Old 11-18-2015, 09:02 AM   #1
stevedcook
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Default Mix Eval

Anyone want to take a stab and tell me what I could have done better/differently?

https://www.reverbnation.com/stevedc...10625-redouble


Thanks guys! Still the best forum around!
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Old 11-19-2015, 07:30 AM   #2
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Default Shoulda said please?

thanks anyway. Was just looking for some useful advice/critiques from folks who know what they're doing/talking about, cause I don't. Sorry to have interrupted you all.
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Old 11-19-2015, 09:52 AM   #3
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Be patient. Sometimes it takes a while to get feedback. Here goes.

I listened to Redouble. Level is way too low, bring it up so that RMS peaks are around -6dB. Bass guitar needs some serious equalization. It has a resonant peak that is not pleasant. Get rid of the peak. The synth tone sounds like a factory pre-set. Most folks who are around digital keyboards very much will not appreciate. Try to find a tone that has more character, or is at least not so common. The lead guitar sounds very thin. From the sound, I assume that it was recorded as a direct input. It can be tricky to get the EQ right with DI, especially if you are using distortion. Try to cut some of the high frequencies and maybe cut back on distortion. A little distortion goes a long way when recording, especially if you are not going for a wall of sound. Piano and celeste are too low in the mix. Bring them up.

Good mixing requires reasonably good monitors (and a reasonably good listening space) or good headphones at a minimum so that you can hear the music without too many artifacts. Don't know if you have either, but they might help, as you can only mix based on what you hear. Getting a good mix is not easy.

T
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Old 11-19-2015, 11:08 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
Be patient. Sometimes it takes a while to get feedback. Here goes.

I listened to Redouble. Level is way too low, bring it up so that RMS peaks are around -6dB. Bass guitar needs some serious equalization. It has a resonant peak that is not pleasant. Get rid of the peak. The synth tone sounds like a factory pre-set. Most folks who are around digital keyboards very much will not appreciate. Try to find a tone that has more character, or is at least not so common. The lead guitar sounds very thin. From the sound, I assume that it was recorded as a direct input. It can be tricky to get the EQ right with DI, especially if you are using distortion. Try to cut some of the high frequencies and maybe cut back on distortion. A little distortion goes a long way when recording, especially if you are not going for a wall of sound. Piano and celeste are too low in the mix. Bring them up.

Good mixing requires reasonably good monitors (and a reasonably good listening space) or good headphones at a minimum so that you can hear the music without too many artifacts. Don't know if you have either, but they might help, as you can only mix based on what you hear. Getting a good mix is not easy.

T
wow, thanks for the awesome detailed advice, and I apologize for my impatience. If I may ask further:

1) Resonant bass peaks- I tried to clean that up because I hear what you mean, just haven't been able to get it dialed completely in. Any tips or techniques on zeroing in on in and eliminating?

2) overall volume- i'm still learning how to level match and have a ways to go yet. I knew it wasn't commercially loud enough. I'll see if I can bring that up. again, any techniques to share?

3) The synth tone- guilty. Doing what I can with what I have, a Yamaha BestBuy special. As I progress, I'll hopefully get some better samples etc.

4) Lead guitar- Hi-passed (not well) and got it a bit brittle. Will try to round that out.

5) Low piano/celesta- was shooting for some dynamics and missed...

6) monitoring/room- no treatment in the room, pretty much everything DI, and my monitors (Mackie CR3) arent the best but what I can afford. I'll be working on some bass traps ala Yep's instructions in the psycho acoustics thread soon I hope.


Again, thanks very very very much for weigihing in. I'll see if I can make some positive changes and repost. Thanks again!
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Old 11-20-2015, 10:53 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedcook View Post
wow, thanks for the awesome detailed advice, and I apologize for my impatience. If I may ask further:

1) Resonant bass peaks- I tried to clean that up because I hear what you mean, just haven't been able to get it dialed completely in. Any tips or techniques on zeroing in on in and eliminating?

2) overall volume- i'm still learning how to level match and have a ways to go yet. I knew it wasn't commercially loud enough. I'll see if I can bring that up. again, any techniques to share?

3) The synth tone- guilty. Doing what I can with what I have, a Yamaha BestBuy special. As I progress, I'll hopefully get some better samples etc.

4) Lead guitar- Hi-passed (not well) and got it a bit brittle. Will try to round that out.

5) Low piano/celesta- was shooting for some dynamics and missed...

6) monitoring/room- no treatment in the room, pretty much everything DI, and my monitors (Mackie CR3) arent the best but what I can afford. I'll be working on some bass traps ala Yep's instructions in the psycho acoustics thread soon I hope.

Again, thanks very very very much for weigihing in. I'll see if I can make some positive changes and repost. Thanks again!

Some suggestions (keyed to your numbered paragraphs):

(1) Set Reaper to loop over a part of the track where the offending resonance is obvious.Insert ReaEQ into the bass track as an effect. Set ReaEq to band mode. Also set bandwidth to about 0.4 ocave, and gain at about -8 dB. Now start playback, and click on the peak of the highlighted band in the ReaEQ display and drag it very slowly back and forth between 50 hZ and 500 hZ or so. This is like sweeping a notch filter over the bass frequencies. At some point, you will hear that the offending frequencies are attenuated. Now fine tune by adjusting band gain and bandwidth to get the most pleasing sound. You might also want to use another band filter to attenuate frequencies below 50 hZ.

(2) Keep it simple. Right click on the VU meter on the master track, and set the master VU settings to peak + RMS. Now play your recording and bring up the master fader until the VU readings peak at about -6 dB at the loudest part of the song. Bo all of the adjustment of relative volume and evening out of tracks relative to each other first.

(3) Try stacking up some track effects to modify your original synth tone (e.g. delays, chorus, resonant filters, octave generator, etc.) there are many built in effects that are in Reaper to try. You can make it sound wildly different if you want to. Plus it will be fun.

(4) ReaEQ is your friend.

(5) Dynamics are a good thing. I would not suggest that you squash the track dynamics (e.g. with a compressor). Perhaps all you need is to raise the track faders on these tracks.

(6) Don't worry too much about the room acoustics unless your room is really bad. It might help to do a cross check with headphones to make sure that those 3" woofers in your monitors are not misleading you with respect to low frequencies. Also, keep the playback volume down when mixing. You will get a better mix if you do.
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Old 11-23-2015, 11:08 AM   #6
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Default Thanks Again

Haven't had a chance yet to go back and make any changes per your suggestions, hope to do so soon. If I'm to be perfectly honest, this project wasn't done in Reaper, but my next one will be...was using an old version of CoolEdit Pro, but it's time to move up.
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Old 12-04-2015, 01:13 PM   #7
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Default Tried to fix it

took a stab at fixing some issues. Would love some input or feedback..thanks!

http://stevedcook.me/music/REDOUBBB.MP3
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