I don't know if im over killing or what.
but I have a song that has 37 tracks (Hard Rock) and it literally took me almost 10 hours to just mix it.
Ironically, this seems to be the norm for me with large projects.
 
- House cleaning (sorting tracks, naming tracks, exc)
- Listening to each track for mistakes (pops/clicks, exc)
- Fixing Vocals with Melodyne
- Drum stacking
- EQ ing and adding FX, fine tuning those FX
- Automation
- Im sure I forgot something else
 
Automation seems to be the real time spender. I've found ways to make it easier over the years
but how the "H" can we make any money in this business when im spending 10 hours per song to mix.
Don't get me wrong, im in it for the love. but it is time consuming. Am I alone in this ?
 
Thanks for any advise or even sharing your experiences.

it takes what it takes.
 
the longer you mix,
the better you get, the faster you get at making decisions and 'getting there' quicker.
 
only you know when it's 'there'

For a mix it would sound like a lot, but you included clean up, QC & fixing, which can take a lot of time.
 
I try to do most of the cleaning & QC upfront, so when it comes to mixing, mind & ears are worn out by listening to all those individual takes.
 
some ideas that help me get there faster (sometimes at least):

• mix only to 90% and leave some of the fine-tuning to the next day on purpose.
• stop tweaking once it sounds good... 100% is enough, 120% doesn't sound better ;-)
• if uncertain, save mix alternatives, use mix recall to export all and A/B the next morning
• sometimes I'm guilty of not resetting the desk and hence, not always start out from a scratch, depends on how much pre-production work was done, but if I like the feel I just continue ...

With 37 tracks to clean up and pre tweak in advance of mixing, that can be pretty time intensive. I think it's important to separate that time from the actual mixing. Coming back the next day to do the actual mix is always my preferred method. It's just too easy for me to get paralysis by analysis if I go in with a tired mind and ears. That first listen the next day reveals it in a big way.

Uh OH. I can take 10 days to mix a song.
 
If it only has three tracks.
 
30+ tracks? See you in a month.

10 hours sounds like good going to me, especially if that includes a lot of cleaning up tracks etc.

My projects tend to be less than half that size.... and I probably spend 4 hrs or so in the mixing stage. I don't run the clock on what I do so that's just a guess.
 
I have muted lots of tracks. I try to pare things down to a manageable size. It's really easy to get carried away with multiple tracks for this and that and before long, you have a huge project to mix. When I find myself in this situation, I try to get it down to the essential tracks needed. Mute the rest, and move them out of the way or even delete them from the project.... or do a "save as" to get a leaner project.
 
But yeah.... if you used all 37 tracks, it's a wonder you didn't take longer.

Thanks for the reply's fellas.
I appreciate it. I have a whole work flow that I've been doing for years. Maybe its time to "mix" it up (no pun).
I record and mix in separate locations. it's only rare I do an over dub in MY Control Room.
My Control Room is where all my mixing and mastering happens.
Take lane management is done at a separate time. that's something I like to have finished before I start mixing.
Im thinking of adding house keeping to that routine. Along with clean up, Melodyne fixes, exc.
This way when its time to mix, im simply just mixing.
When im doing my own projects, I will track out 12-15 songs and then after a few weeks begin the mix process.
Clients are totally different. All depends on their needs really. anything from 1- 10 songs.
 
I know 37 tracks might seem like a lot but when you get right down to it, its not.
Not all tracks are always playing at all times, sometimes 3 guitars come in on just a chorus (Each panned L/R + C)
to thicken it up. (typically 10 guitars with 6 graded in frequency) I have found to get a "Thick" guitar sound that grading EQ works wonders. Another 12 drum tracks alone. They add up.

I think separating the 2 tasks will really help you. To me, one is a task and the other is more of an artistic endeavor and requires a completely different mindset.

Speaking only of rock/pop/commercial-type music...
 
If it's an in-house project and you don't have to pay for studio time and you don't have a deadline, then sure: Why not be certain you've thought of everything, and made the whole piece as good as it can be?
 
But if you have a client with a budget, or a record company waiting for the master, or you've promised a release date, then you don't have that luxury. You simply have to work to the time frame you're living in.
 
But you must guard against getting into "fixing" things that aren't broken and "perfecting" things that almost no one will hear. In the genres that I mentioned above (and you mentioned in the OP), what really counts is the quality of the song and the emotion and attitude in the performance (in my opinion), and none of that can be improved by spending more time mixing.
 
Shorter version: Rock On and Move On!