HELP with loouuud mixes

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobbieD
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RobbieD

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Hey so I been recording for like 3 months aaand I just want some experienced people to tell me what they think of my gear and what I could use to make it better. alright so I have an Imac with Cubase studio 5, I only use one keyboard for pretty much all the sounds, drums, guitar, piano... i have the left and right out of the keyboard(Roland juno di) going into 2 channels of my sound card (motu 8pre) and for vocals i use a akg perception 420 with a presonus tubepre going into channel 3 of the sound card ( and it also uses firewire). For monitering I have 2 KRK rokit 5s and ATH-M20 audio technica headphones.. so a comment on this gear and would be helpful, and also can some please tell me how I get my recordinging more professional and LOUD sounding, ive been debating on whether I should buy a new preamp and mic and jsut spend like 3000 bam right away... what do I need, maybe an external compressor? I use the compressor that came with cubase (I kinda get how it works) anyways pleaaaaase help
 
well your recordings should be peaking at -6dbs so adjust settings on your sound card or in cubase to do this also mastering is where you can bump up the volume if need be
 
RobbieD said:
and also can some please tell me how I get my recordinging more professional and LOUD sounding, ive been debating on whether I should buy a new preamp and mic and jsut spend like 3000 bam right away... what do I need
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DANG. Your dad rules! First off, I wouldn't wish for professional sounding recordings if you're using a keyboard for guitars and drums. Unless you're doing some kind of german japanese techno bop...

A good way to make your recordings more professional is to explore and READ these three areas of the forum: Recording Techniques, Mixing Techniques, and Mastering. This LOUD you're wanting has to do with mastering but unless you're Wesley Willis I'd want your music as quiet as possible!
 
Roll off most everything below 80-100hz on all your tracks. Low end takes up alot of volume. Also a little limiting on your master out does some good.

Drew
 
NO!! Don't go and splash 3000 on just a mic and pre-amp!!
That's crazy money when you're starting out! (of course assuming your in $ or £, if for some reason you mean in Indian Rupee then maybe a bit more understandable!)

If you want your mixes to sound professional you need two things:
First off... decent musicians
Secondly, a whole load of practise mixing and producing.

A new mic and pre-amp won't get you much closer to a professional recording I'm afraid, only a teenie-tiny percentage of what makes a recording great is the equipment.
The vast majority is down to creativity, experience, a lot of critical listening and even more practise.

(p.s. he's probably just saying he's amazed at having 3000 loose change to spare and that your dad must have generously helped you out which is why he rules.)
 
Re-tox_stl said:
Roll off most everything below 80-100hz on all your tracks. Low end takes up alot of volume. Also a little limiting on your master out does some good.

Drew
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Terrible advice. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS GUY.
 
oh ok so musicians is needed to sound professional ay... cuz i only use my keyboard, and no my dad hasnt helped me at all ive bought all the recording stuff
 
Greg_L said:
Terrible advice. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS GUY.
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I think he's a little confused. You'd want roll off lows on things that don't need them. To make room for others things. Like electric guitar. And that way the bass guitar has a place to go. Basically. But that's another story.

I'd say. Simple answer. A limiter... Complicated answer. It's complicated. And has nothing to do with the actual quality. If anything. It lessens the recording.
 
AMcB said:
I think he's a little confused. You'd want roll off lows on things that don't need them. To make room for others things. Like electric guitar. And that way the bass guitar has a place to go. Basically. But that's another story.
.
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I still disagree. You roll off the lows if the mix needs it. You shouldn't do it as a habit, or a rule, or because some guy on the net said to. You do it to make space if it's necessary for the mix. Indiscriminately rolling off or notching frequencies to make room for other stuff is foolish if it doesn't even need it. What about the high end? You gonna low pass everything to make room for cymbals? You gonna low pass the guitars to make room for the bass's pick attack or slap? See where I'm going with this? Here's a better idea: start with better sounds so you don't have to make giant sweeping destructive EQ fixes in the mix.
 
Greg_L said:
Here's a better idea: start with better sounds so you don't have to make giant sweeping destructive EQ fixes in the mix.
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While EQ can be a useful fix if need be or better still, sound shaping tool, ^^^^this is good advice and good sense.
 
Im sorry Gregg, I didn't mean to offend you (2 months ago :D). I mis spoke. I did mean that you should take some of the low end out of things that don't need it (not everything as I made it seem). As for the limiting thing though... I guess Im just high :) I don't even use that strategy in my own mixes.

Drew
 
I'm with Greg_L. There's no rule about rolling off lows--it depends on both the mix and the music style. Some types of music really demand lots of pumping, thumping lows and rolling off without understanding this could mess everything up badly.

Actually, the "roll off the lows to make it louder" comes more from the world of live sound mixing. Yes, low notes take a LOT of amplifier power compared to mids and highs so it's very common to filter things in a loudspeaker management system to remove all LF information from mids and highs. However, this doesn't mean the lows are just thrown away--the LF stuff is fed to large subs via some heavy duty amps.

The "loudness wars" are more about compression and limiting than filtering off lows--but have a read of the numerous threads on the subject. Trying for too much loudness can leave your mixes lifeless and boring--loud, but lifeless and boring.
 
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