Up front, powerful mix

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AlecBeretz

New member
I'm assuming this has to do with the recording/mic technique, but it is possible this should go in the mixing category.


When I record something, it sounds pretty good. But then I listen to a pro recording....

Everything in the pro recording feels closer. Like, my mixes/recordings are coming from a slight distance. Is this a phenomenon of mic technique, or is it more probable that my mixes are just bad?
 
Maybe your mixes are bad, but maybe it's to do with the room you are recording in and your microphone techniques.

A diagnosis is difficult without seeing the patient, so if you post a sample in the MP3 clinic, you may get better advice.
 
A lot of what you're hearing in most recordings isn't "close" -- It's actually space and distance. The close things sound close -- But you're hearing contrast.

A lot of the "small" sounding recordings I get in here are really obvious -- Everything recorded from a foot away (and go figure, the stereo image is about a foot deep).

Granted - It can certainly be more than that. But "two dimensional" sounding mixes tend to come from two-dimensional tracking. Overcompression, hot tracking levels, wrong mic/preamp choices, bad converters - All of those can add up to a lack of space, detail and clarity.
 
that actually makes a lot of sense. i've found that up close instruments seem closer when you have contrasting images that seem farther away (less treble, more verb, etc).

And yeah the rooms I've recorded in aren't great. I'll try more open rooms, farther/closer mics etc.
 
Good approach..
AlecBeretz said:
that actually makes a lot of sense. i've found that up close instruments seem closer when you have contrasting images that seem farther away (less treble, more verb, etc).

And yeah the rooms I've recorded in aren't great. I'll try more open rooms, farther/closer mics etc.
Click to expand...
 
A good thing to do is when your mixing, have a reference song that resembles the sound that your going for and go back and forth between your mix and theirs. You'll start to notice things that stick out and try to fine tune based off of that. Also keep in mind the Mastering process is a crucial aspect to the final mix which gives it a lot of the character.
 
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