Production

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At Mixed Emotions Music, we believe that quality arrangement and production are the two elements that separate a great recording from the rest. In a world where anyone can record a CD in their bedroom, it takes skill and expertise to make your music stand out. Without quality production, you should expect mediocre results. Because we usually state this so frankly, we often find ourselves answering questions about production, usually to people that are hearing the term for the first time when we ask who's producing the album. Here are some of our FAQs and answers.

What is a Producer?

Simply put, a producer is the person or persons who achieve an artist's musical vision during the recording process. Elegant, but vague! A producer might write songs, arrange songs, engineer, and play instruments on the tracks. Or a producer might simply sit between the speakers saying "again" a hundred times until the desired result occurs.

For every producer, there is a different manner of working, and it all boils down to the personal relationship between the producer and the artist. A good match can produce amazing results, and bad matches are nothing short of hell for everyone involved.

One final thought on this is that a "band democracy" is usually the absolute worst method of production - if you want horror stories, give us a call!

Do I Need a Producer, and When Should I Get One Involved?

Short answer is yes, you need a producer. Long answer is yes, you probably need a producer. If you have significant studio experience, either as a player or an engineer, you might be capable of producing. Often though, most people don't posses the ability to distance themselves from the highly personal attributes of their "artist self," and often fall into bad production choices as a result. Also, people often hire producers without checking the "fit" of the personalities, or without asking about their methods. Some producers can crank out an album for under two thousand dollars, others would be finishing basic tracks for the same amount, and others can spend that in a day.

A producer should be involved at the earliest stages of PLANNING a record. Not the earliest stages of recording, but of PLANNING. The biggest aspect of production is usually preproduction, and this is most effective when pursued outside of the studio. Once all the tracks are recorded, the production is pretty much complete. It's then a matter of mixing or remixing. Production experience is needed most when recording tracks to tape and deciding on arrangements. If this is done well, a track will mix itself. If done poorly, it's best to leave the poor engineer alone with "production" comments and let him try to salvage the track.

Remember, the "vibe" is decided during the tracking, not mixing, and it's always about the song and its vibe first.

Can Mixed Emotions Music Produce My CD?

We always offer production advice when asked, but simply looking for our opinions during recording doesn't really amount to a production effort. We are more than willing to produce a project in addition to engineering it, but we shouldn't be viewed as different from an outside producer. Make sure to listen to our discography and take the time to meet with us and decide if we make the best match for your project. If you decide to use our production services, we would need to arrange preproduction and other issues specific to production that are not covered by engineering concerns.

We have specific requirements from artists desiring our production efforts, so please call and schedule a time to sit down and discuss your project. But, no matter who the producer is, we're more than happy to engineer for any project at the studio.

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