Help mixing Strings

  • Thread starter Thread starter NickSpringfield
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NickSpringfield

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I just made a beat and it's kinda got a tango-ish feel to it, with strings as the main instrument. The drum and bass sound tight, as does the piano part and the small guitar sample, but the strings sound kinda hollow. Do you guys have any tips on how to mix strings? Or at least an links to articles. I went to that Intermusic.com site that Spin posted a few weeks ago, but it doesn't work... some kind of error. Any help would be great. Thanks.

-Nick Springfield
 
You might want to flange the strings and put them up high in the mix. It something new I started doing and it made me want to go back and redo all my strings. I read it in the art of mixxing by Peter Gibson
 
That really won't work, because these are kinda like stabs. Thanks anyway. Anyone else know of a way to make them fit better in the mix. Wish I could put a sample up here, but I don't have any kind of account.
 
you should be able to post to a free websiteand link it to this BBS
 
I'm going to add a little in reference to sequencing strings as opposed to mxing as I think this may help you with the mix. I'm not sure where your strings are coming from, but here's an idea that I've heard a lot of pros talk about and one I regularly use.

First of all, you almost always want to layer strings. If possible find 2 or 3 sounds that are similar, if not you can just double one sound. For real authenticity, play each layer separately so you have different intonation going on. You then want to detune one of the patches and pan the 2 sounds opposite one another. I usually use 3 so I have a left and right and a solo section right up the middle, but 2 works fine in most cases too. Reverb also helps to give a bit more depth to the sounds.

As far as an article, I'm not sure if EM has archives available online, but there are 2 great articles on this in the May 2002 issue. Look for Sequencing with Style and How To Create the Ultimate String Library.

BTW, I personally use the Roland MSE-1 String Ensemble Module and Kurzweil ME-1 MicroEnsemble for all my strings and have had great successes. I picked up both these models for a total of $300 used.

Hope this helps

Stray

www.mp3.com/PerpetualProductio
 
Just another note. Strings have a great deal of bandwidth so EQing should be used subtly. You'll most definitely have a hollow sound if you're sucking out the midrange around 3 - 5K. I'm not saying boost these frequencies, though. If the strings sound hollow with the EQ flat you'll want to try the advise I posted above.

Again, good luck and let me know if this helps.

Stray

www.mp3.com/PerpetualProductio
 
There should be plenty of information for you at that link. :D
 
Alright, thanks. I'll let ya know how it turns out.
 
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