11-09-2017, 03:56 PM
I listened to some more mixes and found others had discovered that the snare was fitted with a snare and the kick drum actually sounded like a kick drum.
I stripped out almost all of the enhancer plugins, any compressors that were not doing something useful, revised the EQ for a more natural sound and I moved the drums closer to the middle to get a much needed 3dB boost.
In the process, I discovered a new control on Reapers Master Track: The Stereo Width control, that I must have double-clicked to zero when I rendered Mix 2. Sorry!
I started with the drums to make sure I was getting the same slam from the kick and sizzle from the snare that other folk were getting. I did a lot of automation to get reasonable levels for the different parts of the arrangement (and to remove the odd unmusical clonker). I went for a natural balance for the instruments and vocal rather than a bright, forward, harsh sound, even though my mix is less 'impressive' as a result.
The nice bass tone solos well, but appears all to rarely through the mix. I admit defeat on this. Equalisation loses the bass line or the nature of the bass sound for me. I also moved the bass towards the centre for more power. However, I found the optimal pan setting for the bass surprisingly sensitive.
It is not as loud as other mixes, but sounds good on small speakers (Creative), modest headphones (Sennheiser) and monitors (Mackie). It also works in mono, but loses the air. The instruments tend to fight for prominence. It is a busy mix for mono
I stripped out almost all of the enhancer plugins, any compressors that were not doing something useful, revised the EQ for a more natural sound and I moved the drums closer to the middle to get a much needed 3dB boost.
In the process, I discovered a new control on Reapers Master Track: The Stereo Width control, that I must have double-clicked to zero when I rendered Mix 2. Sorry!
I started with the drums to make sure I was getting the same slam from the kick and sizzle from the snare that other folk were getting. I did a lot of automation to get reasonable levels for the different parts of the arrangement (and to remove the odd unmusical clonker). I went for a natural balance for the instruments and vocal rather than a bright, forward, harsh sound, even though my mix is less 'impressive' as a result.
The nice bass tone solos well, but appears all to rarely through the mix. I admit defeat on this. Equalisation loses the bass line or the nature of the bass sound for me. I also moved the bass towards the centre for more power. However, I found the optimal pan setting for the bass surprisingly sensitive.
It is not as loud as other mixes, but sounds good on small speakers (Creative), modest headphones (Sennheiser) and monitors (Mackie). It also works in mono, but loses the air. The instruments tend to fight for prominence. It is a busy mix for mono