that "recorded in a bedroom" sound

[OliverShillito]

Hey guys,

I was hoping someone could offer some insight, whenever I track a rough song mainly using SSD for drums and Pod farm, my mixes never seem to sound as clear as other peoples I have heard, with or without EQ.

I just cant seem to get past that home demo sound, I use a Digidesign 002r into Pro Tools 8 LE, now as far as I was aware, the converters on the 002 suck ass.

But if I was mixing entirely ITB using Virtual Instruments, should they really make a difference? Do the converters affect the final mix down?

I am a little confused, I am using the same stuff a lot of people use, except some how it doesnt sound as good. I just dont get it!

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Williamn]

Cant listen to your mixes as im at work..
Anyway, its easy to blame everything else.. but tbh most likely the harsh reality is you are just not as good as the people you are comparing yourself to.

Just because you are using the same tools does not mean you are gonna get the same results.

 

[OliverShillito]

Thanks for the reply, I know there is much learning to be done yet, and I can hear my mixes getting better over time, I just wondered if this issue was something out of my control or something I am doing/not doing. Thanks anyway man =]

 

[Trevoire520]

The converters in the 002 aren't so bad that they'll stop you from being able to put out a good mix. Lots of 80's records were made on Alesis ADAT's that had MUCH worse conversion than even the cheapest of cheap interfaces these days.

 

[TeddyNamek]

Hey Oliver, just listened to your mixes, they sound good! Quite narrow sounding though, how have you done your guitar tracks?

 

[OliverShillito]

Thats good to know man, its clearly an issue on my end then! Back to the drawing board I think =P

 

[OliverShillito]

Hey Oliver, just listened to your mixes, they sound good! Quite narrow sounding though, how have you done your guitar tracks?

Hey man,

I usually record the DI guitars into a Focusrite Platinum Trakmaster, then Pod Farm EX, some EQ and panned hard left hard right, generally speaking I don't quad track. Sometimes I also add a verb in a aux channel and pan that hard as well.

Where do you think I am going wrong?

 

[TeddyNamek]

Hey man,

I usually record the DI guitars into a Focusrite Platinum Trakmaster, then Pod Farm EX, some EQ and panned hard left hard right, generally speaking I don't quad track. Sometimes I also add a verb in a aux channel and pan that hard as well.

Where do you think I am going wrong?

What i would suggest, (what works in my mixes) , try doing a hard right and hard left, then center a track and bring the volume down on that track. Look around for a good free High Pass Filter and a Low Pass Filter to trim some of the unwanted ITB sounds you get when recording digitally, the mix itself is pimp though dude, props!

:Spin:

 

[setyouranchor]

Dont add verb to your guitars

 

[OliverShillito]

Cool man, I have a ton of decent EQ plugins, I'll try that, see if it cleans things up a little. Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[Vinny]

What i would suggest, (what works in my mixes) , try doing a hard right and hard left, then center a track and bring the volume down on that track. Look around for a good free High Pass Filter and a Low Pass Filter to trim some of the unwanted ITB sounds you get when recording digitally, the mix itself is pimp though dude, props!

:Spin:

The only time you really should put a guitar track in the middle is for leads/solos. 2 tracks hard L and R are enough to get a big rhythm sound.

 

[ahjteam]

I've heard worse. Can barely hear the bass guitar on the first clip tho. Just learn your monitors in and out, practice practice practice, mix mix mix and gather more experience.

 

[OliverShillito]

Thanks for the comments guys, it's given me more confidence that not all is lost. I sometimes struggle with bass, as it never seems to translate well into my car system (has a sub). Pro recordings have a tight bottom end where as mine always seems a little loose sounding. Hence why it was quieter on some of the tracks. Its more than likely an EQ or
Comp thing so if anyone has some good tips I'd be happy to hear them!

 

[jimwilbourne]

you definitely are moving in a good direction.

as ahj said.just keep mixing & critically analyzing.
eventually you'll find a method that works really well for getting your low end in.

for me. it's all about how to kick hits (a have a couple kick tricks I've developed for that) and how much room you allow the bass guitar to take your low end (and higher freq as well).

also. it may help to listen to your car speakers flat for a long period of time. and listen to your own mixes flat in your car. this way you don't over color your mixes.