October 2012′s Featured Home Recording

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October was a special month here at Dub Narcotic Studio. We advertised our very first Mix Advice with Bob Schwenkler. This is free personalized mixing advice from the person who single handedly took Dub Narcotic Studio from a private, K-artist-only myth of a studio, to an accessible-to-all haven of 2” tape, tubes, and ribbon mics. (Want to improve your home mixes too? Sign up at the bottom of this post!)

Omer Gal of Cookie Tongue was one of this month’s five Mix Advisees. He sent a really cool track our way, “Brothers and Sisters”. When asked what he thought about the current state of his mix he said it just didn’t sound good enough, that it still sounded like a demo:

Brothers and Sisters ORIGINAL

 

Bob gave Omer a great list of specific improvements he could make to get things sounding better. A half hour chat later and Omer was ready to head back to his project and see what he could do with it. Us here at Dub Narcotic were certainly expecting an improvement, but what he came back with gave us quite the surprise. It sounded so much clearer and well-produced!

Brothers and Sisters REMIXED

 

You hear them apples?

Then guess what happened? Ephriam Nagler, Dub Narcotic’s Chief Engineer took Omer’s song, worked his mastering magic on it, and really made it pop. Take care with your speaker volume, this one’s louder!

Brothers and Sisters MASTERED

 

Think that mastering is a black art and wonder how it can take a song from blah to WOW? Want to know exactly what Ephriam did to make Omer’s mix really stand out? We don’t have space for it here, but subscribe to Dub Narcotic’s Make Amazing Home Recordings and Ephriam will tell you all the moves he made, right down to his EQ settings. Enter your e-mail address here:

 

Once you’re signed up you’ll also have the opportunity to register for Mix Advice with Bob where you’ll get free personalized advice on your own mixes. Ephriam will be continuing to master one featured Mix Advice track per month then spilling all the beans about the choices he made. You’ll be getting recording, mixing, and mastering “secrets” that most professional recording engineers only share with their trusted colleagues.

Thanks to everyone who participated in October’s Mix Advice and congrats to Omer. Happy home recording!

  • mugmugglemu

    I am eagerly awaiting this newsletter… though all I’m using is Garageband just to fuck around and I’m sure that’s fairly limiting.

    • Bob_Schwenkler

      I’ve heard some amazing stuff come out of Garage Band. Limits can make an album be what it is, which can be a great thing if done right.

      Glad you’re stoked, we are too!

      • mugmugglemu

        Definitely agree. In a more specific scenario, we’ve been given as much or more from censorship as we’ve had taken away.

        Anyway, thanks again for replying to this and my original email so quickly. Now I just need to dig through my emails to see if there’s anyone like you for filmmaking tucked away in some newsletter…

  • nucular aminals

    this is cool. always looking for ways to improve. thanks!!!

    • http://www.bobschwenkler.com/ Bob Schwenkler

      You’re welcome. Glad to see you here!

  • http://www.facebook.com/emi.kilmister Emi Winehouse

    really dont wanna troll but the guy’s original mix is way way better. i know the final mix fits the industry standards and it sounds like it’s supposed to but it also sounds more bland , the instruments are less defined everything sounds “gray”. the guy’s original mix is unique and every instrument is sweet sounding through a pair of quality monitoring headphones and the whole mix is very colourful. i thought the whole point with the indie thing was to make things different than the norm. i’d keep the original mix.

    • http://www.bobschwenkler.com/ Bob Schwenkler

      Thanks for the perspective Guest (what’s your real name?). You have a great point, and it’s a really tricky line that we engineers walk. Give it (or leave it with) a strong vibe? Or make a mix that will sound clear and play back well on computer speakers or club sound systems. Hopefully both (in my opinion)…

      Either way it takes a lot of time and listening to perfect this craft. Whether you want raw or polished we’re in the business of sending people home who are stoked on their mixes.

  • Guest

    but then again it all comes down to taste i guess.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jonathanmeacock Jonathan Meacock

    From a personal taste i agree with the guests post about the first mix. Its sounds unique and made my ears prick up more. Guess it is all about personal taste though, Not knocking either the second mix or the mastered version though.

    • http://www.bobschwenkler.com/ Bob Schwenkler

      Thanks for sharing your perspective Jonathan. All the different ways we view things are what makes music and art as rich as it is.

  • Calvin Johnson

    Cools there is so much discussion going on here. Personally I liked both mixes of the song. The first one sounds like the standard mix, the second is more like the “Re-Mix”. Recording is all so subjective, it feels more like painting than rocket science.