how to get intro as loud as the rest...

L

lookingforcool

New member
hey all...

so i'm mixing this new song for my band's quasi-demo.

it starts with just the bass guitar, then drums and vocals, through the first verse. then it drops into a big chorus, and maintains full band throughout.

the problem is... when i get done mixing, i look at the wave, and it, obviously, gets progressively louder through the first verse, then maintains pretty well through the rest. on listening, the intro is basically lost in between other songs. i've tried just simply turning up the bass/drums through the verse, then coming back down at the chorus, but it's WAY too drastic.

how do people do this regularly? there's a song on weezer's blue album that starts with just the bass, and it sounds great. i can't figure out how they do this.

thanks for any tips.

.pete.
 
Drums are usually the loudest thing in a mix so they should be pretty loud in the intro. Is the rest of the mix maybe too loud? If you can tame the loud parts a bit then you can compress or limit the whole mix to get them to flow a little better.
 
yeah, i guess i should've been more clear. the real problem is just the bass. it's like a one bar intro, and it's just not there at all. after compressing the whole mix and doing little touch-ups, the part from where the drums and vox come in on is okay. it's just the 5 notes at the beginning that are totally not there in real world listening.

thanks.

.pete.
 
It seems I'm always saying this on here, but it is one of the only things I know. If you are using your pc to mix with and are using a program that accepts VST plugins try endorphin on the bass part that you say is too low. I've had songs that were the same. The lead vocal started out with a little bass and drums. The lead vocal was just a whisper. I popped a little endorphin on it and brought it right out. www.digitalfishphones.com
I should make commission from them, I recommend them so much.
 
Yo Coolio:

Run your bass to two tracks and kick up the low EQ a bit when you mix. You can always drop the EQ as the song progresses while you mix.

Or, you can run your bass in to a GK amp which has a thru non-amped button and this goes direct into the recording track.

This should make your bass plenty audible.

Green Hornet :D :cool: :p :D :p :cool:
 
well, firstly... i'm gonna try the endorphin thingie for sure. i've downloaded it. just need to do my "real" job tonight. tomorrow night is the test.

and yeah, the problem is that i love the bass sound. and it's got plenty of volume. i actually have it turned down quite a bit for the whole song. the problem comes in where i turn it up for just the intro, then when the drums and vox come in, it drops off really fast. but if i fade it down, then it just sounds like the mix is going away. hard to explain.

i have a premix on my yahoo briefcase, if anyone would be willing to give it a listen to see what i'm really talking about.

thanks for everyone's input, i really do appreciate it!

.pete.

ps - the briefcase is at: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/pthurston@sbcglobal.net/lst?&.dir=/mp3&.src=bc&.view=l and the song is called "she blonde swede - CRL."
 
You might try adding some high mids to the bass. That will help it stand out a little more without overpowering the mix with low bass frequencies. Try compressing the bass track individually.
 
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