routingwithin
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 9, 2015 11:09
Good point man - Music perception, thanks for that. It kind of breaks the walls of all the science and formulas - usually implemented, only using knowledge.
" We are together in this matter you and I, closer to death, yes, closer than i'd like. How do you feel? - There can be no division in our actions, or everything is lost. What affects you affects me. "
Insomania
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Posted : Jun 9, 2015 23:08
Thank you all for the points and insights - I simply started to listen more and reference with pro tracks. It's weird, but I'm beginning to get the feeling I can actually reverse engineer what I hear and approximate results.
My last actually actually sounds much better.
Less limiting, more doubling and widening too.
I allow to take the comments of some of my co-producer friends and 3 organic shares on FB as a flattering proof
btw, I have to agree with frisbeehead about brighter sounds feeling close and duller sounds "more distant" - it is a well known/documented psychoacoustic phenomenon.
I remember reading in Bob Katz book, that a natural way to take things to the background is to cut off the highs.
If you want it deeper, than a clever use of the reverb is required.
Upavas
Upavas
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Posted : Jun 10, 2015 03:43
When using a limiter in a mastering chain, it should never really kick in, only use it to tame peaks that may clip. Other than that use more than one compressor, with low ratios and different settings. The highs and mids should be prominent, with the bass in the forefront and middle. If you can fix it in the mix, that is your first choice, always. If it is a mastering issue, remember not to overdo the compression. A tiny bit of stereo enhancing and a low compression ratio (which allows you to use the threshold a bit more deftly) should be of help, remember to let the mix breathe a little bit...
Upavas - Here And Now (Sangoma Rec.) new EP out Oct.29th, get it here:
http://timecode.bandcamp.com http://upavas.com http://soundcloud.com/upavas-1/
frisbeehead
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 10, 2015 21:02
Quote:
On 2015-06-10 03:43, Upavas wrote:
If you can fix it in the mix, that is your first choice, always. If it is a mastering issue, remember not to overdo the compression.
+1! it's never said enough times
routingwithin
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 11, 2015 15:15
Quote:
On 2015-06-09 23:08, Insomania wrote:
I simply started to listen more and reference with pro tracks. It's weird, but I'm beginning to get the feeling I can actually reverse engineer what I hear and approximate results.
Don't know if I said this before - but it can sometimes be difficult to reference your material with commercial tracks. Sure if you are mastering your track then an A/B comparison can really help to fix the presence and clarity of your mix. but still - the difference in elements between the two can be a bit of a mindfcuk.
Started to build up a reference library. cutting out single hits out of commercial tracks. hihats, leads, plucks, kicks, bass samples. Analyzing and listening to the quality and effect they have. i.e. many of my kicks I would make too hard hitting - which can cause listeners fatigue after about 2 min. Yes it sounds nice, but does not work in the end. Then when I A/B the commercial kick it's way softer on the ear, also a bit more in the background - less upfront and in your face, while still maintaining a lovely thump and also presence.
Using these individually with your individual instruments can really help to sculpt lets say a bass-line correctly. Without producing in the right acoustic environment, the frequencies can sometimes lie a bit, which causes unnecessary or incorrect processing.
If you spend enough time on it, then the reference sample starts to become a type of digital teacher - teaching you how much compression you need / EQ / Saturation / even a tiny bit of reverb on the kick to take away that thin boring mono sound.
Yeah - each to his own I suppose - though it does teach me a great deal when it comes to the correct shaping of sounds to fit together.
I also take into account that the reference samples are mastered - and sometimes find it almost impossible to re-synthesize a bass sample off a Com track - like say Astrix. Just cannot get to that quality. Think I should try some different combinations of effects. You hear it's a strait Saw tooth but damn man, there is something more going on in there, maybe analog gear or whatever..
Lately I've been having fun - linking all my synth's controls to my controller and just tuning it like a guitar string. Benefit here is you can for once look away from your screen, loose the visual aid/distraction and use your ears at full capacity.
" We are together in this matter you and I, closer to death, yes, closer than i'd like. How do you feel? - There can be no division in our actions, or everything is lost. What affects you affects me. "
PRO-Gram
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jun 14, 2015 17:23
Reverb is key here, for example you use a hall reverb but each sound has slightly different settings allowing you to physically place them back or forward in the mix, panning is equally important to create the panorama.
https://soundcloud.com/pro-gram-0
Hey mates, wanted to say a quick thanks for the tips and the challenges you threw at me that caused my brain seek harder and read on the topics of depth, width etc.
After about a month, here is my latest track (uploaded today) in which I implemented most of the new insights on creating wider/deeper stereo image. and I think I like what I hear.
I still used quite severe limiting, but well - you have to keep up with commercial standard until you have enough authority to change the rules of the game
By the way, If you are like-minded musically or at least we both like each other's creations anyway, keep in touch - may be we can collab and create something awesome together.
