Any advices on this..:-)

[PeterEkberg]

I started mixing not very long ago and this is my third attempt and I would be very happy for advices on what I can make it better and how I can make it better. Thank You

/Peter

[londonmatt]

Hey Peter, I'm not quite sure what you've done with this mix in general and the snare in particular, but they sound like they've almost been destroyed by compression.

Top tip - take every plugin off every track except for things like console emulation plugins (e.g. Waves NLS, Slate VCC etc) and everything off the master buss except (if you want) some VERY mild bus compression (no more than 1-2 dB) and a tape sim plug or something like that. If you haven't got those plugins, don't worry about them! just leave it completely clean.

Then, mix for at least 10-20 minutes using nothing but volume and pan to get a really good balance between the instruments. This is a fairly well-recorded song, so you should be able to get something that gets your head nodding with no plug-ins whatsoever. It'll also get your ears used to the basic sound.

THEN and only then, start adding EQ where necessary - try to cut rather than excessively boost (so if something's muddy, cut the low-mids around 2-300Hz rather than boosting the treble), and add a little compression, but try to keep gain reductions down to around 6dB tops until you've got more of an idea of what those compressors are really doing.

Then, if you feel it needs it, add some reverb - try just using one short room reverb and sending different amounts to it (nothing from kick and bass).

And.... that's it. I'm pretty sure if you take a much more minimalist approach you'll get a better mix. Also, try subscribing to therecordingrevolution.com - it has loads of helpful videos (free) for newbies which explain a lot of useful concepts clearly. The process I've outlined above is basically Graham Cochrane's (the guy behind the site) "10 minute mix" idea - it is really helpful.

Sorry not to be more encouraging, but I hope this process helps you get some better results, do give it a go! Cheers, Matt

[PeterEkberg]

Hi Matt
Thanks for the not so encouraging words :-) Don't worry, I can take that. In fact I want to learn and be better so I prefer this kind of comments really. If no one tells me what is wrong I'll never learn. You are probably right that I have overused the most of the plugins. I think it's because I'm new and I've read a lot and want to use it all at the same time. I will give it a new try and have your comments in mind all the time. I'm really greatful to you for taking the time and write down what's wrong. In fact it's uplifting to know what to work on, and thats what I asked for :-)
Cheers, Peter

[londonmatt]

Hey Peter, glad the comments were helpful even if not-so encouraging! I've written a long reply on my mix with some more info re kick and vocal processing, hope it's helpful. Cheers, Matt

[PeterEkberg]

Ok, here is a second try and least I think it sounds much better. Thank You Matt for the great tip to remove all compressors. I always thougth it was all about compressors :-) I still figure I have a lot to learn especially about eq, where and how it effects each instrument. In this mix I have only used one compressor at the final track to make it sound little thicker.
Appreciate all comments, Good or not so Good :-)

[londonmatt]

Hey Peter, yes this is way better than the original, that's some good progress!

Several things to consider:

- Try a low-shelf boost (80Hz) on the kick with a low-mid (250Hz) cut and a gentle boost around 3kHz to bring out the beater click. You can be pretty extreme with kick EQ if required so experiment and see what happens.

- I'm not sure the vocal effect - sounds like either a chorus / vocal doubling / very small room reverb? Maybe back that off a touch. I think you've got chorus elsewhere on acoustic and electric guitars which sounds quite dated. Sounds go in and out of fashion, nowadays chorus might get used on a synth pad but not much else. If you're adding an "effect" (rather than just sound shaping with EQ and compression), you really need think *why* you're doing that - can that effect really justify its use? It's too easy with unlimited plugins available to think "oh I should put something on it..." without having a strong reason to do it and therefore ending up making things worse!

- the electric being panned hard right feels a bit unbalanced, if you only have one electric guitar available then either double it somehow (maybe running a copy of the track through a mild amp simulator or something) and hard pan them left and right, or balance it more half-way out on the spectrum with other instruments on the other side making the mix feel even. With headphones in particular it sounds odd, like the guitar player is stuck out on a limb somewhere

I think that'll do for now, maybe pick another fairly straightforward track and have another go at first simply building a mix with level and panning, then adding some EQ and a little compression to enhance things. Also, it's worth listening to your mix in mono (you'll probably have a plug-in you can put across the stereo buss to make it mono, if you don't actually have a mono speaker) to check that instruments aren't overlapping each other in the frequency spectrum - if they are work out where the clash is and use some EQ cuts to shave out some space.

Hope that helps, great work, keep going!

[PeterEkberg]

Hope that helps, great work, keep going!

Thanks Matt, you are right about the doubler. I think it is a matter of taste, but I have change the settings so it's not that obvious. The panned guitar is also a matter of taste I think. I don't like to have the guitar in the middle because of the voice. But it was little to much panned so I changed that too. I'm a guitarplayer myself and kinda like soem certain guitarsounds. :-) I'll tried to boost Kick with Shelffilter also. maybe a little difference. You got good ears. Anyway Thanks for Your Help Matt and recommendations. I learnt from this lesson "More is Less". I drop this song now and moving on :-)

Cheers/Peter