The Official Mixing Thread

[Propaganda]

@TheMaster knows what's up. good advice.

and since dudes brought up the rza "making bangers on shytty equipment", what you guys are forgetting is that a big part of the aesthetic that wu-tang had was shaped by that sound. it was a dirty, unpolished, raw as shyt vibe that not only fit perfectly with their style but it amplified it and made it even dirtier. so unless you're going for that feel in that genre or at least something similar, you're probably swinging for the wrong fences. for instance, you if you're making a modern edm/pop track with the same sonic signature as an early wu record, that shyt would sound like like a convoluted mess.


but you don't need expensive gear to make quality mixes, i think pretty much every daw has adequate native 'effect' plugins to take care of all your needs. so if you know what you're doing you have the tools to create a solid mix. and we're on the internet...so it's sure as shyt not hard to find a lot of excellent, useful 3rd party vsts to download i think a lot of people would be surprised how many well-known mix engineers are almost entirely, if not fully, working in-the-box these days. some might use some analog summing running through their desk/console/whatever but still.

 

[mortuus est]

whats the best way to Master on fl studio? lol

also

@TheMaster @Propaganda
whats the pros and cons of using a mixing board with a daw in this era? is it needed?

 

[1/2OfDaBruinz]

You know about frequencies?

What program are you using?


Mud is between 200-500k I would say.

Naw, I don't know too much about frequencies. As a matter of fact, I really don't know anything about them.

As far as programs, I make the beat in Maschine, and I try to mix it in Fruity Loops. I'm just using the basic filters they have for low and high pass and I'm using the multiband eq that they have. Do I need to use a different program? If so which one?

I can actually get it to sound like I want it to, but by then I would have mixed it so much, that it the volume level is super low, like there's no "beef" to it or it's too muddy, or both.

 

[ItWasWritten]

whats the best way to Master on fl studio? lol

also

@TheMaster @Propaganda
whats the pros and cons of using a mixing board with a daw in this era? is it needed?

Mastering can be done in any Daw...


I can give u a mastering chain, its quite simple really.

A mixing board like the big ones you see? No its not needed....Most mixing boards have a "sound" so thats why engineers still use them, that or its just what they are used too....some people mix hybrid...


Me myself I use a controller... It has all the faders and stuff to control pro tools so I get a hands on feel and its quicker than just pointing and clicking. But no you don't need it.

Naw, I don't know too much about frequencies. As a matter of fact, I really don't know anything about them.

As far as programs, I make the beat in Maschine, and I try to mix it in Fruity Loops. I'm just using the basic filters they have for low and high pass and I'm using the multiband eq that they have. Do I need to use a different program? If so which one?

I can actually get it to sound like I want it to, but by then I would have mixed it so much, that it the volume level is super low, like there's no "beef" to it or it's too muddy, or both.

A multiband eq is what you need, I'm not familiar with FL but I found this pic online

Actually, these settings might sound good for a bass....try it out...anyway

The bottom row displays the frequency scale.....the right meter displays volume.....volume is measured in Db's.

As a general rule you never want to eq more than I would say 5 db's....anything more than that is overkill.

So the it goes from lower to higher from left to right...I'm sured you've figure this much out by playing with it...

Typically we cut the frequencies we dont want first, and then add another eq to add some spice...

Here are some frequency charts perhaps they will help you.

On this one the top chart will just confuse you, just look at the bottom to add and cut what you do/don't want.

Lastly you mentioned that the volume wasn't all the way there, when you eq you are just lowering and raiing the volume of the sound but just certain parts of it, not the whole thing....

So note you volume before the eq, and then put it back to where it was after the eq...this is called gain staging. This is also where a compressor might come into play but thats another lesson... lol.








Here is one mistake I would make when I first started mixing....I would solo the instrument I was working on and make it sound good by itself but it wouldn't sound good when I brought it to the mix.

Try mixing the bass when everything is playing, it doesnt matter how it sounds by itself....it only matters how it meshes with all the other instruments...

