17-12-2015, 04:46 AM
21-12-2015, 06:54 AM
First tip is to use a region-select on your export to remove the count off (unless you *really* intend to include it) and trim your clips to remove the noise and other undesirables at the end of the track as well as in the middle. (In this one, as one example, you can look at the bridge guitar parts in isolation to hear somewhat rough handling as they got ready to play that needs to be trimmed out, lest it accidentally show through).
Really, aside from experience, the best path to good mixing is to have a good listening environment and compare it to other tunes (not in terms of level but in terms of what can you hear, how is it positioned, and what level is it relative to other parts.) I'd also say leave the limiter off your final mix. It changes the dynamic relationships and frequency balance if you're not very careful in how you apply it and can make it hard to judge what you've done. (That's why mastering engineers can charge so much money, for the ears and the environment.)
For this specific mix, quickly, I hear...
The guitar in the left channel is up too high.
The tambourine is up a bit too high (like a dB or two).
The snare drum sounds over compressed.
Also the vocals.
I personally recommend looking at the various presets in your plugins. They may not be specifically applicable to your given job but looking at attack and release settings can give you an idea of the direction that the engineers who put them together were heading. Remembering, of course, that guidelines rarely survive the final application entirely intact.
Really, aside from experience, the best path to good mixing is to have a good listening environment and compare it to other tunes (not in terms of level but in terms of what can you hear, how is it positioned, and what level is it relative to other parts.) I'd also say leave the limiter off your final mix. It changes the dynamic relationships and frequency balance if you're not very careful in how you apply it and can make it hard to judge what you've done. (That's why mastering engineers can charge so much money, for the ears and the environment.)
For this specific mix, quickly, I hear...
The guitar in the left channel is up too high.
The tambourine is up a bit too high (like a dB or two).
The snare drum sounds over compressed.
Also the vocals.
I personally recommend looking at the various presets in your plugins. They may not be specifically applicable to your given job but looking at attack and release settings can give you an idea of the direction that the engineers who put them together were heading. Remembering, of course, that guidelines rarely survive the final application entirely intact.