1st post with a question.

[vondano]

first post here, so first of all, hi to all!

my name is Nicolas, im a 30yo guitarist/composer/AE enthousiast from Quebec, Canada, and I lurk here quite a lot!

I'm reading a lot of forum, and this one seems the best one to answer my questions about AE so here it goes!

I mix and track using Mackie MR8 and/or AKG ATH-M50s (if the gf is sleeping...)


now here's my question/problem:

i find the low end of my mixes always being the hard spot to work, my MR8 seems to lack a lot below 200 hz and my AKG seems even worst from 80 to 300hz when mixing at home and then listening to my mixes on someone else monitors, there seems to be a lot more low end (usualy a bit too much even tho i try to compensate in my mix...)

what i mean is, even when mixing with the +4db bass switch activated on my MR8, my mix low end always seems out of control when listening somewhere else (always too much bass) while at home, the low end seems lacking a bit.


i know a lot of bedroom AE like myself are using those with good result, so i think im probably deaf from all the mesa 4x12 cab i played in the last 10 years...

there seems to be quite a big difference between the ath-m50 and the MR8...

i dont know what to trust...

nowadays, I mix mostly with my MR8 with the +4 db bass switch, but I feal like its always a bit of a guess to know howl my mix will translate...


so,


how do you guys deal with this? any tricks or technique would be really appreciated

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=441370

i'm far from pro but i'll share anyway, those are my mixes, the top one being the newest. (the dragon warrior tribute and Yakuza Cowboy are my best one i'd say)

is the low end out of control in your listening setup?? are they awful? please be honest so i can work to improve!

thanx a lot for taking the time to read my awful english ( i usualy speak
french)

nico


p.s. i use and Axe-fx 2, ibanez uv777 guitar with no pick, superior 2 with metal foundry, and i mix and record in sonar with a bunch of vst

 

[heshian46]

My guess is you're probably sitting in a null spot in the room. Most 8" woofer'd monitors in small rooms will do this. Is your room treated at all?

 

[buhzie2]

My guess is you're probably sitting in a null spot in the room. Most 8" woofer'd monitors in small rooms will do this. Is your room treated at all?

^This. Most likely what's happening.

Also, to be safe, put on a HPF on almost every track, besides maybe the kick and bass. Most of the time, I'll even put a hpf on those, too.
Cut everything below 50-60hz. It will help with the subsonic lows and mud, then you can focus on controlling the low-mids, which is a whole other can of worms...

 

[AndrewB]

Yup, null spot sounds about right.

Also, like the gentleman above, I'd suggest putting a high pass on every track. Most of the time, I high pass EVERY track below at least 30-40 Hz. And then another high pass during the "mastering" stage (aka on the whole mix).

 

[Skinny Viking]

I was having this problem until I changed my room position and more importantly, treated my room so yeah, most likely a null

and high pass everything.... including kick and bass.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I was having this problem until I changed my room position and more importantly, treated my room so yeah, most likely a null

and high pass everything.... including kick and bass.

About where would you say you average at HP'ing bass and kick?

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ Kick I'm at 40 with a steep slope but I'll automate it up to like 50-55 sometimes for extended double bass intensive sections ... depends how much else is going on in those moments

bass is dependent on a few things but for the most part I'm running 2 bass tracks, one for the mids/highs the other for the lows ... the lows I cut at about 50 but I use a more gentle slope than the kick, the mid/highs are around 90 -100 If I'm not mistaken (gentle slope, adjust to taste)

Bass is also a 5 string with the whole bass transposed down a minor 3rd so it tends to buildup a lot of low end energy

 

[vondano]

my room aint treated at all, its quite big ( mancave is about 20 x 12)

i do tend to High pass a lot,

usualy i go around:

bass: 85hz
guit: 115hz
I dont HP the kick... I usualy boost the low end in a stupid way and cut a lot of mids... i try to get the bass sitting just around the kick

take a listen to one of my last song, and please let me know if the bass seems out of control to you guys

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=441370&songID=11133112 or http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=441370&songID=11178397 ( I think the second one mix is better...)

also: how do you go between using headphone and monitor??

the sound of my monitor is more pleasing but i dont know if I should thrust them over my AKG ATH-M50...like i said, both seem to lack bass and a bit of low mid...


thanx a lot for taking time to help me out!

nico

 

[Skinny Viking]

if your room is untreated your monitors are probably lying to you which is why things are not translating properly

 

[guitarguru777]

if your room is untreated your monitors are lying to you which is why things are not translating properly

Fixed .. there should be no probably in that sentence.

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ more so my manner of speech than my actual thought

you're correct, there should be no "probably" ... I just tend to say it a lot and its started coming out in my typing