Muffled, supressed sounding mixes...how to fix in general....

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Vandy12

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I am making a CD and I am a new to beginning intermediate mixer.
I am not able to figure out how to get more clarity, upper range,
not sure how to describe it well. The songs just don't sound
clear, they sound muffled. I use the four basics and not
a lot of them: equalization, compression, limiting, and
reverb. Somewhere between the recording and the
processing, or maybe incorrect processing, the
songs get more "subdued" sounding and I cannot
figure out how to get them bright and clear.
Any general suggestions? They seem to have a
pretty good spectrum. Just not the clarity
you hear on commercial recordings.

Thanks.
 
Post examples, for a start. Google "subtractive eq" and learn what it is and how to use it. Keep trying! :D
 
Vandy12 said:
I am making a CD and I am a new to beginning intermediate mixer..........................
Just not the clarity
you hear on commercial recordings.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
You might be in over your head being a "new to beginning intermediate mixer" trying to compete with professional releases. A professional release includes everything from professional gear to professional rooms and professional, experienced people running the controls. That's not to say it can't be done, but when you fall short in EVEN ONE one of those key areas, it matters.

Having said that, are we supposed to just guess as to what will "fix" your mixes? Post up some samples so the people that can help have something work with.
 
Yes I do want you to guess. If you hear, in general, a song that sounds bright and clear, then
you hear one and it does not sound as bright, what comes to mind could possibly
be the problem. Equalization? Spectrum? Less Compression? I know it could be many things,
but I was hoping to get a few thoughts from
people who have a lot of experience recording as to what might help clarity. I have not
posted on this site much. I use SoundCloud to post mixes I've done. I will have to figure
out if you can link this site to a SoundCloud upload, or just upload directly to this site--something
I've never done. Totally disagree with the thought you can't make professional sounding
music in home studio. It is not the studio--it is the performer, recorder, mixer. The technology
is there--unfortunately in my case the experience is not and yes that could be contributing to the
problem.
 
You are the problem... Something you don't know or don't do or don't have or don't understand. Post a link to your Soundcloud tune and maybe we'll get somewhere.

Do I win something for guessing correctly?
 
Vandy12 said:
Yes I do want you to guess. If you hear, in general, a song that sounds bright and clear, then
you hear one and it does not sound as bright, what comes to mind could possibly
be the problem. Equalization? Spectrum? Less Compression? I know it could be many things,
but I was hoping to get a few thoughts from
people who have a lot of experience recording as to what might help clarity. I have not
posted on this site much. I use SoundCloud to post mixes I've done. I will have to figure
out if you can link this site to a SoundCloud upload, or just upload directly to this site--something
I've never done. Totally disagree with the thought you can't make professional sounding
music in home studio. It is not the studio--it is the performer, recorder, mixer. The technology
is there--unfortunately in my case the experience is not and yes that could be contributing to the
problem.
Click to expand...

Okay then my guess, since you want me to guess, is that the reason(s) your mixes are bad is because you use crappy gear in bad rooms and have no idea what you are doing.

You also misread/misunderstood what I said about competing with pro mixes. I didn't say a great mix can't be made at home. People do it all the time. I said YOU, specifically YOU, now pay close attention to this part, *might* be in over your head because I'm guessing you are using crappy gear in bad rooms and you ADMITTEDLY have minimal experience. There's your problem. Until you post examples so we can give informed opinions, I have to guess that your mixes are bad because of basic fundamental reasons.

You registered here in 2004? What have you been doing for the last ten years?
 
Vandy12 said:
Totally disagree with the thought you can't make professional sounding
music in home studio.
Click to expand...

Before this turns into a shit flinging competition, I'd just like to say I agree with these guys.

Asking us to guess is ridiculous though.
I'd guess it's your behringer truth monitors because they're not that good to start with and you've got one of them in a corner at ear level and the other one against the wall about a foot lower.

Then you write back and tell me you have Adams sitting on a console in a room that you paid a man several thousand pounds to design and treat.

You need to share your music and more info.
 
Where is the Soundcloud Icon? I see it in advance, but not the quick reply. I thought it was there before.
 
OK, it is on there when you post a new thread, which is the only time I have ever used it. :facepalm:
 
Vandy12 said:
Yes I do want you to guess. If you hear, in general, a song that sounds bright and clear, then
you hear one and it does not sound as bright, what comes to mind could possibly
be the problem. Equalization? Spectrum? Less Compression? I know it could be many things,
but I was hoping to get a few thoughts from
people who have a lot of experience recording as to what might help clarity. I have not
posted on this site much. I use SoundCloud to post mixes I've done. I will have to figure
out if you can link this site to a SoundCloud upload, or just upload directly to this site--something
I've never done. Totally disagree with the thought you can't make professional sounding
music in home studio. It is not the studio--it is the performer, recorder, mixer. The technology
is there--unfortunately in my case the experience is not and yes that could be contributing to the
problem.
Click to expand...

Yes. My guess without ever hearing one note of one sample was exactly EQ. Specifically, not notching your tracks EQs to fit together well as a whole. If your bass drum is competing with your bass guitar and the strings are competing for the same "space" in the spectrum with your vocals things sound muddy and dull even if all the individual tracks are bright.
Over compressing will blur and muddy the sound.
BUT, mike placement, room dynamics, the monitors you listen to, your own ears, and a raft of other things can make problems for a mix. We're not trying to dump on you, simply asking for some samples to put our ears on. :D
 
BroKen_H said:
Yes. My guess without ever hearing one note of one sample was exactly EQ. Specifically, not notching your tracks EQs to fit together well as a whole.
Click to expand...

