Question about mixing of this track (example included)

[needmyownstudio]

I am mostly interested in the mixing on the chorus and the second verse.

 

[sm2k]

Hi, there's a forum called the "MP3 Mixing Clinic" down the site a ways, which is where you should post stuff like this in the future. Just an FYI, good luck!

Slackmaster 2000

 

[needmyownstudio]

thanks for the help ill post it there as well. i just posted it here because i was curious on which techniques were used in the engineering

 

[sm2k]

Oh you didn't do it?

You'll want to specify that

 

[Music]

I would make the bass and kick a bit louder, to give the track a bit more power, but also to make the vocals dominate a bit less. But as for the vocals they sound really good and the panning you used on them is also very interesting.
Also I have a feeling the low end of the track could use a bit more stereo widening.

That's my opinion, just trying to help.

I really like your track, it also does makes me think a bit about the rap from 10 years ago I listened to. Nice sounding voice too by the way.

 

[Music]

Never mind:

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90883

 

[needmyownstudio]

haha once again sorry for the confusion. i appreciate your help though music.

could you elaborate a bit on the panning used? how could i go about doing this for my tracks?

 

[Music]

haha once again sorry for the confusion.

It's ok.


You can get very nice results with panning. Your tracks will sound much better if you use it.

What you can do is pan a sound to the left, and pan another sound to the right, but the track has to stay in balans. You can do this with different sounds, but you can also use the same sound on two different channels, and pan the sound on one channel to the left, and the sound on the other channel to the right with the opposite value. For example -18 to the left, and 18 to the right, but this is a matter of taste and experimenting.

You can use this technique with all kind of sounds like leads, but also with percussion and vocals. You can for example take a percussion sound and pan it to the left with a chosen value and use another percussion sound panned to the right with prophably the opposite value.
It's the same for vocals.

Sometimes sounds can be panned with a big value, wich can sound very nice, but sometimes it may be better if sounds are not panned at all.
This works for the vocals for example. The leadvocal in the middle(not panned), and the backingvocals panned to the right and left, maybe even with different melodies.

The more you do it the better it will go.

I usually leave the kickdrum and bass alone by the way. You can use a stereo widener on your tracks in the mastering process, and then widen the low end (bass and kick) with that technique.

 

[needmyownstudio]

whoa i had no idea panning was used to such an extent. so on the vocals for that song in particular do you think on the parts where panning is used he doubled up his records or are they both the same take but panned hard to the left and right simultaneously?

p.s. i know im dropping a lot of questions on you im experimenting with the panning as we speak so i dont want you to think i am not appreciating all that i am being told.


by the way i forgot to mention as well. when panning in cool edit (im just hoping you use the same program here) to i just go to the pan/expand option and play with the settings untill i find one i like or is there another way i should be panning portions of the vocals?

 

[Music]

whoa i had no idea panning was used to such an extent. so on the vocals for that song in particular do you think on the parts where panning is used he doubled up his records or are they both the same take but panned hard to the left and right simultaneously?

It sounds like he used different takes, but people can be very creative of course. I think for what he accoplished it would be easiest to take different takes instead of placing the same take on different places. (So a take panned to the left at a certain point in the song and the same take panned to the right but at a point somewhere else then the take panned to the left.) Using different takes sound better too I believe.
This is often done. You can do it with the leadvocal also. Record a vocal at a certain tempo, and record the same phrases you used again but at a slightly different tempo. That should work better then a chorus effect that you would use to fatten up the vocal(s).

p.s. i know im dropping a lot of questions on you im experimenting with the panning as we speak so i dont want you to think i am not appreciating all that i am being told.

Doesn't matter, i'm glad I can help.

by the way i forgot to mention as well. when panning in cool edit (im just hoping you use the same program here) to i just go to the pan/expand option and play with the settings untill i find one i like or is there another way i should be panning portions of the vocals?

Sorry I don't use Cooledit. I hope someone else can help you with that. It would go a bit faster I guess if you search under the menu help or so for the word pan.

 

[Music]

B.t.w If you have further questions, I can't answer them till sunday again, but I'm sure the're other people here that can help you too.

Good luck.

 

[needmyownstudio]

you have given me more help than i could have asked for my friend. once you mentioned panning i assumed it was two takes each panned differently on the portions i had been curious about. im very excited to start recording and playing around more with this (i already began last night). i appreciate your help.

 

[Music]

i appreciate your help.

Thanks. I'm glad I can help.