fine, then by ALL means do tell about something that DOES work, share your knowledge....Mushy Mushy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:09 pmNo. You’re just being lazy and as you’ve discovered that doesn’t work.olevish wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:02 pm people, thank you for your replies, but it's not really helping .
like for example I have this SSLChannel Stereo vst, cool ? there's Bass, Kick, Snare setting so in "perfect world" it should send each to it's own place, yes ? but it doesn't sound right, some presets do what they're supposed to, but some (like Kick in there, it's too thin), I need help with finding some Vst like SSLChannel Stereo, but one that does the job without too much tweaking . thanks
How to balance Kick, Snare, Hats, Bass, Synths, Vox, etc ? please help....
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
I repeat, it's not laziness, it's how badly it sounds even if I follow all the "usual" steps .thecontrolcentre wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:14 pm Employ a mix engineer if you're too lazy to learn how to mix yourself. There is no magic button or preset.
you wanna tell me you don't use any Plugs at all ? please....
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
I wish I could, but I find it hard to create if it doesn't sounds right, at least 70% right from the get-go, but it doesn't, so I always find myself tweaking and fixing, things that should be secondary imo .
it's frustrating no one gets what I'm saying....
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- KVRist
- 48 posts since 1 Jul, 2018 from Landstuhl, Germany - deep in the rabbit hole otherwise
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
I understand it completely and often fall into the same trap. Ultimately though it’s a waste of time perfecting a sound while the mix is still a WIP.
It took me a while to learn but now I create a sound until I’m say 80% happy with it (in order to not get bogged down in the engineering aspect), then move onto the next sound. Then once the track is complete (think demo quality), only then do I go back and fine tune everything.
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
- KVRAF
- 2289 posts since 18 Apr, 2001 from The Netherlands
OK, I'll play
Of course I, and most here on the forum I guess, use boatloads of plugins. Read that previous sentence carefully, there's some important meaning there
Let's start with which plugs YOU use so far, that doesn't give you the results you are looking for, and how you have used them thus far?
CrimsonWarlock aka TechnoGremlin, using Reaper and a fine selection of freeware plugins.
Ragnarök VST-synthesizer co-creator with Full Bucket
Ragnarök VST-synthesizer co-creator with Full Bucket
- Boss Lovin' DR
- 12616 posts since 15 Mar, 2002 from the grimness of yorkshire
Yes, we do..we've all been there at one stage - spent loads on effects etc in search of some kind of 'magic' solution. Of course you do need to use effects and processors, but the main tools are your ears and brain - without those you'll be tweaking in the dark (missus). Following on from that, what are you monitoring on? You need to be able to confidently mix knowing that the choices you make aren't being compromised by poor information from your monitors.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
You know what, I'll just upload a beginning of my latest mix (in stems) in both dry and wet forms, tell me what am I doing wrong, cool ? give me a couple of minutes .crimsonwarlock wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:19 pmOK, I'll play
Of course I, and most here on the forum I guess, use boatloads of plugins. Read that previous sentence carefully, there's some important meaning there
Let's start with which plugs YOU use so far, that doesn't give you the results you are looking for, and how you have used them thus far?
And it's hard to answer which Plugs I use, there's all kinds, and some I bought for some reason, but never even used, I think I'm suffering of "too much stuff" syndrome, I swear it would be easier to be limited to a few must-haves...
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
Skrillex recently posted a video of two of his sessions and it was really quite enlightening. Note that I’m not a Skrillex fan at all and don’t think I’ve ever listened to one of his songs in entirety. That said I greatly respect what he has been able to achieve and his sound is sublime.
The plugs were mostly all stock Ableton and often on the default preset. The lesson being it’s all about the source sounds and how/when to add FX, and how to use what you already have; it’s not about having the latest flashy compressor emulation.
