What's your signal chain look like usually for your tracks?

[hosnappp]

I ask because I'm having a kind of stand-still with my productions.
They sound realllly good to me at first but then I listen to someone else's and my ego kinda gets shut down. But to me, that's good. I like having stuff to improve upon, I just don't always know what that is. Like now. I like my stuff but I would like to know how to like it even more. IE, try different things that some more experienced(better) producers like most of you are doing and seeing if it helps me at all or maybe some other people reading.

Note, I'm not asking to be spoonfed! And I don't want any trade secrets of yours being thrown out, but maybe some of the simple stuff. I haven't taken any classes or anything, no education on this kind of stuff to help me along. And teaching yourself is great but I just think without an environment where you're learning from others, it's kind of slow going when it comes to what you can take in and learn.

I'll share mine and see if that starts things up.

For my main guitar tracks, I usually pan them hard left and right, and lately(since I don't have a bass... YET! ) I put one in the center to give it some extra umph.

I use Cubase 5.

Left and right chains:
POD Farm 2 (Ampsim, I guess would fit here)
Compressor
Studio EQ
Plus some EQ on the track settings, alone. But it only has 4 bands so I usually end up using a Studio EQ insert to get things a little more customized.

Center:
Same thing but minus the additional EQ band cause I keep some low end to make it feel bassy-er. Probably not great but it's what I have to work with.

Vocals(Clean)Center:
Delay
Compressor

Vocals left and right:
Compressor

Vocals(Screams):
Ohmicide or any distortion vst.
Delay
Reverb
Compressor
Maximizer
Some of those are used selectively.

My drums are sampled and programmed through battery so there's not much to tell, here. I add reverb to all but the kick to simulate some mic bleed but otherwise, it's all EQ'ing and mixing.

Also, I do NO mastering, simply because I have no effing clue as where to start. I have about 1000 bucks at my disposal. If anyone can recommend a great mastering suite, that'd be helpful. I have most of the Waves plugins but I don't think I'm ready to use them yet. And I probably don't have as many of them as I think. I just bought a bundle off of their website months ago and I figured I'd mess with them when I found time but I haven't had the aspiration to try to figure out each one and find out their place.

I'm sorry if this is a lot to ask. But I know that I'm going to use every piece of advice, criticism, information there is to the absolute fullest because that's just how I feel about this stuff. And I know that's how the rest of us are, too

Here's my latest and another I'm kinda proud of:

http://www.box.net/shared/fqm254gelsnxmuk72u3l
http://www.box.net/shared/lgsd3mfpiy

If it's my editing, let me know, if it's my songwriting, let me know. It's my settings and methods or EQ'ing? Let me know, I'll mess with it as much as I can to satisfy myself because right now, I'm just not!

Thanks so much. I feel like this might have gone a little off topic of the subject but I do mean what's in the title, as well. I wanna see signal chains.

From an amateur to a community of informative wealth, thank you.

It means the world if you guys really listen and help me out. Before you know it, I might be helping someone out with some similar questions I once had.

And hell, if you like the mixes or anyone elses, I wanna have people be able to ask about what they did.
I feel like the 'Rate my tone' threads are often filled with, 'It's awesome, dude!' and not much else feedback. Which is great! But I'm looking to go a little more in-depth.

For the third and last time, thanks a ton

 

[ahjteam]

Depends entirely what the track needs. With exception of a -0.3 limiter in the master bus, I try to use my ears before I do anything. Lately I've been doing the "only minimal processing or no processing at all after sound source". Mixing with unity gain usually tells if the processing is actually hurting or making the track better. How to mix at unity gain is so that you set the output volume of whatever processor you are using to be as close as possible the same as when the processing is bypassed. This is to remedy the "louder is better" effect. I have many times noticed that bypassing the processing makes the track sound better in 80% of the time.

Does it sound good? I dunno. Sometimes I think it does, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[hosnappp]

Depends entirely what the track needs. With exception of a -0.3 limiter in the master bus, I try to use my ears before I do anything. Lately I've been doing the "only minimal processing or no processing at all after sound source". Mixing with unity gain usually tells if the processing is actually hurting or making the track better. How to mix at unity gain is so that you set the output volume of whatever processor you are using to be as close as possible the same as when the processing is bypassed. This is to remedy the "louder is better" effect. I have many times noticed that bypassing the processing makes the track sound better in 80% of the time.

