Mix/Master help

[Slump D]

Hey Guys,

I've posted once or twice before with similar issues - I am an aspiring rapper, but the mixing and mastering is much too tedious for me, I think I have a tin ear, I cannot seem to hear subtle differences, yet I know what I like when I hear it. I've just posted my latest track on this thread...I think it sounds decent but I know it needs better mixing/mastering. The lyrics don't stand out from the beat very well.

I'm either looking for tips, or straight up help. This is the last mix I received from the instrumental's producer, but he is more EDM, and doesn't do a lot of hip-hop mixing. Any help, or suggestions would be awesome!

Also...opinion on the music itself...always appreciated.

Thanks guys,

- D

Edit: I have the separate vocals and instrumental tracks if anyone really wants to try their hand at it...even willing to pay if it changes my life, haha.

[spantini]

I like this. For me, the "tweeting" synth is stepping on your vocal. I would drop it out and listen to the mix without it for awhile, until something jumped into my head.

It's not the synth voice itself that's the problem, it's the frequencies that are competing with your vocal - that's how I hear it. Maybe also try bumping it up an octave (and lowering it in the mix) or changing it's voice.. or both.

[Slump D]

I like this. For me, the "tweeting" synth is stepping on your vocal. I would drop it out and listen to the mix without it for awhile, until something jumped into my head.

It's not the synth voice itself that's the problem, it's the frequencies that are competing with your vocal - that's how I hear it. Maybe also try bumping it up an octave (and lowering it in the mix) or changing it's voice.. or both.

Spantini - Thanks a lot my man, I'll listen back to it and send this over to the producer. Hopefully he'll give me the stems so I can tweak the instrumental. I appreciate you.

- D

[spantini]

@Slump D - - I'd like to hear the next level or final version when you get it

[andrushkiwt]

You might have more luck posting in the Mp3 Mixing Clinic. This sub is more for posting raw tracks to let others mix the files.

Not too bad. The vocals are the most obvious issue - they don't fit in with the track. They sound more like the room they're recorded in rather than the "room" you've created with the instrumental tracks. It might be an issue of their raw sound rather than their mix.

How are you recording the vocals?

[jeffssoloband]

I have the separate vocals and instrumental tracks if anyone really wants to try their hand at it...even willing to pay if it changes my life, haha.

Feel free to send me the tracks. I'll change your life

[creedchub]

I will mix your song. Send me stems in PM.

[ringfeder]

Haha, its an amusing song. Have you got reverb on the vocals? They sound a little airy. Everything else sounds great.

[fez]

I'm going to agree and disagree with spantini at the same time. ;-)
I agree that there is an issue with your vocals battling with the tweet synth.
But I disagree that the frequencies of the synth are clashing with your vocals, as your vocals are mid/low-mids and the synth is high-mids.
I think the clashing is just that it's distracting. Both it and the vocals are moving a lot, and competing for attention.

I think what spantini proposed, which is taking the synth out altogether, is a great idea. If you do this, maybe you could add a couple of chord changes, or bridges, or breaks, or all of the above to make up for it. Even breaks in your vocals might add some addition by subtraction.

Another idea, if you'd like to keep the tweet/plucked synth in, would be bring it down a 1/2 dB or so, and mix your vocals much louder, like maybe 1.5dB+ or somewhere around there. I just think your vocals are too low, IF you want that synth to stay in.

Also I agree with andrushkiwt's great point and explanation -- the vocals aren't matching with the instrumental's room, and just aren't matching overall. Maybe you could try some different effects on the vocals, in addition to experimenting with reverbs and mics.

[violent grey]

Hey Guys,

I've posted once or twice before with similar issues - I am an aspiring rapper, but the mixing and mastering is much too tedious for me, I think I have a tin ear, I cannot seem to hear subtle differences, yet I know what I like when I hear it. I've just posted my latest track on this thread...I think it sounds decent but I know it needs better mixing/mastering. The lyrics don't stand out from the beat very well.

I'm either looking for tips, or straight up help. This is the last mix I received from the instrumental's producer, but he is more EDM, and doesn't do a lot of hip-hop mixing. Any help, or suggestions would be awesome!

Also...opinion on the music itself...always appreciated.

Thanks guys,

- D

Edit: I have the separate vocals and instrumental tracks if anyone really wants to try their hand at it...even willing to pay if it changes my life, haha.

Sorry man, the best I can do is say this: You want to know how to make something of said quality? so you can either pay someone to make it for you, or you can learn to do it yourself. You basically need to learn man. stop shorting yourself relying on others. your craft will really develop once you understand the surrounding stages of music production, and then you will learn how to implement your own taste, tricks, etc.

best advice I can give is youtube search: how to mix .... how to master .... how to build mixing / mastering studios time lapse. Basically I cant help you yet really, till I know how far you are willing to go. I started here:

one: start with your room, size and shape, and the monitors you use, sub... and you need to analyze the room - treat the room, and spend some time to be accustomed to the translation to other media, systems...

two: Id say getting a mixer is a plus, or a usb fader controller for your ssl in the daw... idk what daw you use, I use Reason and it has a ssl mixer. This will help with the feel of being in a studio, will help motivate, give you some flexibility in templates, and improve your time of learning the art of mixing.

three: google and dl the free pdf books on mixing and mastering - one engineer I follow is bob katz. tons of material written by him on this material and is considered a professional. he knows his shit, there are many others as well.

four: find a studio near you and ask if you can volunteer or intern for a summer and start getting the information from the commercial side of things, production as in work type environment.

five: start learning about the gear and why mixing gear/studios are different from mastering...

six: use vst's if you cant afford the hardware. You can start to do your own process once you get a nice daw, a few vsts, and something like ozone 8 advanced... etc.



Basically, what I do is my sound design till I get what I want for samples and a sequence. then I do a gain stage and level up my samples to where I know they should be on the mixer... I do have a place where I put every kick that comes thru my mixer, its just how I work flow. I start with kick, snare, then high hat and get that balanced, adding the bassline after. once i get the balance of these elements, I add the remainder samples and level them up till everything is balanced. then I go thru and check the filters, low and high pass on each sample. gotta make sure the kick punches thru the bass, so I carve a hole with the eq. Basically I check the eq spectrum of the mix by spiking a sharp q and rolling thru the spectrum till I find high resonance. I reduce the trouble freqs and resist adding energy to the mix. I start with subtractive eq here. Once I get the levels nice, and the buses are compressed, I will deal out the imaging and stereo separation. front, back, left right... top bottom. not too much effects, remember less is more.

Once I bounce the mix to stereo I use a new template for the master, All I use here is a limiter and a compressor, and ozone 8 processing to simply shine up whatever else needs.

The trick is mixing at lower volumes, having your monitors exactly where they need to be, a triangle where first and second reflections are present. MY goal is to get the rms of my song around 50% of my computer input, while the peaks hit the top. Once I am there I know I got a loud enough mix/master

really, watching youtube and working search results is a good way to get what you want to watch, there are tons of sources...

Id recommend searching youtube for acoustic fields and learn the basics by watching his playlists relating to what you need.

Ive listened to your song over 12 times now, and I cant say there is much wrong with it... want it better? then tune in to what you are using for gear, the position of it, the room and treatment, and the basics in sound physics ... practice as well. your song sound good man. Id love to mix it.

cheers! If I can help more, send me a message. I can maybe copy some links or something for ya or get ya to the pdfs, or vids, or what not.