I have yet to really figure out how to simply lower all the levels properly in ProTools. There is an "All" group, which I've tried, but that lowers literally everything, including even the Auxes. In my simple tests, it also threw off the levels slightly. I usually lower all the levels manually that aren't Auxes and that aren't busses but this also tends to have a minor affect on the overall sound. There has to be an easy way to do this but I'll be damned if I can find it.
Once that's done, then I move on to the next round of crazy which consists of double checking the mono mixes, putting in finishing touches like fade outs and such, and then listening to the mix on multiple systems. Once all that passes, it's ready for mastering. If you're following along, you can probably tell that this all can take awhile as well. And, of course, then I can spend a few hours on artwork.
The other bit of bad news is that I really wanted "The Effects of Connection" EP completed in its entirety by Xmas, meaning mastered, printed, and so on. Now, if I worked really diligently and such, and I got a bit lucky, I could maybe...just maybe...meet that date. It would take a lot of work, though, and it would be fairly stressful. Would I make it? Honestly, not likely, and therefore I don't think I'm going to put myself through that pressure. Hell, I've waited this long so...
Besides the "Effects of Connection" EP, I think I have the radio edit version of "As Evening Brings Tears" finally done as well, which means that it can be synced with the video once it's been mastered. That's been a long time in the making as well.
The last track in the group is one song from the "It's Raining Elvis Fish!" redux, and I must say that it sounds pretty damn good, way better than the original. And so, I guess I'm opening that vault again as well. The mixes in general have been going better so hopefully that's a trend that continues.
Since my eye is still recovering, I've not been working terribly hard at this stuff, mainly because my bad eye seems to throb with tremendous pain most evenings now. It's hard to push through it, plus I feel that looking at a computer screen isn't helping much either. Still, I'll get done what I can and keep pushing forward when my body permits me to.
With these four tracks done in the preliminary stage, I can now once again go back to the "Mirror Land" tracks. The last time I worked on them, I was trying a new compression plugin on the acoustics and I pretty much feel that it ruined each mix so it'll be either removed or softened. Apart from that, I still hope to get these completed by the end of the year as well. One can only hope.
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