How do I "clean" my mix

  • Thread starter Thread starter chelseagrin
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chelseagrin

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Hey

I have a metalcore/post hardcore project and I started recording the first song a few days ago and i finished tracking everything.
I noticed that between some of my guitar parts there are unwanted noises in the background... I wanted to know how do I reduce them
and make my mix sound clearer...
I'm using reaper if anyone wants to know

thanks!
 
In REPER, I just split before and after any noisy parts where I'm not playing/singing, and delete them.
 
blinkofeye said:
you can use a gate as well
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Yeah gate or milder ratio expansion first. If it turns out to be a fit to the particular problem it's automatic, you can shape the attack and release, even control the depth.
With 'splits wouldn't you probably have to go in and do in-out fades?
 
I'd cut them if I were you, a gate will affect the transients of your guitar tracks. If you can make it so that it is a bonus then you're sorted. You probably won't need a fade in/out if you can cut it at a zero crossover point, but I'd still do some fades, just to be safe.
 
Yes, nothing wrong with fades. I shouldn't have said that I never do fades. The occasional time, like at the end of a sustaining guitar note, I might need to do a fade just to be neat.
 
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At least in Cubase, tossing in a bit of a fade at each end of a cut is a simple click and drag function. No reason not to do it to make sure everything is nice and clean.
 
I think gate is your best option especially if its something consistent throughout the recording.
 
I use a combination of the expander on the SSL 4000 channel strip and mute automation. I can't be bothered with cutting up recorded tracks,
 
Reaper automatically fades around splits by default. It's a feature that can be turned off, but its a heck of a lot quicker than zooming in to a zero crossing for every split.
 
If you're splitting where you're not singing or playing, it's not hard to find a zero crossing. You're simply cutting after you stop singing. There should be silence right there. I've never had to really zoom in to find it.

I think people are complicating this a little too much with gates and zooming, etc....

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think the OP is talking about cleaning up "noisy" tracks. I'm just talking about cleaning up those 2+ seconds where I'm not singing and there's no reason to have any items sitting in the track.

Noisy tracks are a different story.If there was noise, I'd eliminate the source before hitting record.
 
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Volume automation all the way for me - this is just a natural extension of automating my guitar tracks
 
RAMI said:
If you're splitting where you're not singing or playing, it's not hard to find a zero crossing. You're simply cutting after you stop singing. There should be silence right there. I've never had to really zoom in to find it.

I think people are complicating this a little too much with gates and zooming, etc....

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think the OP is talking about cleaning up "noisy" tracks. I'm just talking about cleaning up those 2+ seconds where I'm not singing and there's no reason to have any items sitting in the track.

Noisy tracks are a different story.If there was noise, I'd eliminate the source before hitting record.
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If he/she never participates, we'll never know :rolleyes:
It was 'guitar, around here (+ 'nube'?) might that be high gain?
Yeah I could see where it might well be some sort of auto gain is the ticket.

Mean while -- nice little review there :)
 
RAMI said:
If you're splitting where you're not singing or playing, it's not hard to find a zero crossing. You're simply cutting after you stop singing. There should be silence right there. I've never had to really zoom in to find it.

I think people are complicating this a little too much with gates and zooming, etc....

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think the OP is talking about cleaning up "noisy" tracks. I'm just talking about cleaning up those 2+ seconds where I'm not singing and there's no reason to have any items sitting in the track.

Noisy tracks are a different story.If there was noise, I'd eliminate the source before hitting record.
Click to expand...

Again im with you!!!
 
If you're using Reaper, and you have not deliberately turned off the auto-fade thing, then you never have to zoom in to find a zero crossing because it makes them for you.

Silence is almost never actually just sitting at 0. If you recorded some analog source there will be noise, and without fading or zooming in to find an actual 0 crossing you will create some sort of click or pop when you split. It may be a very quiet little click, but these things have a tendency to escalate, to add with other things or respond to certain types of processing to where you're way down the road mixing wondering WTF that little glitch is. I can't think of a single reason not to use the automatic fade in this situation since it takes absolutely no extra effort.
 
Most of the professionals that I've worked with on their hardcore/metalcore projects just do as RAMI suggested and select the area you don't like, and cut it/delete it out.
 
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