My mix is hungry

  • Thread starter Thread starter BLP
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One word: compression.

The trick there is knowing when to quit and not over-compress. Hint: practically everything to hit popular radio in the last fifteen years has been over-compressed.

G.

Thanks. I need to study compression and eq and frequency more I believe that will help.
 
One word: compression.

The trick there is knowing when to quit and not over-compress. Hint: practically everything to hit popular radio in the last fifteen years has been over-compressed.

G.

So I've only compressed vocals. I've never compressed the actual mix after I'm done. Is that my problem I'm having?
 
So I've only compressed vocals. I've never compressed the actual mix after I'm done. Is that my problem I'm having?

you need to try gently compressing your mix...maybe stick a limiter at the end with a -2-3db margin/ceiling then gently compress the mix until the loudness levels come up...be careful nor to squash the dynamics out of it...you can EQ as well but this should be by tiny increments to balance the mix not to make large gains or cuts...anything that sticks out should be fixed back in the mix

try an analyser like voxengo span, its free and its great, but you ears should be used before your eyes :)

remember to do this all on a mixed down stereo file and not on the mixers master bus...give yourself plenty of headroom as well, say mix to around a -14db level and bring up the loudness later with the compressor..


that should make a big difference on perceived levels but there's much more to it than that...read and practise, it has to be done
 
and cowboys (lol) and clowns have never gotten along since the dawn of time :)
 
Oh yea I said that wrong earlier.


The eq have 3 bands that have 2 sections. DB AND HZ

What does the HZ do I never move those just the DB
 
you need to try gently compressing your mix...maybe stick a limiter at the end with a -2-3db margin/ceiling then gently compress the mix until the loudness levels come up...be careful nor to squash the dynamics out of it...you can EQ as well but this should be by tiny increments to balance the mix not to make large gains or cuts...anything that sticks out should be fixed back in the mix

try an analyser like voxengo span, its free and its great, but you ears should be used before your eyes :)

remember to do this all on a mixed down stereo file and not on the mixers master bus...give yourself plenty of headroom as well, say mix to around a -14db level and bring up the loudness later with the compressor..


that should make a big difference on perceived levels but there's much more to it than that...read and practise, it has to be done


Really? I have usually mixed trying to keep it under -3. Then at the end I would add things to make it louder then it peaked bad on screen but I just turn the master gain down. (ya i see its bad idea now)

I have never read on recording and mixing to now. I've tried to learn by watching others in person and asking people and just trial and error. I've could of saved alot of headaches by using the Internet to research.
 
the only thing I'm guilty of is never buying studio monitors I just used some dell speakers with a subwoofer and kind of trained my ear to them over and over.

my question was what do I need to study to get more of a fuller sound.
Like I said in my first post, you have to learn "listening". And you can't do that on Dells. That full sound comes from careful adjustment of very simple things...Basic fader moves and EQ tweeks for the majority of the mix. Mixing is surprisingly easy on the technical side and surprisingly strenuous on the mental side.

I want to get louder without peaking, distorting, and all the other ugly things.
It is a very delicate balance of EQ and compression. The loudness should really just be a side-effect of doing the whole thing right. These days people don't know any better and the loudness is the goal itself...and things fall to shit...even at the professional level because bands demand it.

Where should I go on here to strengthen my knowledge on EQ and frequencies. I'm searching now...

Like people use the words "add 10k to the top end" and "cut some of the bottom off"
You can learn about 5% of what there is to know about using EQ by reading about it. The rest you have to learn by hearing it yourself. Again, you need real speakers to hear it.

Thanks. I need to study compression and eq and frequency more I believe that will help.
Compression is the same. Read to get your foot in the door and learn the important stuff through doing and listening.

So I've only compressed vocals. I've never compressed the actual mix after I'm done. Is that my problem I'm having?
There is no "compress this don't compress that". You compress what sounds like it needs compression. Sometimes it is the whole mix. Sometimes it is individual tracks in the mix. Sometimes it is both. Sometimes it is neither. Sometimes it is sub-mixes within the mix. You have to hear it and know.

The eq have 3 bands that have 2 sections. DB AND HZ

What does the HZ do I never move those just the DB
HZ determines where the DB is working. Crank the HZ low and the DB will work on lower tones. Crank the HZ high and the DB will work on higher tones. It's like a bass knob that can slide up to be a treble knob.
 
