Mix Questions JOEMEEK

[micline]

Hello there,

I have a an interesteting issue, I'm no fantastic mix engineer, I can get a decent mix out of most stuff that I record for my group, it's a 4PC rock group, uptempo pop punk type stuff.

Very Violent Femmes Type stuff, anyway.. what I have down is, Bass, Guitar, Drums, Keys, and Vocals, with backup harmony....I'm pretty sure it was all recorded properly, I use ART Pro MPA Pre amps mostly, and I have a Focusrite ISA 428...I also use the Waves Platinum bundle for processing.

SO...I get down to the mix, I always apply minamal amounts of processing if any where needed, unless I"m looking for a specific effect, usually 2:1 to 4:1 compression ratios, 2-5 dB of reduction is about all I go for on the compression, Some Hi-pass Filters, to get rid of any low rumbles on the dums and bass, vocals I use an Alesis reverb witch I love, very litte wet/dry mix, about 5%.

And this formula usually works for me.....However, I deceided to listen to a friend of mine and try something new,

Inserting a JoeMeek "Mequilizer" on the master fader, and select the "SMILE" preset.


Well Holy crap!!! the mix was instantly kicked up a notch!! warm lows, crispy high end, a really nice mid range....

So I bypassed it to listen to my original mix, and all of a sudden it sounded like crap compared to the Joemeek insert on the master fader, it now sounded less powerfull, muddy, and nasal sounding.

My question is: Sould I beleive this miricale master fader insert? am I that bad a mix guy?

what if anything have I done wrong in my mix that the JOEmeek insert helps it that much, and How do I get my mixes to sound like that with out it?

If anyone out there has the Joemeek bundle, please try this little experiment, and give me your thoughts...

Any help will be appreciated!!!

Thank

JoeMeekMIX

[albee1952]

This should be an interesting thread. If you really like what that plugin did for you, you need to reverse engineer and break it down in your mind as to what it does and try to achieve that on the tracks. Before you go gaga though, I would want to take some bounces on CD-R and listen to the results on several other speakers to decide if its really right, or just really helped your monitors (as you didn't mention what your monitors are or your room acoustics). In the end, if it sounds right, it IS right......right? Maybe the Meek plug is contributing like any good mastering would likely do. Also, listen at different levels as the term "smiley" makes me think of the loudness switch on the average home stereo which boosts the lows (and sometimes highs) so that music sounds better at low volume(research Fletcher-Munson curve).

[micline]

Hey,

Yeah I figured I might get some S**T for this post,

and I was positive that I would hear the usual.. "it's not the gear its the guy at the controls" blah blah blah.

But really I've always been very happy with my mixes, they sound great in the car....and on my junky little boom box. so....

I'm using Yamaha MSP3 monitors, I love these little things. The room is semi-treated. I had a guy come in and do an acoustic check for bass traps and such, and he recomended some aurelex foam in specific spots, which I did, but I have since moved things around and added a few large peices of furniture so it might not be the best mix enviorment, but like I said, I'm happy with the "PRE MEEK" mixes and now, I'm totally confused again.

Someone has got to try this and let me know what they think

Thanks

MEEK MIX

[mastershredder]

I don't see why there would be any flaming over this. I use the Meequalizer on kick drums, snare drums, guitars, vocals, and I use it as a bus EQ for toms and overheads. I haven't used it on the master fader, but this might make me want to try it.

[micline]

YES!!

Please try it and tell me what you think.

I went over it and over it last night, I'm still not undersatding what exactly the Mequilizer Imparts on my mix thats so flattering..

all the plug in does from what I can see is boost the bass by about 4db and the treble by about the same, and it cuts the gain knob by about 6db....thats it....

but waht a difference when its bypassed, it' really making me question my mixing ability, which I admit isn't the greatest in the world, but until now works fine for what I'm doing.

Maybe some one can jump in on this and explain what that plug in is doing, and how I should attack my mixes to get that type of sound out of them.

Thanks

[protein]

I sometimes add some air and some punchy low end when I master - either with an eq or with something like the psp vintage warmer. I think that's a pretty reasonable thing to do. As long as you don't go over the top it will brighten up and fatten up a mix, add a breathyness to the vocals, add some sparkle to the cymbals etc. It depends what you have got going to the master fader though, if you do it as required rather than automatically it's not a bad thing at all. Sometimes stuff will sound bright and fat enough and you won't need to do it. sometimes it will sound too much like a smile and you'll want to put some warmth back into it...

[Brubacher]

I think the Meek EQ plug is fantastic. Just boosting the highs to about 1:00 adds a very nice sparkle. I have plugins like the Focusrite ISA110 and D2, Pultec bundle, URS BLT, etc. and the Meek is actually at the top of my list for plugs I reach for. There is nothing wrong with using it on the master bus. Just be sure you are not falling into the trap of liking the effect of the gain boost rather then the EQ itself...

[Ducky]

Micline... Maybe the question is what the Meek is based on. I found a similar 'warmth' and 'crispness' in the subtle adjustments of the Pultec bundle. I chose that bundle with the V7+ offer as it was a tube emulation that works well in this bundle. Maybe comparing the Meek plugin to generic digital EQ's is a matter of comparing apples to oranges. The Pultec sounds nothing like any other EQ I have (and I've been ignoring the Meek bundle in my 'Factory' plugins, BTW).

[dubhausdisco1]

I'll agree with one of the other replies here, and say that you should not go gaga with master fader inserts....
I don't know if you get your stuff professionaly mastered or not, but the consensus is that by inserting any type of compression on the master bus while mixing, you are going way beyond the scope of the mix engineer.
I'll agree with the post that says yeah, put the meek on the Master, but then disable it and FIX YOUR MIX!

What you are doing is being mix engineer and mastering engineer at the same time, which I don't think too many of us with LE systems can effectively do...That is very touchy territory.
Instead of mixing with tweezers(digital mixing, period), you now have baseball bats for hands. Any slight change to any part of the mix will have huge ramifications to other parts....
I agree that compression sounds good...But let the mastering engineer handle that.
If you master yourself, (which so many of us do nowadays), leave the master bus empty, make sure the tune DOESN'T CLIP, (in fact, with 24bit audio, you don't even have to have hot levels), and open up the mixdown in another program (or another instance of protools) to master it.
Any competant mastering engineer will be able to give you the "smiley" sound with loads of volume to spare!!!

Peace!