07-03-2014, 07:56 AM
Hey Pauli,
like I said, I wouldn't put my tracks up for download if I wouldn't expect creative use of it, no need to be sorry for doing what you like!
Besides, it's more fun for me this way, too. I am not even sure if other artists listen to what users do with their mixes, I'd be interested to know about that.
Anyways, the Cymbal: Please, no, don't REDUCE the substain, rather INCREASE it!
Use a compressor (like the TDR Feedback Compressor II - its for free, I made a beginner-friendly review about it on my blog, it totally rocks!) to catch the beginning transient, then have a slow release, fast enough to get the makeup-gain to work and slow enough to make it seem natural, flowing.
I can tell you, with the Compressor mentioned, I compressed the beginning of the Cymbal by about 5dB, and the makeup-gain is also 5dB.
After all, think of it this way: Do you want to listen to a short "click", or do you want to hear the whole instrument? It's a matter of taste how MUCH you increase the substain,
but in the mix, you simply need to increase the substain with compression a bit, it would die in the mix else, sadly.
Hmm, it really sounded like the lead-synth was re-recorded with a guitar or with a guitar-vsti, nice trick right there mate!
I am a rather traditional-dnb-soundengineer, as I take Pendulum as an example for the phatness of the track, and others, preferably a megamix (see UKF's " Drum & Bass 2013 (Album Megamix)") for the higher-freqs, as Pendulum tends to keep it rather harsh in the bottom part and keep room for that by having not so much highs - at least that's what I personally observed over the years.
Anyways, the point I'm framing is: The Kick should have a HP-filter at about 30Hz~, but a boost at about 60-80Hz~ as well as some highs to make the Kick noticable on smaller speakers.
Aside from that, the Bass itself is intended to be phat as well, so no low-cutting there! Instead, I sometimes even boost the entire sub-area by 3-5 dB if I think the highs are at a comfortable level but I need more subs.
Last but not least: Try doing some sidechaining on the Bass, oriented by the Kick. Since both are bass-instruments, they fight against each other. To keep the mix at a comfortable level, you can try a short-acting-sidechain, really works wonders, and if done well, it even seems like it's not there!
Good Luck mate!
like I said, I wouldn't put my tracks up for download if I wouldn't expect creative use of it, no need to be sorry for doing what you like!
(06-03-2014, 11:37 PM)pauli Wrote: Rarely do I get insight from the artist on this forum... it's much appreciated!A lot don't have the time to do so, some don't care. I am not going to say any names, as I am not sure myself of course, but I do want to engage with other users.
Besides, it's more fun for me this way, too. I am not even sure if other artists listen to what users do with their mixes, I'd be interested to know about that.
Anyways, the Cymbal: Please, no, don't REDUCE the substain, rather INCREASE it!
Use a compressor (like the TDR Feedback Compressor II - its for free, I made a beginner-friendly review about it on my blog, it totally rocks!) to catch the beginning transient, then have a slow release, fast enough to get the makeup-gain to work and slow enough to make it seem natural, flowing.
I can tell you, with the Compressor mentioned, I compressed the beginning of the Cymbal by about 5dB, and the makeup-gain is also 5dB.
After all, think of it this way: Do you want to listen to a short "click", or do you want to hear the whole instrument? It's a matter of taste how MUCH you increase the substain,
but in the mix, you simply need to increase the substain with compression a bit, it would die in the mix else, sadly.
Hmm, it really sounded like the lead-synth was re-recorded with a guitar or with a guitar-vsti, nice trick right there mate!
I am a rather traditional-dnb-soundengineer, as I take Pendulum as an example for the phatness of the track, and others, preferably a megamix (see UKF's " Drum & Bass 2013 (Album Megamix)") for the higher-freqs, as Pendulum tends to keep it rather harsh in the bottom part and keep room for that by having not so much highs - at least that's what I personally observed over the years.
Anyways, the point I'm framing is: The Kick should have a HP-filter at about 30Hz~, but a boost at about 60-80Hz~ as well as some highs to make the Kick noticable on smaller speakers.
Aside from that, the Bass itself is intended to be phat as well, so no low-cutting there!
Instead, I sometimes even boost the entire sub-area by 3-5 dB if I think the highs are at a comfortable level but I need more subs. Last but not least: Try doing some sidechaining on the Bass, oriented by the Kick. Since both are bass-instruments, they fight against each other. To keep the mix at a comfortable level, you can try a short-acting-sidechain, really works wonders, and if done well, it even seems like it's not there!
Good Luck mate!