Mixing and Mastering help

  • Thread starter Thread starter infamouzni99a
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infamouzni99a

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hello, im new to this, i recently bought some recording equipment. The thing is that I'm not to familiar with mixing and mastering my own music so it can sound like the quality that they play on the radio, i own a PreSonus Audiobox interface and also own a Samson CL7 condenser mic, im familiar with using(not mixing) Mixcraft 2.51 Build 55, but im trying to learn how to mix and master on StudioOne Artist, i only do vocals over instrumentals because I am a rapper. Can i please get some help with getting my music to sound top notch quality, help is highly appreciated, Thank You.
 
"Top notch" recordings are generally done by top-notch engineers with years and years of experience using top-notch gear in top-notch spaces. Then the mixes are sent to a top-notch mastering facility where an experienced engineer with a top-notch chain will (etc., etc., etc., etc.).

They rarely 'just happen' any other way.

I'm not trying to be discouraging - I'm just trying to present reality. Your gear selection leaves a bit to be desired and I'm assuming you have limited experience (or you wouldn't have even asked the question in the first place).

Read up, spend some time developing your listening skills (the most important purchase you will ever make is your monitoring chain, which isn't listed), maybe whip around Tweak's Guide for a while and get a basic understanding of technique. Then do some (a lot of) experimenting learning the tools and hit everything with a fresh perspective.
 
-What he said ;)

but hey, dont be afraid to experiment! something that has helped me to an amazing degree has been simply posting what you got in the mp3 clinic forum on this board! you can get specific feedback about specific issues and eventually, with lots and lots of effort, time, energy, and a little dedication, you may learn "how to fish!"
 
If getting "top notch" recordins and making top notch music were that easy, then everybody would be doing it and being successful......
 
LOL agree with above what u can do is atleast try to make a great mix so u can give to the sound engineers for mastering, if u wanna just gain some recognition than a very good mix is enough, always remember, "its about cutting frequencies than about boosting it, boost can be applied with a compressor :)"
 
I agree with everyone else here. I own the Presonus Audiobox as well. I spent some time working on my techniques (Mic placement, track doubling, etc.) And my quality isn't all that bad. Sounds pretty damn good actually. So work on technique!
 
I just spent the last six months working on my mixing skills before going on with my new project. I cannot believe what I great difference it has made doing this and listening back on some early mixes makes me cringe. While equipment is vital, more so is knowing how to mix. If you do not understand what frequencies affect what instruments, if you do not know how to place instruments in the mix with eq, or which instrument to start with no matter how high the quality gear you use, you what mastering facility you use, the result will be poor.

I learned a lot from Googling stuff up and trying it. Everything. From frequency charts, mixing tips, speaker placement how to sit instruments together, I learned from forums , blogs, and any place I found. I also took time to "tune" my room the best I could and then learn the monitors, of which were the best I could afford. This, along with countless hours learning how to the eq and compress and mix drums right, then the drums and bass right made my mixes some of my best work and that I am very happy with.
 
Read a book or two on the subject, experiment, really learn the sound of your monitors and room...
Probably most important for a beginner is ... train your ears to recognize certain ranges of frequencies. This starts by very generally noticing "ok the bass is a little strong" or "hmm i don't hear much treble".
Then, learn to focus in on more specific ranges, perhaps lower and upper bass, lower and upper mids, etc.

A great ear training course to help with this is called Golden Ears, by Bob Moulton.
Moulton Laboratories :: Golden Ears

Heck, I have perfect pitch, and I still needed to spend hours learning to turn my note references into frequency values in HZ. :)
 
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