Mixing secrets by sonusman
- Thread starter s_o_n_u_s_m_a_n
- Start date
im new here, but not new to recording. I think a lot of the things in that post were good advice. I would not reccomend high passing your guitars that much though. He did mention he was better at mixing funk then rock though, and that may be a reason.
for guitars, each mix is different (of course), there are no rules to follow, but I usually start my high pass filter at 80 and adjust upwards to taste. that usually ends up being around 120-150..I have never cut all the way up to 250..that is a bit extreme for rock especially. remember the guitar is a midrange instrument.
also, for bass, between 200-250 is not a bad frequeny. I am a pro bass player and have been mixed by some really great engineers and learned a few techniques...id reccomend doing your kick/bass duck around 100-150...the bass has a lot of character in the 200-300 range, and while it shouldnt really be boosted, it should not be cut either. I rarely EQ my bass at all, except to adjust for the kick and maybe add a little attack between 1-3k somewhere to compensate. once again, when it comes to funk you can scoop mids a little more to compensate for slapping, bt i dont even do that if/when i slap..i keep it all flat and use a fender jazz bass.
a good way to get a good cutting bass tone is to duplicate (not double) your bass take and grab that copy and high pass it up to around 900hz..reamp it through a little guitar amp or amp sim and add a little distortion. mix your main bass track as you would, and then bring this duplicate track up in the mix until you get the attack you want...this is a pretty common technique that is used all the time..there are many ways to utilize it though, so be creative.
finally, im not sure but it seems like he said the vocal gets harsh at 2-4k? uhm, use a desser if that is a problem, but don't cut those frequencies w/ an EQ. that is where some of the best energy in a vocal take comes from.
for guitars, each mix is different (of course), there are no rules to follow, but I usually start my high pass filter at 80 and adjust upwards to taste. that usually ends up being around 120-150..I have never cut all the way up to 250..that is a bit extreme for rock especially. remember the guitar is a midrange instrument.
also, for bass, between 200-250 is not a bad frequeny. I am a pro bass player and have been mixed by some really great engineers and learned a few techniques...id reccomend doing your kick/bass duck around 100-150...the bass has a lot of character in the 200-300 range, and while it shouldnt really be boosted, it should not be cut either. I rarely EQ my bass at all, except to adjust for the kick and maybe add a little attack between 1-3k somewhere to compensate. once again, when it comes to funk you can scoop mids a little more to compensate for slapping, bt i dont even do that if/when i slap..i keep it all flat and use a fender jazz bass.
a good way to get a good cutting bass tone is to duplicate (not double) your bass take and grab that copy and high pass it up to around 900hz..reamp it through a little guitar amp or amp sim and add a little distortion. mix your main bass track as you would, and then bring this duplicate track up in the mix until you get the attack you want...this is a pretty common technique that is used all the time..there are many ways to utilize it though, so be creative.
finally, im not sure but it seems like he said the vocal gets harsh at 2-4k? uhm, use a desser if that is a problem, but don't cut those frequencies w/ an EQ. that is where some of the best energy in a vocal take comes from.
nonreversebird
New member
Holy................
Sheesh what happened to the music here. I mean I am now hearing some of the most bizzare approachs to mixing I could imagine. I mean this is supposed to be Homerecording.com. To me that means limited budget == limited simultaneous wav playback == limited simultaneous tracks. That is precisely why I have 2 sound cards in my computer. The Polyphony degredates as you push more and more sound out of that computer no mater how many cards one has.
I must now assume that this section of the forum is exclusivelly for those who have a lot of bucks invested in their gear ex: Pro Tools, plugins, really good outboard gear.
I mean I almost envy all you guys but I am more into the music than the production.
I got one thing to say to all you guys. No matter how good a job you do on recording, mixing, mastering there is nothing you can do if the music sucks.
I read that one post about giraffe recording that band. I listened to it reluctantly after hearing about the vocal adjust hardware. I know about those peices. In fact a professional musician friend of mine told me his band even used one in the studio. Its all fake and all crap. I spent a long time figuring out how to go about singing and years of practice finding out things like just certain words are problems with certain singers. I have my words that are problems and I have to pronounce them in a certain way so they dont go out of key or sound , well stupid. Anyway I hear A LOT of female vocalist singing out of key nowadays and they put it down on recording. I personally dont see how someone would spend the money for a recording with lets say excessive out of key singing.
Thats my point here. It seems that modern musicians expect you guys to make them sound good and the musicians slack. They dont learn how to play or sing well enough to record.
I simply loathe the screamo hardcore talentless shit. I mean I HATE it. I dont even see how recording it is even any fun. Its like a GD modern day disease. Thankfully there are still people out there that like just hardrock with singing in it for Christ's Sake.
Look this continuous monotone screaming is a worthless excuss to substitute a vocal part for the lack of vocal talent in a band. I know I am no great vocalist but I aint that bad and I can sing in key. And as a vocalist, If you can eventually like yourself then you are doing something right I can gaurentee you that. If there is any doubt then YES you are messing up and fix it.
Just a sunday morning rant
thats all.
Sheesh what happened to the music here. I mean I am now hearing some of the most bizzare approachs to mixing I could imagine. I mean this is supposed to be Homerecording.com. To me that means limited budget == limited simultaneous wav playback == limited simultaneous tracks. That is precisely why I have 2 sound cards in my computer. The Polyphony degredates as you push more and more sound out of that computer no mater how many cards one has.
I must now assume that this section of the forum is exclusivelly for those who have a lot of bucks invested in their gear ex: Pro Tools, plugins, really good outboard gear.
I mean I almost envy all you guys but I am more into the music than the production.
