Could use some (semi)expert opinions & advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kaashoofd
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Kaashoofd

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Hi,

i just did this 1st version of my very 1st mix. I am not aspiring to be a studio wizard or anything, more an amateur musician that is forced to/has chosen to mix his own work.
I would like to know if im on the right track or if im doing something terribly wrong. Im half satisfied with it, but somehow i always like other ppls mixes much better. Im all in for tips, critisism etc.

BTW its a remake of Kenny Rogers "the Gambler" in my own language. It may not be your cup of tea but i hope you can look past that and judge it as it is.

HokkerEZ2 by Kaashoofd on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
 
For the main vox - maybe back off the reverb and bring it up in level a bit.
 
It was quite odd hearing this song done in a different language, but the voice sounded pretty good.

For a first version of a very first mix, this has a lot going for it.

My initial thoughts are:

1 the midi drums sound like midi drums. I guess there is not a lot you can do about that without a real drummer. However, in time, you can probably figure out how to get more subtle with midi.

2 I think I heard a mandolin in there. It wouldn't hurt to give this more prominence. Mandolins give a great sparkle to a mix.

By about the two minute mark, I was satisfied that I'd heard enough . . . the musical development of the song had finished, and, knowing the song, I didn't feel inclined to listen to the rest. However, if you had given it a treatment not so closely aligned to the original, I might have been tempted to listen longer.
 
gecko zzed said:
1 the midi drums sound like midi drums. I guess there is not a lot you can do about that without a real drummer. However, in time, you can probably figure out how to get more subtle with midi.
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Yeah, I thought that then wasnt sure how drums are meant to sound in a country tune so figured he was getting away with it. I guess not. :p
 
Thanks, thats helpful. And encouraging since youre not telling me its total cr*p and i should stop trying altogether :)

About the drums sounding like midi. Do you mean the sound itself or the way they are programmed?
They are programmed with Superior Drummer and i was under the impression that they sound pretty decent for midi. As far as the programming goes, i m working on several songs. Im not sure but i think i programmed these myself pretty linear. Recently ive been using more preplayed loops by real drummers so the playing should get somewhat more realistic sounding.

Ill have a listen to the mando again :)
Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.
 
It's the way they are programmed more than the sound. They are too obviously mechanical. Preplayed loops may work better.
 
I know SD cycles the samples. Did you vary the velocities ?

I think the overall drum sounds are a bit thin, thats what people usually associate with midi. That could be a conscious choice on your part. I dont know how country drums are usually done.
 
I may redo the drums programming, add a little more randomness or something. I didnt mean them to sound thin though. If i could get a fatter sound i would i guess. I just have to fiddle around with that too. Im just glad thats all the comment i got, i figure it means the rest sounds pretty decent at the moment.
 
Kaashoofd said:
I may redo the drums programming, add a little more randomness or something. I didnt mean them to sound thin though. If i could get a fatter sound i would i guess. I just have to fiddle around with that too. Im just glad thats all the comment i got, i figure it means the rest sounds pretty decent at the moment.
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Did you program the hats yuorself or lift them from a midi loop ? A good trick is to find a midi loop that is close to what you like then just move around the kicks and snares to suit and dont quantise. :)
 
CFox said:
Did you program the hats yuorself or lift them from a midi loop ? A good trick is to find a midi loop that is close to what you like then just move around the kicks and snares to suit and dont quantise. :)
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Well actually i dont really remember, its the first song i programmed and pretty long ago. I think i programmed it myself though and didnt use any loops in that one. I might go back and do that. Although im not looking forward to that :)
 
Get crackin... :)

What DAW do you use ? Worth considering REAPER and using the Free Item Positioning function or just pulling in another midi track of SD then line up your midi loops. I never route the kit pieces to different channels, no point, it defeats the purpose of the mixer in the SD engine.
 
I use Logic Express. I dont like the mixer in SD actually. Its too elaborate for me. Too much knobs n things. I think im getting some loops in SD that suit the track, without too much quantizing and messing with the sound all over. I dont know reaper, im gonna check it out!
 
The vocal was a little clouded - maybe less reverb and some high eq and less compression - I would like to hear it a little brighter. The rest is fine for me. Great performance, it's cool to hear it in a different language.
Oh and welcome to HR!
 
Kaashoofd said:
I use Logic Express. I dont like the mixer in SD actually. Its too elaborate for me. Too much knobs n things. I think im getting some loops in SD that suit the track, without too much quantizing and messing with the sound all over. I dont know reaper, im gonna check it out!
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You mean you are mixing your own drum levels, compression and reverb in separate logic tracks ? Completely bypassing SD's own mixing engine ? That's one of their strong features. They have spent hours and hours programming presets for different kinds of music; balancing the levels, the compression, the saturation, the EQ, the reverb for each piece of the kit to create that overall trademark sound of every genre. You have to get your head around that mixer...:) Or at least buy the Nashville pack and presets.
 
Its funny i know, i bought SD cuz it was supposed to be the best. But it turned out to be much more elaborate then expected. I couldnt get to grasp with all the the different settings like bleed and stuff. I was kinda scared that i would mess things up i guess. I got the Nashville pack actually, mostly for the loops. But i guess the way to do it is build my track, and then mix the drums wirhin SD itself? Like youre saying, i build the drums in SD, convert them to seperate tracks and mix em afterwards....
 
Kaashoofd said:
Its funny i know, i bought SD cuz it was supposed to be the best. But it turned out to be much more elaborate then expected. I couldnt get to grasp with all the the different settings like bleed and stuff. I was kinda scared that i would mess things up i guess. I got the Nashville pack actually, mostly for the loops. But i guess the way to do it is build my track, and then mix the drums wirhin SD itself? Like youre saying, i build the drums in SD, convert them to seperate tracks and mix em afterwards....
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Are you loading up the Producer Presets ? You dont need to tweak them much. They have done the work for you. Look for your country presets. :)
 
CFox said:
Are you loading up the Producer Presets ? You dont need to tweak them much. They have done the work for you. Look for your country presets. :)
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Wow, never heard of this one, cant find it either. All i can see in the SD mixer are presets for Snare, Kick, OH etc. I cant find any many where i should be able to pick "Country" presets or something.

Could you explain how to do this? I got the Nasville Kit loaded up.
 
I dont own SD, I just recall watching plenty of youtube vids about it when I was hunting for drum sampler software. I opted for Addictive Drums for its low resource consumption and ease of use.

Have a search around on youtube, shoot ToonTracks an email or post on their forums. :)
 
Ah ok, i guess youre mistaken then. There are presets sure enough. But the whole Nashville expansion is country based so i guess all presets are tapered towards country, ill mess with them a bit :)
 
Kaashoofd said:
Ah ok, i guess youre mistaken then. There are presets sure enough. But the whole Nashville expansion is country based so i guess all presets are tapered towards country, ill mess with them a bit :)
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I not sure of the exact preset names but they have overall kit presets just like Addictive Drums. Producer presets that change the whole tone of the kit in one mouse click using reverb, compression, eq, levels etc...

What does your drop down menu say ?


Wait wait wait, you said you had Superior Drummer 2 is that right ? Not Ezdrummer ?
 
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