Andrew Scheps is a world class engineer and mixer. He is a 3 time Grammy Award winner and his credit list includes Adele, Jay-Z, Black Sabbath, Beyoncé, Audioslave, U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
When I dedicated Stephen’s Selects #12 to the return of John Frusciante to Red Hot Chili Peppers, I mentioned that I would devote an entire article to their song ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’. You’re now reading that article!
‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ comes from Stadium Arcadium, the ninth studio album from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Stadium Arcadium was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and co-engineered/mixed by Andrew Scheps and Ryan Hewitt.
The album was recorded at “The Mansion” – a large house which was owned by Rick Rubin and is supposedly haunted! Mixing duties on ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ fell upon Andrew Scheps shoulders and it’s time to analyse some of the wonderful things he did on that record and how you can use them to mix like him.
It will definitely help to listen along to the track as we go through each point. So, hit play below!
1) Lead guitar treatment
Considering I initially brought up this song in terms of the guitar part, let’s start with that as it’s one of the key elements of the song. John Frusciante is playing triads (three-note chords) in an arpeggiated fashion.
The chord progression he’s playing is one of the most popular in any minor key:
i – VI – III – VII
‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ is in the key of G# minor, so the chord progression in that key is:
G#m/D# – E Maj – B Maj – F# Maj
As already mentioned, he has made the chord progression more interesting by playing triads as arpeggios and also by using hammer-ons, pull-offs and chord inversions like the G#m/D#. Overall, it’s a very busy part with him playing almost 8 notes per second. That’s a whole lot of notes!
So, if you’ve got a very busy guitar part that’s going to be playing through the root, third and fifth of each chord at speed, it means that there’s a very high risk of the vocal melody clashing with it and one of the parts suffering.
What’s the solution?
Well, the creative solution Andrew Scheps employed in his mix was to pan the guitar part hard right from the very beginning of the track.
That means that when the lead vocal comes in, the melody is actually accentuated by the guitar part on the right. Any time the vocal melody hits on the root, third or fifth of each chord, it’s supported by the guitar.
When hard panning any element in the mix, it’s very easy to create an unbalanced overall sound and that’s something you have to be very careful with. That leads me on to my next point…
2) Use of reverb and natural reverb
If you listen to the opening eight seconds of the song, you’ll hear the exposed guitar part panned right. But if you listen closely, you’ll also hear reverb from that guitar on the left hand side. It’s either a room mic from the recording sessions that has been panned left or a reverb that has some of the wet signal panned left as well. If you’re struggling to hear it, listen out for the reverb when John is playing hammer-ons, as the playing is slightly more aggressive and louder each time they’re heard.
By placing something on the left hand side of the mix from the start, it avoids the problem of unbalancing the mix. Even if it’s a reverb sound, it helps to balance what we’re hearing and doesn’t leave an isolated sound over on the right.
Using a technique like this and panning your reverbs could make a big difference to your mixes. This simple technique is very often overlooked for adding some much sought after width, depth and balance during the mixing process.
3) Creative Panning
Ok, so I’ve already spoken about the very inventive panning of the guitar part on the right and some reverb on the left but our ears will always look for balance. Once the lead vocals, drums and bass enter, our ears will look for a more concrete resolution on the left hand side or things will begin to feel unbalanced.
Andrew Scheps solved that problem by panning all the backing vocals in the refrain (Hey Oh) slightly to the left, center and slightly to the right. They don’t interfere with the guitar part on the hard right and the vocals on the left are slightly louder in the mix with a more accentuated high end so that we really listen in and pay attention. As there is nothing else on the left hand side of the mix at that point, they help to balance things out a lot more.
When the second verse rolls around, the added synth sound is then panned hard left to balance the guitar part on the hard right.
The creative use of panning continues to evolve throughout the mix as more vocals are added in the third verse and more elements and guitar parts are added throughout.
Mixing is a constant balancing act and just because a song starts off sounding slightly unbalanced doesn’t mean it will end up that way.
4) Mixing a band like a band!
‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ sounds like a performance rather than a group of individual musicians playing their parts. That’s because that’s how Stadium Arcadium was tracked. Andrew Scheps might have had an advantage of recording and engineering the album but he also preserved the feel with his mixing.
It sounds like a band playing together in the same room.
Anthony Kiedis’ vocals have been recorded with a SM7B with some isolation from the rest of the band and it sounds like that on the record. The vocals haven’t been heavily compressed or over-treated. They’re very tastefully mixed.
The rhythm section is tight and locked down as per the playing. Everything else, including overdubs, is really beautifully mixed.
It feels like most of the work has been done with the faders and pan pots rather than trying to throw the kitchen sink of effects at the mix.
Everything has its place and is treated with taste.
As I’m sure you can see, these 4 tips are very easy to use because you don’t have to overthink them and they apply to all styles of music.
While there are plenty of other great mixing takeaways from ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ and many of Andrew Scheps other incredible mixes, you can easily implement these 4 techniques (and more) in your mixes today.
Now, I’d love to know…
What’s the best mixing technique you’ve picked up from listening to the work of one of your favourite mixing engineers?
Leave a comment below!
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