Jump to content
Why become a member? ×
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt

April/May Mix Competition - VOTING COMPLETE!


51m0n
 Share

Recommended Posts

Still ahead of me, note the deadline is 15 of [b]May[/b] this time (so you still have time, but do get on with it)...

Largely cos I'm busy and cant enter this if I'm also doing all the uploading and admin side and I only have a month to do it all. It just uses up all my 'spare' time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Cheers Si, still plenty of time :)

I haven't even listened the stems yet. Been totally sidetracked by this month's composition competition (which I thought was going to be quick and easy with some acoustic guitar stuff - then remembered I can't actually play guitar. Doh!).

But anyway. I will [i]definitely[/i] be doing a mix. Well done to you early birds who've already got it finished.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1366141631' post='2048955']Can i just say that this thread is my favourite source of fun on the interweb.
Thank you for making this game.[/quote]

+1 to that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, stupid question ahoy...!

The stems for this track include stereo pairs of some instruments - each of the guitars, for example, has a left and right channel stem. I've never encountered this before (I've led a sheltered life...).

Looking at the waveforms, each L/R pair seems almost identical. So... if I sum them I'm assuming I might encounter nasty phasing issues (cancellation, weird tonal changes, etc).

So what's the advantage of using stereo signals for these instruments? Or rather - is there any significant disadvantage to using just one of the channels as a mono signal? I've always assumed that mono is best and stereo should only be used in rare instances when the instrument really requires it (a wide pad sound, for example), but of course I could be very wrong.

Edited by Skol303
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1366625454' post='2054908']
Ok, stupid question ahoy...!

The stems for this track include stereo pairs of some instruments - each of the guitars, for example, has a left and right channel stem. I've never encountered this before.

Looking at the waveforms, each L/R pair seems almost identical. So... if I sum them I'm assuming I might encounter nasty phasing issues (cancellation, weird tonal changes, etc).

So what's the advantage of using stereo signals for these instruments? Or rather - is there any significant disadvantage to using just one of the channels as a mono signal?
[/quote]

I can't really speculate on their motives, but I usually make a separate left and right stem, for me it's so I can do slightly different things to each channel on centre panned guitars, I find it gives a nice sort of stereo feel to centre panned bits, I only really like the drums and bass to be dead centre (I honestly don't get why people pan hi-hats, which is probably why I'd be a terrible producer).

Back OT, I won't be doing this month, my composition comp entry has taken forever and it's given me DAW fatigue, for some reason I decided my entry needed a multi-layered string part and a glitchy sampled drum outro, two things I love hearing but hate programming....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1366625454' post='2054908']
Ok, stupid question ahoy...!

The stems for this track include stereo pairs of some instruments - each of the guitars, for example, has a left and right channel stem. I've never encountered this before (I've led a sheltered life...).

Looking at the waveforms, each L/R pair seems almost identical. So... if I sum them I'm assuming I might encounter nasty phasing issues (cancellation, weird tonal changes, etc).

So what's the advantage of using stereo signals for these instruments? Or rather - is there any significant disadvantage to using just one of the channels as a mono signal? I've always assumed that mono is best and stereo should only be used in rare instances when the instrument really requires it (a wide pad sound, for example), but of course I could be very wrong.
[/quote]

They may have recorded them with a stereo pair of SDCs (or whatever).

There is a good argument fo rkeeping things as point sources rather than stereo spread. I have never experienced a single guitar as a stereo experience really, other than being over there (points to an specific part of the stage), same with piano, yet we often get stereo outputs from digital pianos, because 'thats how the player hears it', which is totally irrelevant in a mix, because the audience hears a piano over there (points to other side of stage) not spread across the whole stage.

However counter to this is the entire argument of double tracking guitars, and spreading them as wide as possible, - but this works because the guitarist has relatively poor time and the fluctuations in his playing add to the sense of big wide guitars, and lots and lots of them.

So really its a judgement call - how you want to make this sound. You could pick the channel that sounds best , you could mix both to a very slightly spread point (phase issues be damned), you could just spread them as wide as you can, wider than LR even. You choose...

Edited by 51m0n
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Cheers guys! Thanks for clarifying - that all makes total sense.

I just wanted to check I wasn't missing some vital piece of know-how about working with separate L/R stems. I'll probably just pick the best channel from each and use that in mono, but we'll see...

