Red Mosquito

tragabigzanda wrote:

stip wrote:why a faux master as opposed to a faux mix

Remixing implies the use of individual tracks; I'd say there are anywhere from 24 to 50 tracks on Got Some. A faux master just uses stereo stems, which is far more creatively limiting, and in this case probably means 8-10 stereo tracks that have already been mixed and mastered.

tragabigzanda wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

tragabigzanda wrote:

stip wrote:why a faux master as opposed to a faux mix

Remixing implies the use of individual tracks; I'd say there are anywhere from 24 to 50 tracks on Got Some. A faux master just uses stereo stems, which is far more creatively limiting, and in this case probably means 8-10 stereo tracks that have already been mixed and mastered.

I'll explain further:

Once the recording industry shifted to a digital production and delivery model, the record labels began mixing albums by committee; that is, they'd hire someone to do a mix, then share the mix with the entire band, management team, and A&R department, because it was so easy to just email the mix out. With so many opinions to be considered, engineers took up the habit of printing stereo "stems," two-track mix-downs that would typically look like this for a song like Got Some:

Drums + Percussion
Bass
Rhythm Guitars
Lead guitars
Keys
Vocals

That way, if one of the A&R guys said "Could I hear it with the vox a little louder?", it didn't require a full remix; the engineer could simply bring the vocal stems up 1 or dBs, a process that would take all of five minutes to edit and deliver. Whereas remixing a song like Got Some would probably have a track layout that looks something like this:

kick drum (in)
kick drum (out)
rack tom 1 (top)
rack tom 1 (bottom)
rack tom 2 (top)
rack tom 2 (bottom)
floor tom 1 (top)
floor tom 1 (bottom)
floor tom 2 (top)
floor tom 2 (bottom)
snare (top)
snare (bottom)
overhead left
over head right
Room mic 1
Room mic 2
Room mic 3

And that's just the drum setup. You get the idea.

mikejasond wrote:I feel like if you didn't ever listen to Pearl Jam and just watched this clip you'd think they were horrible. I feel like you guys are lowering your standards because you've watched everything they've ever done.