I got one thing to say to all you guys. No matter how good a job you do on recording, mixing, mastering there is nothing you can do if the music sucks.
I read that one post about giraffe recording that band. I listened to it reluctantly after hearing about the vocal adjust hardware. I know about those peices. In fact a professional musician friend of mine told me his band even used one in the studio. Its all fake and all crap. I spent a long time figuring out how to go about singing and years of practice finding out things like just certain words are problems with certain singers. I have my words that are problems and I have to pronounce them in a certain way so they dont go out of key or sound , well stupid. Anyway I hear A LOT of female vocalist singing out of key nowadays and they put it down on recording. I personally dont see how someone would spend the money for a recording with lets say excessive out of key singing.
Thats my point here. It seems that modern musicians expect you guys to make them sound good and the musicians slack. They dont learn how to play or sing well enough to record.
I simply loathe the screamo hardcore talentless shit. I mean I HATE it. I dont even see how recording it is even any fun. Its like a GD modern day disease. Thankfully there are still people out there that like just hardrock with singing in it for Christ's Sake.
Look this continuous monotone screaming is a worthless excuss to substitute a vocal part for the lack of vocal talent in a band. I know I am no great vocalist but I aint that bad and I can sing in key. And as a vocalist, If you can eventually like yourself then you are doing something right I can gaurentee you that. If there is any doubt then YES you are messing up and fix it.
Just a sunday morning rant
thats all.
noisedude
New member
Like what? Getting the EQ right and compressing properly?nonreversebird said:
What on earth are you talking about? Is this even in English?nonreversebird said:
So what are you doing in a Mixing/Mastering forum then?nonreversebird said:
That's your prerogative to dislike. I'm not a fan myself. But it's not a substitute for talent - 99% of the singers you line up couldn't scream well. It's like saying modern art isn't really art, when every real musician knows that if you like it, it's music.nonreversebird said:
You going to tell me Mozart was untalented because he was hiding behind Concerto Form structure and repeating lots of 8 bar phrases?
nonreversebird
New member
I see you didnt go to church or temple either...
I am here because this is where I have been in my short time here. Look at my previous posts and you will understand.
As far as your eqing and compression statement. I am referring to the complexity of the technich described. The numerical values of frequences to increase, decrease, extract. Most people including myself dont have a clue at what the numbers mean. We just record and eq until it sounds good to our ears.
My point is that when I came here it said Homerecording.com right? So I thought I might find out some pointers from other apartment and house musicians recording on limited budgets at home and how they get their stuff to sound as good as possible.
Well after you read my previous posts you will find I soon learne that this place had many users who are Professional recording Engineers with big time investment in it. In fact many are doing this for a living. I just dont understand why you would be posting on a Homerecording board when it would be more logical to post on a board like: Professional Studio Engineer Forum.
BUT LET ME MAKE MYSELF CLEAR. AS I SAID A LONG TIME AGO, I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THOSE HERE THAT GAVE ME ADVISE AS TO WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT MASTERING. I TOOK THEIR ADVISE. I TOOK MY MUSIC ELSEWARE TO SOMEONE WITH A REPUTABLE REPUTATION AND I AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR THE MASTERING JOB TO BE COMPLETED. I HOPE HE TAKES HIS TIME. ITS BEEN A WEEK SO ACTUALLY I HOPE HE TAKES A COUPLE MORE.
That is why I posted in the mixing and mastering forum. You know my old man tells me to go to church. Shit maybe both of us would and we wouldnt be like we are. you think?
I already want to drink beer and its not even 11am.
I am here because this is where I have been in my short time here. Look at my previous posts and you will understand.
As far as your eqing and compression statement. I am referring to the complexity of the technich described. The numerical values of frequences to increase, decrease, extract. Most people including myself dont have a clue at what the numbers mean. We just record and eq until it sounds good to our ears.
My point is that when I came here it said Homerecording.com right? So I thought I might find out some pointers from other apartment and house musicians recording on limited budgets at home and how they get their stuff to sound as good as possible.
Well after you read my previous posts you will find I soon learne that this place had many users who are Professional recording Engineers with big time investment in it. In fact many are doing this for a living. I just dont understand why you would be posting on a Homerecording board when it would be more logical to post on a board like: Professional Studio Engineer Forum.
BUT LET ME MAKE MYSELF CLEAR. AS I SAID A LONG TIME AGO, I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THOSE HERE THAT GAVE ME ADVISE AS TO WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT MASTERING. I TOOK THEIR ADVISE. I TOOK MY MUSIC ELSEWARE TO SOMEONE WITH A REPUTABLE REPUTATION AND I AM CURRENTLY WAITING FOR THE MASTERING JOB TO BE COMPLETED. I HOPE HE TAKES HIS TIME. ITS BEEN A WEEK SO ACTUALLY I HOPE HE TAKES A COUPLE MORE.
That is why I posted in the mixing and mastering forum. You know my old man tells me to go to church. Shit maybe both of us would and we wouldnt be like we are. you think?
I already want to drink beer and its not even 11am.
noisedude
New member
You're a funny chap. And yes, I went to church this morning, thanks.
That's simply not true. You don't understand how to make a cut or boost at a certain frequency? Every mixer ever made tells you at least what range of boost or cut you have, and 99% of manuals will tell you what frequency they run at. In softare it's even easier, it's all just there on the screen!
Most home recording enthusiasts, myself included, are very grateful that people with genuine talent and knowledge come and share it here.
Maybe church wouldn't be the best place for you then, get yourself to a pub!
Chris Shaeffer
Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those of you wondering who this "sonusman" guy was...