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Old 05-23-2011, 08:39 PM   #1
dkeatscary
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Default "Columbus" needs mixing and EQ help! Any volunteers?

Hey all -- I would love to hear someone else's mix and EQ'ing for this track. I am really happy with where I've gotten it to, but I can't for the life of me get it to sound well-mixed and EQ'ed.

Is there a way for me to export all the tracks as small files -- maybe OGG files -- as well as the midi and RPP file and then let someone take a crack at it using ReaEQ or something? I've made so many attempts at this and feel like I'm still at square one... Bleh. :-/

http://www.box.net/shared/3iryxi4o53

Dave
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Old 05-23-2011, 10:29 PM   #2
SteveAdleman
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Default good song

Hi Dave,
I like the song, I think the mix is pretty good, good performances and sounds, but I'd love to put some real drums on it to give it more of a "live" feel, and add some depth with some global reverb maybe.
I also might add some synth arpeggios or something like that behind the hook choruses to change the dynamics.
the sounds are great, I just think more dynamics, and contours would make the arrangement ebb and flow more instead of remaining constant, and "real" drums just feel better to me, I can almost always tell the difference.
this would be a great learning experience for me, and who knows maybe it'll be good? send me the files if you like and I can try to figure it out from there.

Steve
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Old 05-23-2011, 10:34 PM   #3
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maybe you can just send me a copy of the entire song file, with all your set ups and I can just add and delete the things I need.
If anyone knows the best way to do this in reaper let us know.
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Old 05-24-2011, 07:12 PM   #4
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Thanks, Steve! Very kind of you. I truly don't know how to do this, but I'll look around on here and shoot you a PM once I figure it out.
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Old 05-24-2011, 09:17 PM   #5
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I you want to post the files to dropbox.com I can pick them up there. I have an account, you would need one also, but they have a free account.

Steve
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Old 06-12-2011, 12:49 PM   #6
dkeatscary
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Still looking for anyone to assist me with mixing this track! I have it on Dropbox (or Box.net) ready to go. Thanks.
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Old 06-12-2011, 01:14 PM   #7
Lawrence
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I'll take a crack at it as an advertising for my mix service. Post the dropbox link (or share the dropbox folder) and I'll do it tonight.

It does need drum replacement though... maybe EZDrummer... so if you have the drum tracks as Midi, include those.
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Old 06-12-2011, 02:06 PM   #8
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Thank you, Lawrence. I'm just uploaded a new zip file to DropBox. Here's the link:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12828192/ColumbusDaveKeats.zip

...and here's the link to the drums midi file. I am using Superior Drummer, but doesn't sound great in my hands.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12828192/Col...iDaveKeats.zip

Let me know if you need anything else and thank you again!!

Dave
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Old 06-12-2011, 04:09 PM   #9
Lawrence
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Ok, I'll have a look and if I come up with anything good I'll post it back. If it turns out to be something you like, send me some business (you, friends, whatever). If not, that's cool too...

The vocals sound really great btw... and since you posted the link I'm sure you'll get more than one mix... and you should use FLAC instead of mp3 in the future probably.

Last edited by Lawrence; 06-12-2011 at 04:22 PM.
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Old 06-12-2011, 04:49 PM   #10
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I've had a quick go today.Hope you like,


http://www.mediafire.com/file/cbp6sh...%20KeatsRM.mp3

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Last edited by Sheppola; 06-13-2011 at 05:47 AM.
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Old 06-12-2011, 05:26 PM   #11
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I'm working on this now and the biggest issue with the drums is the velocity of the snare. It hits so hard so often that it gives that higher pitched sound that gets grating, fatiguing. I'm pulling that down in the midi file to get a better tone. The midi drums overall need some velocity treatment.

Gimme about 30 minutes and I'll have a rough to post.
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Old 06-12-2011, 06:20 PM   #12
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This is about as far as I'll go... Columbus

The midi drums need lots of velocity editing and printing before the mix. Things like ride cymbals don't have their own fader in EZ so you have to print those. My vocals aren't as good as the original being sourced from mp3, a little of that degredation applies to all the audio tracks actually. There were also some issues with the bounces, some verb and some panning so I had to make some hard choices, like summing some tracks to mono.