The plugs were mostly all stock Ableton and often on the default preset. The lesson being it’s all about the source sounds and how/when to add FX, and how to use what you already have; it’s not about having the latest flashy compressor emulation.
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"
- KVRAF
- 2289 posts since 18 Apr, 2001 from The Netherlands
I doubt that we can tell you where you go wrong in your mix, especially of your statement below.
Understanding what the must-haves are is a skill (yep, there it is again) because it is different for every person. Also. It is no problem to have a lot of compressors (for example), as long as you don't try to use them all at once.
CrimsonWarlock aka TechnoGremlin, using Reaper and a fine selection of freeware plugins.
Ragnarök VST-synthesizer co-creator with Full Bucket
Ragnarök VST-synthesizer co-creator with Full Bucket
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
here you go, it's like 4 bars, just to give you an idea :
it's 125bpm, 16/44 intro stems in both dry and wet forms, mixdowns are in there too,
so you'll hear what I've done, I hate the kick, tried to change it but it just don't sit well there, this is where your experience and skills should help me, thanks in advance .
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MLu4EH ... sp=sharing
it's 125bpm, 16/44 intro stems in both dry and wet forms, mixdowns are in there too,
so you'll hear what I've done, I hate the kick, tried to change it but it just don't sit well there, this is where your experience and skills should help me, thanks in advance .
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MLu4EH ... sp=sharing
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- KVRist
- 342 posts since 8 Sep, 2005 from Seattle
First off, props for posting that snippet Olevish, takes guts but more importantly gives us something specific to address...
All the following is in the spirit of cooperation, one musician to another. Overall I think you're not far off at all. A few things I took away with one listen to the wet mix (strapped for time at the moment):
- I'm having trouble determining which of the instruments is the focus, which one is driving the tune. If it's not the vocal then to me the rolling bass that comes in at around :30 is a good candidate, but it's too low in the mix (or being masked by your kick, see below) and lacks upper mid frequencies to make it stand out. Suggest applying more filter envelope modulation to the synth patch to brighten the attack. Then...
- Turn the kick down. It's dominating too much and while this kind of music needs a strong kick I think you've gone too far.
- Kick is too woolly, too much happening in sub area and not enough attack in the upper mids. I'd continue your search for the right kick with a focus on making sure before any processing that it complements the rolling bass. The two should feel absolutely natural together. Once that's done, simple EQ suggestion if the kick and bass are fighting each other is to find the frequency down low that is important for the kick and cut it slightly on the bass, and then cut from the kick the low mid frequency that's important for the bass. If the kick won't cut through the way you want, then I'd look to emphasize the high mids somewhere around 3k with EQ to get the "click" of the kick. If it's still not cutting you can compress gently with ample attack time to allow that click to come through.
These may all be steps you're already well aware of and have tried. In which case I think your issues lie in the selection of the kick and bass sound. The stuff up top sounds fine to me, although if that vocal isn't ever going to do anything else I'd bring it down a bit in the mix slightly, maybe 3 db, when something you want to focus on comes to the fore.
Hope this helps.
All the following is in the spirit of cooperation, one musician to another. Overall I think you're not far off at all. A few things I took away with one listen to the wet mix (strapped for time at the moment):
- I'm having trouble determining which of the instruments is the focus, which one is driving the tune. If it's not the vocal then to me the rolling bass that comes in at around :30 is a good candidate, but it's too low in the mix (or being masked by your kick, see below) and lacks upper mid frequencies to make it stand out. Suggest applying more filter envelope modulation to the synth patch to brighten the attack. Then...
- Turn the kick down. It's dominating too much and while this kind of music needs a strong kick I think you've gone too far.
- Kick is too woolly, too much happening in sub area and not enough attack in the upper mids. I'd continue your search for the right kick with a focus on making sure before any processing that it complements the rolling bass. The two should feel absolutely natural together. Once that's done, simple EQ suggestion if the kick and bass are fighting each other is to find the frequency down low that is important for the kick and cut it slightly on the bass, and then cut from the kick the low mid frequency that's important for the bass. If the kick won't cut through the way you want, then I'd look to emphasize the high mids somewhere around 3k with EQ to get the "click" of the kick. If it's still not cutting you can compress gently with ample attack time to allow that click to come through.
