Guys, I think I'm stuck. I can't make the snare sound any better than the last version I posted. And I can't make the kick any better or louder. Forget about being able to add more "punch".
I worked yesterday on the mix and it actually sounded better at home. While listening to it at work thru the cheap headphones (my litmus test in addition to the car stereo), it sounds worse than the last one I posted here. (Meanwhile Llarion is talking about a ver 4 with a big MWAHAHAHAH).
So without feaking out, I am going to ask some questions and try to approach this rationally.
1 - If the kicks can't be made any louder without getting clipping, should I lower the rest of the song or look into compressing the kick better?
2 - If the snare can't be made any louder or thinner/crisper without getting clipping, should I lower the rest of the song or look into compressing better? What's the optimal EQ range to be boosted for a heavy metal snare sound? I'm experimenting but I can't decide. After a while the ears are just used to everything and I just start enjoying the tune. Man, that drummer can bang the crap out of those drums in some places.
3 - I'm using subtractive EQ technique and "carving" out space for different instruments. Generally I'll devote about a 40- 160Hz range to one instrument. Or 1.5k to 5k to another. Is that too wide a range to just devote to one instrument. I realize I could just try it out, but really after a while all of it sounds the same. I could throw in some other mp3 and do a comparison but honestly, I can only tell the difference the next day. How would I better approach this?
4 - I panned the thinner and the fatter guitar to opposite sides. They're both playing the same thing. They each have different range of freq's cut down in EQ. Is it better to pan guitar tracks that are double to the same side to make more room for the keyboards on the other side. I know this can be a matter of taste or whatever sounds better. But in general what do most people do in a scenario like this while mixing. And these days especially when everone is talking about doubling their guitar tracks.
I understand for some of these I could just try until I get it right, but I also kind of want to hear others' opinions on how they approach this. When I entered this contest, my goal was to win. Once I heard other entries, my goal changed to try and not fall off the chart.
I decided that more than wanting to win, I should make this a learning experience.
So yeah I still care about the top notch compressors being awarded, I want to focus more on mixing better
. BTW, my compressor plug-in in ACID seems to suck. As it never really works no matter the settings. I'm going to hunt for a different compressor online tonite. - Thanks all for your help in advance and my apologies for the long post.
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