muddy mixing problems... help

[Skate36]

I've got a TASCAM Portaone Ministudio I've been using in my garage and I'm having problems with getting the right mix I need when I go to bounce tracks. The problem is the sound quality of the mixed track goes to hell with uneven sounds (almost sounds like a roll) on the low end. Part of the problem is in the style of play. It was naturally changing intensity in the ocurse of one base lick making it hard to set the levels. But with each successive bounce, the problem got worse. Any suggestions out there?

I've been looking into books on recording techniques and I think anyone of them on four track recording should answer my questions but if anyone has any recommendations, I'd like to hear them.

[Brad]

Skate,
At the part where the bass changes "intensity", is your VU meter for the bass track in the red? Sounds like you may have overloaded and that would cause audible distortion. Every time you bounce, there will be some degradation in the sound quality and that will make OL's stand out more also. When I had a porta one, i would sometimes run into the same problem. I cured it by adding a compressor to my rig. At the time, just a compressor pedal for the bass is all I needed.

Hope this helps,

Brad

[Skate36]

Thanks Brad...

I went and bought a few books on mic-ing and mixing and came to the same conclusion. Alot of the problem was the guy playing the instrument would play extreme variations in intensity. It made things VERY hard to set a level.

I am planning on up grading to a digital so most of what I'm doing with the 4-track is just practise anyway. I have in the last few days managed some excellent mixes. I'm chomping at the bit to get into digital and launch some stuff on to the web to get feed back from the other home recording junkies out there.

Peace & Thanks

S

[Vurt]

Hey Skate!

Keeping looking forward, but don't be in a monster hurry to upgrade. You know it'll come eventually, and the more time you spend acquainting yourself with 4 track recording, the better you'll be when you get the goodies.

[chernman]

Starting on 4-track is the way to go.

You may want to get a cheap compressor to help with your level issues. You can get a cheap Alesis or Dbx for under $100 or a stompbox for even less.

A good book that helped me was THE MUSICIAN'S GUIDE TO HOME RECORDING by Mclan and Wichman. It's a little dated but it gets you on the right track and covers all the basics well.


Hope this helped.

Oh yeah. Save those tapes! It is an absolute blast (for me at least) to go back and listen to my early 4 track stuff.

[Skate36]

Yep... I got that book and read it already.

I knew the problem wasn't with the levels but couldn't pin point it. It turns out that the guitar being used was the culprit. I believe the electronics in it are out of wack.

I'm getting some really high quality recordings on tape lately and I'm learning a bunch of little tricks that I'm sure will carry over into whatever other medium I end up with. Eventually I'll have them all... digital, ADAT, analog, MIDI... Bring it on!

I'm very interested in the new KORG machines but they are almost too new to find any write ups on them.

Thanks for the help guys.
Peace

Skt