Scott Henderson Discussion

[guitarplayer]

Hi Scott,
When you mixed Vibe Station, did you mix it in your studio with your monitors and your plug-ins, or did you have to export everything to another studio and start over with the drum mix etc?
If you did it at home, did you use DP and Waves plug-ins for everything, or was there other stuff involved? It is a really great sounding mix and I am curious about your process of mixing.
Thanks!

[Scott Henderson]

Everything was mixed at my home studio within Digital Performer using plug-ins. No external hardware was used at all. The mixes were created by simply bouncing to disk, which made it easy to hear the songs in different rooms and sound systems before committing to a final bounce.

About the actual mixing process, I mix as I record, especially when layering. I can't know how to EQ a part unless I know where it's going to sit in the mix. I wasn't quite as anal as I usually am about making things level, especially on solos. Distortion guitar is somewhat compressed as it is, and though of course some rides had to be made, I let notes pop out and drop out as they naturally do when playing. By the time Alan came to do the actual mix, the guitars were pretty much done. Not trying to underplay the incredible job he did, but he didn't have to work with the guitar tracks except for balancing the whole guitar stem with the bass & drums. I'm an idiot when it comes to mixing bass & drums, but I watched him work with compressors, EQ, levels, etc, so I'm not quite as dumb as I was.

[guitarplayer]

That is amazing that the mixing was done at home. The mix sounds great.
Do you have extensive plug-ins, or do you recommend a bundle that you used on the record? I remember you saying that you liked the Waves.
I have your tone video, so I know about the echo boy and lexicon plug-ins.
Do you like to mix on different monitors or stick with one set?

[Scott Henderson]

The was the first time I've ever done a mix without any outboard gear, so it's nice to know that the plug-ins are up to such a high standard that we could get away with it. I have the Waves Gold bundle, which seemed to give Alan everything he needed, with the exception of a Waves API compressor that he insisted I buy. Luckily I found it on sale for 100 bucks. Mondo Mod and Enigma are in that bundle, and they're great for everything from chorus to really whacky sounds, and I can't say enough about Echo Boy, the biggest bang for the buck in digital recording.

My monitors are Dynaudio BM15A - I heard them at Kinsey's and liked them because they're big enough to turn up loud and they have a very flat response. Alan took the mixes home and listened on his Yamaha NS-10s and Genelecs, and we both listened with our cheap home stereos and in our cars. If something sounds good in my car, it'll sound good anywhere.

All that being said, Face First was mixed at one of the best studios in Hollywood, and it sounds terrible because we let Willis try his hand at engineering. I was there too and I thought everything was OK until we brought the album to mastering, where the engineer was like - what is this shit?? Point being that an experienced engineer with good ears is way more important than quality gear. Vibe Station sounds good mainly because Alan Hertz is a great engineer.

[guitarplayer]

Thanks so much! Totally appreciated.