09-04-2020, 07:52 PM
Hi everyone,
- This site is absolutely WONDERFUL. So helpful! I just joined and am blown away. So grateful and am already learning a lot.
- The Magician’s Nephews boys are so talented. Many thanks to them and Mike for offering these recordings for learning purposes.
Mike’s Final Mix
1) It’s outstanding. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how he got the guitars to sound the way they do. They sound bright and rich, but not fizzy. Is he subtracting frequencies? Or adding them? Or a combo ...?
2) And he also creates this incredible stereo imaging. It’s almost like the mix is giving you a nice big hug. The guitars are so wide, while simultaneously feeling glued together cohesively. I have no idea how he’s doing that. I’ve tried iZotope’s Stereo Imaging in my Mastering chain as a final step, but I can’t tell if it’s helping or not.
Here’s my first mix
3) I’m still confused how Mastering Engineers get final mixes to sound so loud (while maintaining clarity. Especially on the snare drum). Are they boosting gain by 10dB ?? Or is it not that at all, and it’s up to the Mixing Engineer to get it as loud as possible w/o clipping? The steps I usually follow are: get the mix sitting around -5 dB > attach bus compressor > EQ > multiband > stereo imaging > tape saturation > limiter.
4) I like the clarity I achieve, but it sounds kinda lifeless, thin, and stagnant. Lacks that nice touch to make it sound full and finished. Can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Notes
- I didn’t Master much, so the track is a little quiet. I just attached a UAD Fairchild 670 Legacy bus compressor on the chain so far.
- Tools I’ve been using and have access to: UAD’s LA-2A, 1176LN and SE, 610-B, Pultec Pro Legacy, Helios 69, Fairchild 670 Legacy, iZotope 5 Mastering suite. I mix in Logic Pro X.
Timothy
- This site is absolutely WONDERFUL. So helpful! I just joined and am blown away. So grateful and am already learning a lot.
- The Magician’s Nephews boys are so talented. Many thanks to them and Mike for offering these recordings for learning purposes.
Mike’s Final Mix
1) It’s outstanding. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how he got the guitars to sound the way they do. They sound bright and rich, but not fizzy. Is he subtracting frequencies? Or adding them? Or a combo ...?
2) And he also creates this incredible stereo imaging. It’s almost like the mix is giving you a nice big hug. The guitars are so wide, while simultaneously feeling glued together cohesively. I have no idea how he’s doing that. I’ve tried iZotope’s Stereo Imaging in my Mastering chain as a final step, but I can’t tell if it’s helping or not.
Here’s my first mix
3) I’m still confused how Mastering Engineers get final mixes to sound so loud (while maintaining clarity. Especially on the snare drum). Are they boosting gain by 10dB ?? Or is it not that at all, and it’s up to the Mixing Engineer to get it as loud as possible w/o clipping? The steps I usually follow are: get the mix sitting around -5 dB > attach bus compressor > EQ > multiband > stereo imaging > tape saturation > limiter.
4) I like the clarity I achieve, but it sounds kinda lifeless, thin, and stagnant. Lacks that nice touch to make it sound full and finished. Can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Notes
- I didn’t Master much, so the track is a little quiet. I just attached a UAD Fairchild 670 Legacy bus compressor on the chain so far.
- Tools I’ve been using and have access to: UAD’s LA-2A, 1176LN and SE, 610-B, Pultec Pro Legacy, Helios 69, Fairchild 670 Legacy, iZotope 5 Mastering suite. I mix in Logic Pro X.
Timothy