Looking for some help in getting that glossy sheen on a finished song

[ambinate]

("glossy sheen" could also mean "hey, this doesn't sound like shit!")

I just finished writing my first real song in Logic. It's a pretty simple ambient tune that I used to get my bearings with audio editing and synthesis and stuff, but now that the writing is done I'm trying to get it to sound more presentable and I'm having some difficulty. It just sounds tiny and quiet in comparison to most of the stuff I listen to on the site and the boards.

One of the big issues I'm having is with volume. I tried adding a little limiting and compression to the master track, but I don't really know much about compression other than the basics so I'm not really sure of some good settings to use as a starting point. According to Logic, the track is hovering between -2 and -1 db and occasionally peaking close to -.2 (which is where the limiter's set), but it still sounds really quiet. What can I do to give it a boost in terms of compressor settings and all that without clipping?

Also, I haven't added reverb to anything, which I'm assuming isn't helping in terms of the track sounding small. Where's a good place to start for learning about this? Or is adding a bunch of reverb to the tracks not going to solve the problem? I also haven't EQ'd much other than cutting out some of the really low stuff from the main instruments, and I'm still having trouble getting the kick and bass to have more presence without muddying up or overpowering the rest of the song.

I don't plan on getting this song to sound professional when I'm done, but I'd like to use it as a way to start learning about mixing and production, I guess. Any advice or help would be really appreciated. Thanks!

[Gario]

Hmm... I think your master track EQ could use some work. The whole thing feels like it has too much weight on the lower end and too little on the higher end. That creates a very 'heavy' mud throughout. Try decreasing the lower mids and raising the highs, to give the track some shimmer.

Fixing around with the EQ can give you more room to increase the master track, when limiters and compressors create more problems than they solve. Tone down the areas that are too high (like, in this case, the low end) and you'll have room to increase the primary track. When that runs out of room the limiters can give you a SMALL boost to your sound, but overdo them and you'll come across the limiting issues that make a track sound like crap.

Some of the instruments seem to have too short of an attack - giving them less than 50-150ms of attack can create a 'pop' when they come in. Try to avoid that, when possible.

I hope that helps you master the technique of... mastering.

[ambinate]

Thanks a lot for checking it out, I really appreciate the feedback. I was wondering what was contributing to that "heavy" quality, so this is great advice. Lower mids are around 200 to 400 Hz sorta? Or am I way off? And when you mention boosting the highs a bit, how high are we talking? I always get my high frequencies confused...

[Gario]

I think that's about right for the lower mids (I'm not good at the precise numbers, but that sounds about right). I think the highs are upward above 12k (I mean the real highs, in this case).

[Arcana]

Gario is pretty much on the money here, you have a lot of lows and the highs don't really stand out as much as they could.

There are a few tools that can help you look at the frequency spectrum in Logic.

On your effects list look for the multimeter, and check out the "analyze" button on the Chan EQ. That gives you an idea of what your track might look like as far as covering the frequencies are and looking at which ones are strong relative to others.

Personally the loudness sounds fine to me.

[Rozovian]

With a few exceptions, your sounds, especially what I perceive to be the lead, are smooth. That means they don't necessarily have the highs to shine. A reverb can bring some highs into it, and you can either use on of Logic's reverbs with build-in filters to only get the highs from it (to avoid muddying up the mids and lows) or you can add an EQ after it.

The track could use some more highs overall. While the rule in general is "cut, don't boost", you could safely use the high shelf to give some air to it. A +2dB boost somewhere in the highs (move it sideways to find the spot) can bring out some more shine.

While mixing with a big and/or deep bass sounds cool, it doesn't go well with getting the tracks loud enough without knowing what you're doing. I'm not at the point where I could mix this much louder without cutting some of the lows from the bass. I suggest trying a low shelf of -2 dB from 150Hz, but that's just a guess. Cut some bass and you should have more headroom to work with.

When does the limiter respond? If it's only on drums and percussive sounds you can safely let it push down. Listen closely - when you notice it, it's too much, before then it's fine. Cut back half a dB from "fine" to be safe. 0.2ms lookahead and 2ms release should make it even less noticeable. (also, the limiter better be last the the output's effects chain)

That's what comes to mind. Cool track.

[ambinate]

You guys are awesome, thanks a ton for the help. I didn't even think of any of this stuff when I was making the track, so I've already learned a lot.

I spent some time with the song, mostly trying to cut some of the lows out and add some highs. I'm sort of shying away from reverb right now (although I definitely appreciate the advice, Rozovian) simply because I don't know shit about reverb and it overwhelms me, haha. If anyone wants to check out the results, I uploaded a new version here:

The thing is, because I'm new to this and I'm not totally sure what I'm doing, I can't quite tell if the song a) sounds better!, got neutered, or c) sounds pretty much exactly the same. I think it sounds a little better and slightly less muddy, but I can't tell if that's what it really sounds like or if my headphones are playing tricks on me (I don't have real monitors and my speakers have a lot of bass response so I usually don't mix on them). Any comments (on either mix) would be super appreciated.

Thanks again!

[Cyril the Wolf]

you could probably ease up on the bass cutting just a little. Not much but a little.

Other than that I think its a great improvement.