MWTM Q&A #1 - Michael Brauer

Exceptional Weeklong Music Production Seminars
www.mixwiththemasters.com
The MIX With The MASTERS seminar series is a chance for recording and mixing engineers to come and work closely with A-List record producers, engineers and mixers and improve their skills in music production. The events take place in the outstanding Studio La Fabrique which is the perfect place to learn and relax in the South of France.
During his Seminar in August 2013, Mixer Michael Brauer took the time to answer a few questions from the MWTM Facebook Page.

[@giovannigramegna8566]

Questions: 1) 0:07 2) 1:28 3) 6:03 4) 9:55 5) 12:06 6) 15:13 7) 17:07 8) 19:54 9) 21:20 10) 22:56

[@fguitar100]

this man is so full of wisdom

[@peeweesherman]

EVERY audio teacher I have ever had has been dry, sarcastic and ambiguously witty. A bit like, "...Is he calling me a dumb ass right now but answering my question at the same time?" Haha I appreciate their knowledge though.

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

Totally !!!EGO in rock and roll is primarily the Guitarists, in Jazz it’s the f**king sax players, and in the studio it’s the mixers.

[@TheSoundgod59]

It is hard to remember how you do things, at this level it is very intuitive, a stream of consciousness, not something you can always remember. It happens in the moment. You are all very lucky today to have the older masters available to answer your questions.

[@DanielRezendeGuitar]

Thank you for to share all this nectar of wisdom!

[@ciuffo100]

Thank you, Michael! What a generous person! Thank you MWTM!

[@atta1798]

Generous!!!! Really he is an ass ....

[@mikekennethdevine]

Really liked this interview.

[@pairadeau]

"....sigh.....I haven't though about that...." This man is absolutely hilarious. Cheers:-)

[@MrNicknayme]

Great stuff!

[@SessionsRecording]

Outstanding. Thanks for the best week ever Michael. Jesse Miller.

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

Hi Michael, I was always curious why you didn’t go in order (like A for lows, B for mids, C for a highs, and then D for your fx and back ups). It always seems so foreign to me and out of order. How does it make sense to you? Thanks

[@alexandre7634]

Salut ! I was just wondering why "you can't use the multibus set-up" in the box ? Is it because of plugin delay compensation ? Personally, I don't hear any side effects, so I will keep doing this 😅

[@thelunarcrush]

thanks ! awesome

[@efsedita]

Sitting in the south of France at one of the best recording studios in the world...while being secretive and condescending. Okie doke.

[@paydaymonsantotheycanready9193]

WOW ... I keep finding myself saying ..."ME TOO!" Great stuff! (and not just because of the validation)

[@opinionpeace]

PAYDAY MONSANTO #metoo

[@TheMicDaddy]

I should have asked what hardware pieces do you prefer to use over their plugin counterparts and which plugins do you find do an adequate job of the hardware. Which hardware do you see yourself not getting rid of EVER... I can appreciate why you didn't answer the question. Thanks again!

[@RichSaculus]

Is it arranged using folders or sends?

[@tracebrem]

Whats the background music? Like it alot!

[@WTFremixer]

4:33. Great info

[@OleVinny]

What a nice guy :)

[@marcelosuarez5850]

I think there was a lot of Grizzly Bear sounding here, Michael Brauer mixed their album Shields, just awesome.

[@razielcastaneda]

I heard a lot of Local Natives!

[@dzezydzerk]

cool song what is that? first one?

[@IllSoulProductions]

I'm doing the 4 buss mixing method in reaper right now as I type!!!

[@IllSoulProductions]

Sends. I actaully have a picture of it as well.

[@dirtybuffproductions2384]

where can i find the link for the 4 bus mixing tutorial

[@dirtybuffproductions2384]

MixWithTheMASTERS thank u you guy teach alot love ur channel

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

Look up “Brauerized”

[@Nephilim-81]

I thought Brauer's work on Dream Theater's 'The Score' live CD/DVD was pretty decent. Man that must of been a hard mix. 😳

[@SinAsTheTic]

"I might just be bringing up some 16k" amazing that at his age he can still hear that range

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

Kinda depends how well you take care of your ears, no?... 16k isn't THAT high, it's a pretty apparent sheen. Would be quite dull-sounding if that area is all gone when you mix audio. And besides using a visual tool, how could a mixer be able to balance properly anymore?... It would render them almost disabled... So I'd think they'd take care of their hearing, mostly... Now, if it were Andrew Scheps... Yea, he'll probably go pretty deaf. XD

[@alexandre7634]

You can eq 40k and still ear the effect clearly, it's about the eq curve, you're affecting the whole sound, not only 16k

[@MsBasro17]

nice

[@Sasketchejuana_man]

Question: what do you do for reverb? Answer: I use a $600 spring reverb.

[@jamesrockford2626]

He looks more like a football coach than a producer. At first I though the mic on his shirt was whistle

[@stthbldt3594]

9:00 transient designer

[@opinionpeace]

Trangient designer

[@TheMicDaddy]

lol touche Mr Brauer touche -Ben McEntarffer

[@joelonsdale]

You can see in his eyes that the answer to ALL these questions is a great big 'it depends'! Isn't it frustrating that there is no definitive answer to anything? Don't answer that...

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

4:34...

[@raindaresmusic]

trangient

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

9:02 transient =tran-G-nt 🤪

[@justinchen6580]

ha erik i found your dad

[@kronier]

He's a great engineer but his luddism frustrates me.

[@AmielRocker]

Actually think he embrace technology very well, he uses actually wht is the best, technology is not necessarily "always" better!

[@TheSoundgod59]

Luddism? Really? Thank your lucky stars that you get this kind of info!

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

There was actually an interview about two years after this where he talked about using plug-ins and he was getting into it a lot more at that time. - It seems he was hesitant and late to the game. Same with guys like Andrew Scheps, who apparently didn't know how to deal with Mid/Side-processing even when I did as a starting newbie... - But you know, they've been used to other technology for decades, and to then make such a switch needs time and effort...

[@aholder4471]

I don't think it's a fear of technology, he's been around technology his whole life, it's the fear of crappy technology, which digital was crappy for a long time.