Sylvia Massy on Hybrid Mixing and Studio Philosophy | Red Bull Music Academy

[@RBMA]

If you still want to know more, then we have a treat for you! In this article Massy reflects on her career, telling tales of working with Prince, Johnny Cash, and Rick Rubin while revealing some of her most unusual recording techniques: daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/10/sylvia-massy-interview

[@LouisLinggandtheBombs]

Massy is one of the greatest and most creative producers alive today. A pleasure to watch this video.

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

Good to see a real pro in action who knows her stuff. Respect Sylvia

[@TheMisterMonkeyman]

Sylvia is the absolute coolest. Being great at what she does is the cherry on top. Thanks for posting. Peace.

[@Retrostasis]

I wish youtube had a button that would auto like every video with Sylvia in it......twice!

[@sonicmayhym]

brilliant..radiant..absolutely personable...amazing sense of humor...i mean seriously the bedtime stories she could tell...meow!!! all the history and years of exploration into the recording world..she is like no other nothing but the utmost respect for Sylvia and all her works. an absolute icon she is!!!

[@BenGurskyMusic]

Silvia the GOAT

[@freshconnekt]

Again she is a genius!!! I love Tool and their sound is nothing short of incredible. The transitions in Maynard's music are crazy, she made it sound flawless which is very very difficult I am sure. Before I was even interested in engineering I always thought those tracks were an amazing feat. She thinks outside the box which is uncommon at best. Outside of the box thinking is what creates new things that would have been not even thought about in a normal train of thought. She is one of my favorites, if not my favorite, of all the amazing engineers we have today.

[@RomanJan-ng6xe]

Thank you Sylvia for bringing Tool!

[@GuillermoCarrasco]

"...I realized that radio is not really about the music as much as is about advertising..."

[@Jerrylumdegaard]

Sylvia is awesome!!! Get her book!!! It's super informative and fun!!!

[@BenGurskyMusic]

she the GOAT

[@jocknarn3225]

Awesome; just stumbled onto this (Silvia Massy, who I’ve now been educated on...). Wanted something inspiring 2 watch making T. As a beginner analogue enthusiast (hopefully an early re-adoptor) this’s invaluable instruction & Sylvia’s an excellent demonstrator/explainer. My “main console’s” a 1977 TEAC-5B 8:4:2. My “side-car’s” a 1982 244 Portastudio ... lol serious! Recorder is Tascam TSR-8 1/2”. Mixdown’s to 1977 Akai GXC-325D cassette deck. “Laugh it up fuzz-balls”🤣. But seriously, thx 4 the generous posting.

[@cantor7723]

I'm in awe of her talent for mixing. I don't hear things until she points them out.

[@fraganciaabreu9814]

Love Sylvia - she's a master

[@UllieSwan]

Awesome video! Thank you

[@davel.9467]

Sylvia is really smart and really good at her craft. Super creative too!

[@zozovaca]

5:08, moment of the (short) relief (and possibility to actually concentrate on the words)...

[@CjSaabRecords]

legs up, what a mix done thanks I got very much new things to learn

[@SRNF]

The interviewer had zero idea who Kirk was lol

[@aceedmond8053]

Sylvia is a legend.

[@voronOsphere]

Sylvia is a top-notch expert in her craft!

[@logicbk]

Girl power in the house! Nice!

[@ricemilk3185]

I'm loving watching this..excellent Pro at work

[@peterm3964]

Love listening to Silvia . Always learn stuff.

[@jasper36]

I don't have as much experience as many, but I've done a few sessions. The way she's presenting those drums is amazing. It may not work in every situation but she's ready to find the weirdest thing because that might be where the magic is. Every engineer I've worked with was eager for the most manageable and small sounding drum tracks. They would mix the drums before everything else and that was it. Maybe a tiny bit of tweaking but decisions were made about drum sounds before they even heard a given song. I remember the last session I did, the engineer was obviously irritated that I had different snares/tunings in mind for different songs...

[@666Nightshift]

One of my fav bands mixed by one of my fav engineers!!! Amazing!!! :)

[@muzickpro]

You had me at "They have Fairchild 670"

[@eddieangelmonroy]

Sylvia is a boss!

[@davjod]

She is amazing!

