22-06-2012, 11:50 AM
You can find the multitrack files for this project in the 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library.
Here's some more project info you might find useful:
If you have any other general questions about this multitrack, just reply to this post and I'll see what I can do.
Before posting a mix, please read The Three Commandments!
Please post your mix as a new thread, rather than as a reply to this sticky.
Please post your mix as a new thread, rather than as a reply to this sticky.
Here's some more project info you might find useful:
- About The Raw Multitracks:
- The drums tracks include stereo overheads, two mono room mic signals (one lo-fi processed), and close mics for kick (in, out), snare (over, under), hi-hat, and two toms.
- Bass is available as DI and miked-amp signals, and there are single tracks for six electric guitar passes (five of which are alternate sounds/takes for essentially the same part), two lead vocals, and five backing vocals.
- The drums tracks include stereo overheads, two mono room mic signals (one lo-fi processed), and close mics for kick (in, out), snare (over, under), hi-hat, and two toms.
- Challenges You're Likely To Face:
- The snare mics don't seem to have a very promising phase-relationship on the raw multitrack, yet flipping the polarity button feels like a definite step in the wrong direction. The overheads also have very little snare ambience in them to fill out the drum's tone.
- A bass-amp resonance around 75Hz or so makes the low octave consistency of this line a little inconsistent. The DI's fine, though.
- Some of the guitar takes have some kind of intermittent crispy noise signal on them which may be distracting if you decide to drop out the drums at any point.
- The sung lead vocal has a very nasal resonance which doesn't sound very pleasant, and the rap has a lot of low-end spill on it.
- The snare mics don't seem to have a very promising phase-relationship on the raw multitrack, yet flipping the polarity button feels like a definite step in the wrong direction. The overheads also have very little snare ambience in them to fill out the drum's tone.
- Some Mixing Tips: Although this isn't a mix I've attempted myself, here are some suggestions that come to mind:
- For the snare drum mics, I'd experiment with timing offsets and maybe even phase rotation to try to get a more solid tone.
- Given that all the kit mics have significant spill on them, you should make a point of checking the polarity and phase of each for the best combination as you add it in.
- A careful EQ peaking cut around the 70-80Hz region should deal with that bass-amp resonance adequately, although you should experiment to get the right bandwidth setting to ensure that the cure's better than the disease!
- The close tom mics have caught quite a bit of pitched sympathetic ringing from the drum, so be careful compressing those tracks to avoid pulling that aspect of the spill too high in the balance -- it can easily muddy the overall tone. (That said, a little tom ringing is actually quite a nice thing for tying a drum sound together, so don't necessarily just gate it out either.)
- An EQ notch around 3.5kHz should do the lead singer a world of good, and some high-pass filtering on the rap should be considered essential to keep the low end of the mix clear.
- For the snare drum mics, I'd experiment with timing offsets and maybe even phase rotation to try to get a more solid tone.
If you have any other general questions about this multitrack, just reply to this post and I'll see what I can do.