No rules

Posted on

Hold 'Em Czar
Member Since: Dec 30, 2004

ya know, something has become more and more apparent to me this past year, there are no rules! no quick fixes, no specific step to take to get that killer sound. nodda nothing.

every situation i've been in has presented it's own unique challenges, it's own charistics, and it's own sound. i used to walk in thinkin' things like "i'm gonna compress this to fatten it up later, or i'm gonna eq that to get rid of the muck" only to find out durring mixdown, it fit quite nicely and does not need it. i cannot stress how valuable the "less is more" philosophy is in recording. every track does not need eq or dynamics control by default. trust me i'm guilty of settin' up a project and throwin' compressors and eq's on every channel before i even imported the audio!

yuck!

i've learned to LISTEN to the material and take it one step at a time, it'll tell me what needs done. it's alot like sculpting, ya start with a block of clay in the general shape of a song and etch away at it slowly, carefully, making every decision on what to do next while listening. then trying to apply the effect. i'll insert eq (while listing to the whole mix) and slowly, gently sweep back and fourth until i find what i'm lookin' for, then fine tune it. not just kill the bass by grabbing a filter and randomly, carelessy, and thoughtlessly throwing it on.

it's this process of listening to the material that has really opened my eyes and ears to mixing, i'm not tryin' to be all preachy or anything, i'm trying to share a point. and that is to try not to get into the habbit of deciding how you're gonna minipulate a track before you record it. let go of everything you've learned, read, discussed, seen, and heard. and tackle the problems as they arrive.


peace

wyd

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Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jan 18, 2005 05:12 pm

i can't do this yet, man. i envy you. or at least, i dont feel like i can do this yet. although i may actually be listening and adjusting according to what my ears are hearing, i have no way of knowing *for sure* if i've made the right decisions, and that's something that bothers me very much.




Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jan 18, 2005 05:18 pm

practice, practice, practice my man....i also listen to commercial music and DVD's with my monitors (and room) atleast 2 hours a day. the best advice i'd say is make a concious effort to listen more...everything, notice room reverbs, clap your hands hard in every environment you encounter, close your eyes and see how many things you can identify by the sound....then see if you can pinpoint the source with 'em still closed. ya get the point. sharpen those ears bro and you'll be set

peace

wyd

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jan 18, 2005 08:04 pm

thats some good advice. i like the idea about exploring natural reverbs by clapping.

eq and compression/limiting are still my biggest bogeymen. cant think of many ways to test for that as i'm out and aboot in the world.


Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jan 19, 2005 03:33 pm

hey forty, i just read your profile, i just moved from Tampa, but i was in Orlando alot, my girlfriend lived there, ever hear or Angel Autopsy, Lunatic Kandy Kreep, Indorphine, 5 Billion Dead, Nocturne etc...all good friends of mine.

peace

wyd

Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004


Jan 19, 2005 04:03 pm

I've read elsewhere, that ears are to be treated as like a muscle, you need to train it (and your brain) to keep getting better. I know of a guy that is always snapping his fingers or clapping in rooms, and now I find myself doing the same thing.

Also, you can listen to the commercial stuff on the radio and try to pick out items or things that you recognize from your own experiences. Like I may pinpoint a stereo pan mix that's different than the norm, or I may pick out a certain type of reverb or delay or chorus that I've heard before. Or pretend you're going to re-mix someone's song; what would you do different, more here, or less there, etc.

The main thing, is excersizing your ears and your brain to listen and detail everything you hear, then you'll start seeing (hearing) results in your mixing and mastering.

of course, YMMV!

hth

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Jan 19, 2005 04:06 pm

My wife is almost ready to refuse to listen to music with me cuz she is so sick of "hey, did you here that faint whisper under the vocals" and crap like, she just says "shut up and let me enjoy it, quite picking it apart".

That has been going on for years :-D

Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004


Jan 19, 2005 04:20 pm

I've done that too, gone back in movies, or on a cd, to hear something again that caught my attention. Luckily, she hasn't had her fill of it yet, though I'm sure she will in the future. It seems that S.O.s don't appreciate the fine details of audio engineering.

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Jan 19, 2005 04:23 pm

Nope, but ya know what, I am learning that my 6 year old daughter is absolutely amazed by it. She is my apprentice...an unbelievable natural talent and passion...I will be posting a few little ditties that she wrote and we sequenced and expanded on in Sonar/P5

And when I say "she wrote" I mean, she made up just beating on the piano, natural rhtyhm and key sense...just friggin unbelievable.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Jan 19, 2005 04:35 pm

haha thats funny about your wife. i get into trouble with that too--always finding some obscure music theory point to make, or noticing timing mistakes. 'did you hear that? either the guy sped up or that's a bad edit!'

'where?'

'right there. starts on 2:22, ends at 2:22'

'jesus.'

thatd be cool to hear your daughter's song db

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jan 19, 2005 04:59 pm

haha yeah i hate when the dialogue audio from an older TV program isn't lined up with the video.

peace

wyd

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