Let the good times roll - Posted on 2016-04-12 by Nicole Thorp

This week in the studio i had a mixing lesson to go along with Chapter 12: Mix Theory. Basically what Pierre did was take everything that i had read in this weeks chapter and put it into action with a mix from a project that he had been working on. With the console's recall system temporarily out of service, Pierre brought the mix back by hand and showed me what he generally does every step of the way when getting ready to mix. Awesome, right? The most important piece of information i took away from the lesson that will stick with me forever is that you should always mix with a purpose. Mixing is a complicated art and I'm learning that it's definitely harder than it looks but i believe the ultimate goal is to end up with a product that is sonically cohesive and pleasing to the ear. Pierre gave me awesome tips like how it's helpful to mix around the main element in the song, make the levels relative to each other volume wise, and listen to the mix on multiple sources to hear different perspectives on the song. All of these things were really interesting to hear, especially since I'm new to mixing. It's great to have a basic understanding so that you have a solid foundation to build off of. Pierre also has been giving me mixes from his projects to practice on which is good practice for me. Learning the mixing process will be a very fun and interesting journey!

Pierre had setup a drum lab for me to get a better understanding of drums and to know the basics of setup and hardware so that during sessions it would be easier for me to problem solve or know what the drummer was talking about when he asked for a specific piece of gear like a hi-hat clutch or a double kick drum pedal. Bo, whose been playing drums for over 10 years, gave me the basics of drums: how to tune them, the hardware on them, preferences, etc. Labs like these are super helpful because i think as an audio engineer you need to know just has much about the instruments you record as the recording process itself. Hands on engineers know what kind of tones you'll get from a particular guitar cab or how to fix a snare drum that has a bit too much decay in it, these are the types of situations Pierre is readying me for which is awesome, I'm lucky to have a mentor that wants to see me succeed and grow in this process. 

I got the opportunity to sit in on a killer session with an awesome cover band called Hellarockher. Pierre was tracking their demo and i came down to assist with the session. I've talked about musicianship on here before and how it's just as much fun to meet and hang with awesome talent and this band is the very reason why i love being around musicians. They were fun to be around, easygoing, talented, knew their material, were on point the entire session, and asked me twice if THEY could get ME anything.. usually it's the other way around! The only hiccup was at the beginning of the session, i was told to setup drum mics for the kit that they would be bringing and i did, but the drummer at the last minute went with his electronic kit.. no mics needed except for an AKG 451 on the ride but like all great engineers do, i adapted and quickly put the mics away and got out a snake cable for the electronic kit instead. I also learned how to setup a DI which was used on the bass and acoustic guitar. I'm seeing just how popular it is to use a DI on instruments so it was good to learn how to actually set one up. I also miked up two guitar cabs and got some troubleshooting insight when Pierre was trying to locate an annoying ground buzz coming from one of the electric guitars (turned out to be in the guitar pedal). Sheryl, the bands vocalist laid down some killer vocals and the rest of the band did great too. Have you ever seen or listened to a band perform and take notice to how well they jive together or how good each player compliments each other? This was that kind of band! It was nothing but great energy the whole night. The band finished and ended up with a great sounding demo and i went to work putting microphones away and straightening up the tracking room for sessions taking place the next day. As a guitarist myself, it was cool to talk guitar and music with one of the guitarists of the band and he let me feel out one of the guitars he played in the session! Like i said, they were an awesome group of people and i would love to work with them again and maybe even record them one day! 

I know that everything i am doing at the studio and in the program is getting me ready for the ultimate goal here, which is actually gaining clients and recording them. This foundation is invaluable to me because of the experiences I've had and the knowledge I'm getting. I wouldn't be able to record anyone or anything if i didn't understand how to navigate through it. Every time I'm at the studio it's a new learning experience and that is what i am there to do, to soak it all up to be the best at what i want to do professionally.