Need Mix and Mastering Help

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by koschke, Oct 26, 2014.

  1. koschke

    koschke Noisemaker

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    Hello Audiosex,

    I have problem with my Mix and Mastering Skills do be honest I am really bad in it I did not get a good sound of my tracks and I really look through the internet and Tutorials and forums and spend time and money in my studio but it did not helped me.
    The big problem is now that I am on the Project for an Album and I have no time for mix and Master all the tracks so I am searching for someone who have time (fun) and want to try out his abilities.
    I already go through all the Mix and Mastering online stores but it`s too expensive and what I am also looking for is someone who maybe work with me in future tracks that will come up.
    I now to find someone like this is like a Jackpot in the lottery but anyways if someone is interested in it please give me a notice.
    The Album will be a something between Hip Hop Dubstep House and Minimal and it will be in German.
     
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  3. Studio 555

    Studio 555 Producer

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    @ Koschke,

    I'll try to give you my own opinion and suggestions, at a first glance, about your comments and request, because you'll certainly have a lot more of comments and responses of several Members of this Forum. *yes*

    In case that you're not aware of this, it exists some VST Plugins (or Programs) that can take a kind of 'print' ('snapshot') of the 'EQ Curves' of some of your liked Tracks of your favourite Artists, Music,...
    You can then use these 'EQ Curves' or trying to reproduce these within your own Tracks/Songs to trying to get the same kind of 'Frequencies Shape' as this depicted (and heard !) in the Music you like to listen, or that you try to reach with your Tracks. :wink:

    To answer that point, here comes the first part of my Comment : "...you'll certainly have a lot more of comments and responses of several Members of this Forum."

    I don't want to talk in their place, but certainly one of our (numerous !) Members, as can be 'Fuad' :wink: for instance, may certainly either to make that Job (Mastering,... ) for you, or give you some Great advices about your Tracks and their respective processes... *yes*

    In some sense, this is almost inescapable, as can be the differences in prices between some 'hobbyist' Music stuff (Audio Apps, Programs, Plugins, Hardware FXs, Hardware Units,... ) and their 'professional' counterparts ! *yes*
    And here is the main point : in Audio as with any 'Mastering' processes, you want the best quality... you can easily guess that you need to pay more for that ! *yes*

    As you seem to be a Composer (or even a Musician ? :dunno: ), I would rather think that the 'Jackpot in the Lottery' for you may rather be the fact to get a 'Hit' (if not already done !) with one of your Tracks/Songs.
    At my humble opinion, this could be the real 'Jackpot in the Lottery' for you... :wink:
     
  4. fuad

    fuad Producer

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    Hey man,

    Sent you a private message. I could go on for ages talking here but just thought it would be better to get in touch with you directly.
     
  5. Demon

    Demon Producer

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    Hey mate, could you elaborate on those VST or programs please? Sometimes I listen to an album and wonder how they achieved that sound and I try to emulate its sound, eq, compression, etc. Could you point me to some samples please?

    Cheers!
     
  6. junh1024

    junh1024 Rock Star

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    https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=eq+match+VST < Ozone 5 (But apparently 4 has had it?) , Nugen SEQ-S, Voxengo Curve, FF ProQ2, etc.
     
  7. Catalyst

    Catalyst Audiosexual

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    Well koschke if there's a chance of it happening then it's here mate. We have a giveaway going on for a computer for a poor musician. What more do I have to say?

    Also for the future I don't know if you've checked out AudioSex Academy (Part I: Mixing) but it's very easy to understand and there are also references to external materials that would be useful for learning Mixing. The tutorials are some of the best free tuts out there so if you haven't I highly recommend it. Also there are many people here that are excellent at it willing to help, also many people that would charge you less than you would likely pay elsewhere so there are options my friend. :mates:
     
  8. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    I'm not going to suggest a bunch of plugins, but instead say "get to work" - read, learn, listen, absorb, get to know your tools. Make mistakes and learn from them. You have the internet (when I started the internet was new and not full of YouTube tutorials).

    That's what I did, and today I make pretty good mixes and mastering jobs (if I may say so myself).

    I can totally understand your frustration - I was once there myself (as were many others on this forum, even Fuad).

    You can also pay others to mix and master your song for you, but then you might not learn as much (but if you attend the mixing/mastering session you might learn some).
    Good luck!
     
  9. Studio 555

    Studio 555 Producer

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    @ Demon,

    'junh1024' say it all !!! *yes* :wink:


    As an example, if you use 'Nugen SEQ-S', among all its Great Features, you can find :
    ...

    Match one recording to another

    Beyond traditional EQ, you can also use SEQ-S to capture the flavour of a piece of source audio and then transfer it to your current work – great for restoration and harmonisation work. Or use the same technique on individual tracks to unify different takes, microphone positions, and more.

    ...

    High specification match EQ

    Match different takes and environments
    Mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 operation
    Clone source EQ to target mix


    _________________________________________________________________​
    @ Koschke,

    Maybe the following Plugin can also help you a little for your works...

