Everytime my mix is a crap. I'm having a lot of problems on EQing, i use filters especially on synths, drum in mono, synths in stereo, some width on master, but i can't get a clean sound starting from making a synth, no powerful spectrum, why? What am i missing? Always a great amount of fizzy frequencies

My beat


My reference nowdays. I also love that reverb setting.
Please help me!!!!!

 

Start watching production related tutorials. After that, start watching mixing related tutorials. Experiment and practice. Experiment everything to make it sound right.
Selection of samples has a huge impact on a song.
And using too much eq generates phasing problems which must be taken care of.

 

hmmm.... Use reference tracks for production, and also for mixing. Also, a lot of synths' sounds use up more freq space than they need; carve it out and make space when needed. Send your effects to effect busses instead of effects on the insert, and blend them in. Use parallel compression busses, and eq them a lot or a little. Not everything needs full=bore 16k - Try gently sloping HF off tracks until you get the desired non-harshness. When layering sounds, use linear eq to keep your sounds in phase. Use a sub-mix buss before your final mix-buss, and put your 2-buss processing on the sub-mix buss, while leaving the 2-buss un-effected.

anyone else have some advice?

 

your mix sounds good to me it may not be what you want, but its not bad.

 

Before using EQ (or any other plugs), try finding the exact sounds you want. It's not the Eighties; there are literally hundreds of thousands of unique and different synth sounds and samples out there you can use without having to tweak them with EQ or other filters. Once you have that in place, your next step is to use EQ to clean things up, which means, you'll be using an HPF to trim the bottom off of anything that doesn't need it. If your chord synth isn't contributing to the bass, lop off anything below, say, 30-60 Hz. Lead, same deal. In fact, I usually HPF everything but the bass instrument and the kick. It doesn't really change the sound of that instrument, unless you go too high and thin things out too much, but once you get rid of the low end in everything that doesn't need it, you'll suddenly hear the details of your mix a lot better. Now, instead of sticking a reverb plug on each track, try setting up an auxiliary send track with a decent stereo reverb (also works with delay). After the reverb, place an EQ plug or an HPF set to between 180 Hz-200 Hz. Send all the instrument tracks that need reverb to it, usually to the point where you can juuuuuust start to hear a decent ambience around said track. That's your basic mix. At that point, listen to the entire mix and try to pick out any problem areas, like maybe your bass synth isn't coming through, even if you have the fader way up, or you can't hear your snare. Those are the spots where you want to add a little compression or corrective EQ, with emphasis on "a little", just enough to solve the problem. Once that's done, your main concern will probably be the overall level of the finished track. Either mix it down to stereo (the best way to do it) and then experiment on the mix in a two-track editor, or, if you're determined to master it right out of the DAW, place a decent limiter plug on your master fader. Here's where you might be tempted to stick on a tape emulator, a compressor, some sort of mastering EQ or T-RackS … don't give into the temptation. Just a regular old stereo limiter will do fine. All of that other stuff ends up emphasizing the wrong thing, or over-compressing your mix, or, worst of all, changing your mix to the point where you have a pre-mastering chain mix and a post-mastering chain mix. Keep it simple. You can bring that other stuff in later on, after you figure out what it does and if you even need it. Use the limiter to boost the mix's volume until your average RMS is about -14 to -10 dB and you're peaking at -0.3 dB. And remember to switch the limiter off while you're mixing, because even that will affect your judgment.

 

Mix sounds decent. Heard much worse. Yep, watch tutorials, but more important: A / B while mixing (mastering) with some of your favorite tracks and see if your mix stands.

 

My greatest problem now is EQing, When i cut narrow down the fizzy frequencies on synths i can't get a clean sound, in my ears results
a boxed sound as Youtube audio or MP3 64 KB, ;( I use Sylenth Nexus Hive etc etc. i don't like to use samples, vocals only, because use processed sounds is too easy, you can't clean too much on

 

Do you have access to an analyzer plug, like Waves' PAZ? That will allow you to actually see which frequencies are causing you problems. Also, your EQ might be too broad; try using a de-esser that will let you do extremely narrow bandwidths. You may also want to consider using just enough EQ to damp those offending frequencies down without killing them entirely.

 

Your mix sounds to me on my system, way too hot between around 1.5K to 3K. That's becuase in part the snare has no low mid and is overloading the signal. If you've EQed the snare, try and let a bit more through around 300--800 and look to put the power in using lower frequencies. That may well allow you to open the upper mids a bit more overall.

 

+1 on Fudsey Plange's comment. How do you monitor, at what level, is your room treated?

 

I use Equilibrium and VPS Scope for that. First I need to know how to clean very well the sound, that's the greatest problem in my mind, How to know exactly which are the top resonant frequencies to remove out? i know checking up the resonant frequencies and after cut down (no more of 6DB) but the sound to be muddy and i can't get a clean powerful result. For example. Have i use M/S on mixing especially on synths?
Second problem, i don't know why the spatial sound is a sh*t everytime, no width also after using S1 Imager, mastered track is too far of my head/ears, i tried to decrease reverb effect, no way out to improve it, I used a tons of effects to pump it up...
Chain: BX EQ V2-->The Glue-->Ozone 7-->L2 ;(

 

Generally speaking, you don't want to use M/S processing unless you've recorded something with a M/S microphone setup. Take it off of anything you have it on. See if that helps. To start with, you should actually pull all of your plugs off of your tracks. Now, just add an HPF to any track that doesn't need a bottom end and be careful with how much bottom end you remove. Keep it simple until you have your fundamental mix down. It already sounds like you're putting on way too many plugs per track that you don't need.

Graphically, you should be able to see/hear the offending frequencies, or at least be able to see where they are. In fact, if you put the scope plug right after the EQ on that track and keep both windows open, you should be able to see how you're affecting those frequencies. You don't want to get rid of them, you just want to smooth them out a little. Hell, for that matter, you can try a high-shelf EQ close to that range and just bump it down a dB or two to start, see if that helps with those sounds.

Again, it sounds like you have way too many plugs on your mastering chain that you don't need. You definitely don't need two compressors (The Glue and Ozone 7). Get rid of everything but L2 for now. Bypass L2 and try doing a mix with nothing active on the mastering chain. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Over-compression means you're squashing all the dynamics out of your track. Your stereo field is likely all the same volume right now; the sides are as loud as your stereo center and everything is exaggerated. And get rid of any stereo widening plugs. If you mix without anything on your mastering chain, you should be able to hear your stereo field a lot better without having to add widening plugs of any kind. Once you have your basic mix down, turn L2 back on and lower the threshold until the mix sounds as loud as you want it to sound. Sounds loud enough? Good, now move the L2 threshold back up a dB or two. Bounce your mix. See if you like that any better.

 

What is the best signal chain for pumping up the drum?

 

Appreciated, i will try out
No M/S EQ on insert ok, i will use high/lowshelf on synth and master

 

Give it a shot! Once you have the basics down and you're happy with the overall sound, you can then go back and start adding more plugs, if you feel like your mix still needs it.

 

Yeah i agree with fudsey, no mid weight to that snare and sticks out way too much in the mix, could do with a bit of reverb on it maybe aswell as dropping it a few db.

Rest of the mix sounds ok though, timing on shaker (or whatever it is) is a bit weird

 

DONT CHANGE ANYTHING !!!

it's a unique style , perfect to get out of the crowd !

The only things to enhance a little bit are the drums. Nothing complex, just lower the gain of the snare a little (- 2db up to -5db) and add a reverb and may be a little delay on it.

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2016