Nice song though. I could easily spend a few hours on that so I had to stop myself.
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Old 06-15-2011, 02:36 AM   #13
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I will dowload 'em and listen! THANKS!
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Old 06-16-2011, 07:07 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence View Post
This is about as far as I'll go... Columbus

The midi drums need lots of velocity editing and printing before the mix. Things like ride cymbals don't have their own fader in EZ so you have to print those. My vocals aren't as good as the original being sourced from mp3, a little of that degredation applies to all the audio tracks actually. There were also some issues with the bounces, some verb and some panning so I had to make some hard choices, like summing some tracks to mono.

Nice song though. I could easily spend a few hours on that so I had to stop myself.
Lawrence - sounds great. The one thing I have struggled with is low end. How did you get so much from the kick drum and the bass guitar?
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Old 06-16-2011, 07:13 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkeatscary View Post
Lawrence - sounds great. The one thing I have struggled with is low end. How did you get so much from the kick drum and the bass guitar?
I can't remember that far back, I'm a senior citizen. Not sure what I did exactly to be honest but I didn't use any of your drums, just the midi tracks you posted with EZDrummer.

I might have (probably did, not sure) use Density mkII on the bass. It's becoming one of my favorites.
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Old 06-16-2011, 07:17 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence View Post
Not sure what I did exactly to be honest but I didn't use any of your drums, just the midi tracks you posted with EZDrummer.
Wow, well I'm blown away with how much better they sound. If you do recall, please share. That could make a big difference for me. Thank you, Lawrence!
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Old 06-16-2011, 07:35 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheppola View Post
I've had a quick go today.Hope you like,


http://www.mediafire.com/file/cbp6sh...%20KeatsRM.mp3

Link updated
Sheppola - very nice! What you've done with the vocals really gives the song a totally unique feel. Thank you!
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Old 06-16-2011, 07:58 PM   #18
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I'll look tomorrow, at the settings, when I fire the studio up again.

Last edited by Lawrence; 06-16-2011 at 08:09 PM.
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Old 06-16-2011, 08:19 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence View Post
I'll look tomorrow, at the settings, when I fire the studio up again.
Thanks. I am still trying to figure out the drums thing, ie should I be using superior drummer? Do you use a different VST or sampler?
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Old 06-21-2011, 08:07 AM   #20
Lawrence
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Sorry man, I forgot all about your request.

The kick was just comp and eq. The comp was 3:1 with a 1ms attack. 100ms release pulling about 4db of compression. The EQ looked like below, but of course most sampled Kicks are already EQ'd a bit so I just put in a peak to help it cut a bit more down low. These settings don't necessarily mean anything useful. It's just kinda where I landed with the quick mix going more by ear than by anything else...



The bass had a bit more EQ. I doubt if I'd continued mixing it would have stayed exactly like that, but something similar. I probably would have added a low mid peak at some point. I just kinda swept through some freqs and stopped when things sounded better...



Bass compression was 3.5:1 with an attack of 35ms and a release of 134ms, pulling about 5 db of compression. The bass was also sent to a bus with distortion on it set like below, with the bus fader pushed up a little. That bass distortion starts around 90hz, a little bit above where the Kick EQ peak is at 60hz or so.



Hope that helps. EQ is (imo) highly dependent on what you start with and of course, what you hear or want to hear so rarely are settings useful from one place to another.

P.S. I would have done it in Reaper and just sent you the project but having to edit your midi drums I decided not to do it there.

Last edited by Lawrence; 06-21-2011 at 09:01 AM.
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Old 06-22-2011, 10:14 PM   #21
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Ok I have an awesome mix waiting to happen of this song but I have one boneheaded issue.

The midi that you provided with the files will NOT sync up with the rest of the music.

