A Mix Checklist

Here, then, is a list of things to make sure you’ve got on your demo.

1. The words are clear and strong, at both reference level and -20 dB.
2. The vocals are compelling, tonally natural, and well controlled (ah, the art of vocal compression . . .)
3. The rhythm tracks are strong, solid and tight.
4. The bottom end of the mix works at both reference level and -20 dB.
5. The arrangements work really well.
6. The editing and sequencing is tight, with no slack, no wastage of time.
7. Levels are, er, hot! Use compression and limiting to bring things right up there, but with no crass overloads or gross distortion. It’s a fine line . . .
8. Test listeners should feel the demo is maybe too short, that they want to hear more. They should want a copy.
9. It should sound great on a bunch of different speakers.
10. There should be no obvious flaws or problems. More than that, the recording should sound like it was an oh-typically-easy-to-make demo, that you can do this all the time. It should sound, well, intentional! Not just a happy accident in the studio.

What You Can Leave Out, Should Leave Out

Here’s where it gets interesting, to my way of thinking. A good demo is a little like haiku poetry: powerful but really compact. There should be no fluff, no extraneous packaging, no puffery.

Think of it this way. The person you want to listen to the tape and hire you is not only very busy, but also gets a lot of tapes from a lot of other people who wish she would hire them instead of you. Meanwhile, what she would really like to be doing is lying on the beach in Aruba, not listening to tapes. But she has to listen to tapes, boring as it is, because that’s part of how she makes enough money to go to lie on the beach in Aruba. She is not listening to tapes for fun, entertainment or amusement. She is listening to tapes because that is her job! So, no matter how brilliant and talented you are, she probably won’t be entertained or amused. She’ll simply be tired, bored, stressed out and wishing she was somewhere else, like the beach on Aruba.

So, her time and attention is more important and grudgingly given than you can really know. What you want is, you want her to put up your tape, press the play button, instantly hear some great sounds, go “Ahhhhhh,” and then say to herself, “That’s enough, I’ve found the one. Great! I don’t have to listen to tapes anymore!! Thank God!!! What’s next on my schedule? Lunch, I hope.”

I belabor this, because you don’t want to waste her time, let her get distracted, give her a chance to ask “Why am I listening to this?” and hit the eject button. So, Do Everything You Can To Make Sure Your Demo Gives Her Instant Impact And Doesn’t Waste Her Time!

This especially applies to the music arrangements, which should be simple and to the point. Edit!!! Leave out the long atmospheric intros that are used to set up the groove. Leave out the extended lead solos. Leave out the jams. Leave out the extra version of the chorus. Leave out the 4-minute fade that you think is truly inspired. Edit down to maybe a four-bar intro, first verse, chorus w/hook, 8-bar lead, chorus w/hook, quick fade. Enough to give the feel, show the impact. Intensity! Three minutes max, two’s a whole lot better. Then, into the next abbreviated tune. And so on. Five 2-minute songs. Ten minutes. Now that’s a good demo.

What You Can’t Afford To Leave Out

Obviously, you shouldn’t let editing madness take over to the point where you’re down to a Greatest Words or Greatest Power Chords compilation (“Love” . . . chunk . . . “Baayabeee” . . . crunch . . . fade). The musical substance has to be there, enough so that your listener is convinced you’ve got the depth needed for what she wants.

There are some very mundane things, however, that you can’t afford to leave out, things that I’ve often noticed are missing on demos I’ve had to listen to. Some of the most important stuff is truly mundane: box/tape labeling. You wouln’t believe how many tapes I’ve gotten that have an unlabeled case and a name like “Bob” scribbled in pencil on the tape shell. With a tape, there are four different labels I suggest you put on: a label on the tape, a label on the spine of the case (opposite to spine label on the J-card), an annotated J-card looking out (so you can read it when the case is closed), and a label on the spine of the J-card. These labels mean that (a) the tape can always be identified, (b) the box can always be identified, (c) the tape can be easily spotted and identified among a batch o’ tapes, and (d) there is sufficient info (on the J-card) to tell your listener all she needs to know. Remember, you want to make it easy for the listener! For the CD-R, a label on the CD and a label ‘n info on the sleeve.

PS: Always include copyright and phonorecord notices!

There’s lots of other paperwork to include with a demo – the preparation of that all-important promotional package is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that that material should be prepared with the same loving care and attention to detail that the demo recording itself is, and that it should reflect the same concern for the listener’s time and comfort that the demo itself does.

Fun ‘n Profit Time: Where The Demo Hits The Prospect

The thing to keep in mind here is that the demo is a very focused sales production and presentation – you need to learn to visualize as completely as possible how your demo is going to appear and sound to your listener. Imagine where the listener is going to be, what she is going to be doing. Try it yourself. Pull out a stack of tapes at random and see what it feels like to go through ten of ‘em, one after another. If you are using DAT or cassette, see how helpful it is to have the tape pre-cued to the first song, with a notation on the tape “Play this side - tape is pre-cued.” Imagine what the listener is going to need to follow up - your name and a phone number for sure, right there on the J-card. The specifics should be worked out by visualizing how your presentation is going to go down, even under the worst circumstances.

And now turn this back toward the recording itself, now, visualizing exactly what impact the music is going to have. Is it immediate, clear, strong, intense. Does it sound good? Does it sound clean? Are the noise floors quiet? Does it have a broad spectrum? Are the levels right up there? Does it jump out of the speakers at you?

If it doesn’t, you may have some more work to do. Keep plugging away at it until you’ve really got it happening. The demo is not a place to cut corners! As Bob Ludwig has pointed out, “Perfect is almost good enough.”

Happy contracts!!!!