BOX OF TRICKS

Even a totally in-the-box studio needs some hardware to function. Elaborating on the most important bits of hardware in his studio, Orton explains, “The room I work in is really important to me because I need to know I can trust what I’m hearing from the speakers. Not only that, but it’s important to be able to work in a comfortable environment because I spend most of my life there. My room here also has a nicely-sized tracking room, which is a useful thing to have access to. The acoustic treatment of the room, which was designed by John Edwards, is one of the most important things to me because I can trust what I’m hearing and it helps with making correct decisions. If you’re not hearing what you think you’re hearing, you have to work twice as hard and the mix will never turn out as well as it could.

“With a ProTools rig and an acoustically correct room you can achieve anything you want if you know what you’re doing. Much of the gear I have is focused on achieving clarity in what I’m hearing: I have a variety of monitors I like to listen on, and Prism AD/DA converters which I love for their punch. My main monitors are soffit-mounted Ausperger speakers with TAD components. I also have some midfield Quested VS2108 monitors that I spend a lot of time listening on. Some of my favourite speakers are made by Quested. Roger is a wonderful speaker designer and I love his monitors for their incredible clarity and detail. I also have Yamaha NS10s and ProAc Studio 100s — although I don’t usually have both up at the same time. ProAcs make a pleasant change when I get tired of the very forward mids of the NS10s. Another important aspect of my monitoring setup is my Crookwood monitor controller, which is super clean and transparent. All these things together help me feel entirely confident I’m hearing exactly what I should be hearing, without coloration. Finally, I’m not a big fan of clocks or summing boxes, although I can see a case for the latter if you’re specifically looking for it to colour the mix a certain way.”

Positioned at the crest of a wave of young, contemporary mixers Orton operates not only at the cutting edge of modern technology, but also has a fresh and different perspective on the perils of today’s fast-turnaround, low budget studio industry. Many mixers with roots in the big-budget analogue days complain they’re increasingly competing with rough mixes, which not only tend to be exceptionally loud (meaning they have to come in as loud, if not, louder), but more sophisticated than ever, because producers and tracking engineers also have all the mixing tools available to them. These mixers feel their creative leeway is continually reduced, to the point one big name mixer told this writer he feels all he does in many cases is just “bless the rough mix.”

Orton has a very different perspective: “It’s true to say rough mixes have become more sophisticated, but I don’t agree it places a limit on my creativity. If you’re not in competition with a great rough mix, then you can just as easily be in competition with another mixer. Just because everyone loves a rough mix doesn’t mean you can’t bring something new and exciting to the record, it just means you have to pay careful attention not to spoil the hard work already put into making the record. That often means you have to work harder, but the end result is usually a better record. Having said that, it’s nice when a client isn’t too tied to the rough mix. It’s liberating when you have complete creative freedom.

“I do agree that the lines between tracking, mixing and mastering are more blurred than they’ve ever been. As a mixer, my work is often being compared to released material, which has of course already been mastered, so it’s important my mixes stand up to that. I routinely use various mastering tools (EQs, limiters, etc) to make the mix sound as close to the finished product as possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean making the mix as loud as possible, although some clients do want that, but it’s about getting every last bit out of the mix. Making a record is a collaborative process, and just as the artist, producer or engineer might speak to me during the process of a mix, I’ll sometimes speak to the mastering engineer too.”

ROUTINE RECALLS

Given that Orton has worked in-the-box for most of his career, there have been very few changes in his working methods as digital technology has progressed. “My working methods have remained the same for several years now,” he elaborates. “I probably place more emphasis on laying out a session exactly how I want before starting a mix than I did in the past. That’s out of necessity because of the high volume of work I have. If you get everything organised well before you start the mix, you’re able to spend more time focussed on the things that matter, which makes for a better mix. My usual routine involves starting around noon, unless there are pressing recalls to take care of, in which case I’ll start earlier. The session I’m working on will already be prepped so I just pull it up and start listening.

“I familiarise myself with the song by listening to the rough mix a few times and placing markers in the session to help me understand the structure. Then I start working on the mix and keep going until it’s finished. Sometimes it doesn’t take long, often I work late into the night, but I usually finish a mix a day. If I work late, I like to listen to the mix the following morning, because it can be helpful to listen with fresh ears and a clear perspective. Maybe I’ll change one or two things and then print before moving onto the next mix. I don’t have a set routine for tackling recalls. When I receive recall requests, I sometimes work on them after I’ve finished the day’s mix because I don’t want to spoil the flow I’m in. Other times I might like a break from what I’m working on, so I work on a recall as I receive the comments. Being able to swap between songs quickly and easily is certainly one of the huge advantages of mixing in-the-box.

“There wasn’t much jumping between songs when I mixed Lana’s album. Generally she and I would work on a mix until it felt right, then we’d listen to the mix in the car. Sometimes we’d go back into the studio for a few more changes and sometimes we’d pull up the session the following day, but usually when it sounded right in the car we knew the mix was finished. The two main singles from Ultraviolence that I mixed, Brooklyn Baby and Shades of Cool, were done this way.”