To that effect I have resorted to using the rendered file you provide of the drum track as a trigger brain to trigger drum samples which I have layered over the original. It sounds kind of cool actually but I would really love to know why the midi imports offbeat. I have tried to offset it etc, import it with tempo match, all that jazz but it wont work.

Lawrence or any of the others who have taken a crack at this, whats the deal with the midi track? Why wont it import properly? Is there some magic formula to this?

I may as well just post this the way I have it and see what you think but it would be nice to have better control over the drums. It kind of stinks that the midi file wont play nice.

I mean this is right in Reaper too. No idea what could be going on here.

Strange. Any takers on what might be my issue?

Thanks

Peace
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Old 06-22-2011, 10:57 PM   #22
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I think (IIRC, been a few days) what's actually out of sync is the audio stems in the Reaper song they're in. The song tempo didn't match the stems tempo IIRC.

Once you get the right song tempo happening against the stems, the midi import should sync up ok. So try turning on the metronome and getting that all locked in before importing the midi drums. After that, you may still have to manually line up the midi drums with the audio drum track (depending on how he printed the stems), but everything should be at the right tempo.

I should probably reiterate that I didn't do it in Reaper so there may an issue you're having that I didn't encounter. I did load the Reaper song first though, and it wasn't locked in.

Last edited by Lawrence; 06-22-2011 at 11:10 PM.
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Old 06-22-2011, 11:16 PM   #23
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Solved. The .RPP Bpm is set at 104. Project tempo is actually 105.

Don't know if this was some magic glitch on my end but now everything is fine.


I'll get the drums doing their thang again and post my mix.

I'm loving the song by the way. Let me know if you ever need a mix engineer

Thanks

Peace
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Old 06-23-2011, 07:13 AM   #24
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This should be good. Illacov is pretty talented.
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Old 06-23-2011, 08:26 AM   #25
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Nice song. I'll have a little go at this if you don't mind
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Old 06-23-2011, 01:19 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawrence View Post
This should be good. Illacov is pretty talented.
Thanks for the kind words. I try.

Plus I really would love to work with this artist and get his album sounding great. I'd even be willing to mix his songs for FREE. That's how good they are.

OP wherefore art thou?

Free mixing!

Peace
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Old 06-23-2011, 02:31 PM   #27
dkeatscary
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Originally Posted by illacov View Post
Thanks for the kind words. I try.

Plus I really would love to work with this artist and get his album sounding great. I'd even be willing to mix his songs for FREE. That's how good they are.

OP wherefore art thou?

Free mixing!

Peace
Illumination
I am here! Have been traveling and barely time to check the board. Thanks for the kind remark about my songs. I greatly appreciate! There are four of five songs of mine that I've recorded on Reaper, all in various states of suck. I've got to learning this mixing and EQ stuff -- how to approach it, what tools to use, etc. There's so much info out there on the subject it's overwhelming and seems to cancel itself out.

Dave
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Old 06-23-2011, 08:46 PM   #28
illacov
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkeatscary View Post
I am here! Have been traveling and barely time to check the board. Thanks for the kind remark about my songs. I greatly appreciate! There are four of five songs of mine that I've recorded on Reaper, all in various states of suck. I've got to learning this mixing and EQ stuff -- how to approach it, what tools to use, etc. There's so much info out there on the subject it's overwhelming and seems to cancel itself out.

Dave
Well.

You could learn how to mix while I mix your stuff

If you could would you please email me at

langston@shotimestudio.com ?

Thanks

Peace
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Old 06-27-2011, 08:47 AM   #29
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I did a little mix of this for fun. It's a lovely tune.

I had the same issues as Lawrence (mp3, bounced fx)of course, and I had some trouble with the midi-map working properly with Kontakt (some hi-hats could be off for example, because Toontrack handles those differently). Still a perfect sidestep from the stuff I usually work with.

http://soundcloud.com/stefhartog/columbus-mix-01

Thanks
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Old 06-27-2011, 05:56 PM   #30
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Thanks LastRite. I will listen when I am back in front of my desktop!
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