Elements of Mixing with Bassy Bob: Speeding up Remote Revisions

You know what I really hate? Revisions, revisions, revisions… Sometimes they go on for days. Endless prints, emails, lists of notes, confusion over which version were talking about. You get the picture?

Recently I found a really elegant solution to this vexing problem that has increased my efficiency with revisions by a considerable factor. It’s a little plugin called SourceLive by Source Elements, the company that makes Source Connect, the integrated Web-based recording platform for collaborating over the internet.

Bassy Bob has his process down for faster remote mix sessions.

Source Connect is a multi-channel recording platform that works great for doing overdubs with musicians all over the world; but what I’m really digging is streaming my mixes at 320kb/sec (think Spotify PRO) for my international clients (and lots of local ones) with Source Live.

It broadcasts your mix right off your mixbuss to your client.  They can pick up a link and listen through any browser, or download the APP and stream to any mobile device.  Anywhere in the world… Cool huh?

Long Distance, Real Time

Once I’ve got the mix up, I then start my “mix revision jam session” with one or multiple members of a band or production team. We usually communicate via Skype or Google Hangout. I can’t tell you how efficient it is to do all your changes in real time, while you are chatting with your clients. When they say “maybe a bit more backgrounds in the chorus”, or “can we get that snare a little snappier?,” I am able to do it almost immediately and get instant feedback from them. Most often the comment I get is: “this is fucking awesome!”

Recently, I did this for a five-piece indie rock band from Portugal.  I had the whole band online with me, with a roughly five-second time delay ( I monitor my mix via a web browser to make sure it’s working and clean), and we fixed seven songs in one eight-hour session. That usually takes a week.

When I think about my old days of making MP3s, emailing them, then waiting for the client to listen, then make lists of notes, then wait for the email to do next revision… I can’t believe I did that for so many years… Now I almost universally do my revisions in real time.

Source Live has opened up more efficient mixes.

Everybody Wins

Most clients comment that they actually prefer to stream than come to the studio because they are listening on their system that they are really familiar with. I’ve even had clients giving me notes off an iPhone going into their car stereo on the road. (No, they didn’t text and drive…)

Another great aspect is hearing what your music is going to sound like streaming before it goes to iTunes /Spotify/Pandora.  I have always employed the “hallway test” by going out into the hallway to hear what the mix sounds like outside the control room. I’m now putting little boom boxes around the studio and streaming off my phone to them. It’s a great way to get another read on how your mix is sounding on different devices.

Give it a shot, it’s been a real time saver for me.

Bassy Bob is a multiple Grammy winning mixer/producer, Tech entrepreneur, and trumpet and bass player. He often lectures and teaches on the subject of the art of mixing. Bassy loves crawfish, and fried oysters, and fat mixes. Follow him on instagram at http://instagram.com/bassybob. He lives in New York City.

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