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
Hello, I have a simple yet a very difficult question : how to balance it all in the mix ?
what's best and quick ways to make each instrument to sit on it's own frequency,
so the mix won't sound muddy and "too busy", how is it all done ?
thanks in advance
what's best and quick ways to make each instrument to sit on it's own frequency,
so the mix won't sound muddy and "too busy", how is it all done ?
thanks in advance
- KVRian
- 643 posts since 17 Aug, 2015 from Finland
Drag the faders until things sound good. Use EQ if necessary.
My solo projects:
Hekkräiser (experimental) | MFG38 (electronic/soundtrack) | The Santtu Pesonen Project (metal/prog)
Hekkräiser (experimental) | MFG38 (electronic/soundtrack) | The Santtu Pesonen Project (metal/prog)
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thecontrolcentre thecontrolcentre https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=76240
- KVRAF
- 35191 posts since 27 Jul, 2005 from the wilds of wanny
Use your ears, then adjust faders to suit ... there is no "quick way" to learn this stuff. It takes time.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
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
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
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
A) Think
B) Forget quick and easy
C) Think
D) What is the most important frequency range of each. Compare what isn’t important against other elements and cut accordingly.
B) Forget quick and easy
C) Think
D) What is the most important frequency range of each. Compare what isn’t important against other elements and cut accordingly.
"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"
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
No. 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
"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"
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thecontrolcentre thecontrolcentre https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=76240
- KVRAF
- 35191 posts since 27 Jul, 2005 from the wilds of wanny
Employ a mix engineer if you're too lazy to learn how to mix yourself. There is no magic button or preset.
- KVRAF
- 11001 posts since 15 Apr, 2019 from Nowhere
No, that's not how it works.
The presets will set parameters that are close to a typical channel described in the preset name, but it won't make your mix perfect.
There are a lot of things you can do to each channel in a mix, but at the minimum you need to shape the frequencies of the channel to fix into an overall mix, maybe tame some dynamics, and balance the level of each track (which might include some automation of volume, EQ, etc.).
Even when you have a mix you're happy with, it's not finished until you master it. Typically that will be a process to finalize a stereo mix down of your work.
There's no shortcut to any of this, and certainly no way to press a button and see a perfect end result spat out the other end.
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- KVRAF
- 2989 posts since 5 Nov, 2014
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- KVRAF
- 15135 posts since 7 Sep, 2008
Create then tweak.
"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"
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
interesting, I'm checking it out as we speak, might be what I'm looking for, thanks
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 18 posts since 16 Feb, 2019
well, I wish it was the case, as from experience - you have an idea, you start working on it, but after like 3, 4 parts, it's starting to feel "crowded", like "they" fight with each other, instead of working together, so then you're busy fixing this and while doing that, you're forgetting the original idea you had, so back to the drawing board . why can't these things just "play" together ? why do I need to be a technician too ?!!
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- KVRAF
- 3089 posts since 4 May, 2012
You don't have to be an engineer. They're available for hire if you're working on a serious project.
The very first thing you'll want to do is to reduce resonances in your signals using a handful of peak filters. There are plugins that can assist with this but I think it would be better to learn how to EQ first.
I find the boost, sweep, cut method works best here:
For this task you want a nice, transparent, digital EQ - your DAW should have one.
Grab a peak filter, set the bandwidth so it is reasonably narrow, boost the level and sweep over the frequency spectrum whilst the sound plays - wherever it sounds worst / most harsh, that's where you want it. Park the filter there and then reduce the gain so that you are attenuating that frequency range, suppressing the resonance. You might also want to adjust the Q or bandwidth of the filter again in it's new context to provide balance.
It gets more tricky, the higher the frequencies but this is how you'll deal with some of that mud - so focus on the low mids first. Another tip, which likely won't seem obvious at first. Don't just strip those frequencies by pushing the peak filter as far into negative gain as possible. You'll need to listen to the balance of frequencies within the sound to arrive at a compromise that sounds most natural.
If you do this ahead of compression then you can be sure that the right frequencies are triggering the compressor. However, after any process which raises the noisefloor, such as compression or distortion, you will likely want to address any resonant buildup with an additional stage of corrective EQ afterwards - to keep everything clean and clear.