ok so my friend took a crack at mixing but hes kinda stuck with what to do, he had this to say..
"I've been somewhat hesitant to post this thread for fear of verbal bashings of "noob" and the like.
but after spending an hour or so on the search function, to no avail. I feel it is time to ask my question.
I have two songs that I programmed in MIDI and then ran through my triton extreme, then directly back in to the computer.
One of which I decided to take a crack at mixing.
Which actually didn't turn out too bad. I got the things I wanted to some out a bit more, everything sounds clearer, more distinguishable, and more lifelike. However my problem lies in that the unmixed(dry) recording of the song is actually louder and has alot more bass.
below is a link to each of this song, mixed and dry(unmixed).
http://www.soundclick.com/tacos
sorry all I have is soundclick to show these you.
Detailed Analysis:
the project is split up into 12 tracks which are:
Harp
Piano
5 pizzicato tracks(of all different timbres) which are:
viola pizz
violin pizz
cello pizz
bass pizz
and ensemble pizz
then I have
two slow attack digital strings tracks for backing and bass
two violin tracks for lead melody
and finally
bells
Since this was my first time mixing, I really wasn't sure where to start, but I knew of a vst plugin to use which I know to be fairly decent.
I used Izotope Ozone 3 for all my mixing.
The steps I took in mixing these tracks were:
First, I equalized everything till I brought out what I though the track needed. note: I never went into the negative dBs.
second, I added reverb to everything, as with everything I did on here, I tried not to go too overboard and just added as much as I felt neccesary to give the tracks a more life-like feel.
third, I used the loudness maximizer on tracks I felt turned out too quiet, or I decreased the gain margin to bring volumes of others down a bit.
fourth, I used a multiband harmonic exciter to bring out certain details of each track i.e. the rosin scrape from a stringed instrument.
fifth, I used a multiband dynamics function, which as I understand it, is some form of compressor, so I just tweaked it till it felt tighter and more brilliant.
lastly, I used a multiband stereo imager to add wideness to all the tracks. which I felt made everything sound bigger, like it should.
any input on what I did wrong or right would be greatly appreciated.
The main reason I posted this is to find out what a good way to start the mixing/master process would be. I would VERY much appreciate any help offered and I truly hope you enjoy the tracks.
furthermore, if you would like to try and mix them yourself I'd be happy to send all the individual dry tracks to see what kind of magic you guys can muster.
please help
Zac"
