Hello everyone,

After 15 years, I am partially back to creating melodies, making tracks and stuff.

Now, I dont have problems with melodies, but, of course, with mixing, mastering, making it sound wide and loud a bit

I got this new track, first after so many years, and after 100 hours of research and tryouts, I made it sound somewhat listenable in monitor headphones, home audio and car stereo, but on cell phones its a disaster compared to pretty much everything I can find on youtube and soundcloud.

Now, Im here to stay, already contributed a bit on the site I came from. I need help.

Is anyone willing to listen to a track or part of it, to give me pointers what am I doing wrong, in general???

I can not express enough how much I need help. Struggling my last atoms of strength and free time to try to make music.

Here is the progress from last night:









Thanks,

Vlado

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2017

Welcome Vlado!

Just post your piece here and watch the help and opinions roll in from the many helpful members watching your thread.

 

I will post in a minute.

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

deleted - op changed his last post

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

I didnt finish arranging all elements and transitions, but that's it in general. Its oversaturating and distorting mobile phone speakers, it lacks width, boom, etc etc...

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

It sounds to me like the kick drum is hitting some nasty limiting, maybe that is your problem.

 

Tried without kick drum... I doubt its the only problem. The sample looks fine and I got pro q and compressor on it, but with small compression Still distorting cell phone and there is no width nor boom. Its flat... I doubt its the only problem. I think the problem is in every track in arrangement, and then in master channel, and eq and everywhere . Maybe I used some stuff I should have on master channel. I put a lost of stuff there LOL Its the first time I really tried to use software and plugins for producing a song.

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

Maybe you like to try this one on your smartphone. I don't own one and don't do specific masterings for those, but maybe this works better. It's not perfect due to time effort but at least it sounds better on my monitors, I think.

 

Thanks. Its sounds different, but its distorted so much, maybe because you didnt have the original file. I like the new ooomph its got, but it still sounds messed Maybe I should post screenshots of my master channel and some individual channel plugins and settings tomorrow. I can not describe how I need to get at least some decent sound for the upcoming period. I started creating, but the final product sounds bad Stay with me on this, please.

 

???
I listened to it at quite some monitor level and full headphones level.
The only distorted sound is the one especially to be heard a 16th to second and fourth beat of each bar. Are you talking of this?

 

Im not sure. I have some spire stab which has distortion on purpose which follows drum kick on every second measure or beat??? And i got some mid bas and arp. But believe me, it does not sound good on phone. And still its not resembling something I wanted. Like wide and clear bass and subs (learning tricks as I go, with harmonics and distortion and sine subs), and everything else is narrow. I mean, its me, its my mix and arrangement fault. Probably equing, panning, fx... Just stay with me


cheap image hosting

 

Could be the grey/black track below the pink "drums something" (couldn"t read).

Try to mute the most suspicious tracks and see/listen if the distortion is still there. If it is listen to all tracks in solo mode.

I don't believe the whole mix is distorted it's just some sounds.

I would pan the cello and the guitar a bit more to the sides but the rest has some clear stereo effect.

Soundwise the snare could be harder.

 

Im experimenting right now. Will try every track alone and will try panning. But somehow I need that cello slight of center, and guitar maybe on the opposite side, more far than cello. Thanks for helping. We just started Hope more people join to help me understand the process of making tracks, equing and mastering for some at least decent sound. WIll post some results tomorrow. Is it possible to upload to soundcloud as private track and share that here?

 

That's exactly what I meant, but the cello not just slight out of center but a bit more than it is now. Same with guitar and of course opposite side.

Soundcloud private is possible. It creates a link you have to copy and paste (click the "media" button above, second right to the smiley-symbol).

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

Ok thanks. WIll upload this new enchanced version tomorrow. I removed some limiters and maximizers.

 

I think it sounds really good. I would say that everything sounds up the middle, so hit the pan pots and put some stuff out to the sides.

 

Thanks! I duplicated and hard panned some mid bass and gave +1ms delay to one, with slight eq variation, to give width to slightly saturated sub. I spread guitar and cello more. Working on unclogging the middle.

 

=> phase issues

 

But I cut all above 220-250hz on them? Still phase issues?

 

Separate your mixing from your arranging.

When you are done choosing sounds and being creative, print it all without effects that are not part of the basic sound (if you have a distorted sub - and that is the sound you want then keep whatever you need to make that distortion - throw everything else out.)

That cello is very pokey at 200-300Hz and so is that super bright 2.5K-3K electric guitar they are never going to play nice on small smartphone speakers which usually have resonant HFP right around 200Hz and boost 2K-5K by quite a bit by design. Remember that that people who design those phones are happy that you listen to music on them, but they design those small speakers to produce clear voices when the phone is actually being used as a phone. That means eliminating rumble (bellow 200Hz) and adding presence to voices to cut through background noise, etc.... (2K - 5K).

Honestly if you are just getting back into melodic composing... do yourself a favor and stop caring about smartphones speakers. It is a rabbit hole that just isn't worth going down and most people that listen to music on small smartphone speakers aren't trying to appreciate the art of it... it needs a hook, it needs to be catchy and it should be made to be forgotten in a week or two at the most.