Mixing/Mastering help

[Mmichaelis]

Matt,

I understand your problem. I have the same problem. I'm sure you can find help on this forum, but like ttully said, you probably want to learn how to do this yourself. Think this way, if you take the time to learn this valuable skill, you can apply it at anytime and you won't have to wait on anybody else.

Tackling these skills is a life long commitment, I think. I started mixing 4 or 5 years ago, so I really don't know much about it. But if I had to point you in the right direction, I'd say Mike Senior's book on mixing is a great place to start. Of course, just reading the book is ok. Try the things he says:

- treat the room for listening
- get some kind of flat response speakers and headphones
- learn to correct pitch and timing issues before mixing
- strive to hear all the instruments in the mix. Mike calls this balance and he considers this the be very important from what I read.
- sweeten to taste with verb/delay/etc.

Some great channels to watch on youtube about audio engineering:
- mixdown online
- Produce Like a Pro

Mike Senior has a site that goes along with the book. His site lets you download projects and work on the skills. There are some great people to help study mixing on Mike's forum, a lot like this forum.

I hope that helps.
Greg

thank you so much Greg, I really appreciate this advice!!

[TheElement]

Way back when I was starting out I used LANDR

But ended up finding that eq , comp and satuation on master worked better. Helps things sound nice while writing. I know its not real mastering.

My master chain: luftikus eq - Sknote SDC - Sausage fattener

Also add sometimes ozone imager to spread mix a little

Real basic

[kitbenz51]

Sounds lame but...watch a lot of YouTube videos. There are countless tutorials that can get you to where you need to go. Good luck.

Cheers,
Kit

[akira]

I agree with the rest of the gang. You should learn how to do it yourself and I'm sure it will be worth it for you.

At the moment, I'm using Reaper by Cockos which costs $60 but they provide a fully functional download for evaluation. At startup, you will see a reminder to pay until you buy the license but it will still be fully functional.

I'm still a beginner but I'm hoping that the gang in the forum will help us learn the craft with the best effects and virtual instruments. But for the basics, there are tons of YouTube videos for Reaper. I recommend the ones provided by Kenny Gioia to learn Reaper in bite size chunks. Hopefully the gang can point you in the right direction for using Pro Logic.

Another option may be to collaborate. If I had the mixing/mastering skills, I would gladly mix and master for a royalty percentage.

Enjoy the Journey and I wish you the best of luck!

[gitanosoy]

Hello there,

First post here as I'm a new member of about 3 months!

So, I would say that my strength is that I am very creative and can write music rather easily, but my weakness is that I am a horrible engineer. I do all my recording in my home studio and know the basics of good recording in that setting, but I know nothing about mixing and mastering. In the past I've hired engineers to mix and master my work. I find them most of the time on Soundbetter. But as I submit to more Taxi listings, that gets really pricey. Some of these Soundbetter engineers charge up to $300 for one instrumental song with no vocals. Since the majority of stuff I do is instrumental songs for libraries, it is going to take quite some time for me to break even. So my question is twofold:

1) are there some Taxi members that I could hire to do these songs that are far cheaper than the Soundbetter route, until I eventually learn how to mix/master on my own?
2) while I am cutting my chops on learning, what resources do you recommend? I use Logic Pro.

Thanks a ton!

Matt Michaelis

Hi Matt,
I went from using Cubase for years to Logic in the past 3 years...these guys on youtube are great if you haven't checked their videos out..very well explained, anything about Logic
https://youtu.be/mXR9UFh4scQ

good luck,

Andre

[TonySollazzo]

13 stems and 33 alternate mixes of it.Yes! I said Thirty Three!

Hi Cass - I'm curious, how do you name all those variations?

[cassmcentee]

This is from one of the libraries I'm working with:

What I will ultimately need for all tracks (including the Stems and Full/Main versions) are 48/24 WAVs, which you can send via WeTransfer or Google Drive, or whatever you choose.

Please send me two folders of the main track(s) - Stems and Alts (Alternative versions of the main track) – each folder, titled with the track name and bpm. For example All You Need Is Love 120 STEMs, or All You Need Is Love 120 ALTs (this folder would include the Full Main version also).

I will say that Stems can be as important and useful as Alts, and need be ‘original’, whether using a sample bank from a library or a built-in vst with its own banks, ensure the Stem you send have some kind of ‘original’ layer so the sample used in your track isn’t a STANDALONE sound/loop/melody, but rather used in a unique manner, possessing a new and altered identity.

STEMs: (downloads of all individual instruments, from track’s beginning to end – so they should all be the same length): Track title, followed by instrument (in capitals), followed by the word ‘Stem’ For example: All You Need Is Love SYNTH Stem or All You Need Is Love SANTOOR Stem. FYI, like-instruments (ie, Hand Percussion or Drumset, Vocals) can be put together in a single Stem.

ALTs: Track title, followed by version (first letter capitalized, nospaces). For example: All You Need Is Love Full, or All You Need Is Love NoPizzi, or All You Need Is Love SynthPadBassAndPercOnly

The Stems will all be the length of the full/main track, and the Alts may vary in length, since some instruments are not present throughout the full main track, so please pay attention to ensure the Full and Alt versions only start/end when the music is heard.

*** In terms of number and titles of Alt versions, there can be as many as 15+ Alts to a track. This obviously depends on the number of instruments/channels used. Please ensure to name them beginning with melodic instruments, and ending with percussion. For ex: AcsGtrBassDrumsAndPercOnly

[TheElement]

Hey Matt, welcome to the forums!

here s some tips..

choose the highest quality sounds that fit together as you build the track. start with quality recordings.

less sounds in a mix makes mixing easier

try not to eq. just use sounds as is. I found less is more. if you dont need to eq dont.

go for balance. adjust track volumes to balance mix.

I'm sure theres more but those are good one.

All the best
Gavin