What’s up, everybody? ‘Tool here back with another post. Today’s post is very important and focused on the recording artists out there. Engineers typically render more than just a full version when they finish mixing a record. They also run a number of variations, which are referred to as "alternate mixes." In this article, I'll tell you what they are and why you should be asking for them, too. Well, that is if you aren’t already like the title says. Usually, an artist would be content with getting a WAV & MP3 version of their records once mixing is complete. Session over, DAW, closed, computer shut down. After a few releases on Spotify, Apple Music and, Sound Cloud, etc. there isn’t much use for other versions, right? Wrong!!!
One of the main reasons for alternative versions is they all serve a different [which we’ll get to later] purposes. Backing up and archiving is #1 on the list for me. With DAWs and plugins getting updated and upgraded as soon as you can download them, your songs may not sound how they did 3 years ago. So it’s better to get these mixes now than later in case you’re asked down the road to provide a variation, you might not be able to get back to where you were. Here are the alternates that I send my clients after every mix is approved: Non-Mastered Mix Most times I’m called upon to mix and master the records I’m sent. Some artists have mastering engineers to polish their songs after my mix and that’s totally fine! In those cases, I’ll send over this version that would give the mastering engineer the perfect starting place to take the record to the next level. Instrumental Mix Pretty straight forward here. This mix has no vocals whatsoever on it. This version could be used in a plethora of ways. Performance/TV Mix This mix has everything minus the lead vocal. Used for live-on-stage performances, commercials, podcasts, etc. this mix is extremely critical. Acapella You guessed it, this mix has the vocal tracks only. This is handy if another engineer or producer wanted to remix it, making a new song with new sounds. Usually, I send 2 versions: one with effects and one without. Clean Mix This mix is needed when not so nice words are in the song that can’t be played over the air or any other means. This mix is also critical for opportunity purposes. You don’t want a deal falling through because you couldn’t provide a clean version. Stems Stems are groupings of audio in a mix session. In my template all audio will be routed to one of these stem groups: Kick Drums Percussion Low End Music I’ll then print [record to an audio track in the session] these stems to send out. You never know in what capacity you could use them down the line, so it’s best to have them just in case. I hope you guys learned a lot from this post. Until next time, it’s ‘Tool.
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instrumentoolI have a passion for teaching and writing. Some of my many thoughts are here. Archives
November 2020
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