I need some serious help here....

Regulars probably know something about how my reluctance to dive into
all digital HD recording has impeded my experience level. cough-cough

Being recently forced to mix a project in an all digi environment with no house
engineer and a number of stumbling blocks to overcome, I am inclined to
re-evaluate what was done there and I could use some advice before making
any recommendations to the client - who has already blown the vast majority
of his budget and needs product in his hands for summer sales.

I have posted two, one minute(+) clips of a song on my web site to provide
you a comparison test from which I would appreciate your input. (Links
below).

I won't take the time to re-hash the entire experience unless asked, but it
has come to my attention that the resulting mixes all suffer from a serious
loss of upper mid & lower high frequency content, as well as a mushiness
to the low end, and that this may have been caused by clocking or other
sync oriented issues.

The original source material was recorded at home by the client on ADAT
at 16bit, 44.1K. Before arriving in Montana, the studio which the client had
chosen to use agreed to dump the tracks onto an Alesis HD-24 prior to the
mix dates.

When we arrived there, the tracks had been dumped at 16 / 48k.

The tools used were a Sony DMX-r100 (clock source), the HD-24 controlled
by an Alesis BRC, and an Alesis Masterlink. In the path before the Masterlink
was a TC Finalizer. These were all digitally integrated.

After being handed the manuals and wished "good luck" by the studio owner,
at the end of the first day the machines were finally talking to one another.

The DMX-r100 had to be completely reconfigured from a rec/mix session
some two months earlier. The Finalizer could not be removed from the
chain by order of the owner, and the Masterlink had no GUI peripherals.
The Finalizer was supposedly set up only for limiting to avoid clipping of
the Masterlink and nothing else... I took his word for that and tried to stay
out of soft limiting while mixing.

The BRC had to be pitched down to control the HD-24 at 44.1K. The desk
was reset to send clock at that frequency as well, and so *finally* after
reconfiguring the routing as well, the audio cleared up and was free of the
obvious timing errors and the mix ensued.

Please note that monitoring through the desk during mixdown and during
playback from the Masterlink, did *NOT* reveal the severe degradation of
the audio that was actually taking place.

I cannot explain the resulting loss of frequency content. I took my own
monitors and phones and three of us were involved in the mix. None of
the resulting symptoms became noticeable until we had left the building
with the final mixes. The degradation was not discernable, even on play-
back while on this equipment.

We were able to leave with only a DAT backup of the unedited Masterlink
files and an audio CD created by the Masterlink. (The Masterlink was not
set up with a monitor and essentially was just a box in the rack). Now that
we are listening to the mixes and realizing how dramatically different they
are from the studio, I have to make a recommendation of some sort to the
client.

My first thoughts (other than shock and humiliation) were that the product
could be repaired in mastering, cleaning up the mushy bass and adding
some 1.6 to 3Khz or so for clarity. There are 13 songs which all suffer
exactly the same symptoms.

After requesting the original ADATs and re-mixing one song here at home,
I think there may have been serious problems with the interfacing and likely
my operation of the gear. I'd appreciate any input from folks with experience
in these matters, as could pertain to this frequency loss which was invisible
in the studio.

Please keep in mind that in the re-mix, I made no attempt to add clarity in
any shape, form or fashion. I tried to use the same cut-only EQ schemes
and cut considerably more high end than I did in the all digi studio.


Sample 1 - the original all digi mix....

MPEG-1 Layer 3, 44100 Hz, Stereo, CBR 256 kbps
http://www.m-a-m-s.com/WESTERN_LAND_I_LOVE-Test.mp3

Sample 2 - the analogue remix....

MPEG-1 Layer 3, 44100 Hz, Stereo, CBR 256 kbps
http://www.m-a-m-s.com/WESTERN_LAND_...REMIX-Test.mp3


What could have gone wrong here?? Recommendations? Things to avoid
or look out for in the future?

TIA,

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s DOT com
Morgan Audio Media Service
Dallas, Texas (214) 662-9901
_______________________________________
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com