First Mix

T

Top Jimmy

New member
Well, I mixed my first song yesterday. Ran out to my car, threw in the cassette and listened to it. Although the mixed needed some fixing I thought I had done pretty good. So whats up with mixing to VHS? Does it sound that much better? I hope someday to get a CD burner to go with my Fostex F-8,but I thought the cassette wasn't too bad. Are you guys mixing to VHS and then playing back through a home stereo?

Also should I flatten out the EQ in my car stereo when I listen to my mix? I have a 96 Eagle Vision with a Infinity sound system with 3 band EQ.

Keep your stick on the ice
Thanks, Jimmy
 
Yo Jimmy of the Top: [anyone who likes golf and beer has to be a member of the TOP.

Mixing and mixing and mixed-up are almost synonyms.

You can start to realize your recording skills if you take time to do two or three or four or more mixes of your cut. Change things like the reverb room (s) for the vocals and adjust and tweak the bass line, etc. Remember, though, what you HEAR THROUGH THE HEADSET IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET IN THE FINAL MIX. The headset environment is a good one -- nice and rich and bubbly. To get a better mix, listen to your cut on the monitors and that will give a much better print of what you will hear when you play it in the car.

Another thing, since you're mixing to tape, you might invest in a higher end tape deck. I use the Sony ES twin deck model - excellent quality.

Mixing to VCR tape is something I've read about. But, since my VCR is an old model and I expect it to die in two days, I don't use that method but it might be worth a try if you have a decent hi-fi VCR.

One last tip, if you do vocals and have spare tracks, put your lead vocal on two tracks when recording; this will give you some boost for that up-front vocal.

Keep twiddling the dials man and keep your head still through the golf swing.

Green Hornet
 
Thanks Hornet,

I will be tring different mixes tonight! Wow its really exciting to put your music on tape and play it back. Its like a reward for all your hard work. Although my Boss VF-1 have multi effects , I can see my self buying a compressor real soon.

And I am a golf nut, I have a net set up in the back room of my office. I'm in Wisconsin so the courses have been closed for a while already. You know buying clubs and recording equipment is alot alike, You always want the best but money won't buy a great game or mix.

Guitars, Golf, Women, and Beer. These are a few of my favorite things.

Keep your stick on the ice

Jimmy
 
Hey Jimmy,

What part of Wisconsin? I happen to be in Waupun.

As for mixing on VCR, I've tried it and I really like it. Good sounding tapes with very little noise and great sonic reproduction. And, yeah, I listen to my mix as I make it through my stereo with my EQ set at flat. Works well enough. I also mix with headphones and get some bizzarre mixes--they sound great on playback through headphones, lousy through the speakers. But I guess that's why everyone on this board will say not to mix with headphones. Though, I must say, if you are going for some of those late sixties style stereo panning, headphoning can really help.

Peace, Jim
 
Hey Jim,

I'm live in Athens, WI it's about 30 miles straight west of Wausau. I havent been threw Waupun for years. How about this weather?! Hope you don't have a sled. I can see my lawn already!

I'm listening to mix again. Youre right through my Sony headphones its sounds good but, In my car its much different. I'm thinking about rerecording the whole song because the part for the solo is way to long, maybe I'll add some type of bridge. Then after my one of my friends from the old band gets over hear to sing it I'll try to come up with a good mix. Someday I'll even figure out this whole MP-3 thing and post something.

See ya
 
Well, I've got kids so I have sleds. By now, we have had another major sno AND melt again. Man this sucks.

Yeah, I hate having to rerecord songs. This is the big hang up of doing for track recording. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the Beatles to have recorded Sgt. Pepper this way--but, then again, they had all the tape in the world and killer recorders, even if they were only four track (on 1-2" tape). I've done it plenty, the rerecording. If you need to do the song over, try to fill all four tracks and then master those to stereo first then send them to to two tracks while adding some stuff on top of those tracks while leaving the final two tracks empty (the infamous overdub vs. bouncing). Then, if, after you put you some new sounds on the final two tracks, you happen to not like what you made, you still have the original 4 track and the stereo master plus overdubs. I recommend that your original four tracks be your rhythm tracks (drums, bass, and rhythm guitar) and over dub background vocals. Then on the two empty tracks you can lay down lead guitar and lead vocals (both dry) and then during mixing add effects. This requires a bunch of cords and a additional tape deck (I use a stereo VCR) for mixing. Others, with decent computers, will mix on the computer for better sound. If you need this clarified, write me at jbmarquard@hotmail.com

Peace, Jim
 
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