Jun 17, 2009 4:35 PM

If there remains any doubt about the power and influence that analog holds in the recording industry, it was dispelled rather quickly at the second-annual Mix Nashville. From the opening-night party at House of Blues Studios to the closing panel on production for The Raconteurs and Kings of Leon, it was clear that Nashville—a community that embraced digital early and has pioneered hybrid production techniques—remains an analog town at heart.

Mix Nashville, a two-day panel and exhibition event held at the Soundcheck rehearsal facility, kicked off May 18 with a party at the newly rechristened House of Blues Studios Nashville (formerly East Iris Studios) in Berry Hill, hosted by owner Gary Belz, studio manager Mike Paragone, engineer Heather Sturm, chief tech Ted Wheeler and de facto resident engineer Trina Shoemaker. Guests were treated to some fine Memphis grub from Neely’s BBQ in the main building, whose centerpiece Studio A, a decidedly analog room, recently hosted sessions with Yusuf Islam and was featured on the cover of Mix’s May 2009 issue. Guests were also allowed a sneak peek at the brand-spanking-new Pro Tools production house across the street, the first step in an expansion that will soon be followed by the addition of a transplanted Studio D from House of Blues Memphis and a second studio building recently purchased next door.

The event kicked off with a panel dubbed “Little Money, Big Sound,” which quickly turned into a discussion of personalizing the mix, which, in turn, translated into analog! Capital A producer/engineer Bil VornDick extolled the virtues of laying down tracks quickly, with musicians playing together in a room, while producers Steve Walsh and Chris Grainger emphasized the importance of pre-production in today’s budget-conscious projects.

Next up was the perhaps less-glamorous but every bit as crucial panel on data management, archiving and documentation, featuring resident expert John Spencer of BMS/Chace, along with Russ Johnson, Jim Kaiser and Fred Paragano.

The format changed slightly after that for a songwriter/production panel hosted by RedGorilla and featuring producer Greg Droman with acclaimed songwriter/artist Jen Foster. In one of the more interesting segments, Foster performed a song from her current album on guitar, as she wrote it, then played back the finished product and discussed the production of translating the melody to piano and bringing in the vocal and session players.

Renowned front-of-house mixer and Meyer Sound rep Buford Jones next hosted a rather provocative panel on mixing live with prerecorded tracks in concert situations, bringing in colleagues Blake Suib (Britney Spears), Jason Spence, Tom Davis and Stan “Quack” Dacus, who told an amusing anecdote about meeting his doppelganger, Robert Plant.

The Day One panel series concluded with the hottest producer in town, Dann Huff, and the owner of the hottest studio in town, John McBride, discussing the making of Martina McBride’s Number One–debuting Shine. It was a project they described as a blend of Martina McBride’s roots in traditional country with a nod to Nashville’s recent embrace of pop-style production. The project was steeped in an analog recording chain, starting with the vintage 1930s Bottle mic that the singer favors.

Day Two kicked off with a panel on hybrid mixing techniques, with engineers F. Reid Shippen, Shane Wilson, Chuck Ainlay and Terry Christian offering insights into combo analog/digital productions. That was followed by a hot topic in the live sound world: “Wireless Issues In the Digital Changeover.” Representatives from Shure, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica and Professional Wireless were on hand to explain the current state of frequency allocation and offer workarounds to avoid drop-outs in the immediate future.

Prism Sound and SADiE next hosted an hour-long session on mastering, with Nashville luminaries Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Meadows, Andrew Mendelson and Hank Williams. The audience was offered advice on what a mastering engineer looks for and what a mix engineer might do to properly prepare for a session.

And because it’s Nashville, the penultimate panel was all about tracking live, hosted by Russ Long and including VornDick, Steve Bashir, Richard McLaurin and Csaba Petocz. It can’t be said enough: The magic of musicians playing in a room just can’t be beat.

The event closed with “Anatomy of a Hit” really being the “Anatomy of Two Hits—Analog Hits.” Producer/engineers Vance Powell (Raconteurs) and Jacquire King (Kings of Leon) pulled out the vinyl to play back their critically acclaimed projects. As Powell explained, these were analog projects front to back, so why not bring out the vinyl? The event concluded with a performance by the very talented Pico Vs. Island Trees.

Throughout the two days, attendees were also treated to Master Classes in Pro Tools taught by Kurt Howell of Marshall Graphics Systems and Fairlight Xynergi taught by Cliff Jones. Exhibition sponsors included Cakewalk by Roland, GC Pro, Korg, Fairlight, Meyer Sound, Roland, AstoundSound, SAE Institute, Ultimate Ears, Prism Sound/SADiE, AFTRA, NSAI, Mozes, American Songwriter, Marshall Graphics Systems. RedGorilla Music Fest, Nashville Muse, Sound Construction & Supply and Next Big Nashville.