Mixing help 101

y-kause

y-kause

New member
Ok i been working on this mix for 2 weeks now to get the sound i want n when i finally get the mix i feel is a good cut. the vocals are too low?
i have tried boosting with izatope to amplitude even normalization

my fx chain is as goes
graphic eq
compress
reverb dry 100%
and maybe a chorus or delay

the sound alone is perfect when the instrumental is added it sounds good
but when i render it sounds like my mids aren;t high enuff?
any suggestions?

also if i use a graphic eq then parametric will that effect the eq outcome?
 
either the reverb is kiling the vocals or the rest of the mix is taking up that frequency range thus killing the vocals. always cut eq dont add, your mix will come out clearer. you should know compression and eq arent always the answer. The most important thing is the source quality.
 
miroslav said:
HUH?

If it's 100% dry...then there is NO reverb.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's like so extremely dry, that it's actually wet. Kind of like if you go far enough east, it actually becomes close west.

Or something...........:eek:
 
y-kause said:
..the sound alone is perfect [AND?] when the instrumental is added it sounds good
Click to expand...
?
As in this is the mix and the mix sounds good...

but when i render it sounds like my mids aren;t high enuff?
any suggestions?
Click to expand...
...but the render screws it? A render (bounce of the mix) should be identical (also assuming played through the exact same playback chain) so you can proceed with out adding variables. Let's get that question resolved, out of the way.

also if i use a graphic eq then parametric will that effect the eq outcome?
Click to expand...
It should. Didn't you intend it to?
 
TheChikenMaster said:
either the reverb is kiling the vocals or the rest of the mix is taking up that frequency range thus killing the vocals. always cut eq dont add, your mix will come out clearer. you should know compression and eq arent always the answer. The most important thing is the source quality.
Click to expand...

I've read this a couple times... That you should only cut EQ rather than add it (increase in certain ranges) But I feel like if I'm only cutting then I will lose quality even if im cutting in the 250-500 range to just cut muddiness and other ranges to cut sibilance etc. I just feel like if i add a little at 10kz to gain the clarity i hear it... and if i add a little mid range its alot clearer in the end no!? Why is it that cutting as opposed to adding is such a better idea?
 
gethypedmusic said:
I've read this a couple times... That you should only cut EQ rather than add it (increase in certain ranges) But I feel like if I'm only cutting then I will lose quality even if im cutting in the 250-500 range to just cut muddiness and other ranges to cut sibilance etc. I just feel like if i add a little at 10kz to gain the clarity i hear it... and if i add a little mid range its alot clearer in the end no!? Why is it that cutting as opposed to adding is such a better idea?
Click to expand...

Misinformed people say this all the time on teh interwebs. I used to be one of them. Maybe it grew out of live mixing where you need to be careful of monitor feedback... I dunno. But it is not true. There is no advantage to only cutting in the studio. Boost or cut however much you want, where ever you want.
 
Part of it comes from the idea that if there is an excess of something or uneveness you're correcting, do that first, and do 'least harm and all that.
Fact is if it takes less moves by boost', go for it.
 
Last edited:
gethypedmusic said:
Why is it that cutting as opposed to adding is such a better idea?
Click to expand...
That's one of those oversimplifications of a general truism.

Ever hear the old saying, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight/Red sky at morning, sailors take warning"? This EQ thing is like that, it's not going to be true 100% of the time, but it indicates a general possibility; just because the sunrise is particularly red does NOT mean it's going to rain, but it often times can indicate an increased *chance* of rain.

The more accurate truism with EQ, which is still only a general guideline and not accurate 100% of the time, but it far better than just the over-simplified "cut don't boost" is , "Use EQ cut to make something sound better/Use EQ boost to make something sound different".

The idea is that if something sounds bad, it's usually because there's too much of something unpleasant in the signal, so you'd remove that by using EQ cut, but if something doesn't sound "bad" per se, but you need to help it cut through or brighten it up a bit more or something like that, that's often done by applying some EQ boost (your 10k boost being a good example of that.)

Of course the implication there - and probably the more important point to remember - is that if something just plain sounds bad, EQ boost may emphasize the "good stuff", but it usually doesn't do much to mask or remove the parts that are making it sound bad; you'll probably still want to remove those with some EQ cut.

