Dec 1, 2008 1:37 PM

Read About the Panelists, Moderators

TUESDAY, MAY 19: MIX PANELS

11 A.M.

Little Money, Big Sound
Great recordings can come from small-budget projects. "Little Money Big Sound" kicked off the Mix Panel Series and 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. Grainger pointed out that the time spent on development, from vocal training to proper rehearsing, is the foundation of career-building and will save time and money in the studio. The catch is that it’s time the producer puts in for often little payment.
Moderator: Mix Editorial Eirector Tom Kenny
Panelists:
Bil VornDick
Steve Walsh
Chris Grainger
Chris Estes

12:30 P.M.

Protect Your Data to Protect Your Livelihood
Data management may not be the sexiest topic in recording, but it’s perhaps the most crucial. The Recording Academy has made a strong push in recent years to standardize at least some portions of the recording and distribution process, and this panel delved into everything from proper labeling of plug-ins to archival schemes. There’s no excuses for improper labeling these days, the panelists said, especially because content can carry a long shelf-life and when the next catalog re-issue comes around, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Moderator: Mix Technical Editor Kevin Becka
Panelists:
Fred Paragano, Paragon Studios
Jim Kaiser, Mastermix
Russ Johnson, AMCC/3war senior VP/general manager
John Spencer, BMS/Chace LLC

2 P.M.

Songwriting and Production with Greg Droman, Jen Foster,
Presented by Red Gorilla
Man-about-town producer Greg Droman and acclaimed artist Jen Foster took the stage next to discuss how songwriting plays into production, how the two go hand-in hand. 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 process of translating the melody to piano and bringing in the vocal and session players.

3:30 P.M.

Mixing Live With Prerecorded Tracks
It’s no big secret any more that most bands go out on the road with backing tracks—it’s just too hard sometimes to re-create the album experience, and in many cases, that’s what the audience wants. But sometimes the artist wants it to, whether a guitar effect or a doubled part. Prerecorded tracks do not mean lip-synching! Renowned FOH mixer and Meyer Sound rep Buford Jones hosted this lively, 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.
Moderator: Buford Jones
Panelists:
Jason Spence
Stan "Quack" Dacus
Tom Davis

5 P.M.

Anatomy of a Hit
Producers Dann Huff and John McBride discuss the making of Martina McBride's Shine
Huff is perhaps the hottest producer in the country, with consecutive Number Ones in 2009 for Keith Urban, Rascall Flatts and this panel’s subject, Martina McBride. John McBride, meanwhile, owns the hottest studio in the country and has engineered for Martina her entire career. Shine was a project they described as a blend of Martina’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 Martina favors. Each praised the artist for her knowledge, her feel and her strength oof conviction in the studio. Two guys who love analog, and an artist who loves a good song…and can sing it!
Panelists:
Dann Huff (Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Bon Jovi, Reba McEntire, Megadeth)
John McBride (Martina McBride, Garth Brooks, Blackbird Studios)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20: MIX PANELS

11 A.M.

Hybrid Mixing Techniques
So much talk centers around mixing “in the box” or “out of the box,” when in fact, most projects are done in combination, especially in Nashville. Engineers F. Reid Shippen, Shane Wilson, Chuck Ainlay and Terry Christian offered insights into the best of combo analog/digital productions, which rather predictably focused on the front end, or getting “into the box.” While most extolled the virtues and quality of recent plug-in emulations, they all prefer the hardware equivalents when available. And they all agree that however an engineer works, the hybrid production ia really about making the mix personal.
Moderator: Mix Technical Editor Kevin Becka
Panelists:
F. Reid Shippen
Shane Wilson
Chuck Ainlay
Terry Christian

12:30 P.M.

Wireless Issues in the New Age
It’s rare when you can get competing manufacturers in a crowded market to come together and agree on a need for action. But the flurry of legislation surrounding wireless issues in the changeover to DTV has brought together microphone manufacturers like never before. The need for consistency and standards is real, they warned, and while we may not see dropouts immediately in June 2009, they are coming as the frequency allocation to consumer devices will only make the airwaves more and more crowded. They urged the audience to take action, be aware in their event setups, and eventually buy new gear that operates outside the troubled frequency bands. Manufacturers have been working on workarounds for some time now. It’s up to users to make it work in their area.
Moderator: Mix Technical Editor Kevin Becka
Panelists:
Carl Cordes, Professional Wireless
Chris Lyons, Shure
Chris Phillips, Sennheiser
Steve Savanyu, Audio-Technica

2 P.M.

So You Think You Can Master?
Presented by Prism Sound and SADiE
Prism Sound and SADiE hosted an hourlong session on mastering and why you need a true professional to finish off your project. Nashville luminaries Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Meadows, Andrew Mendelson and Hank Williams offered plenty of advice on the differences between mastering archival vs. current material, on the idisyncrasies of different genres, and on the true role of the mastering engineer: to do no harm. All of them said they never do a move just to do a move, then went on to offer advice to mixers on prepping for a mast mastering advice on what a mastering engineer looks for, and what a mix engineer might do to properly prepare for a session.
Moderator: Mix Editorial Director Tom Kenny
Panelists:
Tommy Dorsey
Glenn Meadows
Andrew Mendelson
Hank Williams

3:30 P.M.

Live "In-Studio" Tracking
And because it’s Nashville, the penultimate panel was all about Tracking Live, hosted by Russ Long and including Bil VornDick, Steve Bashir, Richard McLaurin and Csaba Petocz. It can’t be said enough: The magic of players playing in a room just can’t be beat, and this anecdote-filled panel discussion focused on the importance of synergy, of what happens when musicians make eye contact and feed off of each other. They also went into miking schemes that can bring the room itself into the mix, and all agreed that “bleed” can be your friend.
Moderator: Russ Long
Panelists:
Bil VornDick
Steve Bishir
Richard McLaurin
Csaba Petocz

5 P.M.

Anatomy of a Hit
Producers Jacquire King and Vance Powell break down the making of Kings of Leon’s Only by the Night and The Raconteurs’ Consolers of the Lonely.
The event closed with essentially the Anatomy of Two Hits. Analog Hits. Grammy-winning producers/engineers Vance Powell (Raconteurs) and Jacquire King (Kings of Leon) got big cheers form the audience when they pulled out the vinyl to play back their critically acclaimed projects. As Powell explained, these were analog projects front to back, recorded in the Raconteurs’ case to 2-inch 8-track, so why not bring out the vinyl?
Panelists:
Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse, Buddy Guy, Jars of Clay)
Vance Powell (The Raconteurs, Jessica Simpson, Faith Hill)