Fix my trumpet? Help!

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Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by ncc1701 » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:12 am

I need some fast and furious help on this one. I'm doing the final mix on my Sousa march, but I can't get the trumpet (live) to blend right. It sounds over-processed no matter what I do to it.I'm afraid I might have recorded it too close to the mic. Can anyone give a listen and tell me if there is some magic digital fix I can run on it, or will I have to re-record?http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... ueKathleen

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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by ibanez468 » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:22 am

Just my $.02, but I'm afraid it's a little difficult to tell whether or not it's over processed without hearing the rest of the instruments in the mix. Otherwise, it sounds fine ta' me. Not quite sure how else it's suppose ta' sound. You may have ta' do some automative moves on your faders if it's too over-powering in some instances, but it sounds like a pretty damn good recording ta' me. Don't know if this addresses your concerns or not.I-468

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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by mazz » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:27 am

Hi Kathleen,I can't stream from the TAXI site here at work but I'm wondering if you're blending the trumpet in with sampled trumpets? If this is the case, try turning the live trumpet way down so it just peeks it's head over the sound of the sampled trumpets. Sometimes just a touch of "real" playing is all something needs to sound convincing. Then you won't have to do much processing to it at all since it's just there to reinforce the part, not call attention to itself.Hope this helps!!Mazz
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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by clanmorgan » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:40 am

Its hard for me to respond properly to the post without hearing the entire track but I do detect a small amount of 'room' in the recording. Maybe try running a reverb on the Aux tracks and blend the trumpet into the mix ? Alot of times I find that will help brings together more.... but I do love the tone and quality of what I heard. Post the full track and Id love to listen.

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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by bmete » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:42 am

Kathleen,I-468 has a point- is it possible to post up what you have with the other instruments?When you say overprocessed- do you mean to much compression, what are you doing in the mix that making the over process sound/Bob

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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by mewman » Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:01 pm

Hi keylsianI've got to agree with everyone else.....can you post a link to a version or portion of the whole arrangement? On it's own, the trumpet sounds a bit dry for my taste. A bit of the right reverb could soften the sound and, maybe, help it to blend into your arrangement better. But, again, without hearing some of the arrangement.....I can say that it doesn't sound over compressed to my ear.mewman

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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by mojobone » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:24 pm

Listening to the trumpet soloed, what I'm not hearing that may sound artificial is the fact that there's nothing in the left channel; in a stereo recording of a trumpet, you'd hear reflections off the left wall even with the instrument positioned to your extreme right. There are a couple of notes that sound chorused or doubled at about 1:56 -don't know what happened, there.You might try delaying the trumpet track relative to the rest of the tracks by 15-40 ms. Or make a copy of the track and pan it opposite to the original, delayed by that amount. You can add artificial depth that doesn't sound too artificial if you use a very short reverb or 'early reflections' program, preferably from a 'convolution' type reverb. HTH
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Re: Fix my trumpet? Help!

Post by ncc1701 » Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:59 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I posted the finished (or latest, I should say) mix in Peer to Peer. Sorry I couldn't post more of the version that was sounding funny - the rest of the track had some evil balance problems and I didn't have time to work them out before leaving the house today.The great thing about this forum is that every single suggestion posted here is something I will be able to use in a future project. Muchas gracias!!Kathleen

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