 

[1/2OfDaBruinz]

Mastering can be done in any Daw...


I can give u a mastering chain, its quite simple really.

A mixing board like the big ones you see? No its not needed....Most mixing boards have a "sound" so thats why engineers still use them, that or its just what they are used too....some people mix hybrid...


Me myself I use a controller... It has all the faders and stuff to control pro tools so I get a hands on feel and its quicker than just pointing and clicking. But no you don't need it.





A multiband eq is what you need, I'm not familiar with FL but I found this pic online

Actually, these settings might sound good for a bass....try it out...anyway

The bottom row displays the frequency scale.....the right meter displays volume.....volume is measured in Db's.

As a general rule you never want to eq more than I would say 5 db's....anything more than that is overkill.

So the it goes from lower to higher from left to right...I'm sured you've figure this much out by playing with it...

Typically we cut the frequencies we dont want first, and then add another eq to add some spice...

Here are some frequency charts perhaps they will help you.

On this one the top chart will just confuse you, just look at the bottom to add and cut what you do/don't want.

Lastly you mentioned that the volume wasn't all the way there, when you eq you are just lowering and raiing the volume of the sound but just certain parts of it, not the whole thing....

So note you volume before the eq, and then put it back to where it was after the eq...this is called gain staging. This is also where a compressor might come into play but thats another lesson... lol.








Here is one mistake I would make when I first started mixing....I would solo the instrument I was working on and make it sound good by itself but it wouldn't sound good when I brought it to the mix.

Try mixing the bass when everything is playing, it doesnt matter how it sounds by itself....it only matters how it meshes with all the other instruments...

Nice breakdown

And yeah, that's the multiband eq I use. I'm gonna get in the lab tonight and try some of these tips out. I'm gonna try to learn gain staging as well. I never heard of it, so I'm sure that will help me. Good tip on mixing everything together too.

Excuse my incompetence, but I don't fully understand how to read the second chart you posted. I'll use the male vocal for example. Is it saying that the frequency should be between 100 hz and 1000 hz? And for the bass, is it saying the frequency should be between 60 hz and 250 hz?

 

[ItWasWritten]

Nice breakdown

And yeah, that's the multiband eq I use. I'm gonna get in the lab tonight and try some of these tips out. I'm gonna try to learn gain staging as well. I never heard of it, so I'm sure that will help me. Good tip on mixing everything together too.

Excuse my incompetence, but I don't fully understand how to read the second chart you posted. I'll use the male vocal for example. Is it saying that the frequency should be between 100 hz and 1000 hz? And for the bass, is it saying the frequency should be between 60 hz and 250 hz?

The second chart is just telling you the frequencies of certain instruments...meaning that's where the bulk of the frequencies reside.....that's all, the bottom part is more helpful for when you want to eq

 

[ItWasWritten]

Here is a helpful book on mixing guys:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyyies4mkt0trew/Mixing Concepts and Techniques.pdf?dl=0

 

[1/2OfDaBruinz]

The second chart is just telling you the frequencies of certain instruments...meaning that's where the bulk of the frequencies reside.....that's all, the bottom part is more helpful for when you want to eq

I got it. I'm gonna report back in the next few days with my progress.

 

[Propaganda]

whats the best way to Master on fl studio? lol

also

@TheMaster @Propaganda
whats the pros and cons of using a mixing board with a daw in this era? is it needed?

there's no "best way", as in, some magic formula. but pretty much every mastering chain is gonna have at least 1 each of an eq and a compressor and then there's gonna be a limiter (which should ALWAYS be the last thing in your chain). you could also add in some stereo imaging and saturation/soft-clipping plugins in there as well. i mean, the best thing to do is just learn to how to use each tool, understand how they work when in different orders (like eq before compression vs. compressing then eqing) and figure things out from there. if you're not serious about learning this stuff and are just gonna be lazy, just throw isotope ozone on your shyt and find a preset that sounds good lol.

as far as a mixing board goes, nah, they're not needed. i mean, if you just like physically moving knobs and faders and pan pots and shyt, then sure go for it but i don't think those little rigs built for home studios are gonna add any color to the sound like a real console would.