Like I said in my first post, you have to learn "listening". And you can't do that on Dells. That full sound comes from careful adjustment of very simple things...Basic fader moves and EQ tweeks for the majority of the mix. Mixing is surprisingly easy on the technical side and surprisingly strenuous on the mental side.

It is a very delicate balance of EQ and compression. The loudness should really just be a side-effect of doing the whole thing right. These days people don't know any better and the loudness is the goal itself...and things fall to shit...even at the professional level because bands demand it.

You can learn about 5% of what there is to know about using EQ by reading about it. The rest you have to learn by hearing it yourself. Again, you need real speakers to hear it.

Compression is the same. Read to get your foot in the door and learn the important stuff through doing and listening.

There is no "compress this don't compress that". You compress what sounds like it needs compression. Sometimes it is the whole mix. Sometimes it is individual tracks in the mix. Sometimes it is both. Sometimes it is neither. Sometimes it is sub-mixes within the mix. You have to hear it and know.

HZ determines where the DB is working. Crank the HZ low and the DB will work on lower tones. Crank the HZ high and the DB will work on higher tones. It's like a bass knob that can slide up to be a treble knob.

THANK YOU ALL for your replies they where very helpful.

I'll be getting monitors in august....
 
Really? I have usually mixed trying to keep it under -3. Then at the end I would add things to make it louder then it peaked bad on screen but I just turn the master gain down. (ya i see its bad idea now)

I have never read on recording and mixing to now. I've tried to learn by watching others in person and asking people and just trial and error. I've could of saved alot of headaches by using the Internet to research.

how loud are you tracking?
(ie what is the average db level of your individual tracks during recording?)
 
Here's the thing. This is Home Recording. You're not in a pro studio with the clock ticking, with some asshole breathing down your neck, etc.

So, don't be afraid to try things, push things, deliberately fuck things up. That's the only way you can find out what your equipment does, where the sweet spot is for a given tool (be it software or hardware), what are the sonic characteristics of a given processor, how they react to different input, levels, etc.

Don't be afraid. Try. And 90% of the time with DAWs the worst thing you'll need to do is to hit that "Undo" button :)

I have spent countless hours (and still do) in what I call "what if" sessions. "What if I do so and so, what will happen?" Then go and try it out, various ways, etc...

Once you get in the habit of doing stuff like this, come mix/project time you'll go "oh yeah, I remember, this compressor was reacting in this particular way when I did this and that"... meaning, you've already learned your equipment, have a decent idea as to what to expect, and you're not wasting time and sucking out creativity trying to figure out what the hell it is that you need to do and why :)
 
http://www.weltonusa.com/admats/RACArchive/Electronics-Sony/DV412.50(Spec).pdf

You see the two tall speakers. The subwoofers and tweeters that are attatched to eachother

Someone is trying to sell them to me for $500 for pair.


They sound GREAT but I'm assuming would be horrible for mixing purposes because they seem like they will make everything sound good.


Well would they be good for DJ'n a party at least if not for mixing?

Or they just not worth buying for mixing or DJ purposes.
 
Here's the thing. This is Home Recording. You're not in a pro studio with the clock ticking, with some asshole breathing down your neck, etc.

So, don't be afraid to try things, push things, deliberately fuck things up. That's the only way you can find out what your equipment does, where the sweet spot is for a given tool (be it software or hardware), what are the sonic characteristics of a given processor, how they react to different input, levels, etc.

Don't be afraid. Try. And 90% of the time with DAWs the worst thing you'll need to do is to hit that "Undo" button :)

I have spent countless hours (and still do) in what I call "what if" sessions. "What if I do so and so, what will happen?" Then go and try it out, various ways, etc...

Once you get in the habit of doing stuff like this, come mix/project time you'll go "oh yeah, I remember, this compressor was reacting in this particular way when I did this and that"... meaning, you've already learned your equipment, have a decent idea as to what to expect, and you're not wasting time and sucking out creativity trying to figure out what the hell it is that you need to do and why :)

Good Advice. Thanks. I tend to do that now, I spend spare time just trying new ways.
 
Those speakers would definately not be good for mixing! I bet they're really bass heavy too and more than likely don't make everything sound good. A Friend of mine has a system from Sony that is similar and everything he plays on it sounds like it's inside a box and God forbid he touch the EQ! BAss from HELL! .