I think "notching EQ to fit together" is an overblown and overused "technique" that doesn't always need to be done, and it shouldn't really need to be done, but it gets thrown around like it's a necessity. I know it's easier said than done, but record better source sounds and you wont have to cut things up to make them work together. Some things naturally compete, like kick and bass, depending on the style and sound of the song, but other things *should* drop in just fine without drastic corrective EQ if you recorded good sounds to begin with. Goddamn I can't overstate enough how much easier everything is when you don't record shit sounds.
 
My guess is bad recording - using one of those foam sound shields around the mic (or moving blanket walls/boxes) sucking all the high end out of the sound.
 
Greg_L said:
I think "notching EQ to fit together" is an overblown and overused "technique" that doesn't always need to be done, and it shouldn't really need to be done, but it gets thrown around like it's a necessity. I know it's easier said than done, but record better source sounds and you wont have to cut things up to make them work together. Some things naturally compete, like kick and bass, depending on the style and sound of the song, but other things *should* drop in just fine without drastic corrective EQ if you recorded good sounds to begin with. Goddamn I can't overstate enough how much easier everything is when you don't record shit sounds.
Click to expand...

Yes, fixing bad tracks is much more difficult than working with good ones. No argument. Like I said, it was my first guess as to what was wrong. Not trying to throw out a general "Subtractive EQ cures all the world's muddy mix problems" solution. Subtractive EQ sets certain notches to highlight the peak "space" of the sounds in the mix when they clash. If you have what would be a good live mix, you have a useable mix and the only EQ you should need is formative, not corrective. There should be little clash. But we don't even know if he's miking or generating tones or sampling bird warbles. And, as I stated there are a raft of other things that are probably adding to the confusion which we will never know without hearing anything.
 
Let's see if this is right:



Okay, guys here we go. Assuming he's using the same username on cloud as here. This should be the first track on his set. Edit: Actually it plays through all the songs.
 
Last edited:
September Lady
Definitely over compressed. Very 80s rock. Fairly good writing. Decent song. This is not a BAD home recording. All the parts are well played.
The bass is clear and cutting.
The guitars are there, but not quite THERE in the mix, and the tone is a bit sharp at the beginning. Could be the wah setting. Need a little more push from the guitar parts.
The vocals are very well done, touch too much reverb and the ad libs at the end are extremely dry in comparison and sound out of place.
Drums: cymbals sound well mixed, but crashes are weak and thin. Hi hat is prominent (if intentional, that's fine, but sounds too loud in the mix by about 1-2 dB. ) Snare is mud. Kick is almost non-existant.
 
BroKen_H said:
Yes, fixing bad tracks is much more difficult than working with good ones. No argument. Like I said, it was my first guess as to what was wrong. Not trying to throw out a general "Subtractive EQ cures all the world's muddy mix problems" solution. Subtractive EQ sets certain notches to highlight the peak "space" of the sounds in the mix when they clash. If you have what would be a good live mix, you have a useable mix and the only EQ you should need is formative, not corrective. There should be little clash. But we don't even know if he's miking or generating tones or sampling bird warbles. And, as I stated there are a raft of other things that are probably adding to the confusion which we will never know without hearing anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah I wasn't trying to call you out for what you said, I was just making an observation because all that EQ talk is one of the scripted responses that gets thrown around in here almost as if it's a default thing everyone has to do. I try to speak out when I can against generalizations that become fact via internet word-of-mouth.
 
Kind of like "post clips". Yeah, I know, there's nothing you can do for a sound you can't hear... But it gets frustrating to see it time and time again, and sometimes for a question that can be answered without hearing, like "I can hear the birds outside when I record." Someone will inevitably come back with "Post examples", and I'm like, :facepalm:, but when you're talking about "why is my mix muddy/lacking" there's not much you can do if you can't hear it.
 
You get frustrated with people asking for example clips? Requesting someone post clips is valid though. Sound is difficult to describe in words. It's especially difficult to some n00b that doesn't know shit anyway. We use all kinds of idiotic catchphrases like creamy, woody, muddy, murky, dark, bright, etc to describe sound. Most of the time we can all agree on what means what. But to diagnose what someone is actually complaining about, you simply have to hear it. I think it's pretty irresponsible to offer an opinion without actually hearing it. Sure, you can guess if it makes you feel better, and you might actually be right with your guess, but it's still just a guess. You wouldn't have a doctor or car mechanic diagnose problems over the phone. You'd take your car or your ass to where they can actually look at you. There's always some jackass wanting to strut his shit by going into detail about parallel compression and sidechaining when they haven't even heard what the complainer is actually complaining about. It's especially silly when they start pinpointing EQ frequencies to arbitrarily cut and boost as if it's some rule. You have to hear it first.

So I always have to wonder why won't someone post a clip. It's usually one of three reasons:
1) They simply don't know how.
2) They're ashamed/embarrassed with what they've done
3) They have the hilariously naive notion that someone will steal their genius creative idea

#1 is easily fixed
#2 is understandable but help can't be accurately given without hearing it.
#3 is just fucking hilarious
 
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