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New Mixerman book - Zen and the Art of Mixing


Phil O'Keefe

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I said for ages that, although it was not hard to figure out his identity (since many people had already "outed" him), I would keep my word to him and not do so myself. I honored that, and never - not once - broke my word.

 

I'm not going to refer to him as anything else besides "Mixerman" in public for as long as he continues to actively use that as his moniker. However, since he has outed himself, and you could find that with a simple Google search, I'll provide the link for you and let you read what he has to say on the matter for yourself. :wave:

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Even in the excerpts of what I read online, I was thinking that it sounded alot like fiction--for two reasons. One, something that crazy is unheard of. I've heard crazy studio stories, and that one just seemed exceptionally embellished. Two, as he addresses the fact of potential lawsuits, any band that he was writing about--even in an alias and with names changed--seemed like it could never be properly protected without it eventually ending in a lawsuit.....pending that it was true, of course. The best scenario that I could see was that it was a compilation of alot of different sessions that went wrong.

 

If something's fiction, cool. I'm fine with that, but be upfront about it. If it's not, it's misleading and selling a product that's untrue, I think. Mixerman is the James Frey of the rock world.

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I said for ages that, although it was not hard to figure out his identity (since many people had already "outed" him), I would keep my word to him and not do so myself. I honored that, and never - not once - broke my word.


I'm not going to refer to him as anything else besides "Mixerman" in public for as long as he continues to actively use that as his moniker. However, since he has
outed himself
, and you could find that with a simple Google search, I'll provide the link for you and let you read what he has to say on the matter for yourself.
:wave:

 

Phil, I think... I think I just got owned... by you... and I just... I need a hug? :cry:

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PS It always cracked me up when people thought I was MM. I always thought that was funny - I mean really - is my writing style anything like that? :lol: I suppose it's within the realm of possibility that I could create an alter-ego and a persona, but I've always been pretty much WYSIWYG - as anyone who has met me in "real life" will usually attest. :)

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I can neither confirm or deny the identity of Bitchslap, or even if they were a "real" band or purely fictional.
:idk:

Disclaimers - aka "CYA"
;)

 

Word.

 

As to the other bit, no, I never suspected you were MM - frankly, there's something a little bit underhanded about it, as hilarious as it is to read, a little unprofessional and you've never struck me as the kind of guy that would write something like that, even as a fabrication. You're up front, and that was, well, not. My opinion, of course, and it's still funny.

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I always assumed it was a conglomeration of several bands.

 

 

That was my initial thought when I was first reading his Diaries as he was posting them online...

 

No, I can't say if it was or wasn't. In MY personal experience, things can be REALLY bad... but almost never are they THAT bad with any single band / project.

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I don't know if Rubin or Vig would have had the patience that Mixerman showed... for that matter, if it was THAT bad with one band / project, I'm not sure if *I* would have been able to hang in there without quitting either. :lol: And I'm practically a saint in the studio... I'm pretty dang understanding / patient / tolerant. :o

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A short while before the Mixerman Diary started, I had a couple of ex bandmates whose band was just signed to Virgin Records and working with Matt Serletic as their producer. These two ex bandmates (guitarist and drummer) really fit the discription that Mixerman was giving. I always thought that they might have been Bitchslap (they were dropped from their label BTW).

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Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed his first 'book'. I believe I read it before I discovered this site. I never thought it was Phil. Phil comes off as much more down to earth. I also hope he never had any work experiences as bad as that.

 

Which brings two unrelated questions to mind.

1. If a band sucks, I know it is your job to make them sound as good as possible (edits and such), but could you make the best out of the situation and use it to experiment with new mics/techniques etc.?

 

and

 

2. What do you think of NS-10s for monitoring?

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Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed his first 'book'.

 

Enjoyable read IMO. :phil:

 

I believe I read it before I discovered this site. I never thought it was Phil. Phil comes off as much more down to earth. I also hope he never had any work experiences as bad as that.

 

Anyone who has done a decent amount of engineering has had at least some experiences that will seem familiar when reading Mixerman's first book.

 

Which brings two unrelated questions to mind.

1. If a band sucks, I know it is your job to make them sound as good as possible (edits and such), but could you make the best out of the situation and use it to experiment with new mics/techniques etc.?

 

Personally, I prefer to experiment more on my own and then apply it as needed / as I feel is appropriate in a professional context. IOW, while I'll use a new technique or piece of gear on a band if I think it's appropriate, chances are I've already tested it on my own before using it with them - I don't like to use bands as Guinea Pigs without having a basic idea of what I am proposing to do and how it is likely to work.

 

Having said that, I like to think as each and every project as being a learning experience. It might not be a huge revelation or totally "new thing", but it adds to your experience. You can always learn, and IMO, you should always be in an attitude where you're looking to learn, looking to grow and learn and get better at what you do.

 

2. What do you think of NS-10s for monitoring?

 

I am not a big fan of them. I've done a lot of work on them over the years, but it has been quite some time (thankfully) since I have done so.

 

NS-10's are bright. Really bright. Ice pick to the ears bright IMO. I think the "tissue paper over the tweeters" thing is a joke (Bob Hodas did a fantastically funny technical analysis / write up on that. :lol: ) Furthermore, since they roll off the bass pretty heavily, getting the bottom two or three octaves anywhere near "right" when using NS-10's is more about watching the bass driver excursion as opposed to listening to their levels - and I'm old school enough to be less comfortable with mixing with my eyes than I am with mixing with my ears and heart... YMMV, but I'd rather have fuller-range, more accurate monitoring that is less fatiguing than NS-10's. I've gone through a few dozen pairs of nearfield /midfield monitors over the years, and I am finally quite happy with my monitors - my "primaries" are ADAM S3A's (midfields), and my nearfields are ADAM A7's, and I also have some custom modified, soffit mounted JBL 4412's, and Avant Avantone Mixcubes.

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