There is a correlary EQ truism regarding boost vs' cut. Again, just a general guide, not a scientific rule to be rigidly followed all the time: "Cut narrow/Boost wide".

In other words, usually if your using EQ cut to repair a bad sound, there's a tendency (not always, but on average) for the offending frequencies to be fairly specific or of a fairly narrow bandwidth, so it's often better to surgically remove then with a narrow Q cut rather than a wide "scoop". Conversely, when making something sound sweeter via EQ boost, it's often (on average, but not always) preferable to apply a wider bandwidth "nudge" of just a couple of dB than to create a narrow bandwidth peak.

HTH,

G.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
Misinformed people say this all the time on teh interwebs. I used to be one of them. Maybe it grew out of live mixing where you need to be careful of monitor feedback... I dunno. But it is not true. There is no advantage to only cutting in the studio. Boost or cut however much you want, where ever you want.
Click to expand...

I believe this is rooted in the days when hardware EQ units could add significant noise when boosting vs minimal adverse effects when cutting.
Of course if you are using such a hardware EQ this would still be the case. If you are using a very accurately moddled software plugin EQ this could also still be the case. If the EQ Plug being used is transparent however there is no real reason not to boost as well as cut, It's just one of those habbits that still permeates.
 
Bristol Posse said:
I believe this is rooted in the days when hardware EQ units could add significant noise when boosting vs minimal adverse effects when cutting.
Of course if you are using such a hardware EQ this would still be the case. If you are using a very accurately moddled software plugin EQ this could also still be the case. If the EQ Plug being used is transparent however there is no real reason not to boost as well as cut, It's just one of those habbits that still permeates.
Click to expand...
But if that is true for some units and you do get so much noise from a large boost that it outweighs the EQ benefits, you will hear the trouble and take the EQ out. You don't need any "internet wisdom" to tell you not to do something that sounds so noisy it damages the mix.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
But if that is true for some units and you do get so much noise from a large boost that it outweighs the EQ benefits, you will hear the trouble and take the EQ out. You don't need any "internet wisdom" to tell you not to do something that sounds so noisy it damages the mix.
Click to expand...

I agree with you and I wish that were the case but If people didn't need internet wisdom to tell you to use and trust your ears we wouldn't have these constant threads that just go round and round about the "best" way to EQ, Compress, reverb, Pan, Mix etc etc etc.

Unfortunately a lot of people are looking for the elusive magic formula/preset that "The Pro's use" on every mix to get that pro sound rather than actually listening to what sounds good from the very first step of actual perfomance onward, that will make a good finished product (which is in fact the magic formula that the pros use)

Oh well gives something to talk about at least and thre's always that one in a million, zillion chance that without knowing the music or what the OP wants out of it, and having never heard it we can give an exact list of plugins and settings that will infact make it sound better and like the OP wants it to sound! Just like someone could theoretically guess exactly how many jelly beans are in a jar of unknown dimensions with a complete stab in the dark.
 
Last edited:
Bristol Posse said:
Unfortunately a lot of people are looking for the elusive magic formula/preset that "The Pro's use" on every mix to get that pro sound.
Click to expand...

That's all they want? I thought everybody knew that formula:

1. Set your compressor at 4:1 with -12 threshold, 23 ms attack, 122 ms release. Put it on the bass guitar.

2. Remove 3 db at 230 hz on the lead vocal.

3. Copy the lead guitar and paste it to track 21.

4. Zoom way in on the rack tom and shift the whole track 149 samples to the left.

5. Make sure that every instrument playing a "D" or a chord containing "D" is panned hard left exactly 1:31 into the song and held there for 3/129ths of a measure.

6. Delete track 7 to taste.

7. Make it though the entire mix without taking a single hit from any World Warrior.

8. If you have done all of that, then you must fight Reptile to a draw for 18 rounds. THEN Sheng Long will appear if you hold down Shift and press up, up, left ...wait... What were we describing again?
 
RAMI said:
Maybe it's like so extremely dry, that it's actually wet. Kind of like if you go far enough east, it actually becomes close west.
Click to expand...

:p

I think the theory of relativity is in there somewhere... ;)

It's like if you set pre-delay long enough, you will actually get post-delay of the preceeding signal!

:D
 
Chibi Nappa said:
Misinformed people say this all the time on teh interwebs. I used to be one of them. Maybe it grew out of live mixing where you need to be careful of monitor feedback... I dunno. But it is not true. There is no advantage to only cutting in the studio. Boost or cut however much you want, where ever you want.
Click to expand...

