help i think im kind of stuck.

haroldstaam

New member
im on a bit of a tight budget and I've been trying to build a passable bare bones recording setup. I have a decent computer. the monitors i have are not the best- a pair of mackie cr3s. have been using REaper as my DAW. my audio interface is a dinosaur like a tascam us-122 but i am upgrading that to a focusrite scarlet solo..figured out how to run amp sims in reaper and i have a decent IR for them. my mic i use for vocals i have a shure sm58. I bought a cheap rogue bass to lay down bass with and for my guitar i use a epiphone SG>which to me has a great tone. I am still waiting on my new interface and im hoping that fixes my mix because its pretty muddy right now. i've been trying to do this sludge/doom metal kinda thing with my guitar down tuned and i feed that through amp sims and the IRs. could the new soundcard really be the fix or am I hoping for too much with my setup. not tryna make anything super professional i just wanna be able to have a clean enough sounding mix.
 
The new interface is not likely to be fix to your muddy sound.

The most likely reason for your mixes sounding muddy is the limited frequency range of the CR 3 monitors. They don't have a lot going on below 80hz, so you are getting more low mids rather than clear bass.
 
well yeah i mean that makes it easier to get the mix placed right. but i have just been comparing music i play from other artists through these speakers compared to my own mix as a reference. i've been looking at a pair of kali- lp-6s heard those are passable monitors.
 
well yeah i mean that makes it easier to get the mix placed right. but i have just been comparing music i play from other artists through these speakers compared to my own mix as a reference. i've been looking at a pair of kali- lp-6s heard those are passable monitors.

The reference material you are using as a basis of comparison will not have been mixed through CR3s. It is extremely difficult to get a good mix happening if your monitors are not presenting you with an accurate representation.
 
A key point that I had a hard time grasping when I first started my personal home studio, is that comparing a mastered professional mix to your own rough mixes is not really going to work. A professional mix/master has gone through many stages of production from much before an instrument is actually recorded.

What seems like sounds similar is not the same. I know that sounds vague and uninspiring, but it takes a long time to get the right tone recorded before anything you compare to will be similar. That does not mean you can't get close by any means. Just means you have to experiment and make the best of what you have. That is a positive motivation and it will work!

That I stated above, has a whole bunch to do with the instrument being recorded. How it sounds and whether it is possible to get the sound you want. Then there is the issue of recording environment, the player, the mic, acoustic room treatment, the use of software (gain staging/compression/eq)...

It takes a shit ton of time experimenting with what works, what get's you close, and what sounds like crap, before you have a grasp on what is really going on.

That being said, I have worked with many amp sims and high end Kemper and other simulation amps. Nothing ever beats a real guitar rig miced up. But then there is a whole big trial and error thing there getting the right guitar/pickups/amp/mic/room.

It took forever myself to learn that it is usually the simplest things that are the hardest to understand.

I used to have 3 different sets of used - under $500 a pair monitor speakers that taught me a lot. They taught me that they suck and I was mixing in circles. Once I purchased the ADAM A7x monitors, things just started making more sense. The monitors didn't solve the instrument/tone issues, but it made it clear what the issues were. More importantly IMO, is that there is no simple way to find out what works, what makes a great recording, or how to achieve it without finding out by trial and error. There is no simple answer. Time and experience makes things way easier. Oh, and a bunch of money getting the things in order to get to a higher level...

That does not mean you can't get close without spending a buttload of money. You just need to take the time to listen to what you have, and experiment with how to make it better.

Hope that didn't come across as me being a dick. That is just my honest opinion and what I have found that has been my voyage.
 
The reference material you are using as a basis of comparison will not have been mixed through CR3s. It is extremely difficult to get a good mix happening if your monitors are not presenting you with an accurate representation.
yeah that is very true. guess i am going to save my pennies and get myself an upgrade for monitors. like i said before ive been looking at a pair of kali-lp6's which i have read a lot of good things about. the cr3's sound pretty darn good for what they are but its definately a misnomer calling them "studio monitors" they seemed to work ok when i was working on a folk project i did. but that was a very spartan recording. just a couple of accoustic guitars and some layered vocals..
 
I've thought about mic-ing up my amp. But i have been enjoying being able to track guitars in the middle of the night without bugging the shit out of my neigbors. I think that amp sims and IR's have come along way..i mean the one thing that i kinda notice the difference from my time in a real studio is that mic'd guitar just has a bit more warmth. LAst time i was at guitar center I played around with a lot of monitors there and yeah i can definately see how that would make things that much easier..as they are a much more precision instrument. my main problem is my budget. i've been looking at a pair of kali lp-6s and i think that they might be passable..
 
Lots of good advice,,, Just have to mention about Room Treatment. All rooms need something so your mix through those speakers can translate well.
Also with recording. Sure you can highpass but the room is still adding, so find the best placement for the cab. Basically I'm saying the capture is affected by the room as well.

IF you can get the room working well for mix translation, it's usually just fine to record in, not great, but definitely doable. Some things need a more live feel from the room. And there is always a more preferred spot over another.

Hope I didn't confuse, lol.. Only have a couple minutes, saw this, thought I'd jump in real quick lol
 
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