I've been having a difficult time with my own emotions and the world of mix revisions. My mix sessions used to be mostly attended, with the artists and producers sitting on the couch and signing off on the mix work. At the end of the day, we'd have mixes completed, and any revisions meant rebuilding the entire mix from scratch, especially when the sessions were tape-based. Many times, we'd debate the merits of a proposed remix session, and settle for the existing mixes instead of spending more time and money. Sometimes we'd request miracles of our mastering engineers, in hopes that the final record could be closer to our vision of perfect.
These days, it seems everyone wants endless changes to a final mix. In John Baccigaluppi's End Rant, "Zip it Up," from issue #133 he discussed the satisfaction of "completion." (We're not going to rehash that here.) Once computers entered the studio, and especially when recording software got into the hands of almost any musician, the idea that drastic or minute changes could be requested up until (or even during) mastering became prevalent. This concept has become so adopted that I began to notice that clients on attended sessions were not focusing in on completing the mixes in the same way. I'd turn around from the console and ask, "How does that sound?" and receive a thumbs up or a nod. The next day I'd get an email requesting major changes; ones that should have been discussed in person and dealt with previously. Because they knew revisions could happen later, no one felt the urgency to sign off on a final mix. The mixing world has changed, so I've changed with it. That's all fine, and we must learn to adapt; but what concerns me is the mental state I get in during the mixing process, and what makes me want to "curl up in a ball."