I was just going off of what Chicken said. But I must add that in the Home Recording For Dummies Book it also says the SAME thing he said. But I don't agree with it. :) I agree with you however

SouthSIDE Glen said:
That's one of those oversimplifications of a general truism.

Ever hear the old saying, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight/Red sky at morning, sailors take warning"? This EQ thing is like that, it's not going to be true 100% of the time, but it indicates a general possibility; just because the sunrise is particularly red does NOT mean it's going to rain, but it often times can indicate an increased *chance* of rain.

The more accurate truism with EQ, which is still only a general guideline and not accurate 100% of the time, but it far better than just the over-simplified "cut don't boost" is , "Use EQ cut to make something sound better/Use EQ boost to make something sound different".

The idea is that if something sounds bad, it's usually because there's too much of something unpleasant in the signal, so you'd remove that by using EQ cut, but if something doesn't sound "bad" per se, but you need to help it cut through or brighten it up a bit more or something like that, that's often done by applying some EQ boost (your 10k boost being a good example of that.)

Of course the implication there - and probably the more important point to remember - is that if something just plain sounds bad, EQ boost may emphasize the "good stuff", but it usually doesn't do much to mask or remove the parts that are making it sound bad; you'll probably still want to remove those with some EQ cut.

There is a correlary EQ truism regarding boost vs' cut. Again, just a general guide, not a scientific rule to be rigidly followed all the time: "Cut narrow/Boost wide".

In other words, usually if your using EQ cut to repair a bad sound, there's a tendency (not always, but on average) for the offending frequencies to be fairly specific or of a fairly narrow bandwidth, so it's often better to surgically remove then with a narrow Q cut rather than a wide "scoop". Conversely, when making something sound sweeter via EQ boost, it's often (on average, but not always) preferable to apply a wider bandwidth "nudge" of just a couple of dB than to create a narrow bandwidth peak.

HTH,

G.
Click to expand...

I generally hate reading when most people post back... But I never mind yours lol You actually give information! So when you cut you use a narrow bandwidth!? I usually use a wide bandwidth for adding and cutting.... But im newer to EQing. But i swear to me everything is sounding great right about now!


Chibi Nappa said:
That's all they want? I thought everybody knew that formula:

1. Set your compressor at 4:1 with -12 threshold, 23 ms attack, 122 ms release. Put it on the bass guitar.

2. Remove 3 db at 230 hz on the lead vocal.

3. Copy the lead guitar and paste it to track 21.

4. Zoom way in on the rack tom and shift the whole track 149 samples to the left.

5. Make sure that every instrument playing a "D" or a chord containing "D" is panned hard left exactly 1:31 into the song and held there for 3/129ths of a measure.

6. Delete track 7 to taste.

7. Make it though the entire mix without taking a single hit from any World Warrior.

8. If you have done all of that, then you must fight Reptile to a draw for 18 rounds. THEN Sheng Long will appear if you hold down Shift and press up, up, left ...wait... What were we describing again?
Click to expand...

Shit that's it!?!? It all makes sense now.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
That's all they want? I thought everybody knew that formula:

1. Set your compressor at 4:1 with -12 threshold, 23 ms attack, 122 ms release. Put it on the bass guitar.

2. Remove 3 db at 230 hz on the lead vocal.

3. Copy the lead guitar and paste it to track 21.

4. Zoom way in on the rack tom and shift the whole track 149 samples to the left.

5. Make sure that every instrument playing a "D" or a chord containing "D" is panned hard left exactly 1:31 into the song and held there for 3/129ths of a measure.

6. Delete track 7 to taste.

7. Make it though the entire mix without taking a single hit from any World Warrior.

8. If you have done all of that, then you must fight Reptile to a draw for 18 rounds. THEN Sheng Long will appear if you hold down Shift and press up, up, left ...wait... What were we describing again?
Click to expand...

Mods this should be a sticky!
 
the truth is I do exactly what glenn said.
The theory of relativity does come in play here. And the fact that everything tastes like chicken.
I recently did a song and the snare wasn't coming thrue like it usually does so I cut some mids from the guitars which have plenty of that to spare. Then pop out of nowhere comes the snare.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top