 

[Propaganda]

Nice breakdown

And yeah, that's the multiband eq I use. I'm gonna get in the lab tonight and try some of these tips out. I'm gonna try to learn gain staging as well. I never heard of it, so I'm sure that will help me. Good tip on mixing everything together too.

Excuse my incompetence, but I don't fully understand how to read the second chart you posted. I'll use the male vocal for example. Is it saying that the frequency should be between 100 hz and 1000 hz? And for the bass, is it saying the frequency should be between 60 hz and 250 hz?

for that chart, just bookmark this link instead. http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm

you can hover over every instrument (and in different frequency bands) and it'll give you a little synopsis about each thing.

it's great to have in your arsenal, especially when starting out but more than anything, your ears are the most important tool you have, develop those, don't just depend on the chart.

 

[mortuus est]

Mastering can be done in any Daw...


I can give u a mastering chain, its quite simple really.

A mixing board like the big ones you see? No its not needed....Most mixing boards have a "sound" so thats why engineers still use them, that or its just what they are used too....some people mix hybrid...


Me myself I use a controller... It has all the faders and stuff to control pro tools so I get a hands on feel and its quicker than just pointing and clicking. But no you don't need it.





A multiband eq is what you need, I'm not familiar with FL but I found this pic online

Actually, these settings might sound good for a bass....try it out...anyway

The bottom row displays the frequency scale.....the right meter displays volume.....volume is measured in Db's.

As a general rule you never want to eq more than I would say 5 db's....anything more than that is overkill.

So the it goes from lower to higher from left to right...I'm sured you've figure this much out by playing with it...

Typically we cut the frequencies we dont want first, and then add another eq to add some spice...

Here are some frequency charts perhaps they will help you.

On this one the top chart will just confuse you, just look at the bottom to add and cut what you do/don't want.

Lastly you mentioned that the volume wasn't all the way there, when you eq you are just lowering and raiing the volume of the sound but just certain parts of it, not the whole thing....

So note you volume before the eq, and then put it back to where it was after the eq...this is called gain staging. This is also where a compressor might come into play but thats another lesson... lol.








Here is one mistake I would make when I first started mixing....I would solo the instrument I was working on and make it sound good by itself but it wouldn't sound good when I brought it to the mix.

Try mixing the bass when everything is playing, it doesnt matter how it sounds by itself....it only matters how it meshes with all the other instruments...

nah not the big one just he small mixers, but i see what u sayin thanks

 

[mortuus est]

there's no "best way", as in, some magic formula. but pretty much every mastering chain is gonna have at least 1 each of an eq and a compressor and then there's gonna be a limiter (which should ALWAYS be the last thing in your chain). you could also add in some stereo imaging and saturation/soft-clipping plugins in there as well. i mean, the best thing to do is just learn to how to use each tool, understand how they work when in different orders (like eq before compression vs. compressing then eqing) and figure things out from there. if you're not serious about learning this stuff and are just gonna be lazy, just throw isotope ozone on your shyt and find a preset that sounds good lol.

as far as a mixing board goes, nah, they're not needed. i mean, if you just like physically moving knobs and faders and pan pots and shyt, then sure go for it but i don't think those little rigs built for home studios are gonna add any color to the sound like a real console would.

thhanks breh i might download that ozone thing

 

[ItWasWritten]

thhanks breh i might download that ozone thing

Isotope is good has some nice sh1t in it , if you want to just use that for prests i guess its fine... leme know if you want to know how to do it for real... not hard just need to grab a couple of plugins...

 

[mortuus est]

Isotope is good has some nice sh1t in it , if you want to just use that for prests i guess its fine... leme know if you want to know how to do it for real... not hard just need to grab a couple of plugins...

yeah juice me up im always up for learning new stuff

 

[ItWasWritten]

yeah juice me up im always up for learning new stuff

Mac or Windows?