Guitar + Synths/Choirs mixing.

[Seizure.]

This has been biting me in the ass for some while now..

I can never get satisfied with how my guitars and synths/choirs mix..

So i was wonder how you guys do it..

How do you Pan/EQ/Compress, Reverb? Delay?

Any help would be cool

JB!

 

[abyssofdreams]

depends if the synths really should just support the guitars and fill "gaps" to make it sound more full or anything...

I usually just filter them HP up to 300 and LP down to sometimes 8000 (depends on the synth)
I almost never compress them but then again, most synths I use have compression build-in right from the start.
Panning either hard left/right or down to L70/R70, never in the center though.

Reverb and delay only for atmosphere when no guitars are there, otherwise it gets muddy quite quick but sometimes I just send some of the signal to a wide delay so they fit better in the mix (think of vocals...).

If you're going for an In Flames kinda synth vibe I'd keep them rather dry.

 

[abyssofdreams]

oh and ask Bob

 

[vespiz]

I usually scoop a little (or a lot, depending) low-mids from the synth tracks, somewhere between 2-400Hz, unless the sound calls for it of course.
Then I like to use some stereo widening tools, like the Waves S1, just a little bit.
Usually no compression, unless there's some unruly resonant filter-sweeps going on.

Then delays and reverbs as I see fit and what I'd like to hear in the track. No hard rules here (if there ever is).

 

[joeymusicguy]

This has been biting me in the ass for some while now..

I can never get satisfied with how my guitars and synths/choirs mix..

So i was wonder how you guys do it..

How do you Pan/EQ/Compress, Reverb? Delay?

Any help would be cool

JB!

sometimes i use sonic maximizer plugin on strings, to make the bow sliding on the string more pronounced, thats my style

digital strings / synths / choir usually just need some high shelf boost, high pass filter, and some mid adjustments

if you have trouble getting any volume out of that kinda stuff in a BRICKWALL mix, try adding overdrive (psp vintage warmer) on it, you'll need to low pass filter some synth fizz though

 

[joeymusicguy]

oh almost forgot, use a really good (impulse) reverb for real sounding strings, fake strings usually have their own reverbs, and hardly ever use delay on anything unless thats the intended effect, or i want to simulate reverb without actually using reverb...

no compression necessary on this stuff usually, unless its a piano track (which is actually a percussive instrument)

i think thats about it

 

[abyssofdreams]

nice tips joey!
I'm gonna steal em

 

[grywolf627]

I usually scoop a little (or a lot, depending) low-mids from the synth tracks, somewhere between 2-400Hz...

I especially do this on the choirs. I'll usually scoop out some in this area...or maybe a little higher in the 400-500Hz range to thin it out a little and make room for everything else. But it also really depends on the samples being used.

 

[Seizure.]

Thanks allready i'll start tweaking again today!

Especially the distortion trick sounds good hehe

And keep'm coming obviously

 

[vespiz]

I especially do this on the choirs. I'll usually scoop out some in this area...or maybe a little higher in the 400-500Hz range to thin it out a little and make room for everything else. But it also really depends on the samples being used.

So true. And (of course) on what's going on "around" them.

To the OP, if you use them, don't forget to eq the reverbs/delays to make them fit better!

 

[vespiz]

Oh yeah, one thing that I find myself using a lot is some kind of tape-warming thingy, especially on strings (oo-er..). Tames the harsh highs nicely, pushes the low-mid forward some, but cutting a bit more with eq usually clears that up. I like this more than just using eq to shelf or low-pass.

Come to think of it, I rarely use shelving on eq!