Layering Tracks and Compressing Drums

[Deaconblue]

Hi

I have two questions about mixing:

1. I am trying to mix my band's songs by using Guitar Tracks Pro 3. I am getting better at mixing but does anyone have a tutorial or any advice on how to properly layer music so that individual instruments can be noticed in the mix but it doesn't sound like the mix is muddy? I have started to try using different EQ curves for different instruments but I wanted to know if anyone had any more information on this.

2. I have tried to compress the snare and the bass drum when I mix a song, so that the overall volume of the drums can be louder in the mix. The drummer in my band uses an electronic drumset, if this makes any difference in how to EQ or compress the drums, so I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on how to get a clear and loud drum sound in a mix?

Thanks and I appreciate any help on these questions!

 

[Mistral]

Each instrument has its own sweet spot when it comes to frequency.. there are resources on the net that can give you a general idea what these frequencies are, but the best thing is to listen yourself and make your own judgement. Be careful not to have a lot of instruments competing for the same frequency ranges.. if it seems unavoidable then you might have too much going on at once. I've heard bands that try to crowd layers of synths and guitars, vocals and so on.. when I told them they needed to strip something away they got protective of it.. and I think the music AND mix suffered as a result..

Generally I'd say, start off with the bass and kick and get those playing off each other to create a nice punch.. bring in the rhythm guitars and EQ each slightly different, (although they should preferably sound great by themselves first) to make them sound distinct from each other.. go on from here to bring in the lead sounds and vocals.. This is probably where you need to be the most careful, for example to ensure synths and lead guitars don't step on each other, or the vocals.. then I like to tweak the snare sound last to make sure it sits where I like it in context of the full mix.

As far as mixing electronic drums.. are you recording these direct? Obviously some different principles would apply in such a case.. you shouldn't have to worry about getting a clear loud sound since the samples are pristine quality, or should be.. just EQ and compress them to taste.. same principles apply to drums as other instruments, they have their own key frequencies.. for instance for thump on a kick it's around 100hz and for click it's between 2-4khz.. yada yada..