Poor quality mixdowns - what to do?

O

Omcat

New member
I'm pretty new to this, so be gentle with me!

I'm currently recording on a Yamaha 8 track
and mixing down onto either my Kenwood MD
or tape deck. With both mixdown methods I
seem to lose an unacceptable amount of
detail, clarity and definition that I can
hear on the 8 track master. My drum machine
sounds fare the worst in this transition,
sounding weedy and seriously lacking in phat!

I'm struggling to come to terms with the EQ
and levels of the 8 track and how the sound
I like can be effectively duplicated on the
mixdown MD or tape.
One problem with the MD is that it gets
overloaded so easily I have to pull back everything possible on the 8 track, leaving
me with a very frail, quiet and crisp
recording.
Using cassette isn't much better, the sound
degenerates incredibly.
Am I just going entirely the wrong way
about this? Aaaargh! Will my songs be
forever stranded on my 8 track!
I need to go and lie down.
Byeeee
 
Sounds like your monitors are lying to you. I used to get the same thing when I mixed with headphones.

What are you using to monitor?
 
I mixdown to a cheap sony minidisc deck and the copies are identical to the sound of my multi track! You must be connecting something the wrong way.

Monitor the minidisc decK as you mix down, (RCA cables from output to an amplifier and stereo speakers) You should hear exactly what is being recorded on the minidisc.

Sincerely;

Dom Franco
 
To reply to your replies (thanx BTW!),
I'm monitoring using my stereo separates
amp and speakers - this is HOME recording
we're talking about, after all. I'm not
exactly loaded with cash, y'see!
Anyways, when I mixdown I AM listening to
the stereo's output and not the 8 track itself.

Unfortunately,to keep sweet with the
neighbours I have to record using
headphones. Is this causing problems
do you think?
(Replies of 'DUH!' and such are welcome)

OOOoooomeow
 
i monitor through my stereo but it has an option to set the eq "flat" instead of a "bass boost" or several other settings. Otherwise, i'd be getting a different, EQ'd representation of what i recorded. Best bet in my opinion is the set your stereo eq to flat, or if thats not possible, get a set of headphones designed for the purpose of mixing.
 
oh, and its ok to record with headphones as long as you r getting a good level going in.
 
Is your 8-track digital or analog? If it's analog, you may be suffering from channel bleed. This will cause problems when you get a good sound on a channel in solo mode, but it gets ruined when other channels are added.
I noted that you said you get a crisp sound when you mix at a lower volume. Maybe some compression to catch those peaks and keep it from overloading.

I like that EQ idea too, I've had that problem. How do your mixes sound on other systems?
 
My 8 track is analogue. Thanks for
the channel bleed advice. I'll look
into this tonight.

In the words of Funkadelic 'You Hit The
Naaaail Ooooon the Heeeeyd' with the last remark, DALtune. My mixes sound incredibly
different in my walkman or on a friend's
system, for example.
Is there any secret formula
for a mix that will have more reasonable consistency on different systems, or is
this asking for the impossible?

I'm still struggling to work out why
there is such a big discrepancy between
what I hear on the 8 track and what ends
up on the MD.

Oh, and gidge, my stereo's amp has a 'Source
Direct' mode which I always use for monitoring the 8 track.
 
Practice, practice, practice.

Three or four sets of monitors really helps. Unless you hit the lottery and can't afford all those speakers, before you mix to the md, listen to the mix through the speakers, the headphone out on the amp, the headphone out on the md and try for the happy medium.
 
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