Since they're in your price range I'd just stick with the KRK's....
 
Yep. I'm hitting this GC sale in august. KRK's would be a great monitor to start off for me.



And i think I figured out the problem I've been trying to ask since first post.


I needed to study "compression" in depth more and I found a great article on it that really opened up my eyes on it that I found In another post.

The problem was I was stuck in "set it and forget it" stage for AWHILE thinking presets that sound good on one song will song good on every song.

I now look at it like I should start from scratch on each mix because every song need's it's own and plus I could learn more from experimenting with settings instead of preset mixing.
 
Ok, here's a disclaimer: I didn't read any other posts in the thread yet so if I say something that's already been said then read it again cause it will probably help you get the point.


I'm tending to have a problem that I can not solve at the moment. I can get great mixes using some decent AKG headphones. The mix sounds GREAT in the headphones, but when I take it to the car, it's not the same.
That's called translation... A good mix will "translate" to other audio systems well, so that way people can listen to the mix and have it sound good in their car, on their iPod, on their PC speakers, so on and so forth

I feel like when I switch from my mix to another cd or radio their songs are more "up in the air" "full". Mine seem like it's at a lower level of listening. Not in volume but in position, if that makes sense.
You shouldn't mix on headphones, first of all... I doubt that your headphones have the frequency range of a good set of studio monitors, plus the frequency response will be skewed giving you a false representation of what you should be hearing causing you to boost certain frequencies too much or cut too little.

I use Adobe Audition 3 and they have these "mastering" plugins that I tried to use but they left my mix ugly.
Mastering should ONLY be done when you have a GOOD MIX, which you don't have (according to your own word). You shouldn't even be thinking of mastering at this point, you should be working on your mixing skills. Mastering is for when you think your mix is absolutely perfect and ONLY then and the only reason you should be mastering is if you have done loads of research and how-to's on it to understand what you're doing. Mastering plugs like O-zone can destroy a good mix in record time.

What should I be looking into learning to get that "lifted, full" sound you hear in professional recordings?

There are plenty of resources on the web to learn about mixing. In fact, I'll save you a sh*t ton of time... Here is a bunch of mixing resources that I've found over time all over the interwebs through research, recommendation from fellow users here, and from articles right here on HR. (I've still got a little more "compiling to do" but you'll get the gist of it)
Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?18qclr6ar6sl8td

It's in a zipped file so if you don't know what that is, do some research and figure it out and if you really don't know and can't seem to figure it out just send me a PM and I'll walk you through it.

Much luck - KoP
 
SWEET guitar center in august will have buy one rokit get 2nd one half off in august

You may also want to check out musician's friend.Their having their anniversary sale in aug.They have the krk 5's for $150 each.
 
You may also want to check out musician's friend.Their having their anniversary sale in aug.They have the krk 5's for $150 each.

That is regular everday price. You do know that right?


GC by me will have the krk5 $225 for the pair basically.
 
Ok, here's a disclaimer: I didn't read any other posts in the thread yet so if I say something that's already been said then read it again cause it will probably help you get the point.



That's called translation... A good mix will "translate" to other audio systems well, so that way people can listen to the mix and have it sound good in their car, on their iPod, on their PC speakers, so on and so forth


You shouldn't mix on headphones, first of all... I doubt that your headphones have the frequency range of a good set of studio monitors, plus the frequency response will be skewed giving you a false representation of what you should be hearing causing you to boost certain frequencies too much or cut too little.


Mastering should ONLY be done when you have a GOOD MIX, which you don't have (according to your own word). You shouldn't even be thinking of mastering at this point, you should be working on your mixing skills. Mastering is for when you think your mix is absolutely perfect and ONLY then and the only reason you should be mastering is if you have done loads of research and how-to's on it to understand what you're doing. Mastering plugs like O-zone can destroy a good mix in record time.



There are plenty of resources on the web to learn about mixing. In fact, I'll save you a sh*t ton of time... Here is a bunch of mixing resources that I've found over time all over the interwebs through research, recommendation from fellow users here, and from articles right here on HR. (I've still got a little more "compiling to do" but you'll get the gist of it)
Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?18qclr6ar6sl8td

It's in a zipped file so if you don't know what that is, do some research and figure it out and if you really don't know and can't seem to figure it out just send me a PM and I'll walk you through it.

Much luck - KoP

Thank You . Downloading Now
 
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