[@BenGurskyMusic]

100 no doubt! Silvia the GOAT

[@ChadWork1]

If you're going to interview someone in a recording studio, at least send an audio savvy person with the crew. This is an atrocious sounding production. Sylvia deserves better.

[@ChadWork1]

They made sure the interviewer looks good, though there is no real reason for her to be in the shot.

[@Syklonus]

If you're concerned about the audio quality more than the content then you're showing your shallowness.

[@ChadWork1]

Syklone not shallow, just professional.

[@heybuddy6794]

Fair point! literally in a pro studio 🤣 Informative nevertheless :)

[@AllenPendleton]

the 8078 has always been my dream console. I think there are only a few working ones still around.

[@MrGone123]

Love that sound, has a flavor of AC/DC and reo speedwagon

[@blazehouse0420]

very professional

[@bpanmusic001]

Sylvia is just amazing and genius

[@ColorlessWinter]

This was awesome. I was hoping however, that she would verbalize the details of what knobs did what and other details. Still had a great time watching this process!

[@colonelwatts]

that's pretty basic info tbh, personally I'm pleased she didn't waste time on this - the info is out there though, just google it!

[@manonbassguitar]

Sylvia makes me happy. O yes.

[@plummetplum]

Dream studio. Love the hybrid mix idea, almost seems like a waste of desk :-)

[@Charlyfromthenuclearcity]

Well you can use a summing box, the result is pretty much the same ! :)

[@slavesforging5361]

I assume they're tracking through those preamp too.

[@ISREHL]

Sibilance is off the charts

[@voronOsphere]

Don't forget, the audio is going thru the air and into their clip on mics. They needed a strong direct feed from the equipment.

[@zmanbrody]

Holy crap that sounds so good, even on camera audio

[@dianathompson7597]

She knows sound,, the tool recordings show this, and that good sound has been part of there popularity.

[@micman8363]

Great video!

[@tobiasschmelzer3095]

born talent, so good

[@deltavistastudio124]

Fun stuff!

[@BenGurskyMusic]

Sylvia the GOAT

[@RiotHomeRecording]

What a beautiful console

[@iamkingriot]

not only she is a genius mixer, she fucking gorgeous too

[@Ducklingy57]

Sylvia is a fucking legend!!!

[@JJDPROMEDIAPRODUCTION]

I personally always thought that Rock music alway slacked in the Bass department. Rock mixers have relied on the Rhythm guitar for adding the mid-low punch to a mix. I think adding some booty to the mix would go over well.

[@Syklonus]

Rock is a guitar driven genre, so it's supposed to rely on them for that punch. The bass is basically there to glue everything together, not to be prominent.

[@dianathompson7597]

There is usually more bass guitar live, so I agree it is missing in most recordings. But old rush puts that svt bass right in the midds

[@dianathompson7597]

I liked getting the best of both worlds out of the snare drum.

[@carolinerose8203]

LOL the 2 people on their phones at 20:37...

[@bugmanuk]

I'm getting a mix of both the room and the console I think or one or the other.. Gimme the L+R!

[@HighFlown]

Super dope stuff

[@mikegeary8056]

She’s the best.

[@daleplatino]

I was curious to see how you mix down this session. Did you go back into Pro Tools and record it two track or did you run it to tape?

[@joecilento3924]

I was wondering something similar...I think she may be busing the stems from PT to stereo tracks for each instrument family which ends up on the console. Then she is doing analog processing (the console/outboard gear) and *probably* busing those tracks on the console back into PT and recording that so the analog processing is printed to those tracks in PT. Thats my best educated guess :)

[@wils300470]

Aroused and interested! Great video :-)

[@hit1295]

They’re in a studio full of amazing gear and couldn’t find a de-esser for Sylvia haha. Amazing insight nonetheless

[@KristijanBesak]

Or to level out loudness of both speakers

[@dragosstrat6939]

@@KristijanBesak and what's with the delay on their voices? :)) this is a control room :)

[@BenGurskyMusic]

yeah quality is shhiiiiite

[@Mr40styles]

How is the final mix printed?

[@izziOnBass]

Great video. Not much videos we see that you really mix with outboard gear like in this video.

[@vendeta9393]

What is the song in "shaping the mix"??

[@morbidsanders4269]

she is awesome

[@adamb8657]

The audio is just camera mic? If you want to actually hear the moves she is doing check out Creative Live

[@mikeyedmund]

Making great music sister.

