Dave Matthews
Dave's not here
Maybe I missed it but you'd have to take location into the equation as well. Exact same players with exact same instruments/amps/mics/recording equipment cannot be treated the same in a different location.
Let's Talk Basic!
- Thread starter Chem808
- Start date
It's a shame everyone missed the "everyone's answer should be different" opinions, what kind of music you make. Etc. I was asking for opinions. And trust me I know it's all perspective but the type of thing I mean about the algorithm is possible, but I assure you, people making these plugins and whatnot do not have the kind of genius I'm talking about.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
This does not make sense in the slightest bit. You have a serious misconception about music, in a scientific sense.
Do you know what frequencies are? They are exact notes, pitch, and you cannot say one pitch is better than another. That doesn't exist. If one is "best", then we would all be listening to that same pitch over and over. "Hey! I like C! Every song will be the note C, over and over!".
I'll do your impression but this time with painting...
There needs to be a computer program to determine the perfect painting. It would compute what humans like and then paint it over and over. There needs to be a genius to make this painting code.
Now do you see another problem there? If that were to happen, then there would only ever be ONE painting. The best one! How can there be more than one if it only makes the best? Only one thing can be the best, sir.
This isn't even a musical problem for you, it's one of rationality and logical thinking. There is a severe lack of it on your part.
dudernut
New member
So yeah, they're all correct in saying that it really depends on the song, arrangement, mic position, etc....but maybe this frequency chart will help give a basic understanding of where certain instruments generally sit in a mix.
Interactive Frequency Chart - Independent Recording Network
Interactive Frequency Chart - Independent Recording Network
Farview
Well-known member
This is wrong. You can determine that by going to the reference track thread. Everyone has slightly different tastes. For example, most of the soundguys I know use Steely Dan's Aja album as a reference. I hate it. I understand that the highs are crystal clear, but it sounds thin and has no power in my opinion. I prefer Metallica's Black Album.
Since snare drums come in all different sizes and can be tuned a number of different ways, there can't be a specific way to EQ all snares to make it 'right'. Same with kick, guitar, piano, etc...
Simple steps for EQ
1. listen to what is recorded.
2. Imagine what you want it to sound like
3. Use EQ to add or subtract what you need to in order to turn what you have into what you want.
Of course I understand what everyone is saying but I think you're misunderstanding the point I'm trying to make. And yea you might want to change the outcome, how would the program know that for some reason you want the clap to overpower everything in a certain part of the song or you want everything to kind of clash for a second. My original post was about mixing or make sounds and when I was referring to a program I meant mastering meaning it would sound good through any headphones car stereo system xcetera. For instance why is knife parties songs so much more better quality than skrillex. I mean listening to centipede by KP then reptile by skrillex. I'm sure skilled would love his quality but couldn't make it. I understand mixing. I don't understand how no matter what I seem to do the.avg sound never works thru different systems. Amazing in headphones but shitty through my car speakers .amazing in my car speakers but shitty threw my $300 pair of headphones and okay through my phone when others peoples stuff sounds great everywhere. It sounds so....glued together. Mine sounds...fake and like 12 different songs being played together. I'll post something in a few and let you being.able to critique what I'm doing (,by the way I am very much so versed in music theory. I mean for the quality I'm asking about people lay engineers hundreds of thousands of.dollars, nsync had to pay 300 grand...I mean...what are they doing? . Going thru each .3 seconds of the song and tweaking?
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Steenamaroo
...
Hey. No, this isn't a thing.
You might be able to come up with some processing or algorithm that shapes a mix to comply with a standard, preset by you, but if I don't like it the whole thing's ruined.
I mean, even if you hire two mastering engineers to work on the same song, there's a damn good chance I'll like one and you'll like the other.
There's no right answer and there's no best possible wether with regards to stereo image, dynamics, frequency content.
Even just simply the idea that no two people are really hearing the same thing (the same way) anyway...that's enough to kill it.
The stuff you detailed about translating between different systems....that's a mix issue.
