How to Participate in a Mix Recall Session

Just as with participating in a recording session the same etiquette is expected in a mix recall session. The mix is one of the more crucial aspects of the production and requires exactness in the communication between the artist, producer and mix engineer. After all, it's the mixer who is creating the final interpretation of your music. Here are some tips to a productive mix recall session.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. In most cases you will either mail, FTP, messenger or hand-deliver your mix session to the engineer. Once you have provided an overview of what you intend to achieve in the song it is up to the engineer to translate this into both technical and artistic terms.
   
   
   
   It is important to provide the engineer with enough information so that he gets an understanding of the overall concept. Try to be very clear and concise in your delivery. Too much information is often just as bad as not enough.
2. Once the engineer has created a preliminary mix (I refer to this as a "static mix"), he will then provide via email, FTP or CD a reference of the mix. It is now up to you to listen to the mix critically in order to take specific notes on what you would like changed. Don't be too hasty and scrutinizing. It is not common for another person to read your mind. They are working with you to accurately manifest your original vision. It is now a collaborative effort between yourself and the mixer.
3. When taking notes be very specific and concise in your delivery. Don't be overly critical. Being too critical will only create dissatisfaction between both parties. If you want the lead vocal to be attenuated at 2:34 make sure to express it. The engineer hasn't spent nearly as much time as you have with this song and is still in somewhat unfamiliar territory. Don't be presumptuous. Just get your point across.
4. After the engineer has complied with all of your comments he will now send you another reference mix. At this point you may be 98 percent certain of its accuracy, but may still require a couple of small tweaks. Send him the notes and he will make the necessary change and send a new mix back to you. Once you are completely happy with the work you may now approve the session.

Tips & Warnings

• If you expect to attend any of the mix recall sessions, please be mindful and considerate of the fact that even though you are sitting quietly in the back of the room it is not uncommon to hear something in the mix and immediately react. Understand that just because the sound may not be what you want he is actually working to improve it. Don't be hasty in your reaction. It will become distracting and disconcerting to the engineer who is trying to concentrate on making the best mix possible. Perhaps he's playing the song through and working on getting a snare sound. You may hear a background vocal that doesn't sound right to you, but keep in mind that he is not at that stage of the mix yet and will give it full attention as soon as possible. Blurting out in the middle of a session will just cause frustration for the mixer. This is often why many engineers will charge more for attended recall sessions.