(File Attached) Here's a place to start with your mix

[cix7records]

This is something I came up with (actually something that a few people with alot more mixing experience than I cam up with) awhile back. I compiled alot of info that I got from mixing sites online and came up with a basic mix that I think is a good starting point for most of my songs (rap and dance). Understand that these are just starting points. I have found that some synths are so sharp that I must reduce them to -30.0dB or less, otherwise they overpower everythiung else. Also, you may wish to make adjustments to your strings/pads settings and panning is very important with "atmospheric" type sounds like these. I pretty much always wun my kick/bass drums as -3.0 and my snares/claps at -6.0, with my hats and cymbals at about -23.0 or -25.0. That seems to be perfect for most of my mixes. Depending on the mood of the song (sometimes I produce ballads) I may need to raise the level of the bass and any of the more "mellow", organ or keyboard type sounds. Also, you don't have to have every sound in the mix coming out at the listener with an "in your face" presence. Most of the time if you listen to most music, you can barely hear most parts of a mix. Most instruements are in the mix only to tie the song together and basically to keep the listener from getting bored. That's only my opinion though, so please no one bomb my house or kidnap my family.


File Attached

mOni jOhnsOn
cix7records

 

[norm55]

I could't get the file to open has anyone else

 

[Gidge]

That is a good general idea of where to start...any information is much appreciated.....for anyone not knowing where to start, Ill definitely point them to this....thanks cix....

 

[cix7records]

The zip file contains only one .doc file. To anyone who needs, please let me know if you'd rather I email the file to you.

moni@cix7records.com

mJ

 

[Gidge]

Ok, Im lookingover this again and it says to "normalize each individual track to 0.1db"....I dont agree with this.....I believe you should get the signal as hot as possible in the initial recording process.....From all that Ive read, normalizing is one of the single biggest mistakes made in digital recording......

Otherwise, a fine piece....I remixed one of my songs (without normalizing) soloing each track and letting it hit at the db you listed and it came out pretty good.....

 

[cix7records]

You're correct about that. I record in Vegas though, so normalizing is not destructive. I only normalize tracks so that I can set my channel levels without even hearing the mix at first. If I know everything is normalized (not to complete peak) then I know what the mix will basically sound like when I set my faders as I've mentioned. That saves me the time of letting a track play all the way through 'cause I don't have to continuously watch peaks while the song plays. If you've used Vegas, you'll know what I mean. To enable/disable the normalize feature is as simple as the "flip" of a software switch.


mJ