mixing for a cd, make everything sound the same?

[Goodfellas453]

hey i dont know how i would phrase the title, but basically for mixing all my songs for our EP, how do you guys typically do this? like i, as of right now have 6 project files 1 for each song, when mixing and mastering should i put them all in one master project so that the kick levels and snare levels bass tone etc are similar? or do i just work on each song and try to keep it the same, like say on one song i have figured out the tones, EQ, levels should i just do the same settings each song? or start at 0 again and try to get the same sound? Thanks!

 

[DullElysium]

You can make a template of the "perfect" sound and copy every song
To the same project. OR copy the levels and plugins from the perfect projet to every project. Either way should sound the same if the source is similiar in every project.

 

[Folkrav]

I mix all songs in the same project. Easier for me to check everything twice, I don't have to switch around projects. Easier for the automation rides too, I start at the first song, then ride everything, then little manual tweaks, and done.

I use normally 3 projects per album.

1- MAIN PROJECT
Where I put the edited bounces, where I setup the programmed drums / synths / etc.
2- INSTRUMENTAL
Where I track everything that is external instruments (DIs, acoustic guitars, etc.) AND edit my stuff
3- VOCAL
Where I track everything that is vocals. I first make the screamer make a small part of the song, with "guide" overdubs, and I make a quick first mix multiple separate tracks that works for the vocalists voice. Then I create a "tracking" track where I record the vocals straight there, edit the takes immediately after the vocalist made them, then put the take in the right track. This way I already have an idea of where to create doubles, etc.

At the end of this I just transfer the vocal track settings in the first main project and voila, ready for automation and last minute mix adjustments. Helps me keep everything clean, and I work real faster this way instead of getting lost in the 523083 tracks I created for this and that. Cubase folders/group tracks and the possibility to hide MIDI tracks in mixer is great for this too. I found out I work real faster, and REAL better when I can find what I'm looking for in seconds. Since I started organizing my projects like that, my work is so much easier.

Yeah, this is, at least in a part, the way Joey deals with it, at least on the vocal tracking part. But heh... I tried it after seeing it could be dealt this way and I loved it. Can't help but using a trick that works.

 

[setyouranchor]

I find the way Folkrav described is a bit too scary for me. I candela
With loosing 1 song, but loosing a whole cd is too much for me
To risk. Ill mix and master the first song to perfection, delete all audio regions, automation etc, save as "new song name"
And just record in there.

 

[jimwilbourne]

I'm experimenting with a new method on a project I'm working on this time around:

say you have 8 songs to mix/master.
go through a do all your editing first (if not already complete. this includes all your post production additions)
then start with tuning and mixing the vocals (or drums. depending on whether you like starting from the top or bottom of the mix) for each song without touching anything else.
then continue doing this to each element in each file. this way, it'll be much easier to make your mixes consistent and much less tedious than the copy each setting method.
now that you have your chains for each element in tact for each mix, go back and pick a song to perfect. since you've pretty much done 90% of the work, you'll basically just be setting levels, automating levels & and doing small tweaks to some EQ and such.
this process allows you to spend less time copying settings mindlessly and focusing more on your mixing.

this process can key for those who find that after you spend several mind-numbing hours copying settings to each song only to find that one song sounds better than the others and you have no idea where it went wrong because you didn't take time to address each song's particular needs.
This process is also particularly KEY to those of us that blur the line between mixing and mastering and make it into one big step.

 

[Folkrav]

I find the way Folkrav described is a bit too scary for me. I candela
With loosing 1 song, but loosing a whole cd is too much for me
To risk. Ill mix and master the first song to perfection, delete all audio regions, automation etc, save as "new song name"
And just record in there.

Honestly, I save as crazy and have set the automatic "backups" I think at 15 minutes. So the worse that happened was losing 15 minutes of job...

 

[Trevoire520]

I just record edit an mix every song in the same project. Then once the mix is 95% there I'll save a different session for each song so I can do song specific things like automation etc without fucking with all the other songs. Everything like compressor/eq settings. Levels of drums, bass and rhythmn guitars are all the same though. Just tends to be vocal rides, solo's etc that are different at this stage.

 

[jimwilbourne]

I just record edit an mix every song in the same project. Then once the mix is 95% there I'll save a different session for each song so I can do song specific things like automation etc without fucking with all the other songs. Everything like compressor/eq settings. Levels of drums, bass and rhythmn guitars are all the same though. Just tends to be vocal rides, solo's etc that are different at this stage.

I would do it this way. But I don't want to deal with having 600 tracks in one file (from all my editing/post work) and then trying to match them together.