Eight Tips for Mixing Your Band | Studio Etiquette for the Musician

I'm heading into the studio tonight to mix a live recording from 2010. The venue where our band played was a medium sized theater with high ceilings. What tips for mixing can I bring to this session? I'm not a studio engineer, but I do know a few things that might help you help the person turning the dials. So the following advice is for those of you who want to get involved in mixing, but don't actually know the terms and such. This is not a "how-to-mix" your band post. It's about how to get the most from the engineer, yourself, and the session.
Before starting a mixing session, I suggest that you eat a good meal and try to prepare yourself for something that could easily put you to sleep. During the last session that I sat in on, we looped the same three minute song over and over for three hours. If you shave off 20 minutes off that session for actual down time, it means we heard the same song replayed over 53 times. Bring something that will keep you alert, or just keep in mind that you might be focusing on some of the most minute musical details, for hours. Depending on the situation, you may just be there to represent the band, and have nothing to do with the actual work. It's wise to be ready for anything.

As for studio etiquette, be sure to ask if it's okay to bring liquids in the room. A well equipped studio has tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear in it. Do you want to replace a $10,000 mixing board because you spilled your latte all over it? I don't think so. When I go to a mixing session, I ask if it's okay to bring water, I leave that bottle capped at all times, and I set it as far away from from anything electric as I possibly can.
Pro Tip: If you can, call ahead and ask the engineer if they need anything. They might have spent the previous night running the house PA for a five band gig, and would love you for bringing them a cup of coffee.
Studio Speakers versus Headphones

Bring a few pair of headphones. When we mix, I bring three pairs of headphones. It's one thing to listen to the mix through pro speakers, and quite another to plug your favorite headphones into the board. Relying on the studio for a pair of headphones is not the best advice. They will most likely have them, but I rarely find a pair of studio headphones that haven't been beaten up thoroughly. Besides, you know your own headphones, how they sound, and what highs and lows to expect from them. You might never pull them out, but to have them handy is a plus.

If you can, sit directly behind the engineer. The couch behind the mixing board is there for a reason. Be first to the speakers sweet spot and you will almost hear what the engineer hears. It's more than likely that the speakers are placed in an optimal position for the chair in front of the mixing board, but you can still get a great feel for the music if you are directly behind the person at the dials. Don't hog that seat though. If your band is in the room, give everyone a chance to sit in the sweet spot. If the drummer is worried about the drum parts in a specific song, let that person sit where the sound is best. Pro tip: Never sit in the engineer's chair if they get up to do something. Ask first. Do you like it when someone sits at your office desk when you get up to get a cup of coffee? Respect the throne of the person who is making you sound like a star.

Studio Do's and Dont's During Mixing Session

Don't be a distraction in the studio. If you have a phone, turn it to vibrate. If you must take a call, leave the room. Don't talk about things that have nothing to do with the task at hand. I'm not saying that you shouldn't speak up if you hear something that needs work. If you have to bring something up, wait until the moment is right. The more you distract the engineer the more likely they are to miss something important, or forget to go back and fix something else. Keep in mind that you might know every nuance of the song you wrote, but the engineer might be hearing you for only the second time (the first being when they recorded you.) Try to strike a good balance between being helpful, and staying out of the way.

Give your ears a break. If you have time to get away from the session, take a few minutes to clear your head. I made an album with an engineer that insisted on taking breaks every couple of hours. Sometimes it can be frustrating to break away, but if the engineer is tired, you aren't going to do yourself any favors by pushing him to stay in the chair. Bring earplugs and use them during your break. Clear your mind for a few minutes.
Finally, keep in mind that you will always think that your parts are not loud enough. I have seen it so many times. The singer will think that the vocals are loud enough, the bass player comes to the mixing session late, and the first thing she says is "where's my bass track?" The drummer says "you can't hear my kick" while it's punching everyone else in the chest. If you can, understand that a good engineer knows a bit about levels. If you are in serious doubt, present a neutral party with a copy of the mix, and ask them what they think is the loudest and softest thing in the mix. At the end of the night, clean up after yourself and thank everyone involved.