    [​IMG]

    Youlean Freq-Balancer 2


    Youlean Freq-Balancer is simple tool that will help you with mastering by balancing frequency response of your songs.

    What this plugin does:

    Freq-Balancer analyzes the frequency content of an audio signal and automatically applies an equalizer that evens out the frequency balance towards a curve found on many commercial tracks. When Freq-Balancer analyses audio, it measures the audios frequency content over a period of time. It splits the incoming audio signal into 7 frequency bands. Then it measures and compares the audio levels within each band. Finally it applies EQ to compensate for any uneven frequency balance.

    Typical applications:
    The Freq-Balancer is mainly designed for mastering, but it can be used when mixing down songs, as well on the separate tracks. It can be used for analyze purposes only, or for both analyzes and correction. It can be helpful if you don't have high quality studio monitors, or if your room has no acoustic treatment, and the tracks you produce tend to have uneven frequency response.

    Tips for mastering:
    For best detection you must find the loudest and busiest part in the mix and then click “Learn”. Try to avoid esses in vocals as it can make the result of analysis less accurate. To avoid it, you can loop part of the audio that doesn't contain esses. You will achieve best results if you insert this plugin after a compressor or limiter and then add the final master limiter after it, because too much dynamics could produce high spikes in some frequencies which will affect analysis. In most cases default settings will work well.



    You can find it here :

    'Youlean Freq-Balancer 2'
     
  10. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    upload a wave to zippyshare i master it for ya .
     
  11. zero-frag

    zero-frag Producer

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    I am by no measurement a mastering professional, in fact I think I'm still not that good at it. That being said, over the years of making music, I've learned that just focusing on these few aspects can really push your track to the next level. Listening to my older stuff, I realize how much progress I've made in the matter so here's my advice:

    - Lowpass/high pass: anything that's not bass, high pass it (same goes for anything that's high end, low pass it to get rid of the shit sound). Simply doing that already will clear your mix a lot.

    - EQ: some intruments will have one particular frequency range where it sounds too harsh. So, just do a bandpass at +12db and try to find that spot where the "shit sound" is. Once you got it, reduce the Q to refine it to the exact frequency you want then reduce that particular band. Also do a bit of EQ on busses: for example each drum might be clean but once they stack up, you can get some bad results which can be fixed using the same EQ method.

    - Stereo imgage: panning things can also help to clear the mix because if something is mainly on the right, it's not going to be fighting with the frequencies of what's in the middle or on the left. As a general rule of thumb, the more bassy a sound is the more centered you want it. Don't hesitate to pan things like high percussions left and right (shakers, hi hats, or synths that accompany the lead, etc.)

    - Sidechaining for electronic music: sidechaining everything to your kick will do wonders to clear your mix, even with a very subtle amount.

    - Start working on your tracks at very low levels, then once it's over and you're starting the mastering process, ONLY THEN can you push your sound to get close to that 0db.

    - Also compression is very important but I feel like that's something you should focus on once you really got a hold of the previous things I mentionned.

    I hope this is helpful, cheers ! :thumbsup:
     
  12. gurujon

    gurujon Kapellmeister

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    zero-frag, excellent advice!
     
  13. relexted

    relexted Producer

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    Some good advice already, agree on most of the above. Here's my two cents on what I feel is the most important to know;

    - Most important, when a sound or loop sucks already, you can not make it better with effects. rather return to the source then EQ the hell out of it.
    - In the right order for a channel: Volume, Panning, EQ, Compression
    - In the right order for a bus: Compress, EQ, Saturate
    - Better have to much headroom then to little. Loudness is achieved in the mastering stage. So remember, no loud mixing.
    - EQ the key note of a sound by cutting out the peak where that note is located, just a little. max. -6db. and use a sharp curve for cutting.
    - Compression has many variaties. Multiple instances of compression on the same thing sounds better then one compressor squashing the hell out of it.
    - A transient designer is a good alternative when compression doesn't work.
    - Effects on busses is where the magic happens. When you process for example your drums all together this makes a lot of difference.
    - Loops and samples are already compressed and EQ-ed.

    I can go on and on.. keep in mind that sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. trial & error is how I've learned it all.
     
  14. korte1975

    korte1975 Guest

    hit me with the files.
     
  15. Kwissbeats

    Kwissbeats Audiosexual

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    You all go to fast in my humble opinion, if I had to think about all that stuff in the beginning I would get scared? :dunno:

    It's all about good leveling, eqing, and experimenting with reverbs.
    compression is importand but when working with most vst's the sound is flat enough, I mean it should be used later on but compression, imaging, saturation should be your second interest
    expermenting with limiting on the master bus will be a good start
     
  16. SaintHeretic

    SaintHeretic Newbie

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    For the Record, It is a HUGE NO NO to mix or master your own music for a multitude of reasons, especially if your making the music and recording your own vocals!!
     
  17. Demon

    Demon Producer

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    Thanks mate.
     
  18. fraifikmushi

    fraifikmushi Guest

    Check this 50 hints on improving your mixdown:

    http://edmprod.com/50-tips-mixdowns/

    Some of it has been stated, but it's a good read nevertheless.
     
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