About Mixing. Some tips & tricks about EQ, Compressor, Delay, Reverb, etc

The Lounge General Discussion
#43

Each box out it’s stereo or mono out.
Fully get the multi tracking. But, I just don’t see how you can get a jammy vibe that way.

I mean I hear the Autechre live recordings and they sound 100x better than my recordings. And that generally 4 boxes stereo out or laptops. :confused:

I think it might be a case of there are some things that people just can’t do. I went to school for animation…there was this girl who just couldn’t see it. She did NOT understand movement. What she thought was right and saw as right, was terribly wrong.
Perhaps it’s just something I just can’t get a handle on.

20 years with NO improvement. And I spent a bunch of those not hanging with people heading straight home after werk to werk on music. :confused:

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#44

Maybe I should clarify that my interface multitrack records 6 tracks simultaneously. I def. jam my tracks with manual pattern changes and mutes as I’m going. Also, if it doesn’t seem like fun anymore, then maybe you should reevaluate what you want out of the music. It may not be healthy if you’re getting more stress from it than joy. Or maybe you’re just being too hard on yourself, we all self judge our own creations way too harshly.

Also, stop comparing yourself to Autechre and MBM! They should be a source of inspiration, not frustration

#45

I have a good way of dealing with that dilemma. Once you have gone so far into a mix where you are only making 0.5dB adjustments here and there, save everything and take 1-4 weeks off from the material. Then come back to it and listen, if it sounds finished after you have forgot the mix from your short term memory, you know you’re done.

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#46

That kinda sounds like you’ve set an unobtainable standard, instead of what is the most fundamental part of music, just being in the moment and feeling something. Maybe you just need to regroup and find your centre within whatever type of music you create.

Mixing is such a tricky thing to understand, it’s both subjective and objective and esoteric. Sometimes you need to take a step back.

I would like to point out though, that I love a ton of music that probably isn’t that well mixed on a technical level. Just like there are millions of guitarist who can play every jimi Hendrix riff…technique isn’t what makes music great if you know what I mean…don’t give up on your self dude, just figure out what matters to you in your sound and start again.

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#47

I multitrack anything serious if at all possible. If multitracking everything isn’t possible, you could conider doing it Surgeon-style and multing only the kick drum while keeping everything else summed?

And hey, don’t stress about it! We all go through those phases where it all feels like its going nowhere. Don’t worry, you’ll get to where you want if you just approach whats holding you back objectively, identify the problem and then figure out how to overcome it.

If its just the kicks, research into excellent sounding kick drum sample libraries. Get some of that stuff, and go through the material, pick your favourite kick samples and only use those for your next musicing sessions. You are not facing an impossible thing to get over.

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#48

I was in a punk band and a reggae band in the 80s. Well versed in shit recordings.
A good tune does rise above a shitty recording.
Hell, I prefer the BoC tapes to the released stuff. I prefer the Barry Gibb demo tape he used to pitch Guilty to Barbra Streisand.

But I’ve also heard shitty tunes I would have passed on, but felt compelled to listen to cuz of how well they were recorded.

So if I was hoping if I could just get stuff sounding better. Might just help me get more amped about werking on tunes. Hard when you know it’ll sound like shit in the end.
I try to just flow with what comes out…but I gravitate towards Fila Brazillia style, easy listening :/…I prefer beats, off quilter stuff to listen. But that’s not what comes out. Wtf
Maybe @Cepheid is right. Consider hanging it up.

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#49

This was not supposed to be about my issues…and just snagging helpful tips.
I’m gonna back off.

#50

Dont give up! I think you just need to think more about eq and how frequencies fit during jamming. If you want i can take a listen to something you have done, and see if i can come with some pointers.

Do you record stuff to separate tracks? Do you have a mikser?

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#51

No, don’t hang it up! I hope that’s not what you gathered. What I’m saying is take a step back , a possible break if you will. You have to get some joy out of this music making thing, right?

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#52

You know what would be the most painful way we could go through this? Send us audio snippets of your “shit”, and then we can collectively pick apart what might be off?

You can PM the materiel to some users directly if you don’t want to make a public upload

Just tell me to back off if you feel its too much

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#53

Yeah, I would also like to hear a „shit“ song. Got the same problem right now… Maybe we could all learn. And hopefully it won’t end like the episode from Rick&Morty

Spoiler

(or hopefully it will - he did make it in the end!!)

image

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#54

Defo don’t give up, your music is a valid as anyone’s. I’d be well up for listening to your mixes if you want some outside advice, as suggestion above. All I was suggesting was taking a fresh look at what you’re doing and think clearly about which direction to take it, before worrying about the technicalities.

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#55

Mixing a track is rarely a 100% jammy-viby process. There is a lot of discipline and control that needs to be exercised so that the result will not just sound good in the moment, but also the next day and hopefully a few years down the road too.

Don’t compare yourself to professional acts, you don’t know what process those live recordings went through in preparation for and after the gig. These guys have paid professionals making sure their live shows and records sound professional.

Might be. Do you enjoy the mixing process at all? Back when I was occasionally mixing records I also tried mastering and I sucked. I also found it really boring so just don’t do it any more. Have you tried letting someone else mix your tracks?

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#56

On tips and tricks, here is one that I heard that is supposedly how Manny Marroquin mixes (I haven’t tried it myself because I haven’t mixed anything but live gigs in years):

Start by bringing up the lead vocal as recorded. Now start mixing the track with the flat, untreated vocal running the whole time. By the time you are done mixing in all the other tracks the lead vocal will be sitting perfectly in the mix having to battle for space with the rest of the arrangement.

I suppose most people here don’t have traditional lead vocals in their tracks, but the technique should work for whatever element you want to drive your track.

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#57

Great thread everyone. Loving all these guidelines.
I’m moving towards mixing and mastering and my goal for the year is to release an album for the first time.
I’ve just been jamming, learning instruments, and searching for the control over the sound I need.
I’m now feeling it’s time to arrange and produce an intentional album of music.
All of this is very helpful.
Thank you :pray:

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#58

https://www.voxengo.com/product/span/

I admit I rely on this thing more than I should, the “high res mode” when a/b-ing vs other tunes can be an eye opener :see_no_evil: :crazy_face:

Especially useful in subpar listening environments aka untreated rooms.

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#59

If someone wants videos to watch regarding mixing and mastering, my top three recommendations are:

  • “Are you listening?” video series by Izotope
  • Pensado’s Place series
  • the many videos of the blog/site sonicscoop.com

They’re all on YouTube

I know there is an endless amount of videos on the net but these are the ones I rate worth watching for

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#60

I learned something recently. Maybe lot of you will find this obvious or idiot, but maybe some other didn’t understand this simple things like me:
Louder is not better
I always wanted my mix sound louder and louder, thinking the more it’s loud, the more it have punch. In fact, I always lost the dynamics and my old track sound like a wall.
Now, I use subtle compression and try to master quieter (specially for streaming platform) and the dynamics is waaay better. The final mix sound better and punchier and ears are less tired.
I’m far from producing good mix and master, but it’s a step to a better mix.

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#61

As soon as you mentioned HS80’s, it made me think, perhaps they are too big a speaker for your room.

I moved from HS80’s to Adam A7’s and it helped hugely for how mixes then translated in other environments.

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#62

maybe the hs5 less expensive than the hs8 could help too