[question] Maintaining consistency through entire record

[medic999]

Just wondering what a good method for keeping a consistent mix for every song on the same record. Do people just use one session for an entire album or a new session each song? Create a template? im noticing even though im mixing with the same settings on different songs the result sounds a little bit different. I even just go as far as erasing all the recorded tracks for a song and importing DIs and drums so all the processing is EXACTLY the same but it still changes somehow.

 

[Cacoph0ny]

I do everything in one session, it is 10x easier. I can't imagine doing one session per song. It can get a bit crazy when automating but its way better than having to make a change and then adjust it for 9 other sessions

 

[JeffTD]

Every song is going to have different balances and possibly some different eq depending on differences in speed/intensity, I find that as long as you've used the same source sounds and general processing (basic eq, compression, wet fx, samples, etc...) it's going to sound cohesive without worrying too much about consistency.

 

[blue_fAng]

Yea create a template, after you've finished mixing one song. Remember that every song doesnt have to sound 100% like each other. New strings on guitars and bass in every song for consistent tones (and better sound of course), automation on drums, vox, etc helps a lot too, as long as you use the same settings on every instrument that's about it for me. Every album i've heard has diferences from song to another. Would you mind to post samples so we can judge what's wrong, if you have some?

 

[medic999]

cool thanks. i think im going to have to just have one session so i can keep an eye on levels and such, I think that would help me out a lot. Im still a newb. these mixes are still unfinished, missing leads and vocals, I had vocals but I used some condenser mic that I dont think fit well with our singer. Going to redo them with a 57 and see how that sounds.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/51222289/intro.mp3
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/51222289/no respect.mp3

only thing different is I tracked the guitars on the first song, our other guitar player did the second one. and he used his guitar which is better than mine.

 

[JeffTD]

Changing players and instruments is changing fundamentals - good luck getting those to sound super consistent!

 

[medic999]

gotcha. Ill also try to keep those the same.

 

[medic999]

Also just wanted to say thanks to everyone here who provides useful information on this forum. I know sampled drums and amp Sims are kind of generic and lifeless but a guys gotta start somewhere before he invests in some real equipment! Its a hell of a lot cheaper too. I learned all shitload of stuff here that I wouldn't have got anywhere else. Still got a lot to learn especially on actually using mics haha

 

[Jordon]

Every song is going to have different balances and possibly some different eq depending on differences in speed/intensity, I find that as long as you've used the same source sounds and general processing (basic eq, compression, wet fx, samples, etc...) it's going to sound cohesive without worrying too much about consistency.

+1

That was a big lesson for me to figure out when I first started. I worried about consistency and everything sounding exactly the same, but when I started thinking logically, it started to make less sense to worry about it.

Every song is different, every song will have a different vibe...so there's no reason to try to force them to sound the same. Go with what is right for each song, and as long as everything was tracked properly, things will come together to form a cohesive project.

Jeff was spot-on.

 

[medic999]

i totally understand. i think what im doing is i finally get something i think sounds cool, and i want to make sure i dont dick with it because if it sounds cool with this song, then it will sound cool for the next one. when in fact i should be approaching each song as its own entity. makes total sense.

 

[Gelatin]

I do everything in one session, it is 10x easier. I can't imagine doing one session per song. It can get a bit crazy when automating but its way better than having to make a change and then adjust it for 9 other sessions

This

 

[if6was9]

I try to track it all in one session and I'll mix one song as a template and have all my busses, grups etc.. all set up. Then i'll save new session from this with each individual song and tweak them from there.

Saves time tracking and loads of time mixing and keeps everything pretty consistent, though as stated above each song will need things to be a bit unique anyway to sound it's best.

I find some bands obsess over the consistency to a point where it can harm some mixes on an album to fit in with others. I did a 3 track E.P before with a band where they did all the tracks in different sessions over the space of a few months and they sound perfectly close. No one knew we'd done it like that and I surprised alot of people when I told them.

A good thing to do is to bounce out your nearly finished mixes and import them into a new project. Match their volumes and then jump around the project to see if anything pops up as weird in any of the songs. Sometimes you get so caught up in little details something big slips by and you don't notice it till you hear it like this.

 

[schwinginbatman]

^ More or less what I do. For my band's demo, we recorded the first song, then when I finished it, I saved track templates for each instrument, and imported them to each new session. It makes things a lot quicker, and I can still make the necessary changes from song to song.

 

[blue_fAng]

Or you could export the first song, play it in your music player at max volume ocasionally after you loaded other sessions, assuming you are saving song per session.

 

[006]

Another vote for all in one session. I used to do a new session for each song, templates and all that... it was a pain in the ass compared to all in one. I will never go back to that.

 

[if6was9]

Another vote for all in one session. I used to do a new session for each song, templates and all that... it was a pain in the ass compared to all in one. I will never go back to that.

Had to go back to copying and pasting effects chains from one session to another for a session recently. Hated it, felt like such a huge waste of time and killed my mood when I started working on it.

 

[xTomx]

I don't know what DAW you're using but in Logic 9 you can copy all the plug-ins, routing etc from one session to another with the browser - makes life so much easier.

 

[Audio X]

Separate session for each song.

Most of the consistency or continuity of an album comes from the production techniques used as well as paying attention to details of the engineering and then finally tied together with mastering.

 

[blue_fAng]

i have a two questions for the 'all in one session' guys: doesn't it consume too much RAM? What is your average memory consumed for and album in one session?

 

[006]

I don't know what DAW you're using but in Logic 9 you can copy all the plug-ins, routing etc from one session to another with the browser - makes life so much easier.

Great feature, except that having it all in one session negates the need for that entirely. And I believe most DAWs also have that feature.

i have a two questions for the 'all in one session' guys: doesn't it consume too much RAM? What is your average memory consumed for and album in one session?

I don't have any issues with that. Only running 4GB here.