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"The Five-Pass Mixdown" By Jack Littleton (as originally taught by Ben Jordan)
This mixdown technique
was taught by Ben Jordan (250 gold records and co-holder of patents
on stereophonic sound) for Sherwood Oaks Experimental College (record
engineering college) in Hollywood in 1982. The class took place at
Original
Sound on Sunset, a studio that did a lot of overflow work for nearby
A&M Records, and it gives a Carpenters-style radio-ready pop mix that can be
achieved quickly. The concept was to mix down a tune during five passes
(playbacks) of the multitrack master. To keep it authentic I’m using the
original terminology from my class notes. Here's how it went:
Addendum: I should also say that I was looking for some information on Ben Jordan (but all his work was pre-internet) when I found my old article on an audio forum, uncredited. The poster had found it in his notes, but couldn't remember where it was from. The group had made some comments about the methodology, just as rec.audio.pro had done years earlier. In fact, the technique sounds "formulaic" until you think of the era and the fact that ONLY professional studios existed at that time. An engineer might well have to mix a project that he had never heard and do it quickly. Studio time was expensive. There were no home studios where amateurs could play around with a mix for days on end. This methodology was designed to produce records that would sound great on the radio. Original Sound was a very dry room (popular in that period) with a Quad Eight console and the old Altec Big Reds (dual 15s with a coax hf driver). The sound was phenomenal. The other teaching engineer was Doc Siegel. The studio was owned at that time (if my memory is correct and I think it is) by the guy that created the Kepex (can't think of his name), and his company was called Allison Research. I may not have this perfectly accurate, but there was a direct affiliation with Allison and Original Sound. I think it's safe to assume that the amazing kick/bass sounds of The Carpenters were created in this manner and using this gear. Original Sound also had a radio transmitter so that mixes could be listened to in your car, just as did A&M Recording Studio across the street. Someone said that it might not seem like a "creative" way to mix. Different era. Unless you were a major artist, you were quite lucky to get a Ben Jordan to mix your tracks. It creates a proper musical balance for a pop/rock record. Sloganeering: Words we live by TRUTH: "There are only two ways to mix music: mix the genre or mix the arrangement." "If you start thinking while the band is playing the audience will hear it." "Subwoofers are for the kids. Big, detailed midrange is for the engineer." SCIENTIFIC FACT: "If beryllium didn't taste so damn good, it wouldn't be such a problem." "If the songs are good and the performance is good, you can make a great record on a fisher price cassette deck. But it could've sounded better." "It takes a certain amount of balls to do this... something around three" "When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout." "This is not some psychotic episode - but a cleansing moment of clarity." "Yeah, it's supposed to smoke."
[Slogans originate from various sources, such as Pro Sound Web and other forums. I will credit the authors with my next revision. I honor trademarks, where known. However, slogans and short phrases can't be copyrighted and are fair use.]
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