Friends! I need help! D:

  • Thread starter Thread starter HaydenDavenport
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HaydenDavenport

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Hello Everyone,

I've started a project with some friends where we are rapidly producing story-driven experimental music (though the vocals aren't in place yet).

But I'm not that great at mixing.

A huge problem I'm having right now is with the bass track at the end. It refuses to be compressed, and there are a few seconds where the track leaps up to like -2db. Even after using automation, I can't seem to tame it!

This is a concern to me because I plan on moving to the mastering phase soon, and you're supposed to keep levels low until that phase. The rest of the track doesn't ever go beyond -6db, I don't think.

Plus bass at the end isn't even powerful, and I can't turn it up more because that will disguise other instruments! Lol..

If there are other suggestions you could give me, I would love the help. This is a very important project for me, and I plan on using the knowledge for future recordings as well.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!

P.S. The piano plays the main vocal melody until the end, and then a flute and a synth are playing the two melodies at the end because I needed the piano for something else.

The attachment thing wouldn't work so here's a link: Flamespitters Mix v1
 
I downloaded your track and had a good listen.

Firstly, I really enjoyed it. I liked the structure, the sonic landscape, the changing dynamics and textures.

At the moment, the RMS power for the track is around -22db, which is pretty quiet. The end section is around -16db. Overall, you theoretically have plenty of headroom to play with. If you are happy with the overall sound, then you should feel confident in sending it as is to be mastered.

However, there are some spiky bits. At 3.58 is the biggest spike, which peaks at -0.85db on the left, and -0.28 on the right. These spiky bits appear regularly from then on, though not quite as strong. They are so spiky they look like percussion, though it could be the attack of the bass you were referring to. The bottom end is a bit ambiguous.

If it si the bass, then you might need to look at your compression settings and deal with that attack. Perhaps a faster attack on the compression itself. This would have the advantage of allowing the tail of the bass to have a bit more prominence.
 
Gecko zzed, thank you very much for your kind words and assistance. I'm glad you liked the structure. The changing dynamics and textures were certainly a challenge to deal with. I know I spent countless hours tweaking transitions. Lol. Once the lyrics are in, we hope that the areas we venture to will make more sense.

After looking at the track again, I am almost certain that the double bass section at the end is causing the issue (they double the bass guitar part). It is controlled via midi, and it is extremely dynamic.

But there is a very strange issue. The compressor doesn't work on the doublebass part. When I put logic's compressor on it, with any of settings I have tried, it just jumps around seemingly randomly. It makes the performance more dynamic, and completely unrealistic sounding. I have no idea why. I have tried other compressors, and had the same results. Is it possible that the part is so dynamic that the compressor has no idea what to do?
 
The main thing I noticed is the low end is out of control. Most of the time, it's way too strong and boomy. But then there are times when the low end goes away.

"Piano" is missing a lot of high end. Sounds a little dull.

Levels throughout the song could be a little more consistent.
 
Thank you TripleM,

I have been listening and mixing in headphones with fairly poor bass response. Fortunately, I remembered yesterday that my father has some old monitors in the basement, and I'll be moving those to my room today to listen to how it actually sounds. Do you have any tips for controlling the bass?

The piano is nothing to worry about, and I intentionally didn't mess with the sound because the final release won't have any piano except for the very end (where the timbre, though dull, is intentional). I will add a slight bit of brightness to it though, just to see how I like it. Thank you for the suggestion.

I haven't compressed the track at all yet, but I will admit that I am a dynamics junkie. The "circus" part is supposed to be shocking and wonky, the second verse (where it's just synth and piano) is supposed to be contrasting the dull city with the wonky circus, and the end is supposed to be very climactic, but suddenly end. (All of this is reflected in the lyrics, which obviously aren't in place yet.. lol)
That said, I will be compressing the track enough to function as "glue", but I definitely don't want the parts to be that consistent in volume due to the nature of the music and story.

Very good ears though, thank you for your time and suggestions. If you have any further comments/suggestions/advice, please don't hesitate to share!
 
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