cluless girl mixing

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Music is my boyfriend
Member Since: Jan 31, 2008

Ok, so i know near nothing bout mixing, what deciblels and what not to put things at, but id like to be able to edit my own beats so they sound at least decent and the bass kick beat isnt overpowering the whole song, sooo, if someone can help me, in very fundemental terms plzzz, what should the beat, kick synths, bass lines, each of them, what should they be at to harmonize well?? thanks

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MASSIVE Mastering, LLC
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2008


Jul 08, 2010 04:37 pm

They go where you need them to go. There isn't some 'universal starting point' or anything along those lines...

Music is my boyfriend
Member
Since: Jan 31, 2008


Jul 08, 2010 04:41 pm

oh great lol...thast the last thing i wanted to hear, cuz i fiddle with them and they sound like crap, so i thought maybe there was specifics

Byte-Mixer
Member
Since: Dec 04, 2007


Jul 08, 2010 06:49 pm

MM is right (as usual) but I'll try to put the thought process into questions you can ask yourself as you work. Since it is your own music (I'm assuming here, shoot me if I'm wrong) you probably have a good idea of how you want it to sound, or how it should sound in your head.

When you listen to the mix, think about positioning of each sound. Left to right, forward or back. Create space in the mix for sounds that have a similar frequency so they aren't competing with each other (might require a little EQ touchup). Ask yourself things like, where does the bass line sound good, left, right, center, maybe a little in between? Where should the drums sit? Are they too loud? Are the cymbals too harsh sounding? Does the kick sound like a wet thud? Should the lead be more forward, or is it too forward? Is any one instrument drowning things out, overpowering, or otherwise making other things hard to hear?

Those questions aren't all-inclusive of course, but should give a good idea on what to listen for.

Sometimes you need to focus on a single track to see how it sounds, making sure it's not clipping or sounding distorted or having any pops/clicks. But usually it's better to hear everything as a whole so you can pay attention to how the soundscape behaves, and how the different parts interact. Does the whole mix sound too spread out, or is it too narrow, or suffocating? Does it sound muddy due to certain frequencies competing or being overbearing?

I also like to refer to a frequency chart sometimes to get an idea of how things sound and why.

www.independentrecording....ain_display.htm

Hopefully that will get you going in the right direction. :)

Music is my boyfriend
Member
Since: Jan 31, 2008


Jul 08, 2010 11:56 pm

i guess thats hwere "panning: comes in as well, i learned a lil bout that from this website...

http://www.unitedmusicians.info
Contributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007


Jul 09, 2010 03:19 pm

Hey Muzika!

Just FYI I've got a little P!nk-ish progression I'm working on. I had to move a couple recording sessions around this month and now I'm booked every day I'm free until August...but I hope to have that song sent to you before then! Just letting you know I haven't forgotten...should be in the next 2 weeks or so.

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Jul 09, 2010 06:55 pm

Just as food for thought, you may have gotten more attention to this thread if you'd have made the topic something like "hot chick mixing".

hahaha

Good to see ya back around HRC, muzika, I sincerely hope all is well with ya.

http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member
Since: Nov 27, 2007


Jul 09, 2010 09:18 pm

well, that would certianly do it.
I dint even know this thread existed till you wrote that dB.

mmm, hold on a minute, not sure that makes sense on my part.

if yer kick is overpowering Muzika, try eq'ing the bottom end out of it somewhat.
ie; from 20hz to say around 60 odd.
no need to go mad with it just play with it till it sounds less punchy, also look at taking a small chunk out around 300hz.
Thats the mud area of it all, it wont sound as wide and thick.

usuually compression here would be the thing to look at but we can take it one step at a time till you can get your head around it. compression isnt that hard really, just need to mcuk around with it and then you'll see it for what it is.

example, with your kick, we can compress more of the beater sound, and release the comp, before it starts getting too boomy. i can help you out with that later if you want.

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