[@GraemeWoller]

Sylvia is the best, but it's a pity there was no direct feed from the console.

[@CornSw]

What's the name of the interviewer?

[@ParnasoCultural]

Rebecca Haithcoat

[@jorgepeterbarton]

her name is 'mm hmm'

[@studio11chicago]

Theres phase in between their microphones and the mix going direct to video

[@thechannelitrollwith1645]

I feel like I'd love this video more if done by someone else. The audio really isn't THAT bad, but for a 20 year old institution related to music and owned by a massive company, baseline audio quality should probably be a bit better. Someone down in the comments said it was shallow to be concerned with audio quality, and that's just ridiculous. If not for the integrity of your channel, then out of respect for Sylvia Massy. You know, this legend dishing out real know-how. You couldn't even slap a de-esser on her voice or not use the few seconds of video where both people in the back are on their phones before one picks up a camera. These things are funny in isolation. Added up, a bit ironic but mostly just unprofessional.

[@ronirama8352]

Can you use an old(no matter how old) analog console to mix a modern song? I mean,does this concept work; You record it with your analogue gear in your computer,spread it through the mixer and when you’re done with it,whatever is missing from the sound the mixer gives(cause it’s old) you fix it with your digital plug ins?(to give it the modern sound)

[@jas_bataille]

You can indeed track from the console, and then come back after the fact in the box. The reason why it make sense to do it the other around, is first that you can't go back to whatever you printed during the analogue recording session, so when recording in the box, you can "re-amp" or "remix" tracks until it feels right and as she said, the client like to modify things. The second reason is because of the digital to analogue conversion process : when getting so many tracks to a two-track master in the box, what happens is the code for the sample can get confused and think a frequency of one sound and the same frequency in another sound are the same track or stem where they're actually not... as a result of those digital artifacts, the mix can sound less wide and isn't sounding as good as when you were monitoring in the DAW directly to the multitrack... So that's why. Besides you really gonna end up with lots of noise and stuff to manage when tracking with most analogue boards, while just about any decent audio interface will give you clean sound with virtually no-noise compared to any vintage equipment, and then you can have headroom to add gain and analogue sauce on top :)

[@jas_bataille]

However, you can't "fix your mixer" with plug-ins. If your mixer is not in shape, you will have phase issues and too much noise, and you need to have it recapped by a technician and see if it's worth it or not. Any non-service vintage analogue board is a lot of maintenance. I just got a late 70's Studiomaster basically brand new (it was left in a roadcase for like 30 years or so by the state of it!) and this is being extremely lucky to say the least, as I'm gonna pay the price of the case for the owner to get rid of it for space in the studio...! But be careful for most of those old mixers are more trouble than their worth if non-serviced, and serviced ones with warranty cost double their price.

[@stepwilder5098]

I loved undertows sound. great

[@diyrecordingstudio]

Camera Audio!!!! why????

[@geirhelgechristiansen3647]

Heheh "Would you mind hooking that up for me?", "yes most cetrainly" :D So cool to see this video, I am actually producing one of Turbonegro`s upcoming supportband, Panic Attack with members from Gehenna etc. And this track we used as a reference mix for the album. Too bad I saw this video after our mixing session, made me redo some stuff.. :o

[@filmchild78]

Sylvia is a fucking pro, seriously one of the best living P/E/Ms

[@palodine1]

Even 10 yrs ago you would see 5 guys and one woman. Maybe. And now there are several women and one dude. Awesome.

[@unclereg7713]

Men in general are in decline in the creative sphere especially here in the U.K. Artistic creativity is an anathema to the laziness that is the right wing politic. Women are getting on with it and the guys have just sunk to product demos and placement having lost touch.

[@johnviera3884]

@@unclereg7713sure. it has zero to do with gender equality positions. it should happen naturally but it doesn’t. how many females do you know that know how to use a DAW?

[@simonwalker2073]

Cymbals sound super pumpy

[@voronOsphere]

That pumping may be worse because of the audio going through the air into their clip-on voice mics.

[@theweakobey]

Oh how id love to be the girl doing the patching.

[@anatolyice]

one word - witches

[@riverwalktalesofterror8045]

hahaha. I get you.

[@ZenDrums7]

The audio is so bad. Why no direct from the desk?

