Old 08-03-2021, 06:21 PM   #1
vejichan
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Default Need advice on my mix in reaper.

Working on a new idea.. still very rough since i recorded this 2 days ago. Its a very mellow soft rock kinda thing.
Any advice on getting the mix thicker and beefier? its so thin sounding.. and there is no bass. Sorry for the horrendous timing. I'll rerecord again just wanted to capture the idea. Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d
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Old 08-03-2021, 10:42 PM   #2
enroe
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Very nice rock number. Good guitar riffs - sounds
all right.

To your question: I'm not exactly the expert either,
because I'm just trying to get the best, fat sound
myself.

With "Lucky one rough draft D" I would suggest raising
or playing around with snare and kick in the 100 Hz
frequency range so that the drums sound a bit bigger.
The guitars could use a little more thrust at 200-400
hz, but only a little. Such a coordination is always
a balance between too thin and too dull - it is also
a matter of taste.
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Old 08-03-2021, 11:28 PM   #3
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I have no experience with EzBass, but the low end is often difficult - not least for us that record at home. Our room and speakers are often working against us, and if you feel the mix is booming with bass when you mix it and then lacking once you bring the mix elsewhere ... then this is likely happening in your place.

You can do a bit of subtractive EQ on the kick to offer more room to the bass guitar, as enroe says. I quite liked the snare, to be honest, so I'd try to leave that alone. But before you do any of this I think you should re-balance your mix. Maybe try to solo your kick, and then gradually fade in the bass guitar until the two sound roughly equal in volume. Then solo the entire drum kit and the bass guitar and listen to what you get. Your room and monitors could be working against you here, so do a bit of checking -- maybe listen again in headphones and even look at meters (don't mix with your eyes, though) to make sure they are in the same ballpark. Maybe A/B with something, such as the intro to No More Tears by Ozzy etc., to be sure you are in the same ballpark in terms of volume levels. Afterwards, however, you slowly bring in the guitars ... and then you switch them on and off and listen for what, if anything, goes missing on the other instruments. That will point you toward troublesome frequencies that need your attention.

Now that I think about it, I would be keen to hear a drum & bass only mix -- maybe myself and others can help you with the low end.

Finally, there is also no denying that tight playing between the guitars, bass and drums is important to get that beefy chuggy thing going.
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Old 08-04-2021, 05:25 AM   #4
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Is the timingof the guitars horrendous. The drums and bass are midi so they should be ok
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Old 08-04-2021, 07:37 PM   #5
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No song?
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Old 08-04-2021, 11:24 PM   #6
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No song?
Link in the first post?
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Old 08-05-2021, 02:55 AM   #7
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Link in the first post?
When I tried it, it said it had been taken down... it seems to be back now.

Some cool riffs here... nice work...

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Originally Posted by vejichan View Post
Working on a new idea.. still very rough since i recorded this 2 days ago. Its a very mellow soft rock kinda thing.
Any advice on getting the mix thicker and beefier? its so thin sounding.. and there is no bass. Sorry for the horrendous timing. I'll rerecord again just wanted to capture the idea. Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d
Hmm... I'm hearing plenty of "beef" and bass. If anything, the mix has too much in the way of boomy bass around the 80hz mark.

Part of getting a mix that sounds "thick" and "beefy" is getting the guitars and bass to interact in the right way and to compliment each other.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but usually the problem is less about having enough bass and more about the way the the low mids and mids are handled in the mix.

If you have too much low end in the guitars, it will mask the upper harmonics of the bass, and it will make the mix sound muddy. On the other hand, if you suck too much mids and low mids out of the guitar and bass, the mix will have a tendency to sound "thin", even though there is actually tonnes of bass.

It sounds like what may have happened here is a result of pulling too much low mids out of the bass (around 200 - 250hz) and too much mids out of the guitars around the 400-500hz mark. Because there is a lack of fullness being perceived (which is actually coming from the aforementioned areas, not the bass), that area around 80hz has been boosted.

One way to get a bass to appear beefier than it is, and to fit better with distorted guitars is to (surprise, surprise!) distort it! Saturating/distorting the bass can bring out harmonics above the fundamental, which will make the bass sound bigger and fuller, without having to boost low end.

