Finished up those mixes...

[OneMileWish]

Hey guys!

Thanks again for the feedback on the mix in my last thread, they helped a ton

I just got back last night from another weekend out there finishing up the mixes. I'm pleased with how they came out, and look forward to hearing them once they've been mastered. Scott, I'll make sure to give them the referral!

So here are the final mixes:

Wonderful - the song from the last thread. I'm happy with how this ended up in the end - the vocals might be a bit hot, but that's how they wanted it...we'll see how it sounds after mastering.

Spit It Out - I think this mix is my favorite of the bunch. Very driving, made the kick nice and hot.

Ahsin - I like this one for the cool U2-esque guitar tone in the verses. *hugs Soldano*

Again, any feedback is much appreciated...even though this project is done, it can only help for the next time!

Thanks again

Dan.

 

[Member 995]

Dan,

I listened to the tracks on a pair of Sennheiser 580 headphones. Everything except the vocals sounds small to me. The drums seem quiet and don't have a lot of pop or presence. The guitars also seem quiet and kind of dull. I think the bass guitar could be mixed louder, as well. Were you using much compression on the tracks?

Bryan

 

[Scott Peterson]

Bryan,

She needs a mastering is all.

Thanks for the referral man. I dig the tunes; and on my little Harmon/Kardon speakers it sounds good to me. Though I know once it gets done the tunes will really come alive.

 

[Member 995]

Originally posted by Scott Peterson
She needs a mastering is all.

Thanks for the referral man. I dig the tunes; and on my little Harmon/Kardon speakers it sounds good to me. Though I know once it gets done the tunes will really come alive.

Good point! Some day I want to hear the unmastered tracks of a big studio production so that I can A/B them with the mastered version. I feel that doing so would give me a better ear for what my home studio is capable of.

Bryan

P.S. I highly recommend Scott for mastering. He works quickly and is responsive to input.

 

[OneMileWish]

Hey guys, thanks for the response. Sorry I didn't post sooner, been out celebrating the b'day

Bryan I agree that it sounds small at the moment, but it just sounds unmastered to me. Hopefully I'm not eating those words when they're mastered!! I did actually have to compress the ever living snot out of some of the stuff, in particular the drums. The drummer is (self-admittedly) not very strong at his instrument; this was an invaluable experience for me, I'd (surprisingly enough) never had to track and mix a project with a drummer that wasn't excellent. It's a whole different beast! In regards to the guitars, I had to pull out some tricks that I'd never really used before - in particular, turning 2 guitar tracks into 4 by copying them, nudging them forward a bit, then EQing them differently. While it's not as good as separate performances, I was happily surprised by the difference it made in the tracks' overall "thickness".

I've been fortunate enough to work with Scott before; he mastered my band's album. He did a really good job...he didn't exactly have the best mixes to work with, but he made it sound good! I've recommended him highly to the band, I really hope they decide to go with him. I think they will because he's so affordable...don't worry Scott, I didn't give them a price .

Denyle - thanks for the kind words. I agree that they're a bit bright. I wonder what you're hearing at the end of the first song! Is it on the right side? If so, I think I know what you're talking about. Kind of you to say the mixes don't sound like "all the rest." I was pretty surprised at the tones I was able to get out of my Soldano...I'd always looked at it as a one-trick pony, albeit one that does the trick I needed.

One of the challenges I ran into with these was the monitors I was working on - a set of Genecs with 6.5" speakers...I'm not sure what model they are, but they look just like a small 1031A. They in combination with the room I was in were very deceiving on the low end...I think the room was more the reason, though. You end up mixing the bass really loud because you just can't hear it very well, so that had to be compensated for.

The sweetest thing about this studio though? Free access for my band! I'm especially excited after going through this project...I think we can get some really high quality stuff out of there.

 

[Ericsson]

I still think your vocals are awesome and that is the most important thing.

 

[joseph]

Originally posted by Scott Peterson
Bryan,

She needs a mastering is all. .

Has a great vibe to it, which gets you to 3rd base right off.



I'm a bit confused about the terminology ; I thought mastering is just getting the tones and volume levels consistent from track to track so it sounds like an 'album'.....

Or do you actually do some re-mixing when you master as well?

 

[Scott Peterson]

I do appreciate the kudos above guys, truly. I do want to make it clear that I do not ever want to use this Forum as a sales tool.

I'll answer the question from Joesph quickly though.

What is Mastering anyway?
So what is mastering? Hey, glad you asked.

Think of your music, all recorded and mixed as a car just out of a carwash on a sunny day. Ahh, looks great, doesn't it! You'd be happy just tooling around now; everything is GOOD.

Now imagine you then took your car to a detailer; a talented and extremely detail oriented detailer. One who listens to your input, gets clarity on your vision and makes that car look better than you ever though possible. Now you are looking like a monster. Everything is GREAT!

That, is what mastering will do.

Mastering audio is something that you will never know you need or miss, until you have a good mastering engineer do a great job on your music. Added punch, clarity, definition, stereo image, harmonically balanced and volume.

There is more to mastering, de-noising, sequencing, fades, cross-fades, and much much more.

Check into Bob Katz's fantastic book, "Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science" for as much detail as you want. It is WELL worth the money even if you just get 1/100th of an understanding about what he is saying. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-4972583-0832035?v=glance&s=books&n=507846