Does it sound good? I dunno. Sometimes I think it does, sometimes it doesn't.

Thank you I actually realized how badly I need a bass last week when I clicked on the first link in your signature. I'll try doing things as minimally as possible and not rely on volume to make the mixes sound big.

 

[timislegend]

there is almost no balance (at all) with these mixes.


before you make processing choices, be sure to have a balanced, leveled mix:

-it's good to start with the kick drum. don't let this pass -18db.
-move on to the rest of the drums; snare/toms/brass etc.
-work on the stereo image with the overheads and toms, this can really improve your overall drum sound.
-don't over do the overheads... sometimes they can appear to be really heavy in the mix.
-if you are going to compress the guitar, it would most likely be a much better result by limiting (use a limiter) as it will increase perceived loudness and tame the transients a lot better than just average compression.

-the mid-low range frequency content seems to be a bit overwhelming in these mixes... try to high pass filter all of the instruments as this might cure some lower frequency masking.

-vocals are a bit tricky with regards to processing because it really depends on what is required (in terms of creative arrangement). i have always found that a simple hp filter/mild compression/limiter, will lower the overall dynamic range. it is also beneficial to "clip" the vocals in a effort to subdue some harsh mid range transients.

-much like drums, vocals and bass can become "wonky" and scattered everywhere... so it is important to mix these instruments relatively.

-once you have a nice quiet (rough) "mix" ...with plenty of head room, you can make arrangement choices i.e. sound effects, sub drops etc etc.

-some common methods for getting a "bigger" sounding (dense) mix is; drum-clipping, parallel compression, mid-side processing (mastering) and additive/subtractive equalization.


personally, i have found it to be helpful to start with "level mixing" (bottoms up method) then insert a channel strip plugin on every relevant channel and work from there. sometimes i will add a limiter (hardware/plugin) to achieve a "sharper/louder" signal. i typically like to hp filter everything and most of the time i tend to use a lot of subtractive eq.

it's kinda like a puzzle when eq'ing because you are removing frequencies from one instrument that you may like in another. but it's important to not "over-do-it."

finally, i consider the master to be a big part of what i want the mix to sound like... example: if the master sounds too different from the initial mix, i have failed and must start over. so i will typically only use the mastering stage as a final volume increase and formal output.


hope any of this makes sense, and/or helps.

 

[hosnappp]

there is almost no balance (at all) with these mixes.


before you make processing choices, be sure to have a balanced, leveled mix:

-it's good to start with the kick drum. don't let this pass -18db.
-move on to the rest of the drums; snare/toms/brass etc.
-work on the stereo image with the overheads and toms, this can really improve your overall drum sound.
-don't over do the overheads... sometimes they can appear to be really heavy in the mix.
-if you are going to compress the guitar, it would most likely be a much better result by limiting (use a limiter) as it will increase perceived loudness and tame the transients a lot better than just average compression.

-the mid-low range frequency content seems to be a bit overwhelming in these mixes... try to high pass filter all of the instruments as this might cure some lower frequency masking.

-vocals are a bit tricky with regards to processing because it really depends on what is required (in terms of creative arrangement). i have always found that a simple hp filter/mild compression/limiter, will lower the overall dynamic range. it is also beneficial to "clip" the vocals in a effort to subdue some harsh mid range transients.

-much like drums, vocals and bass can become "wonky" and scattered everywhere... so it is important to mix these instruments relatively.

-once you have a nice quiet (rough) "mix" ...with plenty of head room, you can make arrangement choices i.e. sound effects, sub drops etc etc.

