Mixing

The vocals sound great, the drums are really kicking and the guitars are exceptional, put it all together and what do you got? One gigantic mess right? Sound familiar? Until you've gained plenty of experience "mixing down" music, the whole affair can seem very frustrating. It can be an endless maze of musical possibilities, plug-in effects, frequency variations, edits, compression, equalization, instrumentation levels, the list goes on and on. I've even seen one mixer play around for days trying to achieve the perfect snare drum tone only to end up in the rubber room; and that's just one drum. There are probably as many correct ways to mix as there are successful engineers and producers in the business. But over the years I've learned from personal experience the best mixes typically posses the following attributes:

- Powerful and solid lows
- Proper use of the very powerful mid range areas
- Clear and clean highs
- Proper but not overburdening effects
- Dimension - some sense of depth
- Motion - movement of the instruments using pans to heighten the music
- At least one true stereo track that sticks out "up front" in the mix. Usually the Instrument providing the hook melody like vocals
- Some acoustic information - not just delays and reverb   

The whole mixing process begins simply enough with a good pair of studio monitor speakers. While mixing on headphones gives you a great experience, it won't translate correctly to speakers. Since headphones almost always have better bass and treble response than speakers, your final mix will sound dull and lifeless when you hear it "normally. Mixing is where all the hard decisions get made. It can make the difference between a amateur recording and an professional one, even starting with the same source material. This is why mixing is so critical. I've heard good songs not mixed well, and I've heard really bad music crafted into musical masterpieces. The bottom line is that when it comes to mixing the mixers who are the most creative are usually the most effective, regardless of the piece of music they're working with.

Katavi Arts has a team of experienced mixers capable of turning your project into an industry standard production.

Sam HofstedtStudio X

Joel MartinPRS

Jerohm GibsonGroovewerx

John StefanCatwek

Mastering (Don't bonk your post production)

If you ask around the overall consensus on Mastering - is one gigantic mystery. So what does Mastering do for your overall production? Most people don't have a clue. Because of this most inexperienced artists out there will hand their studio production over to some Studio Engineer who claims he's an expert at mastering but the truth is he just wants to makes a little extra cash off of you. The truth is Mastering is a highly complex post-production processes that includes editing, sweetening, EQ matching & compression, level matching, limiting, song sequencing and dozens other tools to create your finished CD. Beware of mixers out there that say they can master!  Here's why - A fresh pair of ears can be the biggest difference between a good-sounding CD and a great one. A real advantage in the post production process is an unbiased sound professional has the opportunity to evaluate your master and determine how to get the most out of it. After you've spent weeks, months, even years in a recording studio listening to your CD over and over again, a fresh pair of ears can put it all into perspective. The mastering engineer is a professional who lets you know what needs to be tweaked to achieve the best, finalized, optimized sound possible. This is exactly why the Mixer should never be the Master. I asked Rick Fisher of The Rick Fisher Institute www.rficd.com Why should the mixer never be the master? His reply: "Because he knows where all the dead bodies are buried." That's why I chose Rich for my Mastering Engineer.

The mastering engineer also ensures that your music will sound great - whether it's being played through a car stereo, a portable CD player, or a top-of-the-line stereo system. This is why experience plays such an important role. During CD mastering, the sound of your CD will be optimized, making it sound punchy, warm, and full, while raising the overall level (volume) and highlighting details that aren't already apparent. In the end this could be the defining moment for your music when being evaluated either by a fan or by an A&R. Post production is also helpful for addressing issues such as "pops," out-of-phase tracks, and overall noise reduction.

Katavi Arts ensures your production reaches it's full potential during this final phase of production at the Rick Fisher Institute (RFI)