| There are those sets of words that should
never be used in the same sentence. Combinations of words like "honest
& politician," "jumbo & shrimp" and "overdub &
mix" should be separated by periods. I've had a lot of experience in recording
studios - decades in fact. I would say that you have 5% chance of getting a
good final mix in the same session that you overdub a part. I don't know how much
of a gambler you are, but these don't sound like good odds to me. There are a couple
of reasons for this: |
| The Incredible, Foolish Ear. |
| Our ears are not like microphones, but they
are controlled by a brain. This is why the middle-aged husband can hear the
"snap of the football" through the crowd noise while watching a game, but his
wife has to yell for him to hear her ask him a question. |
| When you overdub a part, you tune you ears to
hear that part. If you then immediately mix the tune, you will automatically make
that part too loud in the mix. This is a tendency that is very hard to
overcome even for the most experienced recording engineer/producer. As I said
earlier, I've seldom seen it work. |
| What You Should Do |
| As a producer, you actually need to listen to
that new part. My best advice is to do a run-off mix and listen to the part in your
car driving home, in the morning after showering, on the way to the studio the next
day. Get used to that part before you try to blend it in with the other parts of the
production. |
| So the earliest I would suggest mixing is the
next day. |
| And In Those Cases... |
| Sometimes those deadlines get in the
way. We "have to..." and your off overdubbing & mixing. How do
you increase your odds of getting a good mix in these circumstances. |
My advice for these circumstances are:
| 1. Get out of the studio for an hour or
so - wasn't it lunch time anyway? |
| 2. Listen to some other music to
re-focus your ears. |
| 3. If you have two tunes to mix, mix
that other one first. |
|
| All of these tips are ways for your ears to
"de-focus" off that overdub allowing you to hear in better perspective during
the mix. |
