rythm track dipping(?)

[agitatedbells]

Hi guys. (relatively) new to the forum. Just wondering on tips for rythm guitar and lead mixing. I apologise if this has been mentioned before but after a search i couldnt find a topic that really matched my query.

Just wondering if its common occurance to lower the rythm tracks a bit in the mix when the leads come in, and if so by how many Db usually? Trying to get it all to fit in the mix and its not quite gelling. I could EQ it, but i just wondered if this would work first, i quite like the tone ive got without having to mess with the EQ too much!!

cheers
Stu

 

[nwright]

I automate the rhythm guitars to drop in volume for leads usually. It somewhat depends on the lead and where it sits frequency wise as to how much the rhythms drop. If it's a lead taking place up above the 12th fret on higher strings, generally I don't feel the need to cut the rhythms as much. If it's more in the middle of the fretboard and adding counterpoint to the rhythm, I'll dip the volume on the rhythm guitars a bit more.

Also, how you have the rhythm guitars and lead guitars panned may play a role in what you decide to do in terms of volume automation.

 

[Masticore]

I think usually they would automate it. If needed, clck the ENV button on the mixer track you want to automate, click an x for Volume, then close it out. There will be another track underneath the selected track,and you can click, stretch and edit the automation like you were drawing, over the tracks wav image.

I also guess you could use ducking techniques to achieve the same result.

 

[guitarguru777]

Ya i usually automate a drop on the backing guitars during a solo. I think most of us do.

 

[Ermz]

Yep, automate everything as needed.

Shouldn't need to drop more than like 2 or 3dB? For me it's normally fairly subtle because i don't want to lose the drive that the rhythms are giving in the back, so i'll try to gain as much separation using EQ and compression as possible, before resorting to ducking rhythms drastically.

 

[ahjteam]

I find that a small wide dip at 3khz helps to give the lead the spatial space but not drop the volume as a volume drop would do.

 

[greyskull]

yeah normally 1 or 2 db tops

 

[Aaron Smith]

I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said... Generally any section of the song that only has rhythm parts going on gets set to whatever level I like, and I think of that as kind of the benchmark guitar level. Then I'll go through other sections that feature solos, leads, or secondary rhythm parts and automate it all down slightly, rarely more than -2dB anywhere for me. I just cut the guitar waveforms between sections (verse/chorus/whatever) to make it easier to select sections quickly and cleanly, and work my way through the song- it actually goes pretty quick, and is pretty much one of the last things I do before the mix is done.

On guitar solos specifically, I try to match the level so that it's comparable to whatever the main vocal level sits at in the rest of the song...just makes sense to me, because a solo is basically just taking over the front role that the vocal takes the rest of the time!

 

[greyskull]

I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said... Generally any section of the song that only has rhythm parts going on gets set to whatever level I like, and I think of that as kind of the benchmark guitar level. Then I'll go through other sections that feature solos, leads, or secondary rhythm parts and automate it all down slightly, rarely more than -2dB anywhere for me. I just cut the guitar waveforms between sections (verse/chorus/whatever) to make it easier to select sections quickly and cleanly, and work my way through the song- it actually goes pretty quick, and is pretty much one of the last things I do before the mix is done.

On guitar solos specifically, I try to match the level so that it's comparable to whatever the main vocal level sits at in the rest of the song...just makes sense to me, because a solo is basically just taking over the front role that the vocal takes the rest of the time!

+1 exactly.

 

[agitatedbells]

cheers for that guys. took everyones advice on board.

gotta pick up the tricks of the trade from somewhere... may as well be here!!