time the great Mike Shipley.

PO.

Thank you man! I'm withya

[Liberty Studio]

Yes I want to further agree with the request for more information on this. I love the job you did with the low end specifically. Can you tell us more about some of the stuff you did with the bass and drums - like plugin and outboard wise?
Thank you in advance!

[FreshSkweez]

This thread seems to have died on the vine. I don't feel too comfortable sending another PM to Mr, Shipley 'cause he's clearly at liberty to either respond or ignore a thread.

Maybe if I bump this biatch...

[ThomasWho]

Great record and mix!

One question - what exactly is "BLA" that Mike mentions ?

Thomas

[dreamsongs]

The more I listen to this CD the more I realize how good it is. I love the the different uses of reverbs and delays throughout. But the low end is wicked...

I hope MS shares a few tricks with us struggling producers and mixers...

[T-Stag]

Originally Posted by ThomasWho

One question - what exactly is "BLA" that Mike mentions ?Thomas

www.blacklionaudio.com

The company makes killer mods for a variety of audio interfaces and converters, including the Digidesign 192. Mutt and Mike used those on the Maroon 5 album.

Erkka

[ThomasWho]

Originally Posted by T-Stag

www.blacklionaudio.com

The company makes killer mods for a variety of audio interfaces and converters, including the Digidesign 192. Mutt and Mike used those on the Maroon 5 album.

Erkka

Thanks!

[Oh-no's]

Whooaaa! I'm like totally stoned and listening to this album. Mind = Blown!

[skiff]

Id like to know what sequencer/daw they used ? I could see in one scene of a album trailer #6 looks like logic. I'd bet money thats logic I look at it every day. Cool to see the manley reference cardioid ( am waiting for mine to arrive) I wonder if its the manley stock tube or a telefunken/ Hmmmmm

Haven't had the record off since I bought it. One of the things that grabs me is on the second track 'Give a Little More', I love that the claps are mixed in with the snare to give you a half and half snare sound. Giving you the weight of the snare drum, but the pop sound of a clap. Love to know what else is mixed in with the drum kit, or any other samples that are mixed in with the original source.

[Liberty Studio]

Dam, those BLA-modded 192s are so dam seductive...