Kidd Cabbage

Yes, excuse me for disputing a point because someone is offering advice that will hurt the OP more than help. And I missed this before: SymBiotix, nobody ever claimed that GLL said that metal mixes are going to be released in mono. What we're saying is that having the stereo spectrum is imperative in the placement (or even use) of instruments and overall decision-making in both the arrangement and the mixing process.

Haha, no, you see - that's something that makes sense. What he said was: Not that mixing and arranging should be referenced in mono, but that you only use stereo for mastering. That's why it's the worst advice I've ever heard.

The last page I just kind of skimmed because it's pretty bullshit, and this is starting to give me diarrhea, but I will address this post: This is what I mean - panning has a lot to do with arrangement - If all guitars are mono, then they WILL walk on the snare and vocals. Tensei is absolutely 100% right when he says this and that almost ALL metal has hard-panned rhythm guitars. Haha - you say that this has to do with 'modern mainstream metal producers getting the ability to mix their own stuff.' Listen to Angel of Death by Slayer. One of the most-renowned classic metal songs of all time and it starts off with the most obvious hard-panned guitars, which last through the entire song... and the entire album... and their entire discography... and pretty much the entire genre. It's only bad arrangement if you plan on releasing the song in mono. If you open up the stereo spectrum, then there is plenty of room in the imaginary 3-dimensional spectrum to move things around and find space for things. EQ isn't the only way to make tracks work together. EQ is the vertical axis in the spectrum, panning is the horizontal, and volume is the length. This is basically mixing 101, here. 99% about every metal band out there, mainstream or not, classic or modern, even if they have one guitarist, will record at least two rhythm guitar tracks and hard-pan them.

Well, thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you like it!

Howdy. Took a venture into some dubstep (I hardly even listen to electronic music) with a friend. You should check it out. It's pretty FILTHY GRIMY NASTY STUFF. Oh yeah. Chip elements, too. Why do dubstep fans describe music like this? http://soundcloud.com/kiddcabbage/siberun-kidd-cabbage-meow-mix

The space in the sonic spectrum that every layer in your track fills is essential to not only mastering, but mixing and even arranging. If you have two leads playing different parts, in the same frequency range, in mono, they'll walk all over each other. In the stereo spectrum, you can consider the possibility of panning. This is especially true with harmony instruments. Mixing a jazz track with the piano and guitar both centered leaves you with a large possibility that both will not fit in the mix. In stereo, panning one each way leaves them both filling different spaces. In my own metal mixes, there would be no way to have the snare and the rhythm guitars working together if I didn't hard pan the rhythm guitars, leaving space in the middle of the sonic spectrum for the snare to come through. Not to mention mixing. When you're mixing, spatial placement of each instrument is essential, which is impossible in a mono signal. How are you going to judge the width of the guitar's reverb without hearing the delay between two stereo speakers? Not to mention that any panning effects or panning delays are completely out of the question for getting right, along with your reverbs. Seriously terrible, terrible advice. It's like telling someone to mold a sculpture, but you can only look at it from one angle. Edit: Here's an example of what I'm talking about: (at 1:10) There are two main bass synths. The wobble, and the bounce, we'll call them. The wobble is VERY stereo, and the bounce is very centered. Mixing and arranging in mono, this section would NOT work, as these two basses would conflict all over the place. Having the panning during the mixing process allows this section to work. Not only that, but the contrast between the stereo and mono parts are basically what MAKES this whole section interesting. I don't know if Ghetto Lee considers all processing stages "mastering," which is absolutely wrong, but even if he did, having panning options available even during the arrangement process is essential. And just to clear that up - mastering deals ONLY with global (dealing with the entire song, not individual instruments) effects. If you hire a mastering studio to work on your song, you give them one single audio file per song, the finalized mixes. All the instrument processing has already been done by the mixing studio.

Hahaha, this is the worst advice I've ever heard.

I'm going to disagree with this sentiment and say that while having a good pair of headphones as your "microscope" is a good thing, having good stereo monitoring speakers is far more important. Any sort of panning or spatial awareness is completely bias on headphones, as opposed to an actual sound system.

I wish I could find a GM VST or something.

I believe they're only in Gold XP.

I will vouch for anything Tonehammer. I use the waterphone samples in EWQLSO Gold XP, though.

It's the same concept. A technically inaccurate term that has become basically accepted into slang. The purpose of language is to convey thoughts, and language is very fluid - dictionaries don't make the language, the language makes the dictionary.

This thread sounds like MIDI.

Yup, on this topic, I'd like the world to stop saying "volume" when referring to audio loudness. We're obvs going to change the world. Watch everyone listen.

I think it's good practice to shut your whore mouth.

One million man-hours

I'll turn this Goddamned thread around, son.

I am now changing my stance to whole agreement of what Hedgog said in the first place because Protogay argued on what was my side.

You're the one that spoke in absolutes, not me.

Disagree. Every single one of my tracks in a mix has its own EQ, compression, and reverb on it.

I named mine after the Burt Reynolds movie.

Microsoft Songsmith.

I was really bummed when Square sent me a C&D for my "Obese Aeris" erotic fanfic series...