-some common methods for getting a "bigger" sounding (dense) mix is; drum-clipping, parallel compression, mid-side processing (mastering) and additive/subtractive equalization.


personally, i have found it to be helpful to start with "level mixing" (bottoms up method) then insert a channel strip plugin on every relevant channel and work from there. sometimes i will add a limiter (hardware/plugin) to achieve a "sharper/louder" signal. i typically like to hp filter everything and most of the time i tend to use a lot of subtractive eq.

it's kinda like a puzzle when eq'ing because you are removing frequencies from one instrument that you may like in another. but it's important to not "over-do-it."

finally, i consider the master to be a big part of what i want the mix to sound like... example: if the master sounds too different from the initial mix, i have failed and must start over. so i will typically only use the mastering stage as a final volume increase and formal output.


hope any of this makes sense, and/or helps.

Thanks so much, this post was amazing. I'll be using this information a lot, I can tell.

 

[GearMan2point0]

there is almost no balance (at all) with these mixes.


before you make processing choices, be sure to have a balanced, leveled mix:

-it's good to start with the kick drum. don't let this pass -18db.
-move on to the rest of the drums; snare/toms/brass etc.
-work on the stereo image with the overheads and toms, this can really improve your overall drum sound.
-don't over do the overheads... sometimes they can appear to be really heavy in the mix.
-if you are going to compress the guitar, it would most likely be a much better result by limiting (use a limiter) as it will increase perceived loudness and tame the transients a lot better than just average compression.

-the mid-low range frequency content seems to be a bit overwhelming in these mixes... try to high pass filter all of the instruments as this might cure some lower frequency masking.

-vocals are a bit tricky with regards to processing because it really depends on what is required (in terms of creative arrangement). i have always found that a simple hp filter/mild compression/limiter, will lower the overall dynamic range. it is also beneficial to "clip" the vocals in a effort to subdue some harsh mid range transients.

-much like drums, vocals and bass can become "wonky" and scattered everywhere... so it is important to mix these instruments relatively.

-once you have a nice quiet (rough) "mix" ...with plenty of head room, you can make arrangement choices i.e. sound effects, sub drops etc etc.

-some common methods for getting a "bigger" sounding (dense) mix is; drum-clipping, parallel compression, mid-side processing (mastering) and additive/subtractive equalization.


personally, i have found it to be helpful to start with "level mixing" (bottoms up method) then insert a channel strip plugin on every relevant channel and work from there. sometimes i will add a limiter (hardware/plugin) to achieve a "sharper/louder" signal. i typically like to hp filter everything and most of the time i tend to use a lot of subtractive eq.

it's kinda like a puzzle when eq'ing because you are removing frequencies from one instrument that you may like in another. but it's important to not "over-do-it."

finally, i consider the master to be a big part of what i want the mix to sound like... example: if the master sounds too different from the initial mix, i have failed and must start over. so i will typically only use the mastering stage as a final volume increase and formal output.


hope any of this makes sense, and/or helps.

Way to go Timislegend!

 

[OneDaySky]

there is almost no balance (at all) with these mixes.


before you make processing choices, be sure to have a balanced, leveled mix:

-it's good to start with the kick drum. don't let this pass -18db.
-move on to the rest of the drums; snare/toms/brass etc.
-work on the stereo image with the overheads and toms, this can really improve your overall drum sound.
-don't over do the overheads... sometimes they can appear to be really heavy in the mix.
-if you are going to compress the guitar, it would most likely be a much better result by limiting (use a limiter) as it will increase perceived loudness and tame the transients a lot better than just average compression.

-the mid-low range frequency content seems to be a bit overwhelming in these mixes... try to high pass filter all of the instruments as this might cure some lower frequency masking.

-vocals are a bit tricky with regards to processing because it really depends on what is required (in terms of creative arrangement). i have always found that a simple hp filter/mild compression/limiter, will lower the overall dynamic range. it is also beneficial to "clip" the vocals in a effort to subdue some harsh mid range transients.

-much like drums, vocals and bass can become "wonky" and scattered everywhere... so it is important to mix these instruments relatively.

-once you have a nice quiet (rough) "mix" ...with plenty of head room, you can make arrangement choices i.e. sound effects, sub drops etc etc.

