a few production questions

[SytrixDubstep]

recently i've been doing a lot of reading on how to properly mix, with the intention of self mastering in mind in the near future. but i'm finding the whole mixing thing to be rather difficult to achieve. It seems like summed up quickly, a proper mix shouldn't have any instrument masking another (having each instrument set in it's own frequency range when playing along with another) and making sure all the synths and sounds and samples are set at the proper volume levels so they are equal. So here are my questions and i would really thank you in ways i can't express if you could help me out. i read a lot of the mixing thread that macc was a genius in but i found it hard to comprehend at times so i'm just looking for a little clarification, believe me i'm not posting this because i'm too lazy to read other threads.

1. As far as sub bass goes, when it goes between lower and higher notes, the bass gain, and sometimes the volume can change. how do you deal with this? i didn't notice it until recently so what i did was just automate the bass gain with eq and automate the volume levels so by ear they sounded good. Also, i've been battling myself about this, which octave should it be played in, because i have mine set in a lower octave, i make it in MASSIVE with a sine wave detuned -24 for pitch, and some ppl tell me there is no sub under my synths which i know there is and i'm wondering if maybe its set at too low of a frequency for people to hear it, and i'm considering setting it at -12 next time. I also have trouble blending my kick drums and sub bass so both are audible while keeping the kick remaining punchy but not overpowering, but after talking with a few people i think i just need to find some better kick samples that hit different frequencies than the ones i have right now and i'm working on that. I've considered layering my sub basses but it sounded weird and unblended when i tried doing that. (This is giving me the most trouble in my current state of producing)

2. how do you know that different sounds sit in different frequency ranges? i run into masking in my sounds sometimes and sometimes i just can't completely fix it.

3. i read that sounds should peak at around -3 to leave some headroom on your master channel, and that your drums should peak at around -9db and the sub bass a couple db below that. but where do your lead synths fit into that equation? is it just what sounds good compared to the other db levels? I know those numbers aren't rules but guidlines i was just gving an example

4. It seems like ideally, a proper mix comes from good scratch sound design, meaning proper sounding synths straight out of the virtual instrument. But i was wondering does that neat wave form like in Bassnectars where is my mind remix come from a proper mix, or does it get that neatness and tightness and evenness from mastering? I tried to make a perfectly looking waveform like that on soundcloud in my newest song invasion and did so many little volume tweaks and automations here and there with volume and eq and what not to make it look consistent like that but what gives it that neat look? a proper mix? or a proper mix that is properly mastered? because for all i know i could be making proper mixes right now and don't know it?

My newest song invasion was the song i spent by far the most time trying to achieve a proper mix out of all my songs and i haven't mastered any of my songs to date including that one, and i was wondering what you thought of the mix? is it good bad mediocre, lacking one element, multiple elements ect.? my goal was to create a nice even waveform like The Floods and Where is my Mind looking just level and great, but i'm not sure if a proper mix is supposed to look neat and level like that, or if it only does once it's been mastered you know? but feedback would be much appreciated. here is the link.

http://soundcloud.com/sytrix/sytrix-invasion

Thank you so much for atleast reading this, as i know it's a lot to ask, but i feel like i'm just a few pointers and a little guidance away from taking my songs to the next level because i have a lot of really cool original synths. i really appreciate it.

[legend4ry]

Well firstly, from listening to your sig; everything is 'to' far from each other, theres no gelling its just a couple of isolated sounds.

Mixing down isn't like this..

|Bass| |kick| |bottomsnare| |leads| |highsnare| |percs| |hats|

Its not regimented, sounds can over lap in frequency, its about having those you want to be at the forefront of that frequency band being the louder instrument within that band. For instance.


Sound1 is my lead.
Sound2 is my atmosphere.
They both peak at 600hz.

I will EQ down from about -3db with a steep Q untill the atmosphere is comprehensible still but not over powering, making the lead come through more.


You want to be aiming for -6db, spesh if you're sending it to mastering engineers; I don't know any industry professional who wants -3db unless its a quick bodge job.


As far as relationship between your kick and sub; make sure your kick sits just above the end of your sub, so if your sub is peaking at 60hz, highpass your kick at 75hz. You can check this by a spectrum analyzer (there is loads for free around).

Leads and pads are generally under your sub bass, in DB terms as they will have more harmonics so despite them being technically quieter db-wise they should be more audible than the sub

Once you get that first great mix, you'll not find it as hard to do another; just keep going for it!

[SytrixDubstep]

haha thanks so much for your response man some good info in there. jus one question, when you say steep Q what does that mean? sorry i'm kinda a newb when it comes to technical terms in production haha, just made the switch from garageband to logic (using massive of course) so i'm not totally up to date on that stuff

[legend4ry]

Q is the short for Quality (of resonance) which is how narrow the parametric eq's steep is!

[blinx]

With the sub bass thing, try using a limiter at the end of the effects chain for that channel. Then turn the gain up (on the limiter) until your sub bass sounds even, with out adversly effecting its presence or timbre all together.

[Ascian]

Legend4ry pon the knowledge!

[Mammoth]

Most of the time people use a sine sub, if you do that there should be no difference in gain. You might hear the frequencies more when they go higher but when it goes low you should be able to feel it more. If your friends aren't listening to your music through quality headphones or speakers with a sub you probably won't be able to hear it much.

[legend4ry]

Most of the time people use a sine sub, if you do that there should be no difference in gain. You might hear the frequencies more when they go higher but when it goes low you should be able to feel it more. If your friends aren't listening to your music through quality headphones or speakers with a sub you probably won't be able to hear it much.

Technically, yes.

But a lot of synths (massive being one of those) is so colourful it isn't a straight sine, its got harmonics and colour to it, even without going through one of the filters or something.

Trust me on this one .

[Mammoth]

Most of the time people use a sine sub, if you do that there should be no difference in gain. You might hear the frequencies more when they go higher but when it goes low you should be able to feel it more. If your friends aren't listening to your music through quality headphones or speakers with a sub you probably won't be able to hear it much.

Technically, yes.

But a lot of synths (massive being one of those) is so colourful it isn't a straight sine, its got harmonics and colour to it, even without going through one of the filters or something.

Trust me on this one .

I don't really use synths for sub I use a signal generator.

[legend4ry]

Most of the time people use a sine sub, if you do that there should be no difference in gain. You might hear the frequencies more when they go higher but when it goes low you should be able to feel it more. If your friends aren't listening to your music through quality headphones or speakers with a sub you probably won't be able to hear it much.

Technically, yes.

But a lot of synths (massive being one of those) is so colourful it isn't a straight sine, its got harmonics and colour to it, even without going through one of the filters or something.

Trust me on this one .

I don't really use synths for sub I use a signal generator.

Well, the guy was speaking about using massive for his subs.

[Mammoth]

Most of the time people use a sine sub, if you do that there should be no difference in gain. You might hear the frequencies more when they go higher but when it goes low you should be able to feel it more. If your friends aren't listening to your music through quality headphones or speakers with a sub you probably won't be able to hear it much.

Technically, yes.

But a lot of synths (massive being one of those) is so colourful it isn't a straight sine, its got harmonics and colour to it, even without going through one of the filters or something.

Trust me on this one .

I don't really use synths for sub I use a signal generator.

Well, the guy was speaking about using massive for his subs.

In capitol letters too. I feel smart