What a muddy mess!! Help Please

  • Thread starter Thread starter cpstudios
  • Start date Start date
C

cpstudios

New member
Hi,

I am pretty new to mixing, but have been playing music for about 10 years. I am familiar with the basics of EQ, compression, Limiting, etc. I have recorded a few tracks but they always seem to lack the clarity of professional mixes.. This track, in particular, seems to be impossibe. 4 keyboard, 3 Guitars, Vocals/Harmonies...just end up eating all the frequencies and I can't seem to get any kind of separation or clarity..

Everything seems so distant and unclear and when I try to EQ the keyboards and guitars by cutting and boosting frequencies to make room, but it just seems to sound worse.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated..(please don't mind the bad singing..this is a favor for a friend and I thought I could mix it a little better)

Here is the link to the song: (it's Victoria Bad Mix) Thanks!!!

www.reverbnation.com/centerpointstudios
 
Im not on my DAW, on PC, but im not hearing mud...Im hearing a big boomy kick eating up quite a bit in the middle, too much body on it, and vocals that are too loud...


the guitar seems just too quiet in the mix to me....

Im not hearing mud, sorry...its some of the levels that appear to be the problem imho...
 
Mix wise I think it sounds pretty good. Remember with a major label mix you also have major label mastering. A talented mastering engineer and enough $$$$$$$ will get you a pro sound even with a sub par mix. Anyway, my attention is drawn to the harmonies and speech in the vocals. If they were a little thinner they wouldn't eat up so much sonic space. Also the mix sounds very dry, maybe add some verb to some of those keys and synths to make things gel a little bit more. And the guitar... I don't know. It's there doing its thing but the way its mixed in is very vestigial. I can do with or with out it. It could fit it would just have to be more present.

Honestly I think alot of your "muddiness" is coming from the composition and instrumentation used. I dont mean to be over critical but it just sounds like there is too much lead work being done with out a solid rhythm section. I mean you have the drums but I dont really hear a bass line. There are all these lead parts put nothing gluing them together. I dont know, food for thought
 
kind of channeling David Byrne in the vocals a bit....would be nice to have the vocal blend in a little better, maybe some more effects on the vocal. Not sure if the song ends abruptly in the middle of the guitar solo or my computer decided to stop playing it??
 
For me, it's not a muddiness thing that needs fixing, at least not at first listen. I found the panning on those stereo vocal embellishments really disorienting and distracting, and I felt like it destabilized the whole mix. The drums and bass seem really narrow up the middle of the sound field, they're a little weak and they aren't anchoring the mix with those vocals bouncing around all over the wide left and right ends, so I had a really hard time focusing on anything else. Sorry, but I'd get rid of that panning stuff first and then concentrate on making a solid mix without the distraction. Then, if the mix is really working, maybe add them back in in moderation?

Just my $.02 :)

Best Regards,

Dave DeWhitt
http://www.soundclick.com/davedewhitt
 
Thanks..keep them coming

Thanks for all of your feedback everyone.. First off..I totally agree with the crazy amounts of panning. I tried to explain to the artist that it was way overkill...but to no avail..they all think it's cool..I also agree with way too many lead instruments..not a solid rhythm bed. Is it me, or does there seem to be no separation or cleanliness to the mix..Maybe I will try to move some more EQs around.. I just feel there is way too much going on and the artist wants to hear every nuance of every instrument and i am having a hell of a time getting there
 
i think when everything is piled down the middle is going to be near impossible to get anything heard...its like one of those W mixes..I can hear both far sides and the middle but nothing in between


im on monitors now
 
So, is this about that movie with the chick from the Sound of Music...ewwww.

Anyway, I thought the mix was pretty good. I agree with KC that in terms of panning, it almost seems like there's some stuff in the middle and some stuff way off to the sides, but not much in between. A little empty sounding maybe.

I thought the vocals were ok - maybe a bit loud, but the guitars were hard to make out at times. Keep fiddling. I don't think you're as far off as you think.

Oh yeah - it doesn't really sound muddy at all to me.
 
All I'm hearing is the distortion of hard limiting. The kick is probably too loud nad there doesn't seem to be a bass instrument holding down the bottom of the song. (probably why the kick is up so loud)



Remember with a major label mix you also have major label mastering. A talented mastering engineer and enough $$$$$$$ will get you a pro sound even with a sub par mix.
Click to expand...
This is nonsense. the only thing a great mastering engineer can do with a sub par mix is make it less annoying.

Major label mixes don't have problems, they have tendancies. They might be a little dark or a little bright, and the ME fixes that. If a ME is trying to fix the balance of a mix, it should have been fixed in the mix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top