Time to Master

northsiderap

northsiderap

New member
Okay - It's time to master my latest project.

Everything was recorded fairly dry.- No effects on tracking. Sounds pretty good, but dry dry dry.

Drums - ATM25, SM57, and two Oktava MK012's through studiomaster pre's
Guitar - SM58, Oktava MK012 through sterile preamp
Guitar 2 - SM58 through Fairchild III pre
Solo GTR - SM58 or LDC through Fairchild III pre
Bass - Direct
Vocals - GTAM62 through API 312

My major problems with the track are:

1) The snare is slightly bonky on half of the tracks. How do I brighten this up?

2) The guitar and the bass don't mesh well - The guitar is chuggy on half of the tracks so there are certain notes where the bass and guitar together really chug. I've tried FFT analysis and EQ but it seems to take some life out of the thing.

3) The bass sound is funky. Half the thing was recorded direct with the bassist kinda twanging the strings on his bridge using the bridge pickup.

4) I'd like any tips on livening up a mix just a little. Perhaps a BBE/Compressor/Reverb combination that someone could recommend so the final sounds a little bit like Def Leppard or something -

5) The backup guitars are not too flashy, but are important to the mix. How do I get them in there without standing out too much?

Thanks!

The band is a little bit of a throwback to the late 80's to early 90's.
 
You're misusing your terminology -- you're talking about MIXING, not Mastering (Mastering is the final polishing of a song AFTER mixing!)

This Mixing article may give you some tips --> Mixing 101
 
more questions

Tracking, Mixing, Mastering......er..
Recording, Mixing, Mastering...er...

laying down the sht, running the pans and faders, and polishing the turd.. :D

can you help clarify this... :confused:
i get confused, on the multi-system playback thing.

Scenario:
so you get a mix in your nearfields that you like...then you bring it out into the world of Consumers and HiFi's and pc plastic speakers and boomboxes.
translation..

so how much do you pay attention to crap playback units, like a boombox? do you guys really do this? and then go make small changes because a boombox sounds too bass heavy?

same question different wording:
what would you consider being a standard playback unit to check your mixes?
is there a meter or spectrum analyzer that could do this same function?

i read an article some old timer actually had connections to playback mixes over the Radio air, and then he would go back and remix to get it radio ready.. 1950's or so.
 
COOLCAT said:
so how much do you pay attention to crap playback units, like a boombox? do you guys really do this? and then go make small changes because a boombox sounds too bass heavy?
Click to expand...
Well, maybe not quite the way you state it; one might not necessarily be quite that specific to the letter of the law (then again, some moight), but the intent of it is correct.

A lot has to to with intended audience. If you are making something for Internet release (MP3 demo, Realcast stream, Podcast, etc.), then it makes sense to design and check you mixes on that kind of media and playback system. If you're making an indie CD for sale, then your needs might be more general and you might just want to make sure it sounds OK on a "typical" home and/or car stereo. Similar for a demo CD. If your making a techno, hip hop or dance mix CD, then try it on what you'd feel would be the types of systems they'd get the most play. If you're making something for radio play, then planning for the compression and volume constraints put on recordings by most radio stations might be a good idea, etc.

But while everybody may not always get that esoteric with their checking on different playback systems, the root idea that should always be done is to check your product on at least one other system in another location than just your mixing/mastering station and room. If you have another pair of ears that you trust in a friend or associate who has good ears and will be honest with you, it's a good idea to bring them into it as well just as a sanity check if nothing else.

COOLCAT said:
is there a meter or spectrum analyzer that could do this same function?
Click to expand...
Nope. No meter or analyzer or spectrograph or anything like that can tell you what something actually sounds like. They may be able to help diagnose some obvious problems, but you could have a song with a spectral display that looks just fine - it follows the RIAA curve niceley, there are no obvious peaks or valleys, everything is in phase, there is no clipping and the levels look decent, etc. - and the song will still sound like sh_t. The only test is to listen.

Think of it like cooking a fancy meal. You could run the results through the lab and have it check for all the amounds of chemicals, spices, etc., have it analyze the color to see if it matches a textbook picture, test to make sure it is the right temperature, etc. but when you put it in your mouth it can still taste lousy if it's not actually cooked right.

HTH,

G.
 
mixing translation: targeting the audience

thanks G.
very simple and logical explantion...
i feel re-focused.
you did great, most don't understand my bastardation of the english language!

i'm in mixing boot camp. BMWerks helping, re-read Bears 101, and gotten out the old mag's, and reading,reading,reading....

but this is the great stuff, "live" feedback.
very frustrating trying to make every unit sound perfect when each has their own sound characteristics... this now makes sense, mix for the application or whtever. its fair too, say a decent home HiFi system and of course car decks (which almost sound as good as the cans!)...fhk the cheap ass sounding plastic 12yr old boombox's or pc speakers, the playback system has to be "a fair" quality system.

HTH?? :eek:
 
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