Morning Sickness Modern and Classic Mixes

[Ohbeejuan]

Thanks. Every now and again I do a mix that emulates a late 50's or 60's recording. To answer your question, basically I listen to a ton of vintage music. And every time I do I'm always in awe of how crisp and clear the music is. Partly it is the equipment they used and the limitations of the time. There wasn't the ability to do half of what we can do with a modern DAW. Keeping it simple is key. Part of the equation is not fighting the instrument. When mixing I try to bring out what is already there, not manipulate the track to sound completely different. So I've spent a ton of time listening to what guitars, drums, amps, basses, pianos and whatever else I'm mixing sounds like raw. The best mixes are often the ones that require very little mixing or shaping of any kind. The other piece of the puzzle is placing things in a particular part of the stereo field. Placing the Drums to the left or to the right was a common practice in the early sixties and it presents a unique set of challenges and advantages. The biggest advantage is that nothing is stepping on anything else in the mix, so clarity is often easy to achieve. The difficult part comes in balancing out the rest of the mix so that it doesn't feel heavy to either side. A common practice of the time was to put drums on one side and guitars or a piano on the other. With this sort of mixing in mind there is often plenty of room for things to breathe and to feel natural. In a nut shell, the way they did it back in the 60's blows my mind on a regular basis and it gives me something to aspire to. Anyways I hope that helps give you a look into my though process.

Some listening examples would be
Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 - Mas Que Nada
Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five
Jane Morgan - My Foolish Heart
The Jimmy Hendrix Experience - Foxy Lady
Booker T. and The M. G.s - Green Onions


Another method I do every now and again is to mix a song as a huge mono track. An example of that style would be Dick Dale's Misirlou.