Carbon Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Hello producers! I have one a big problem! Mix of my tracks is so straight line, so have no space, its so boring. Can you give me some advices, how can I make it better, spicier with more space, easy sayed with good mix? thx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 you have a sample? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djuna Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 yes, post your track so we can comment on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://soundcloud.com/rastacarbon for example Dandelion FX.. have a nice trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Can you give me some advices, how can I make it better, spicier with more space, easy sayed with good mix? I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "more space", but my first reaction is that it should be simple: start taking out sounds. For instance, there's an acid sound that goes basically nonstop during some parts - try breaking up the pattern so there are some silences. Same with the bass. Also it doesn't have a lot of dynamics. What's an example of something you like that DOES have 'space'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 I was in mastering studio and i have tried to hear it before and after mastering and it was a big difference! It was huge surround, where track was "ate me" in other words was everywhere around me. Then sound enginner hit the Bypass and i heared original version and it was weak, straight, boring. Some track with space? For example Lost Buddha - Psyramid sound good imo. What do you mean with : "start taking out sounds" or "...try breaking up the pattern so there are some silences" because i am not sure, what should I imagine for that. Dynamics - its true, that haven´t a lot, but I don´t know how to add it to track. Maybe, it is caused because i am begginer i am "making" music about 3.5 year.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I was in mastering studio and i have tried to hear it before and after mastering and it was a big difference! It was huge surround, where track was "ate me" in other words was everywhere around me. Then sound enginner hit the Bypass and i heared original version and it was weak, straight, boring. That's to be expected, but don't get fooled. I'd bet when you were in the mastering studio, the 'after' was a lot louder than the 'before', am I right? Our brains like to tell us something sounds 'better' when it's louder; it takes a trained ear not to be fooled by that. Another thing you might have been hearing is that when music is heavily compressed, little nuances of sounds that were previously buried start to come out, and it can sound impressive, like it "comes alive". But heavy compression kills dynamics, so one has to balance the negatives and positives. What do you mean with : "start taking out sounds" or "...try breaking up the pattern so there are some silences" because i am not sure, what should I imagine for that. Dynamics - its true, that haven´t a lot, but I don´t know how to add it to track. You said you want "more space", so I assumed you meant the mix is too dense, too many things going on at once, and I agree. The way to fix that is to have fewer things going on at once, which means removing sounds. Whether it's re-writing a part to make it more sparse, or removing a sound entirely from the mix, the only way to get more space in a mix is to take out the things filling that space. As far as breaking up patterns, as I said about the acid sound and the bass, they go pretty much non-stop, there are no rests. Alter the note patterns to give some rests, try making some notes longer than others. Again, to create more space you need to take things out; try taking out some notes. Dynamics aren't something that's added, they're something that's taken away. Like through heavy compression and limiting in mastering. Also try doing something interesting with a plain sound, like adding filter modulation if there's currently none, or some amp modulation if there's not much on a sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 i think it has to do with mainly with eq but also with reverb and delay. you have to give every element a unique space in the mix. if multiple instruments use the same frequency range, they'll clash and make your mix sound cluttered and lacking space (generally the more elements you have the thinner they have to be). the range from 200-500hz ("mud" region) is critical here, cut here (especially with your acidline) to make it sound clearer, but cut too much and you'll lose warmth. the right amount of reverb is also important when trying to achieve a sense of space. if you have a sparse mix you can afford much more reverb (think progressive psytrance), but when you've got a dense mix (like dandelion fx) you're much more limited. generally too much reverb here will make it sound cluttered, while too little will make it sound flat, uninteresting and lacking space. also using different kinds of reverb for multiple instruments often makes the mix sound muddy. i generally use one or two (at most three) reverb channels as a send. i hope my post contained something new for you and was a bit helpful. btw: do you mix on headphones? (like my own attempts at doing this) the