-some common methods for getting a "bigger" sounding (dense) mix is; drum-clipping, parallel compression, mid-side processing (mastering) and additive/subtractive equalization.


personally, i have found it to be helpful to start with "level mixing" (bottoms up method) then insert a channel strip plugin on every relevant channel and work from there. sometimes i will add a limiter (hardware/plugin) to achieve a "sharper/louder" signal. i typically like to hp filter everything and most of the time i tend to use a lot of subtractive eq.

it's kinda like a puzzle when eq'ing because you are removing frequencies from one instrument that you may like in another. but it's important to not "over-do-it."

finally, i consider the master to be a big part of what i want the mix to sound like... example: if the master sounds too different from the initial mix, i have failed and must start over. so i will typically only use the mastering stage as a final volume increase and formal output.


hope any of this makes sense, and/or helps.

Nicely put Tim, i particularly found the kick drum not passing -18db quite useful

 

[JayRodYDG]

there is almost no balance (at all) with these mixes.


before you make processing choices, be sure to have a balanced, leveled mix:

-it's good to start with the kick drum. don't let this pass -18db.
-move on to the rest of the drums; snare/toms/brass etc.
-work on the stereo image with the overheads and toms, this can really improve your overall drum sound.
-don't over do the overheads... sometimes they can appear to be really heavy in the mix.
-if you are going to compress the guitar, it would most likely be a much better result by limiting (use a limiter) as it will increase perceived loudness and tame the transients a lot better than just average compression.

-the mid-low range frequency content seems to be a bit overwhelming in these mixes... try to high pass filter all of the instruments as this might cure some lower frequency masking.

-vocals are a bit tricky with regards to processing because it really depends on what is required (in terms of creative arrangement). i have always found that a simple hp filter/mild compression/limiter, will lower the overall dynamic range. it is also beneficial to "clip" the vocals in a effort to subdue some harsh mid range transients.

-much like drums, vocals and bass can become "wonky" and scattered everywhere... so it is important to mix these instruments relatively.

-once you have a nice quiet (rough) "mix" ...with plenty of head room, you can make arrangement choices i.e. sound effects, sub drops etc etc.

-some common methods for getting a "bigger" sounding (dense) mix is; drum-clipping, parallel compression, mid-side processing (mastering) and additive/subtractive equalization.


personally, i have found it to be helpful to start with "level mixing" (bottoms up method) then insert a channel strip plugin on every relevant channel and work from there. sometimes i will add a limiter (hardware/plugin) to achieve a "sharper/louder" signal. i typically like to hp filter everything and most of the time i tend to use a lot of subtractive eq.

it's kinda like a puzzle when eq'ing because you are removing frequencies from one instrument that you may like in another. but it's important to not "over-do-it."

finally, i consider the master to be a big part of what i want the mix to sound like... example: if the master sounds too different from the initial mix, i have failed and must start over. so i will typically only use the mastering stage as a final volume increase and formal output.


hope any of this makes sense, and/or helps.

+1000

 

[chrisadvocate]

Tim, you talked about not letting the kick go above -18db. I'm completely confused. I've been mixing with almost every drum nearly peaking in its individual channel, and lately since i switched to SSD, I can't stop my master track from peaking without making the whole mix quiet. Do I need to completely rethink the way I mix? As in mix EVERYTHING a LOT quieter individually, and then bring it all up in mastering with limiting, compression, etc? Thanks for the helpful post dude.

 

[shaggysi0]

Tim, you talked about not letting the kick go above -18db. I'm completely confused. I've been mixing with almost every drum nearly peaking in its individual channel, and lately since i switched to SSD, I can't stop my master track from peaking without making the whole mix quiet. Do I need to completely rethink the way I mix? As in mix EVERYTHING a LOT quieter individually, and then bring it all up in mastering with limiting, compression, etc? Thanks for the helpful post dude.

I too would like some elaboration on this I remember Joey saying in another thread about getting your kick as close to 0 as possible, but having the overall drum buss only hitting like -9db.

In my last mix attempt I grouped everything and mixed the groups (not the individual tracks in the groups) at about -18db which meant the 2-buss was only hitting around 11-10db maybe 9 at times, giving plenty of headroom for the master buss processing when I applied it. I recieved good feedback on the mix saying it was well balanced, so I was probably going to steer towards this approach again...

Should I be aiming to mix the INDIVIDUAL tracks at a lower level, too, whilst making sure the group faders still don't go past a certain threshold?