#1
|
|||
|
|||
Recording / Mixing advice requested....?
Over the holiday break, I decided to start playing around with some recording. I ended up getting roped into doing some large group mixes for a virtual benefit concert....and figured out that I'm in a bit over my head with the final mix and mastering portion of the process. I've done a lot of live work, but haven't spent much quality time in a studio since the 90s.....and things have changed a lot.
I know the basics of how things function, but knowing what to do with them to make a recording sound good with the modern tools is where I am a stone-cold beginner. Below is a link to a really rough song that I've put together to us as a learning tool. What I'm looking for is an idea of what's wrong with this mix, and what I should be listening for to make it better. Any and all input is welcomed, and feel free to be brutally honest. That said, the playing/singing isn't the point - I'm specifically using this to work on my recording/mixing skills. https://soundclick.com/r/s8fto4 FWIW, all of the instruments were recorded direct into a Behringer X32; guitar is a Taylor 814ce. Vocals used a AT2020. DAW is "Multitrack Studio".
__________________
Under construction Last edited by AuntieDiluvian; 01-10-2021 at 12:49 PM. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Updated with a better link after it was pointed out to me that this one not only didn't work, but also looked like potential spam.....sorry....
__________________
Under construction |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
I think the mix sounds pretty good!
Bass could be punchier, and maybe get some percussion in there. Maybe personal taste, but lacks a bit in stereo field/width. I would spread those instruments and background vocals out more. *Please* mic the acoustic instruments.
__________________
"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Quote:
This was a very quick, rough cut to learn the DAW software and see how the system goes together. I haven't put it all into a permanent space with any acoustic treatment yet (not even carpet), and the mics I have are just workhorse items for live use. Live in the room would sound pretty bad, at least the way I'm working today.
__________________
Under construction |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Good sound. I agree with Keith, widen the soundstage giving different instruments some independent directional space but with your
voice and the instrument you are playing center. You can also play around with what volume level you want for different instruments.
__________________
Derek Coombs Youtube -> Website -> Music -> Tabs Guitars by Mark Blanchard, Albert&Mueller, Paul Woolson, Collings, Composite Acoustics, and Derek Coombs "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Woods hands pick by eye and ear
Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
No, I don't - the Taylor electronics were the one thing that kept me in the Martin camp (Aura Plus on my now gone GPCPA3). I think their instruments can sound quite good, acoustically, and have a friend I was playing with pretty regularly (before this year) with a 714ce that sounds really nice, but plugged in, it's an electric guitar, effectively. (I believe their pickup system/s are better with finger-style playing than flat-picked, like many other UST-based systems. Just an opinion, though.)
I'd at least give micing the instruments a couple of tries. Close micing with some consideration of the space and reflective surfaces can go a long way. My first recordings were done in a small-ish office but it has bookcases and a small "loveseat" and a good rectangular shape (vs. my square room, now). Those couple recordings, done with a dynamic mic, still hold up pretty well (IMO).
__________________
"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
With that I concur more separation both in the L-R sound field and also in EQ'ing the frequencies of the individual instruments themselves ( often referred to as ) "carving out space" by judicious use of subtractive and and maybe some mild additive EQ and High Pass filtering each individual track. I am not familiar with that DAW so no DAW specific recommendations But if you have a way to export the RAW tracks as individual tracks in WAV I would love to take a crack at re mixing it... Don't know if SoundClick offers direct download but maybe Dropbox if you have that ?
__________________
Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 Last edited by KevWind; 01-02-2021 at 12:37 PM. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
There are more knowledgeable and accomplished recordists here, take my response as more from the perspective of someone who's done a lot of recording work quickly, and I post it only to give you another perspective/data point in your "survey" of listens.
Your mix isn't bad, the elements of the song are all there. What do I hear that could be improved: As mentioned upthread there are times that the vocals and the main guitar seem to be competing for the same pan and EQ space. This was the first thing I noted. I noted the pickup sound on the acoustics. Not ideal, but I tolerated it better than some upthread. In my case with live recordings, I sometimes get worse issues when I use mics on acoustics. For example, one issue I'll run into is off-mic bleed into the acoustic guitar SDC mic from the lead vocal that remains in the mix and makes the lead vocal sound worse. Almost all listeners are going to listen to the vocal and won't give a dram about the somewhat artificial quality of a guitar pickup. Speaking of vocals. The vocals have better singing that I ever have from myself in my dreams. I have tried over the years to polish the road-apple that is my singing. My pitch issues and other faults won't go away no matter what level of recording tech sound improvements are applied, though I still think (illogically?) I should try. The vocals on your song sounded a little bright and very slightly thin on my monitors. Not sure what I'd do about that, and what I'd suggest might not be what better recordists would suggest.
__________________
----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... Last edited by FrankHudson; 01-02-2021 at 09:01 PM. Reason: typo |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks guys - this is really good input. I've taken some of what you guys said and updated the track a bit. Spreading out the soundstage made a really big difference in letting the individual instruments come through.
https://soundclick.com/r/s8fpw5
__________________
Under construction |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
__________________
Under construction |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
The spread in the stereo field did improve things. You're probably getting to the level of accomplishment that only the better recordists here than I can help you with.
After hearing the vocal recording sound again a second time I'm not even very sure of my initial thoughts about the microphone, room, or EQ elements on what is otherwise a fine vocal to my ears.
__________________
----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Round 3 of polishing this turd.
https://soundclick.com/r/s8fto4 I'm coming to the conclusion that the early parts of the process are the most important - there's only so much you can do to "fix" things after the fact.
__________________
Under construction |
#13
|
||||
|
||||
Sounds a lot better.
I'd probably tap a dB or so off the very low end, say 80dB and lower, and add some exciter or something in the low mids, or maybe right on the vocal track, to bring out the lead vocal just bit. P.S. There's some string noise on the guitar parts that should be cleaned up to bring up the level of that track to a normalized/streaming level. Not horrible, but it gets noticeable at typical listening levels, as usual, just IMO.
__________________
"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
Under construction |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Here's how spectral editing works in Reaper. You could download it, use demo mode, pull in just the tracks you need to fix, and render them back out to use back in your original project. |