Help! Need help mixing! And the EQ!

[SymbolicSystem]

I've been working a lot the last two days trying to mix my recordings. When I listen i my headphones its quite good but when I export it to MP3 something happens.

Especially check out the Birth on the adress below

MySpace.com - Symbolic System - Örebro, Örebro län - Metal / Thrash / Rock - www.myspace.com/symbolicsystem


Also help me with the following song: Easy Street at

MySpace.com - The Black Gates - Örebro län - Rock / Metal / Blues - www.myspace.com/theblackgates

[ilovminniedriver]

for the love of god, don't link to myspace, especially for mixing advice. upload it on this thread plz.

[SymbolicSystem]

I was so excited to get it up quickly. From where I'm at I can't upload my songs... I'll do it later.

Thanx

[SymbolicSystem]

I've read some more on how to use the EQ and I've got new ideas on what to try. Havent tried it yet. This mixing thing is really an art. dont learn it by night. And as people already said - learning by doing. There is no accurate manual. And since Im a beginner at this Id like all the input I can get.

I dont use a compressor at the moment just the built in EQ in Cubase SE3. Drums are programmed using EZ Drummer DFH. Guitar plug in is Amplitube LE.

I would like to create a more darker sound to the guitars but I've noticed they drown in the regions of where Im supposed to let the kick drum and bass grow forth. So my new idea is to cut more in those regions and lift them (the guitars) in the middle.

I noticed I'v got a parametric EQ plug in... better than the built in?
What can the compressor do for me (which I can't do for the compressor)? :-)

[sparqee]

Nice guitar chops. Rather than pushing the guitar tone down into the bass range I'd say put in a bass part. If no bass player is available then I would next suggest using your guitar to record a bass line and eq'ing it to work with the drums in that frequency range. Trying to get your original guitar track to serve a dual role is a lot trickier in my experience. Even if your low guitar (i.e. imitation bass) track pretty much doubles your guitar track you can use a rounder, less distorted tone that will make it easier to blend in the bass range. Try and think like a bass player. Pay attention to the kick and lock in with it.

A compressor can be used in a lot of ways. It can suck the life out of your tracks if you're not careful or it can make them sound denser and more powerful. It can be tricky to use and for me it took far longer to get comfortable with compression than it did with EQ. I would suggest reading some internet articles that introduce compression concepts, play with it on your own, read some more advanced stuff, play with it some more, read, play, continue. Learning to feel and hear the effect of a compressor's attack setting is really important. It's also important to remember that every compressor (plugin or hardware) reacts/sounds different so while you're in the early learning stages it's helpful to stick to experimenting with a single compressor. Later when you're comfortable with how to use compression you can jump back and forth between different plugins or hardware compressors and take advantage of their different characters but if you do that while you're learning the basics it can really confuse your impression of what compression is.

[julianrojo]

The first thing I would try, is to expand the stereo image.
Try this and later we can discuss the eq and compression.
Download a free plugin called "audio plugin delay" from Voxengo.
Install It ()
Now duplicate the guitar track. Clone it.
One guitar pan it to one side (can be 100% or 60% experiment)
The other track pan it to the opp side (exact settings) and put the plugin.
The plugin have six numbers (0000.00). That´s the delay of the audio signal.
Experiment with values between (0005.00) and (0030.00 or 0035.00) more delay than that doesn´t works.

This procedure is called ADT (Automatic Double Take) and is great for creating Stereo tracks from mono. Of course if you convert to mono, the sum of the two waves will show some serious phase cancellation (you have to experiment with dealy values until it sounds good in both stereo and mono).

Have a nice try!

[SymbolicSystem]

Thx a lot guys, I'm really thankful. Love this site...

Actually I've got a bass part in the song :-). I've been playing the bass for about 5 months or so, so I think I play it too similar to the guitars and maybe that is one reason why it drowns in the mix. And also that I have mixed the guitars into the same frequencies as the bass.

I've also recorded two guitars, tho not doubled them like u mention julianrojo. I'll try that too. The Stereo image, by that you mean paning them harder to each side?

I am starting to think there is something with the mixdown that I should pay attention to. Cause when I execute this command I get a message that goes something like this: "The two output channels will be mix down to a mono channel". On my soundcard I've got two outputchannels :-) OK. But I often record 2-3 guitar track each on a separate channel (of coarse) and 1 bass track. What is the computer trying to tell me? Does it effect my mixdowns? If so what/or can I do anythin about it?

We'll get back to the compressor thing later, just one question.
When I use it. Should I only use it when its time for the mixing or should I use while I record the guitar tracks for example?

[julianrojo]

OH OH OH OH
"The two output channels will be mix down to a mono channel"

That´s the ticket!!!
It was strange that the recording was so MONO. I don´t work with cubase, but try to post the mix in stereo.

[SymbolicSystem]

OK, I'm about to understand this EQ thing a little bit more. All thanx to this forum and you guys giving me advice Im so thankfull.

And also I discovered (to me hahahahaha) a new feature in cubase - stereo mixdown with MP3. hahahahaha just checkin a tiny box... oh its so funny.

I recorded a new baseline a little bit different than the last one (which you couldn't hear tho ). And I changed the EQ on each guitar not having the same sound/settings on both. Panned one hard left and one hard right.

I've not done anything with the compressor yet...

Please have another go... thx

[MetalDave]

You may want to eq the drums to let the guitars sound more meaty. It is amazing what you can do between 100hz and 80hz they won't walk on each other. Use 80 on the kick and leave definition. Use 100-400 on the guitars. I can hear the bass but it may need a little gain in the mix.