First Mixing/Mastering Attempt - Comments Welcome!

[Jim_Cross]

Hi guys,

I've finally started mixing and mastering my band's first track. Given that I'm a total newbie to this stuff I'd really appreciate any suggestions for improvement either in the mix or the master.

I think the biggest problem I have with it at the moment is the section from 3 mins on, where the track hits its loudest point. It sounds like there are some artifacts in there and maybe some excessive compression, but getting the track close to a commercial track's loudness without these artifacts seems really tricky. I guess that's why good engineers are paid good money...

When You Fall MP3

I'm using Logic and Ozone.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Welcome to the board, Jim.

Step #1 is that you need to decide which is more important to you: volume or sound quality. Pick ONE and run with it. Keep in mind that the user can always adjust the volume themselves, but they cannot adjust the quality.

Don't worry about what everybody else is doing; you gotta worry about your own mix first. There's nothing wrong with trying to bring your volume up a bit during mastering if you wish to exercise that option, but pushing it farther than your mix wants to go or your technique will allow, to the point where any part of your track starts sounding worse is not the way to go.

Step #2 is work on the sound quality of your mix during mixing, not during mastering. Based upon the fact that you only list Ozone as your only signal processing plug, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that - like many folks who first start out in this racket - that you do the majority of your work to the 2mix during "mastering", and not to the multi-tracks doing mixing.

It makes a difference both in sound quality and in the ability to ruin it all over again by crapping out commercial volume levels in mastering if you get the mix as right as rain in sound quality *before* you mix it down to a stereo track. When mixing, pretend that there is no such thing as a mastering stage, that you HAVE TO get the mix right in mixing. This is how the pros do it, their mixes before mastering sound SWEET - these days they usually sound better than they do after mastering because their desire for unrealistic volume levels just messes things up again. If you want it to sound GOOD after mastering, it has to sound GREAT after mixing.

Then step #3 will be to take your new and improved mix and post it in the MP3 clinic if you still want someone else's opinion .

G.

 

[PoorBoyRecordings]

Welcome to the board, Jim.

Step #1 is that you need to decide which is more important to you: volume or sound quality. Pick ONE and run with it. Keep in mind that the user can always adjust the volume themselves, but they cannot adjust the quality.

Don't worry about what everybody else is doing; you gotta worry about your own mix first. There's nothing wrong with trying to bring your volume up a bit during mastering if you wish to exercise that option, but pushing it farther than your mix wants to go or your technique will allow, to the point where any part of your track starts sounding worse is not the way to go.

Step #2 is work on the sound quality of your mix during mixing, not during mastering. Based upon the fact that you only list Ozone as your only signal processing plug, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that - like many folks who first start out in this racket - that you do the majority of your work to the 2mix during "mastering", and not to the multi-tracks doing mixing.

It makes a difference both in sound quality and in the ability to ruin it all over again by crapping out commercial volume levels in mastering if you get the mix as right as rain in sound quality *before* you mix it down to a stereo track. When mixing, pretend that there is no such thing as a mastering stage, that you HAVE TO get the mix right in mixing. This is how the pros do it, their mixes before mastering sound SWEET - these days they usually sound better than they do after mastering because their desire for unrealistic volume levels just messes things up again. If you want it to sound GOOD after mastering, it has to sound GREAT after mixing.

Then step #3 will be to take your new and improved mix and post it in the MP3 clinic if you still want someone else's opinion .

G.

+ 1,000,000 Glen