Using a Click Track While Drumming

Do you think that you would drum better if you played using a click track as backup? Have you ever tried to record using a click track? Have you ever brought it to rehearsal, thinking that it would work in a live situation? It's not easy to keep time if you don't practice with one, so starting something new like using a metronome, (while under the pressure of laying down a great recording,) falls short when you don't do the homework.

Let the Click Track Guide You

I find that I do my best recording with a click track when I admit that the machine is keeping time for the song, and I'm just grooving along with it. The pressure to be on time during any session is already intense. How can I let that pressure go? I just think to myself that the click in my headphones is running the show, and I'm there to hit the mark while having a great time. Keep time, but realize that the click track is going to be perfect. You are human and will not be perfect. Stay on top of the click, and enjoy the ride.

Practice with a Click Track

Nothing is worse than playing "speed up and slow down" when you find yourself off time. In fact, if I have the kill switch within reach during a song and my timing is lost, I'll turn off the click track and plod on. That specific track might be spliced up, or your first two minutes of that track could be pasted to the last half of a better take if you are playing along to a click. The timing will be there for the engineer to work with. Staying in time with a click requires lots of practice. I don't just play 4/4 beats to the track, I do my warm up exercises with a click in the background. I tend to set the the beat to 8/8 for a 4/4 song. The extra notes keep you in line.

Many Recordings Require a Perfect Tempo

When your band mate writes a song that opens with four bars of just guitar, how are you going to hit your mark when you need to come in? If the song drops out in the middle and then comes crashing back in, how will you know when to start back up? If the studio is using any type of modern recording software, the tracks will most certainly be mapped out according to time. It's pretty much a "must do" unless your entire band is playing live.

Let the Engineer Help You with a Click Track Decision

I will admit that there have been times in my career when the studio engineer makes a call against using a click track. If the song is structured properly, and the engineer is quite confident that he or she can get a good take from me, then I defer to their judgement. In fact, I can think of specific recordings where I asked for a click track, and was told to try it a few times without. If things didn't work out, they would have me start again with a guide. As long as you don't get bogged down trying to fix the tempo during the mixing phase, you might find that there is a natural feel to a song that may speed up a tad.

Mixing is Lonely Work

I don't know which is more tedious, rehearsing for an upcoming recording, or mixing the project with the engineer. There are variables to think about when you make that recording. If you lay some live tracks along with the drums, you could have an easier time mixing. You have to be spot on when you play, but you have a better shot of capturing the soul of the band.

We feed off of each other when we play. If you are in a booth, headphones on, tired from doing twenty takes, and you are the only person at the studio aside from the engineer, it's hard to capture the feel of the song. If you and your band mates are all trying their level best to play along together, and the room sounds good, you might capture lighting in a bottle. Just remember that what you record, you have to mix, edit, fix. The more tracks and takes you keep, the more work you will have to do on the back end.

We are feeling that now. Our engineer had the guitar players lay double, and sometimes triple tracks to every song. He had them lay a single acoustic guitar track too. It all has to be mixed, and I'm the guy sitting in the chair behind the sound board right next to the engineer. My mates are off doing whatever. I'm missing out on the spring weather. I'm in the sound hole, making the tracks sound good. I would rather grab some Brewers tickets and head to Miller Park for the game.

There are times when I play along to scratch tracks. Most of us do that. If the scratch tracks are off time, your recording will be off time too. If the guitar player is just slopping along, thinking that this is not their session, it could come back to bite you. "We are recording the drum tracks, not guitar. What do I care."

I have had to play along to uninspired scratch tracks. They can drag you down. Sometimes they have been so bad that I just tell the engineer to play a click track, and I will play the drums to imaginary guitar. The first time I did that, it worked like a charm.

Yes, you must learn to play to a click track. Whether you record to one or not, it may come in handy. If the session is bogged down because your time is not steady, you may be called upon to play to the click. Be ready. Embrace the click. It is your friend.

For the slow numbers, ask the engineer to double up the time on the click track. It's easier to play a 40 b.p.m. song with a click track that's ringing in your head at 80 beats per minute. I don't recall the guy who said this, but it's heavy. He said "Your beats are like the telephone poles along the side of the road. They have to carry the electricity, they have to be spaced perfectly or the wires will drop."

That's all I have for today. Keep beating on the skins.