Mixing a record: That point where you get a huge pit in yr stomach and start to doubt everything about how it sounds, it's like reading a word over and over again until it looks wierd on paper...

I mean, this is why I leave at least a week between finishing recording and mixing, but this is still going to be me next week.

....like fuck, I love it when you think something sounds like shit...then spend like 2 hours trying to do some wierd bass/guitar wide left/right pan beatles type shit, then think that sounds like shit, then end up spending an hour basically getting back to where you were in the first place!

other highlights: when we're like putting some reverb on the snare and our engineer is going through different settings and he starts it again....Me: "Oh that one sounds better than the last one"....Him: "Oh, yeah, I forgot to change it, that IS the last one"...Me: "Oh, yeah, I guess that sounds good now."

realizing you really don't know what the fuck yr doing: priceless

it'll be fine though....i'm just at the freakout point right now.

Darin,

We've been mixing like 2 or 3 at a time....I'm liking it better....you're ears just get so "tired" of paying attention to detail after awhile....I'd recommend trying it. Not that you won't get burned out anyway, but it helps....One problem: I think you tend to spend more time on every song though...like the work expands to fill the time you've allotted for it, if you know what I'm saying.

other highlights: when we're like putting some reverb on the snare and our engineer is going through different settings and he starts it again....Me: "Oh that one sounds better than the last one"....Him: "Oh, yeah, I forgot to change it, that IS the last one"...Me: "Oh, yeah, I guess that sounds good now."

I swear to god, our last engineer would pull this shit on us ON PURPOSE!

I swear to god, our last engineer would pull this shit on us ON PURPOSE!

I have my suspicions....

Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a Pro Tools for Dummies-type book?

This is kind of an obvious thing to say, but sometimes it really gets me. A while back I pulled out a song I really liked, something I'd done several years ago and just let mix together without too much interference. I started going through and trying to improve the sounds with everything I know how to do now, cleaning them up and adding texture and all that -- and I wound up with something that was way harder to mix, and then once it was mixed it sounded bizarre and off-balance, not nearly as warm or natural as the original. I dunno, I'm hoping that in another year or two I'll be to a point where I can actually handle and make good on all that increasing-options control stuff!

"sounds great!!"

Compression is my friend.

"Can we just listen to that one more time and I'll do this little trick, and you tell me if you can tell the difference..."

It's just one of those things, when you spend ages working on this neat little thing, and then you play it for someone else and they can't even tell what you've done... "Can't you just HEAR?!?! I turned up the SPARKLE!!" Ah well. I suppose it's a good sign if they can't tell, as opposed to going "WTF was that?"

But also check what it sounds like at high volume and super-low volume.

I'm listening to the takes my band got yesterday and the unmixed sound is pretty good.

The only thing I'm wondering about: I really want the snare drum to be present and loud in the mix, like where it is now, except for the peaks (ie the loudest rimshots) are painful when the overall volume is turned up. What's the best way to handle this without fucking with the organic sound too much? EQ? Compression? Just turning it down a little bit?

(note: I won't actually be mixing this record and I don't want to, I'm just curious)

That's exactly what compression is good for, Jordan.

To expand (no pun intended) on that a little bit: I'd recommend using a fast attack and release, starting with a high ratio (10:1 or so) so you can really see/hear the compressor working, and then adjust the threshold so you're getting gain reduction on the problematic hits and little to no gain reduction on the normal hits. Then play with the ratio until you're satisfied with the compression.

i am so, so glad we'll be mixing our next one at home. whatever we lack in skill we can make up for with "unlimited" time..

-- electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Friday, February 3, 2006 8:12 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

oh the folly of inexperience

the result was of course garbage, but on the upside i'm better at mixing now

jordan: a transient designer could also assist with that

Especially if he knows a little about mixing

tip your waitress

haw

I know the feeling, and it doesn't help that I don't know anything about mixing.

Anybody want to mix an album for me? For free? And I'll never pay you anything?

sure

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh

whu?

heyo

It's gonna be ok

bo selector

Let electricsound do the worrying, drink beer.

wah

I have to burn a copy of the mix and listen to it while doing dishes before I feel even slightly confident about whether or not I like it. I need to move my gear into the kitchen, really.

actually the mixing hasn't been too bad, i mixed everything down last weekend and i've been listening to it this week and i think it mostly sounds good, only a few i'm going to have to redo. but the big issues are:
a) one song where the bass mysteriously glitches out for half the song. i did a mix where i just used the bass that leaked in through the drum track which actually doesn't sound too bad but doesn't have the same attack as the rest of the songs so we might have to rerecord the bass for that one
b) the song we have that ends in a "noise freakout." we recorded a full six-minute version but then i was like, i know, i'll mix in a bunch of other takes we did to make it even longer and crazier and noisier. so i'm supposed to be working on that but it's a pain in the ass, especially using audacity, which is easy but i've never used it before.

I actually haven't worked that out yet in Audacity either and have been (not) trying (very hard) to do so.

This though is because we've got one song that's essentially two songs joined by a bridge...we play it that way live but I want to splice together takes from different tapes for both parts.

I need reverb advice! I'm mixing a remix I did for my own band, and it's mostly 808 beats and samples. The samples (& bassline, guitar, etc.) sound fine dry/with their natural room sound. I'm not sure about the drums, though...right now they're totally dry, which sounds pretty good to me, but is it s.o.p. to add some reverb, to the snare at least?

i would just do what sounds good to you. maybe if you were concerned about it sounding "natural" you might consider adding some effects but i don't think you would really worry about that with a remix necessarily

yeah, i will experiment tonight and trust my ears. i'm not so concerned with "natural" so much as what is normally done on rap records.

Adding a little reverb to the snare/hi-hats works well for me at least, esp when the drums are too "forward" in the mix, if that makes any sense. Adding reverb to the bass drum usually is a disaster, but you probably knew that already.

and if you do put reverb on the drums, make it a super-short one. or even a short delay, if it suits the track

anyone want to give me mixing feedback if i send them the track tonight?

I'd be happy to give some thoughts if you want--also, reread your post, misunderstood, it's not SOP to add reverb in a remix. Or rather, reverb is not always added--but it's def not a no-no either.

cool, thanks. and again, it's not the "remix" part that's key, i'm just thinking about it like a normal 808-driven club or hip-hop track.

jim's advice is sound.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/kyg88w

here it is. i think it's sounding a little better but any advice is welcome.

Jordan, it sounds really good! The song flows really, really well for me, and I like it lots. A few things that came to mind in terms of mixing, I'd love to hear more mid-deep frequencies (around the 100-300 range,) but overall, the drums sound good. I'm not hearing the boom of the drums, but I also don't have a subwoofer, just two decent speakers.

A few things you might like to try is: the snare is a little too high-pitched or high frequency, the bassline is not quite deep enough, and the 808 "cowbell" sound, or whatever it really is, is a little too loud. But otherwise, it's great! What does the original sound like?

(Also, for what it's worth, i always think it's brave to put music up online--and get feedback--given you have no idea what the taste or degree of sound judgment said commentator might have.)

Thanks! I'm not too worried about the low-end (the tuba is what it is, and there are a few 808 kicks on there that sound pretty good in my car), and I'll turn down the cowbell a touch, but I'm not sure what to do about the snare. I agree that it's a little painful, but I still want a loud snare, so maybe I should try to EQ it and take a little top end off?

Hey sorry! Haven't had a chance to relisten--will do asap

For me, the snare is a little too bright, but not necessarily in that you want to take off the high end. Can you try layering another snare under it--perhaps something with a deeper pitch or slightly longer decay? Or a clap at some point?