In any case, it sounds like you have some good ideas happening here. Concentrate on getting the performances as tight as you can, editing them if need be. A tight performance goes a long way to making a mix sound "big"
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Old 08-05-2021, 06:04 PM   #8
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Is the timing horrendous
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Old 08-05-2021, 07:52 PM   #9
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https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d

how's it
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Old 08-06-2021, 05:20 PM   #10
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I am away at the moment, and had to use my Bose 700s instead of monitors. Tried to A/B this one with the first one, but quickly realized the two links lead to the same song. Hard for me to say whether this is an improvement because of that, but I can at least hear some bass guitar. TO my ears, and using Bose 700s instead of monitors, you could turn the guitars down a tad and then try a sub-boost on the bass guitar. Maybe something like Sonic Anomaly's Bass Professor Mk II will help you out here ... I still don't think this sounds thin at all.
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Old 08-07-2021, 03:21 AM   #11
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Is the timing horrendous
I'm guessing that is a question... is that right? (usually followed by a question mark ;-) )

The spot where the timing needs most work is at 0:59 - 1:12, and the same part later, at 2:38 -2:52. Those chugging rhythm guitars need to be perfectly in synch with the drums. At the moment it sounds like they are rushing, and the groove trips over itself there

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I think it sounds pretty good in terms of overall frequency response. It sounds better than I remember the last one. It's hard to know exactly without the original file to compare it to. The most important question is: Are you happy with it?

PS: Without wanting to offer contradictory advice, I would be wary about boosting any more subs on the the bass guitar - I'm listening on my studio monitors (with subwoofer), and there is plenty of sub-bass low end coming through.

If you have trouble gauging how much sub bass you have on your current system, call up a frequency analyser like Span and compare your mix to a reference mix in the same genre.
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Old 08-07-2021, 04:16 AM   #12
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PS: Without wanting to offer contradictory advice, I would be wary about boosting any more subs on the the bass guitar - I'm listening on my studio monitors (with subwoofer), and there is plenty of sub-bass low end coming through.
Not contradictory at all. Your setup is superior to my headphones, and your comment most likely far more accurate than mine. ;-) Listen to this and not to me, Vejichan.
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Old 08-07-2021, 07:15 AM   #13
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Thanks, i corrected the timing on that part. Can you please take a listen here and let me know if there are any other timing issues? thank you

https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d

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Originally Posted by fHumble fHingaz View Post
I'm guessing that is a question... is that right? (usually followed by a question mark ;-) )

The spot where the timing needs most work is at 0:59 - 1:12, and the same part later, at 2:38 -2:52. Those chugging rhythm guitars need to be perfectly in synch with the drums. At the moment it sounds like they are rushing, and the groove trips over itself there



I think it sounds pretty good in terms of overall frequency response. It sounds better than I remember the last one. It's hard to know exactly without the original file to compare it to. The most important question is: Are you happy with it?

PS: Without wanting to offer contradictory advice, I would be wary about boosting any more subs on the the bass guitar - I'm listening on my studio monitors (with subwoofer), and there is plenty of sub-bass low end coming through.

If you have trouble gauging how much sub bass you have on your current system, call up a frequency analyser like Span and compare your mix to a reference mix in the same genre.

Last edited by vejichan; 08-07-2021 at 08:53 AM.
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Old 08-07-2021, 05:08 PM   #14
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Thanks, i corrected the timing on that part. Can you please take a listen here and let me know if there are any other timing issues? thank you

https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d
The other noticeable part is in the rhythms from 5 seconds to 8 seconds - and the same part later in the song - it just sounds a little off there.
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Old 08-07-2021, 10:00 PM   #15
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Thank you for your help, ok i think i fixed it. Any other issues?timing/levels etc?
https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d
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Old 08-07-2021, 10:41 PM   #16
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Sounds good
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Old 08-08-2021, 02:26 AM   #17
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were you able to listen? any timing issues? thanks
https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/lu...-rough-draft-d
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Old 08-08-2021, 04:19 AM   #18
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I thought it sounded good, and I said so above. I don't know what else to say...

Here's one thing I'd suggest, though: Maybe try "paying it forward" by listening to some other music and giving some critiques.

In my experience, one of the best ways to get better at your own productions is to practice listening objectively.

At first, objectivity is a real challenge with your own music - you get used to hearing it, and even if things sound strange in actuality, after a while they sound normal to you, because you have heard it so many times.

If you listen to other people's productions, you are in a much better position to be objective, because you are not emotionally invested in it. If you practice that every day, (say listen and comment on 1 or 2 songs a day) you WILL improve in your objective listening skills.

That then transfers to your own productions - you start to develop the ability to "zoom out" and listen to things as they really are.

A side-benefit is that you actually help others improve their music, while building one of the most vital skills that a musician/producer/engineer can have... and if you make an effort to assist others, they are also more likely to be willing to assist you when you need it. Try it.
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Last edited by fHumble fHingaz; 08-08-2021 at 06:22 AM.
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Old 08-08-2021, 06:09 AM   #19
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Thanks for the advice
I will try that.
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