Every scenario's different but I don't think many people would be reaching for mastering tools to sort that out. You'd be remixing the song in a reliable, known, environment.
jimmys69
MOODerator
Yeah...that's it....we all made a pact.
Seriously...this forum is LOADED with helpful information and suggestions.
What you are looking for is a formula to apply to......to what?
If you don't understand that EVERY mix will have a different requirement, and that there is NO general guideline or formula...then you wouldn't be getting so frustrated about things.
Sure...that means you have to work more for each mix rather than just following a formula...but that's what it's all about.
I'm sure some folks will tell you that they (I'm just making this up) will "always roll off 3dB in the 250Hz range for the guitars"...etc...or that they will "always put the High Hat at 30 degrees to the right of center and boost at 12k Hz by 1-2 dB"...etc ...
...but that type of info is IMHO generally useless and I would hate to think that's how some people mix...where it's a numerical formula applied to everything they do.
You have to work at it...figure out what works for your mixes and your production goals.
If you want to put up a mix and THEN ask people what's wrong with it or what they might do different...at least then there is context, and everyone is talking about the same thing.
Otherwise...any "applies to all" formula is a lame way to approach mixing.
Have to agree with this completely^^^^
Chili
Site Moderator
First, try using some paragraphs so your post is easier to read.
Second, sounds like the room you're mixing in is not ideal. If your tunes don't "translate" from one system to the next, you need to address your mixing environment; studio monitors AND the room you're mixing in. Especially for low end freqs. (That's still my trouble point.)
Second, sounds like the room you're mixing in is not ideal. If your tunes don't "translate" from one system to the next, you need to address your mixing environment; studio monitors AND the room you're mixing in. Especially for low end freqs. (That's still my trouble point.)
I'm not sure you understand mixing.
jimmys69
MOODerator
And this ^^^ I agree 100% as well.
There is no one way to do anything. From the instrument to the preamp, player and room acoustic instruments are recorded in, these all have way more to do with the final recording than eq, compression, or effects.
Ideally, everything would sound awesome before it is recorded. Problem is that not everyone records in the same with the same instrument nor do they have the same opinion on what sounds good to them.
It is absolutely and positively impossible to even generalize a set of guidelines. There are typical things you can do in certain situations, but that is NEVER constant.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
OK...but the solution is not a "program" that you just apply to your 12 songs and suddenly they sound great on every system.
It's about skill...knowing how to record...how to mix...how to master.
The commercial albums that you think sound great on all systems are like that because of these things.
Again...this place has tons of info...and tons of examples...and lots of guys who are getting good mixes.
There is no "plugin" solution that any genius is going to come up with that will get around the need for skill.
Skill is attainable...it just takes time and a lot of work...a lot of recording and mixing sessions...and it does improve eventually.
Really stuck on that huh? So much so you completely overlook my latest comments. I'm obviously in the wrong forum. And I'm not sure where miroslav thought in the slightest he had displayed any credibility to me to think I could even be including him in the group of people I referred to as making a pact. The fact that no-one can answer my original question is not a failure on my part, for I asked for personal preference. Personal preference for when you are making your own music, unless of course every time you just start off oblivious, it's quite rather a simple question...unless I'm talking to people who purely record music. In which case you more than likely couldn't answer my question because you're not even completely sure yourself. I'm a digital player, you all seem to be analog. By the way, help me understand. To create a song that sounds professionally done you just need to equalize it a little bit, pick a better room, and viola. You're a sound engineer. Great advice guys. Really turning the page on what we know about sound.
Yea, come on. Back it all up. Let's see if someone can actually come up with something better than eq. So far everyone here sounds extremely uneducated. Or you'd be able to intelligently destroy my previous statement of an allmastering program. Not just "people like...hear things different bruh"
By the way, there are "all mastering programs" out there. Mastering suites with presets. They suck, but it's probably exactly what you need to get started.
Who are you, why are you here, and what exactly did you come here for? ???