Mixing Questions

[booyah14]

On Gearslutz, they were having a mix contest for a metal song on the site. Now I'm just starting out so I really have no desire to post my results, but I definitely thought this would be great practice. So far I've just panned instruments where I thought they sounded good, and adjusted levels so that nothing is overpowering. Now so far, I've just been messing with EQ and compression on certain tracks just to get a feel for how it changes the overall mix. A lot of fun, but not very productive.

So my question is this, what do most of you guys usually focus on first? I just decided to start out with drums since I wanted to get that sound first. Now they double miced the kick drum. One is more bassy, and the other is more on the beater. I've really been trying to get the click to come out. I've boosted the high end but when I do this, it seems to disappear. So what are some "general" guidelines to get the kick to really stick out? Just turning the volume up doesn't really make it sound good, just sounds out of place. So any tips for certain freqs to try boosting/cutting? Thanks guys.

 

[Farview]

That would really depend on the recording. Sometimes I boost the 3k to 6k region, sometimes I just use a high shelf set around 6k. Compressing it will help as well. You might want to try to get the attack from the beater mic first, then bring up the boomy mic for the low end.

 

[Cyrokk]

So my question is this, what do most of you guys usually focus on first?

I usually just put an overall mix in the monitors to determine where I should focus my attention. What typically happens is that I back off on all instruments but the vocals and slowly build the other instruments around them, making slight cuts in the guitar lows to make more room for the bass. I prefer the clicky bass sound of Tool and Primus, which can sometimes interfere with the click of the kick. I can usually solve it by keeping the bass panned in the center and the kick slightly off.

 

[DrJones]

Now they double miced the kick drum. One is more bassy, and the other is more on the beater. I've really been trying to get the click to come out. I've boosted the high end but when I do this, it seems to disappear. So what are some "general" guidelines to get the kick to really stick out? Just turning the volume up doesn't really make it sound good, just sounds out of place. So any tips for certain freqs to try boosting/cutting? Thanks guys.

Read up on "carving EQ holes". Cyrokk is correct about the guitars, but there is even more to think about and listen to. Here's a starting point, (not all EQ issues and instrument tunings are the same) Kick- agressivly turn up the gain @ 4k. Now sweep it from about 2.5k - 6k. Find that great sounding attack and back off the gain untill you have a powerful attack. There is such a thing as too much gain but there are no rules. Now start rolling off @ about 80hz (this is going to give your bass guitar some room). More than likely this is why you lose your kick in the mix. Bass - EQ for tone, too much is too much, I do understand how you want the bass to sound but dont over EQ it! Now bump up the gain @ about 60hz. This will give you a thick sound without compition with the kick. Guitars and other equiptment "READ","READ","READ". Instrument have certian ranges of freq. Enhancing the dominant freq. and turning down passive ones creates "EQ Holes" for other instruments and reduces the "MUD" in the mix.

Now these were just examples and I cannot say these adjustments are just for you. Its just guidelines on how to carve these "Holes"

 

[booyah14]

I'll definitely be trying these things tomm and see how it turns out. Thanks again guys.