RegSpeak: Another Hymns Project Update

Well, we ended up finding a mix engineer who met the requirements that I put in my last entry: We’re seeking to find someone who has mixed records where we like the way it sounds, also having worked with secular bands that we respect, so that the record doesn’t have a specifically “Christian’ sound to it.

We landed on Jacquire King. He’s a guy from Nashville (funny enough) that I’ve heard is a Christian, but has mixed a great combo of Christian and secular bands: No Doubt, Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, Third Eye Blind, Kings of Leon yet also Mute Math, Toby Mac, David Crowder Band, and Chris Tomlin!

We’ve been very satisfied with the mixes, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that we will soon be done! This has indeed turned out to be the best thing we’ve done at Mars Hill by far and it feels good to listen to the mixes (though it’s been exhausting to hear the songs so many times!) and feel as though our prayer has been answered, that God would be glorified and our level of excellence (for the sake of Him being made much of) would increase.

We’ve also landed a sweet mastering engineer Emily Lazar. Her credit list is too long to mention here, but she has done records that you own and love, trust me. Mastering is the very last step of the recording process and is essentially like the icing on the cake. The engineer balances volume levels from song to song as well as giving it the last bit of sonic character. While it may not make or break a record, it is still a crucial piece of the equation that can have a drastic effect on the overall sound. I’ve never had such a high profile mastering engineer work on a record that I have, so I’m curiously excited to see how that turns out!