[@BenGurskyMusic]

so so so so soooooooooooooooooooo bad

[@hendrix6]

That clap, yeesh.

[@PHELCAN]

I fucking love sylvia massy

[@rockymountainrocker5630]

wow

[@Avatar7x7]

Never got to hear her process and why she did things a certain way...The Hybrid stuff I get but didn't get much technique ! Some folks are great at what they do but maybe not good at explaining or teaching their process !

[@Standeraas]

Did I see correctly that her session tempo does not match the track? It's completely fine especially when you do not use the Grid mode but it is interesting that professionals do that too :)

[@bannerrecording]

Who's the cutie pie assistant engineer? :) Got to meet Sylvia once and she's just as awesome in person as she is in all her interviews. Definitely a cool lady.

[@bachelorgamer8001]

Whi is the interviewer?

[@JammyFillman]

I dig this video, but you have someone who knows absolutely nothing about what Massy is talking about hanging out with her, and she cant even ask real questions. I am also a Radio human gone music producer and I would have loved to been there with Massy, this chick has no idea what she's missing!

[@eltoro969]

Who ever did those camera angles has to learn about editing.

[@TwstedTV]

OMG Rebecca is drop dead super gorgeous. Wow......

[@nebstaism]

She's thinking hurry up and end This interview so she can actually get into mixing the song properly with out having to explain everything

[@tungtobak]

Who even is in Turbonegro nowadays? I kind of tuned out after Hank, Pål and Chris all left.

[@Gelato556]

As far as I know Euroboy and Tom are still around and the driving force behind it. I don't mind the new vocalist but it's a totally different band without Hank.

[@MJamesIII]

What’s Rebecca’s last name?

[@BenGurskyMusic]

rebecca haithcoat

[@johnviera3884]

who’s Rebecca?

[@askyles91]

The only thing I learned is that she picked the Waves Fairchild over the real Fai rchild in the back of the room lol

[@ReggieReddog]

Well no, she just doesn't have two of them on hand for the mix. Saved the REAL Fairchild for the prestige position over the stereo mix. It is in the video.

[@BenGurskyMusic]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@andrewlodarski2452]

Sie benutzt ernsthaft diese 100k+$-neve-konsole als schnöde analoge summierungsstelle für instrumentengtuppen und nennt das hybrid mixing. Und für Bass nimmt sie n waves plugin, obwohl sie das echte gerät da hat. Naja is nur bass... ich weiß nicht, was ich denken soll.

[@ivanhouben474]

the interviewer is soooooo cute

[@AL.N-music]

sibilance... I had to EQ to get through.

[@AL.N-music]

oh no, in camera mic sound. :(

[@BenGurskyMusic]

😂😂😂😂 ohhhhhhhhh man

[@unclereg7713]

Eq is the best and good of you to alert the casual reader of the comments that you know about these things and have recently used it you cheeky scamp.

[@ericgelders]

TIL RB is into music production, next to zero-life-expectancy extreme sports 😄

[@mastershake9374]

You guys have so much money and equipment, yet you still managed to F it up? Why are we listening to a mix through LAV mics? It sounds flangy and phasey AF.

[@BenGurskyMusic]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 you ain't wrong at all! what dogshite quality ehhh

[@cheebadigga4092]

GABEN? IS THAT YOU?

[@voronOsphere]

I bought a VHS Instructional video about the "Secrets of Mixing" in the late 1990s. It had the worst audio I've ever heard in a professional video release. Such embarrassing irony!

[@beyondthegong]

Who fucking cares? Most people are watching this on iPhones. Plus who knows if the band or label gave anyone permission to use and distribute the master tracks via a fucking Redbull video. Don’t you understand how this shit works??

[@studiosdeshamps]

Ôo dear Rebecca..

[@Charlyfromthenuclearcity]

Well that's not a really good SNR. :P

[@mcnuggieguy]

a bunch of creeps in the comments as usual

[@damiancafarella4086]

Mcnugget Man it's bullshit, isn't it. Disgusting. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Professional people, completely objectified, because of their gender. Don't worry about the great advice that these bedroom heroes are being offered for free. Grosses me out.

[@slacksmeridian]

​@@WillGoring Yeah, that's what it is!

[@DiminishInEternityOfficial]

Oh shit there's a console behind them

[@amirjahleelbaniephraim4435]

The interviewer is very, very HOT!