mix lacks a bit high-mids, has a bit too much "mud" (at least according to my ears...) and sounds infinitely better with headphones btw2: i think you have a note that doesn't fit the scale in your pattern from 1:45 to 2:40... and +1 to veracohr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 That's to be expected, but don't get fooled. I'd bet when you were in the mastering studio, the 'after' was a lot louder than the 'before', am I right? Our brains like to tell us something sounds 'better' when it's louder; it takes a trained ear not to be fooled by that. Another thing you might have been hearing is that when music is heavily compressed, little nuances of sounds that were previously buried start to come out, and it can sound impressive, like it "comes alive". But heavy compression kills dynamics, so one has to balance the negatives and positives. You said you want "more space", so I assumed you meant the mix is too dense, too many things going on at once, and I agree. The way to fix that is to have fewer things going on at once, which means removing sounds. Whether it's re-writing a part to make it more sparse, or removing a sound entirely from the mix, the only way to get more space in a mix is to take out the things filling that space. As far as breaking up patterns, as I said about the acid sound and the bass, they go pretty much non-stop, there are no rests. Alter the note patterns to give some rests, try making some notes longer than others. Again, to create more space you need to take things out; try taking out some notes. Dynamics aren't something that's added, they're something that's taken away. Like through heavy compression and limiting in mastering. Also try doing something interesting with a plain sound, like adding filter modulation if there's currently none, or some amp modulation if there's not much on a sound. yeah, you are absolutely right! in all ways: volume, heared sounds... note: taking out notes makes more space, but not at the expense of quality? ofc many thanks for advices.. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 i think it has to do with mainly with eq but also with reverb and delay. you have to give every element a unique space in the mix. if multiple instruments use the same frequency range, they'll clash and make your mix sound cluttered and lacking space (generally the more elements you have the thinner they have to be). the range from 200-500hz ("mud" region) is critical here, cut here (especially with your acidline) to make it sound clearer, but cut too much and you'll lose warmth. the right amount of reverb is also important when trying to achieve a sense of space. if you have a sparse mix you can afford much more reverb (think progressive psytrance), but when you've got a dense mix (like dandelion fx) you're much more limited. generally too much reverb here will make it sound cluttered, while too little will make it sound flat, uninteresting and lacking space. also using different kinds of reverb for multiple instruments often makes the mix sound muddy. i generally use one or two (at most three) reverb channels as a send. i hope my post contained something new for you and was a bit helpful. btw: do you mix on headphones? (like my own attempts at doing this) the mix lacks a bit high-mids, has a bit too much "mud" (at least according to my ears...) and sounds infinitely better with headphones btw2: i think you have a note that doesn't fit the scale in your pattern from 1:45 to 2:40... and +1 to veracohr it is true that cut frequencies on mud region will make result as no warmth..no doubt.. no, all is doing on hi-fi soundspeakers..but sometimes in night i use my Koss headphones. and about the scale: i am not sure, but I think its ok,but i will check it question: Do you think that, when I put every instrument on same note, but on other frequency, it will help me it with space, it´ll sound better, no crashing situations? thx for advices ofc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Do you think that, when I put every instrument on same note, but on other frequency, it will help me it with space, it´ll sound better, no crashing situations? i'm not sure i understand what you mean here, but if you mean playing the same note as opposed to a different note, it won't make much of a difference. yes, using the tonic or to a lesser extent the fifth creates less interference and so it should help, but if the instruments don't fit together, it won't be enough to make it fit. if you mean giving each instrument it's own frequency range, then it won't matter which note you'll play. if you mean playing on different octaves, yes it can help. sometimes that resolves frequency conflicts, but somtimes it won't work. you have to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 I thought this : 3 x Melody on for example "F" note while playing. 3 different vst´s on F note, but with different frequency. On every vst putted GlissEq with HP filter, but on vst 1 : 250 Hz, vst 2 270Hz, vst 3 300 Hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panoptes Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 parallel octaves are not necessarily desirable even though you can get away with it with goa trance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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