There. I've learnt something already this month! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I noticed last night that the system I used to 'check' my mix on had the bass control turned up full!
After my dodgy mid heavy mix last month I had got a bit paranoid with my monitors and as a result of listening on the check system I dialled out loads of bass and kick!
I was wondering why the studio monitors and the check system sounded so different!!

Is it possible to do some tweaking and resubmit?
Or am I out of time?

Edited by Twigman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1366725524' post='2056446']Is it possible to do some tweaking and resubmit?
Or am I out of time?[/quote]

Plenty of time, Twig. We've got until 15th May I think... see earlier post from Si above. Otherwise I'm right royally stuffed! (barely started mine).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might seem odd , but I am not sure I can do much to what is already there , OK I get what Skol said about the number of dulpicate tracks , but there also seems to be a full LR mix on stems aswell :huh:

Now I have done a few bits and will do a few more , but I am leaning toward a 'less is more' vibe with this one .

Will I be cast into satans pit if I said that I quite liked the track :blush: :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1366820802' post='2057680']
im gonna try this now i have a bit of time

one question on k metering

i set voxengo span to k-14, as said... now... when making sure it don't go above 0db, is there a way to set a ceiling, or is it just a matter of watching the meter and adapting the mix level to suit?
[/quote]

Yeah, it is a meter, it does nothing but show you how loud the track is (in a very average level way), set it to not go over 0 and you're done, render that. Simples!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've finally gotten started on the mix. To start with I thought "what a lot of tracks!", but once I read the stuff above it all made sense.

I've approached it like we do playing live as a band. Started with the drums, then get the bass to fit in, then rhythm guitars, lead vocal & then lead instruments (violins & 3rd guitar). Next I'm doing the other instruments, then the backing vocals, then have a listen & tweak as necessary.

I don't expect a great mix as I'm deaf (so it might have rather loud or sparkly hi hats), but i'm having fun with it.

I like the song, reminds me of a Steve Earle song.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1366821595' post='2057699']
Yeah, it is a meter, it does nothing but show you how loud the track is (in a very average level way), set it to not go over 0 and you're done, render that. Simples!
[/quote]

I dont really get the meter thing , sorry , I can level the volume to 0db on the meter and render it to wav , if I insert this wav to into a new project and K-meter it , it is at -16db :unsure: , It sounds quiet to me , but I am unsure how to get to a definitive level now !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1366927390' post='2059241']
I dont really get the meter thing , sorry , I can level the volume to 0db on the meter and render it to wav , if I insert this wav to into a new project and K-meter it , it is at -16db :unsure: , It sounds quiet to me , but I am unsure how to get to a definitive level now !!
[/quote]
My mixes are all quiet too...but we're all in the same boat

I will be sending in a new one after me EQ mistake on mix1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems to me that there must have been a lot of processing on the way in to the box on this one, so I don't have much to do. Turn everything up and it sounds good!

The snare did seem very compressed though, or maybe it's just badly tuned, I really don't like the sound of it and it's taken me ages of messing about to get a sound with a bit of "crack".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1366960858' post='2059377']
It seems to me that there must have been a lot of processing on the way in to the box on this one, so I don't have much to do. Turn everything up and it sounds good![/quote]
Most of my effort went into EQ (and other tricks) to bring the relevant instrument to the fore in the appropriate sections
[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1366960858' post='2059377']
I really don't like the sound of it and it's taken me ages of messing about to get a sound with a bit of "crack".
[/quote]
Me too - transient shaper...EQ....think I've just about got some thwack back into it ....

I experimented a lot here with sidechained gates - everything is ducking everything else....HA HA it was fun!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1367152293' post='2061738']urgh , sidechain gates and compressors :gas: , I have entered a mix but will have do some further reading , I have only just got the fundamentals of EQ in my head , so thats pretty much what I have done :rolleyes:[/quote]

Don't worry Lurks! 'Sidechaining' is when you use the ouput of one instrument to control a dyanmic processor attached to another.... hmmm, that's no clearer is it?! :lol: Ok, as an example: you might run the output of a kick drum into the 'sidechain' input of a compressor that's linked up to a bass guitar. So... every time the kick hits, it sends a signal to the compressor that 'ducks' (reduces) the volume of the bass, helping the kick to punch its way through the mix more easily.

That's one common use of side-chaining but there are plenty more. Worth experimenting with, but it's not a [i]vital[/i] skill to learn like EQ'ing (IMO).

PS: I started on the mix yesterday, and can I just say that I'm really liking this track!! Really, it's grown on me lots. I think I might actually be a closet country fan :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...