LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES - TRUST YOUR OWN EARS

[♚Chello]

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES - TRUST YOUR OWN EARS

My mother always said that everyone can make mistakes, but she emphasized at the same time that it was important not to repeat the same mistakes, but to learn from the one.

I have been interested in mixing since I was 6 years old, because my father also had this interest, as well as very good equipment.
I made all possible recordings growing up, and early on I was given responsibility for the family's recordings, which played together every single weekend.
I also participated as a bass player and accordion player from the age of 15.

The interest has persisted, and has resulted in me now having equipment that very few have, which is particularly well suited for monitoring recordings.
The acquisition of the Pa5X has opened up a new world in mixing, as with this I actually have the opportunity to make 8-track master recordings in line with what a professional studio has.

I have been working with the Pa5X since I got it, and have made many mistakes along the way, but try to learn from each one.

There are thousands of well-intentioned expert advice on proper mixing, but none have met my understanding of what is "right".

My way of editing has changed all the time, but throughout with a tendency from the complex to the simple.
Troubleshooting is much easier when everything is kept as simple as possible, and your own ears can be the best measuring instrument if you know how to use them and have the right equipment.

[⚖musicalmemoriesuk]

Very true. Look at people complaining about this or that sound on an arranger. Prime example being a concert grand piano. How many arranger players have actually sat down and played a concert grand piano in the flesh. Let alone the environment they are being played in and recorded at the time the samples are created for the arranger keyboards.

Unless we actually physically hear an instrument being played in the flesh how can we judge how its being reproduced on an arranger keyboard?

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And of course one size doesn’t fit all, the same applies to sounds and styles on our arrangers. It’s what fits YOU the end user. We are all our own worst critics and thing what does person x or y think of this brilliant sound or style I’ve created. But what you might think sounds amazing there’s going to be someone who says it’s rubbish or don’t like it.

Most importantly the only person you have to impress at the end of the day it you….

[♚Chello]

Very true. Look at people complaining about this or that sound on an arranger. Prime example being a concert grand piano. How many arranger players have actually sat down and played a concert grand piano in the flesh. Let alone the environment they are being played in and recorded at the time the samples are created for the arranger keyboards.

Unless we actually physically hear an instrument being played in the flesh how can we judge how its being reproduced on an arranger keyboard?

---

And of course one size doesn’t fit all, the same applies to sounds and styles on our arrangers. It’s what fits YOU the end user. We are all our own worst critics and thing what does person x or y think of this brilliant sound or style I’ve created. But what you might think sounds amazing there’s going to be someone who says it’s rubbish or don’t like it.

Most importantly the only person you have to impress at the end of the day it you….

There you finished what I started to say.
I was going to say something similar, but you got the point without me going deeper.

Very few of us have ever played a grand piano - I've played many pianos, but never a grand.
Many have actually never heard a grand piano live either.
Nevertheless, we love to criticize.

At least I have many special recordings of grand pianos made with near-field microphone techniques, which give a good picture of what it sounds like in reality.
I have also been to some concerts.

But despite this - I can never fully know what it's like to play a grand piano when I've never played one.

The grand piano in particular is the most difficult of all instruments acoustically speaking, and there are also more variations of this than anything else.

We all have different hearing and different bases of comparison, which makes sound very subjective.

I can therefore edit a grand piano to be perfect for me in my room, while others may find it terrible.

[⚝welsh wizard]

chello quote /I can therefore edit a grand piano to be perfect for me in my room, while others may find it terrible.
This is a so true statement, its all down to the room acoustics for example a sound I created in the home sounded wonderful , then I played the same sound in a memorial hall it was not the same it was so tinny sounding

[♚Chello]

chello quote /I can therefore edit a grand piano to be perfect for me in my room, while others may find it terrible.
This is a so true statement, its all down to the room acoustics  for example a sound I created in the home  sounded wonderful , then I played the same sound in a memorial hall  it was not the same it was so tinny sounding

Thank you for your complementary comment.
A grand piano is extremely sensitive to the room's acoustics, which reminds me that someone should shed some light on this, because this is absolutely crucial for the individual's sound experience.

For the performer, it is necessary to have up to several setups for acoustics, but this seems to be a forgotten topic.
It doesn't help to have the world's best equipment if the room's acoustics are wrong.

I have spent a lot of time muting my studio so that the acoustics are "neutral" - the trick is to muffle just as much as is necessary, and no more.

Another trick for those who work with sound mixing is to dampen the acoustics of bass drums, which I now do consistently.
This means that my styles can be played in almost all acoustic conditions without the acoustics sabotaging the sound.

[⚝welsh wizard]

there is two different music worlds ,the one with the keyboard at home and the one with the keyboard at a gig.I have yet to find a good hammond organ sound on a keyboard it dont exist , its a illusion of a hammond organ sound , you need the doppler sound of the leslie speakers , which a keyboard cannot or will ever do. You can feel the difference on the organ to the keyboard

[♚Chello]

there is two different music worlds ,the one with the keyboard at home and the one with the keyboard at a gig.I have yet to find a good hammond organ sound on a keyboard  it dont exist , its a illusion of a hammond organ sound , you need the doppler sound of the leslie speakers , which a keyboard cannot or will ever do. You can feel the difference on the organ to the keyboard

You are absolutely right; home & gig.
And the Hammond organ sound is only an illusion on a keyboard, for the same reason you mention - being able to combine a Leslie with a keyboard is something that will never happen.

You put your finger very precisely on what is the reason why a Hammond organ can never be reproduced 100% on a keyboard.

A few years ago I had a giant speaker with amplifier that I used for an electronic accordion that worked like a Leslie, and nothing can replace that.