Re: Why is mixing considered...
Hey Jay,
I couldn't agree more. Being a good mixer (especially if you can mix more than one genre, and more than one type of event) is a valuable skill, but I can get guys with good mixes all day. I often get asked, when recommending a peer for some job, how their mix is. I always say it is good or excellent, because that question is so relative and also because (in my experience) anyone good at general audio is also at least decent at mixing since they must have the fundamentals down to do either.
The truth is, I don't give two shits how they mix. That's not why I'm asking for them on my gig, or why I'm recommending them for another. If they're mixing it's because the band doesn't have an engineer, and therefore the quality of their mix is of middling importance. What they can do is not embarrass me or the client. That means they work well under pressure, show up on time, work until the job is done, cover unexpected eventualities, troubleshoot quickly and well, make solid compromises, and take care of something the way I've asked for it to be done the first time. I'm talking about guys who I can say "hey, go upstairs and tell me how it sounds" and trust their response when they return (and trust that they aren't going to give me all sorts of unnecessary detail... I know there's a 2kHz buildup in the first four rows of the balcony. It was there when I put up and measured the PA. It's a compromise I made, and there's nothing to be done about it). I'm talking about guys who I'll spend 8 hours in a truck with, and then 12 hours loading in and running a show with, and not want to murder. I'm talking about guys who I can send to another stage and not hear from again all day because when a problem came up they solved it instead of making their problem my problem. I'm talking about guys I can have take down or put up a line array and have it come out right the first time, who aren't going to get an angle wrong or not plug in an enclosure or set the trim height or down angle wrong.
That's what I'm looking for, and while I know maybe a hundred folks who can mix their way out of a paper bag, I know far less that can be an all around audio tech. All the mixing talent in the world is valueless if you can't get the gig off on time.
