DarkDjinn Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I'm at the point where I feel my composition doesn't need as much work as my production - so that's what I'm here to ask everyone's opinion on. I have a real lack of knowledge on the subject. I want to train my ear a little better so that I know what I should listen for, as well as be able to objectively say, "Ok, this is what needs work" instead of accepting it because it's my composition and I hear it in my head the way I intended. So in an extremely general sense - what opinions do you guys have for the fundamentals when it comes to mixing? I don't want to get ahead of myself - I want to make sure I am covering all my bases, and I want to be able to repeat results every time so that it won't be a guessing game as to how Song A will sound when compared to Song B. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) What headphones do you have? Fundamentally, I would strongly suggest to work towards the following results, in no particular order, and in the long-term sense: - Go for clean low-mids, i.e. lack of muddiness in the low-mids (~200Hz) - Go for crispness above 10000 Hz (not-dull treble) - A midrange with room for instruments to breathe, but not so little midrange overall that it sounds "hollow" (500~4000 Hz) - No overcompression (this is hard unless you have a tolerant limiter or you want to mix quietly) - What leads should be audible enough but should not overpower background instruments; try adjusting volume from below the expected final result, instead of from above. I detected volume changes more easily back then when I started below the expected perfect volume. - Percussion and drums should be audible the whole time but not too loud, i.e. don't let them get buried, and don't let them smash the limiter and create overcompression, pumping the whole mix down, and don't let them smash a soft clipper and clip the output. And one overarching goal: - I think about this constantly. If someone else has all the resources that you have and all the skills they will ever need (in other words they're exceptional enough), can they listen to your remix or song and recompose what you have written by ear from scratch (within reason)? If they're going to have trouble with that, then there's something off with the mix. Once you consider that, you could then imagine what you would have to do to make it so it would be more possible for them to do so, and give that a shot. At some point you might say, "eh, it's good enough", but if you're uncomfortable mixing in the first place, I think you should just keep practicing until you can confidently say "eh, it's good enough now. Any further is just super nitpicking". What I think you shouldn't do is try to compare songs of completely different genres. So don't compare metal with orchestral when it comes to mixing because they appear to be completely different when you disregard the objective mixing aspects. Metal to metal, definitely though. Basically, the above points apply for practically everything in some sense. Edited February 12, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yasae Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 The shortcut is to put your song in front of somebody who does this better than you do. If they're any decent, they'll probably list off points in their advice which you felt were weaknesses but didn't tell them about beforehand - and much more. Otherwise we could be here for a very long time. Timaeus has some good pointers. And there's also feedback from remix submissions http://ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorito Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Adding to that, don't forget the workshop here. I have found the workshop forums a great place to share my tracks and get helpful feedback from critical listeners. It really helps your awareness of weak spots in your track and often you get good pointers for improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkDjinn Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Well, about using the workshop - I post things there all the time and rarely ever get any feedback at all. For example... http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49085 Mixing is definitely the most frustrating part of it because I have no idea what to do, or what sounds great. I can usually get to what sounds "ok", and at the very least I never have anything that sounds "bad". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) Well, about using the workshop - I post things there all the time and rarely ever get any feedback at all. For example...http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49085 Mixing is definitely the most frustrating part of it because I have no idea what to do, or what sounds great. I can usually get to what sounds "ok", and at the very least I never have anything that sounds "bad". That's when you just find someone you would want to give feedback and tell them the topic's there by PM or something. Maybe it was just forgotten. You don't have to keep waiting, just ask. Edited February 14, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkDjinn Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 That's when you just find someone you would want to give feedback and tell them the topic's there by PM or something. Maybe it was just forgotten. You don't have to keep waiting, just ask. Yeah, I'll have to do that. By the way, I PM'd you about another song So mixing headphones, you asked me earlier what kind I have. I use computer speakers, and then when I have "mixed" something, I go and listen to it through different sources (those speakers, my earbuds, both mine and my wife's car since the sound systems sound different) and compare. Definitely not a good way to do things. I actually splurged on a pair of headphones a few months back but didn't do a good job picking them out. They are Sony MDR10RDC headphones. They sound nice for listening to music, but for mixing, they have too much bass going on it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I'll have to do that. By the way, I PM'd you about another song So mixing headphones, you asked me earlier what kind I have. I use computer speakers, and then when I have "mixed" something, I go and listen to it through different sources (those speakers, my earbuds, both mine and my wife's car since the sound systems sound different) and compare. Definitely not a good way to do things. I actually splurged on a pair of headphones a few months back but didn't do a good job picking them out. They are Sony MDR10RDC headphones. They sound nice for listening to music, but for mixing, they have too much bass going on it seems. What computer speakers? Yeah, I think getting a good pair of headphones is a good place to start. I would recommend the Grado SR-60i. Just $80, and the second-most recent pair I own. I think it's better than a great deal of $200+ headphones, honestly (price doesn't really correlate with quality; I have $15 Skullcandy earbuds that sound fuller than $60 Sony headphones). Crisp treble, clean midrange, clear bass. Edited February 14, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkDjinn Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 What computer speakers?Yeah, I think getting a good pair of headphones is a good place to start. I would recommend the Grado SR-60i. Just $80, and the second-most recent pair I own. I think it's better than a great deal of $200+ headphones, honestly (price doesn't really correlate with quality; I have $15 Skullcandy earbuds that sound fuller than $60 Sony headphones). Crisp treble, clean midrange, clear bass. The speakers are just some Dell speakers. I couldn't find the model online just now, I guess they don't make them anymore. They have a subwoofer, that's about all the description I've got. I've had them for years, probably about 7-8 years. I'll invest in a pair of those headphones and give them a shot. I looked up a video on mixing just now, and I think I just need to get organized and get a system going. I usually kind of try to do everything at once, or as I'm going, instead of finishing the song and mixing at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I looked up a video on mixing just now, and I think I just need to get organized and get a system going. I usually kind of try to do everything at once, or as I'm going, instead of finishing the song and mixing at the end. I think that's a good idea; I mix as I go as well, so I can get a context for what I'm wanting to put in. That way I have a better idea of what doesn't fit just because of EQ issues and what doesn't fit because it is completely awkward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yasae Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Keep the Dells for reference. I've used K240s for almost ten years. They're very good, especially for imaging, and also inexpensive but I'd avoid mixing exclusively on headphones. I'm breaking in a pair of Presonus Sceptre 8s for nearfields. You also probably know what a good mix sounds like, but not how to get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I'd avoid mixing exclusively on headphones. I'm breaking in a pair of Presonus Sceptre 8s for nearfields.You also probably know what a good mix sounds like, but not how to get there. That's true, he should get some good speakers too if he can afford it, but I don't want to suggest the one brand that I would say has the flattest frequency response (Yamaha HS80M) since it's pretty expensive. I don't mix on exclusively headphones either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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