These may all be steps you're already well aware of and have tried. In which case I think your issues lie in the selection of the kick and bass sound. The stuff up top sounds fine to me, although if that vocal isn't ever going to do anything else I'd bring it down a bit in the mix slightly, maybe 3 db, when something you want to focus on comes to the fore.
Hope this helps.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
thank you for your reply .mjudge55 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 2:52 pm First off, props for posting that snippet Olevish, takes guts but more importantly gives us something specific to address...
All the following is in the spirit of cooperation, one musician to another. Overall I think you're not far off at all. A few things I took away with one listen to the wet mix (strapped for time at the moment):
- I'm having trouble determining which of the instruments is the focus, which one is driving the tune. If it's not the vocal then to me the rolling bass that comes in at around :30 is a good candidate, but it's too low in the mix (or being masked by your kick, see below) and lacks upper mid frequencies to make it stand out. Suggest applying more filter envelope modulation to the synth patch to brighten the attack. Then...
- Turn the kick down. It's dominating too much and while this kind of music needs a strong kick I think you've gone too far.
- Kick is too woolly, too much happening in sub area and not enough attack in the upper mids. I'd continue your search for the right kick with a focus on making sure before any processing that it complements the rolling bass. The two should feel absolutely natural together. Once that's done, simple EQ suggestion if the kick and bass are fighting each other is to find the frequency down low that is important for the kick and cut it slightly on the bass, and then cut from the kick the low mid frequency that's important for the bass. If the kick won't cut through the way you want, then I'd look to emphasize the high mids somewhere around 3k with EQ to get the "click" of the kick. If it's still not cutting you can compress gently with ample attack time to allow that click to come through.
These may all be steps you're already well aware of and have tried. In which case I think your issues lie in the selection of the kick and bass sound. The stuff up top sounds fine to me, although if that vocal isn't ever going to do anything else I'd bring it down a bit in the mix slightly, maybe 3 db, when something you want to focus on comes to the fore.
Hope this helps.
which one is driving the tune ? lol, good question.... I'm not sure, I do know that some Perc sounds should always be in front (to keep the ethnic vibe I guess) along with Kick (yeah I don't know what to do with it, it's either too low or too loud), that's like the main problem that hurts the ears, it's too "obvious" for lack of a better word, like you said "The two should feel absolutely natural together" - that's like my main goal, but I have no clue how to do this, at first I though maybe to add a little bit of reverb to it, to smooth it over kinda, but reverb made it feel even worse... maybe there need to be a different Kick all together ? that's another question - how do you choose the right Kick to begin with ? I have like gazillion, it's very hard to find the right one.... a vocal is NOT the main part in there at all
- KVRAF
- 11001 posts since 15 Apr, 2019 from Nowhere
That's how things used to be done. 3 band EQ and compression built into the desk. No plugins.olevish wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:12 pmI repeat, it's not laziness, it's how badly it sounds even if I follow all the "usual" steps .thecontrolcentre wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:14 pm Employ a mix engineer if you're too lazy to learn how to mix yourself. There is no magic button or preset.
you wanna tell me you don't use any Plugs at all ? please....
There are no "usual" steps at all - a lot of people here have tried to explain to you that there is a skill to be learned, but for some reason you don't want to accept that.
Maybe posting the stems is the way forward so that people can listen to what you have done, but I would suggest you give consideration to people's advice on how to mix, not just focus on "what tools do I need to use".
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- KVRAF
- 2989 posts since 5 Nov, 2014
OP asked for it.ramseysounds wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:03 amThings like this are for people who can’t mix and don’t want to learn. IMO