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Tightening up the mix?
I’ve been messing with recording demos lately, mostly all acoustics. But, I just feel it’s lacking something. We’ve recording two acoustic guitars….one panned %70 left, %70 right……Bass (centered)…….vocals and drums. The instruments are in sync…..but they sound so “spaced out” so to speak. I’ve heard of people “tightening the mix.” I think that is what I need to do……how and what steps do I need to take to achieve this? Thanks, Adam
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2 Replies
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-70/70 is pretty wide. Start by pulling those into about -35/35. Other than that, it’s all about compression and EQ. You may not need any compression, but string-line EQ would serve you well. “Carve” out holes for each instrument that overlaps. For instance, the kick lies around 60Hz. So the bass can be high-passed at 60Hz to make room for the kick. The vox and guitars can be high-passed at 125Hz or so. You can carve into the guitars a little in the 300Hz-1kHz range to make more room for vocals. See where I’m going with this? It’s like putting a puzzle together.
Emmett
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Emmett and I are rowing our boats in the same sea on this one … There isn’t a quick fix for and you can expect to mix and remix until you get what you are looking for … There is a fine line here but if you stick with the idea that “less is more” it will help … The other biggie is the speakers … If you are using standard stereo speakers or headphones to mix with you will never get a good mix … It might sound OK on your system but played elsewhere it won’t sound right … If you get a muddy sound pull out a bit of midrange … In most cases I have found that this is all you need to do with your git’s depending how you recorded them and remember unless if there is an effect that you can’t produce in post record everything flat … The
-35/+35 pan is pretty standard so I can’t agree more with Emmett … It’s all about getting experience, training your ear, and reading as much as you can … Listen to a well mixed production of the same style of music on your system, then work at recreating that sound with your music ………….. WILLIE
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