Brand new to mixing, check out my mix

[chrisadvocate]

Just started mixing and such two days ago, so I obviously don't have much experience. I just used basic eq's for the guitars my buddy gave me as well as sturgis preset in podfarm. I only have a trial version of addictive drums at the moment until i can afford the sturgis/slate samples to put in kontakt, so i only have snare/kick/hi hat/crash in this.

As for mastering, I used the "Heavy master" preset, or whatever it's called in logic. i put compressors on all of the instruments individually as well.

Also, i have absolutely no idea what to do as far as bass mixing goes, let me know how it sounds.

Thanks so much. If this is the wrong way to go about doing this let me know, I'm new to the forums.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8879741/SASS REMASTERED.mp3

 

[chrisadvocate]

Anyone? I could really use an outside ear and constructive criticism.

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

First off, its too compressed. The mix pulsing around the kick. It's not a bad mix overall, but you need to loosen up on the compression/limiting.

 

[chrisadvocate]

First off, its too compressed. The mix pulsing around the kick. It's not a bad mix overall, but you need to loosen up on the compression/limiting.

Should I put a compressor on the master track as well as the individual tracks? And any tips on which settings to change to loosen up the compression? Sorry if these seem like dumb questions, but like I said, this is literally my second day doing this. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

Should I put a compressor on the master track as well as the individual tracks? And any tips on which settings to change to loosen up the compression? Sorry if these seem like dumb questions, but like I said, this is literally my second day doing this. Thanks for the feedback!

Sure, but generally you do light compression on the final mix bus. Usually I go something like clipper -> comp -> clipper -> comp -> final mastering plug (Waves L3 or something).

The compressors usually have really low ratios - 1.5:1 - 2:1 depending on the song with a fast-ish attack 5 - 10 ms and a medium release 40 - 50 ms. Then I set the threshold on each one to where it is just barely compressing.

The clippers are there to literally cut down peaks that happen from things like the crack of a snare of the kick drum in your mix. THese are typically the loudest element and you want to clip them (again, slightly and in stages) so that your compressors aren't just ducking hardcore every time one of them goes off.

 

[chrisadvocate]

Sure, but generally you do light compression on the final mix bus. Usually I go something like clipper -> comp -> clipper -> comp -> final mastering plug (Waves L3 or something).

The compressors usually have really low ratios - 1.5:1 - 2:1 depending on the song with a fast-ish attack 5 - 10 ms and a medium release 40 - 50 ms. Then I set the threshold on each one to where it is just barely compressing.

The clippers are there to literally cut down peaks that happen from things like the crack of a snare of the kick drum in your mix. THese are typically the loudest element and you want to clip them (again, slightly and in stages) so that your compressors aren't just ducking hardcore every time one of them goes off.

Ok, so i did some of what you said. I honestly had no idea where to find a clipper, so i googled it for logic and someone had a thread saying how bitcrusher can be used as one with the right setting. The thread is here:

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/554933-logic-users-looking-free-clipper-plugin.html

so i ran bitcrusher>comp>bitcrusher>comp on the master track, i honestly have no idea how to bus them though : /

It came out sounding pretty similar but i feel like the guitars sound like they're peaking, but they aren't. I also put an eq on the drums, a complete shot in the dark for me.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8879741/Sass 3.mp3

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

It sounds way better to my ears. The snare has a bit more smack to it. The next thing you need to do is slap a multi-band compressor on those guitars to compress out those low-mids. They are overwhelming the mix, and every time you chug they make the mix feel clausterphobic. The typical range you want to set your multi-band is from like 90hz - 280hz. Give it a fairly quick attack (20ms) or so and a slightly slower release (30ms). Also make sure you are high passing your guitars (around 80 - 100hz) and low passing them (around 12 - 15k, wherever it sounds like you are getting rid of the fizzly high end).

 

[Ascendant]

Need a clipper? Gclip.

 

[chrisadvocate]

Ok, did what you just said. I used the multipressor plugin on both of them and hi passed/lo passed the frequencies you said. I honestly can't hear much of a difference, but maybe it's because I don't really have an ear for this yet. And once again, thanks for all the help and patience, I really appreciate it!

Edit: I also remixed the kick a bit to make it more audible/less overpowering in the mix, not sure how well i did.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8879741/sass multipressor.mp3

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

Ok, did what you just said. I used the multipressor plugin on both of them and hi passed/lo passed the frequencies you said. I honestly can't hear much of a difference, but maybe it's because I don't really have an ear for this yet. And once again, thanks for all the help and patience, I really appreciate it!

Edit: I also remixed the kick a bit to make it more audible/less overpowering in the mix, not sure how well i did.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8879741/sass multipressor.mp3

It sounds like you didn't properly set the threshold on the multiband compressor. Make sure you are bypassing ALL other frequency ranges except for the one that I mentioned. And then lower the threshold until you start getting a fair amount of compression on the mix.

And I'm hearing a lot digital distortion in your mix, which is a sign that it's being limited way too hard. My advice to you is stop worrying about getting your mix loud until you have the mix sounding good on its own first.

 

[delayshifter]

over compressed.