tracking-mixing thread

[arcarsenal]

hey everyone, i started doing some comparing between records i like, and my stuff, and im getting alot of questions. first off, yes i know expirament until you find what works, but what are some guidlines for the following things. id say im past the basic knowledge and am looking for some interesting tips.

tracking overheads: i have mc012s. first off, the pad on or not? will no pad get me more room sound [which i want]. second, wheres a good place to mic, above [in an xy pattern, which i am alittle uninformed on], or i heard about in front.

snares: how do i get a nice even curve while im miking [more treble], and the most possible punch while tracking, im normally getting more bass and less of the percussive sound.

vocals: whenever i see anyone in a studio doing vocals, there right up next to the condenser, i normally track about a foot away. im assuming it sounds better up front, but i bet you need an omni so theres no proximity effect.


and for mixing, i just have a few other things that im looking for tips on.

snares: im looking to get that super punch that i hear and see on frequency analyzers when i check my favorite records, the snare just raises up the whole spectrum, while mine just kind of farts alittle. the dynamics on mine always sound a bit overcompressed and still not bouncy no matter what i try, what is some good eq/comp advice to get that punch?

and also what are the frequencies that i can just cut off to reduce mud on things like guitars, maybe vocals.
and lastly is just the fact that i use too much reverb, but i just have to work on that..

im sorry i ask alot of questions, i bet id post more if i knew something you guys didnt, but until i just have to gain knowledge.

thanks alot!

[Ssaidvox1]

Hey,
Few things...hmm... first the snare...

some frequencies to play with...
240hz for the depth of the snare, about 2.5 khz for the attack, and 5khz for the snap.

As far as being overcompressed, I usually dont compress things more then 2-3 db, but sometime ill get nutty and go around 4-6db. If you compress to much, it will squish your high end, the result can be your "farting" effect.

Removing mud.
Try pulling about 240hz down on the guitars. Thats a common point where the bass of an electric lives around. Same with the vocals. More ways to kill the mud...
Do you really need below 150 to 200 on a vocal? Do a high pass filter and get rid of all the bass garbage going on, that is simply cluttering your track. Adjust to taste obviously. Same with the guitars...leave the low frequencies for your bass guitar and kick drum to live in. Use that high pass filter and kill the woof.

Obviously, these are just tips that i do, and find useful. Not everyone will agree, but check it out, and see what you like [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] good luck!!

[arcarsenal]

thank you, by the way, you get nutty at 4-6? like, i have nothing under like 8, i think compression is my weakpoint. im not that familiar with the benefits of different attack/release times, and thresh/ratios.
i guess i also have to realize that my gear might be holding me back. i need a nice pair of preamps, and a better condenser.

thanks, if anyone has any more tips, keep em coming!

[dodo]

this site is very helpful

[arcarsenal]

yeah ive been there for awhile, its great. it just takes awhile to absorb everything

[Ssaidvox1]

I should be a little more specific. When i'm just doing basic compression, I won't go any higher than around 6 DB. If im using it for an effect...like spuer compressed guitars, or my favorite, the drum sub mix, i can go anywhere from 8 - 20 db. But that's only for effect, and it usually dwells pretty low in the mix, just to the point where it is adding some extra umpfh. (how do you spell umpfh anyway? lol) making a compressed drum submix is one of the biggest tricks in getting a killer drum sound at mix down. if you dont know about it yet, just send a prefader bus from every drum track to a stereo aux send. Listen to the stereo aux, and adjust the mix, and panning on the sub mix. You may not want to use the cymbals, cause of the wierd effects of compression on them. Anyway, after you get a good mix, throw your fav compressor on there, and squish the daylights out of it. then mix the compressed submix in with your regular drum tracks. Not to much though, you dont really want to hear the compressor, but when you mute the auxillary, you should notice that alot of punch drops out of the drums. Try that out too. You'll love it [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[arcarsenal]

yeah, i was browsing the DiSKotech yesturday and they brought that up and ive been using that. just curious, what kind of preamps do you use, and do you just run straight in from mic>pre>digi? or do you have any other outboard gear.

[golli]

(how do you spell umpfh anyway? lol)

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">This must be international, but I generally try to get OOMMpffh [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] out of my bassdrum.