Opinions on this mix...

[frankreverbo]

Hi,
tonight I've just finished a mix (I've also mastered the track by myself) of an italian upcoming r'n'b group. I can't post the file of the track with the voices on because it's copyrighted. I give you the file with the instrumental...
Let me know what do you think about.. then I'll say you what I've used :)
Thanks so much, really cool people on this site!
Here's the link:

http://www.soulville.it/mp3download/...strumental.mp3

[Sirocco]

its nice man...its a tad too bright and harsh....also the sounds are way too gm and 80s...other than that..the mix sounds fine

was this done completely itb?

[H-Rezz]

Frank just a few suggestions , the mix is ok but needs a bit of weight and depth , i agree with the previous poster the sounds are a bit gm !

Some suggestions in sounds for you and the style you are going for and wont cost the earth......

http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0106-3

http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0905-1

http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0406-1

http://www.eastwestsamples.com/details.php?cd_index=997

Also you might want to look at the push/pull factor of your beat so it doesn't sound over quantized .

Good luck

[Sirocco]

about most of those libraries...i tried a few from big fish back in the day....the few cds i got had maybe 20 or so loops...with all the elements solod..meaning ud get 20 kicks, 20 snares or claps, 20 melodic lines....and thats it....and worse of all most of the sounds had noise or hum all over them..it was the last time i bought a library like one of those...but nowadays the funny thing is im working on a product for big fish

[H-Rezz]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

about most of those libraries...i tried a few from big fish back in the day....the few cds i got had maybe 20 or so loops...with all the elements solod..meaning ud get 20 kicks, 20 snares or claps, 20 melodic lines....and thats it....and worse of all most of the sounds had noise or hum all over them..it was the last time i bought a library like one of those...but nowadays the funny thing is im working on a product for big fish

Now that is irony for you Sirocco

These libraries are pretty good and inexpensive considering most are 2gig of data as opposed to some older libraries , the other thing is they are quite up to date .

Good luck with your Big Fish library , hope it's a winner for you

[Sirocco]

sometimes you will see a library as 2 gb...but sometimes they compose of

wav files
rex files
aiff files
apple loop files

so ur getting that size, usually divided by 4 hahah

[H-Rezz]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

sometimes you will see a library as 2 gb...but sometimes they compose of

wav files
rex files
aiff files
apple loop files

so ur getting that size, usually divided by 4 hahah

That is why i suggested some of these........

2.3 gig of content , 140 construction kits with it's OWN interface

http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0106-3

3.2 gig of loops and sounds with it's OWN interface.....

http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0106-3

[Sirocco]

good man!

[Sirocco]

the last one ive tried at a local studio is http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...?sku=UE-0905-1
by far the best construction kit-based library ive eversifted through
it still had the Apple/Wav/Acid/Rex2 format though :)

[frankreverbo]

Hello everybody,
and thanks to the ones that posted a comment. I'll explain some things, first of all. The real problem was the quality of the sounds. The track isn't produced by me... and it's produced with Reason so, the first thing is said. You know that Reason's engine quality (expecially in the bounce of the wav files) isn't so good. The second is that the bass was completely wack. The producer didn't want to change that so I've done the best to create a bass from zero. If you want I can give you an example of the track, as arrived in my studio... you will notice that the difference is like night & day :)
The beat was also not so weight, I've do the best to give it some transients (they were completely absent) and some presence.
Reason is really a big problem for me, when I mix other things produced with an Mpc the situation and sound quality is COMPLETELY different. Same thing for Triton or sampling workstation like that.
Thanks so much anyway :)
P.S. the mix was done itb with Pt 6.4.1 on a Mix Cube System and an Apogee Ad8000 SE. The master section was sent to a Fatso and then to a Nagra IV-S (used in bypass mode without recording on tape). The Nagra's out sent directly to PT.
I've used Sony Eq, Inflator and Transmod, Uad LA2A, 1176 and Pultec, Crane Song Phoenix, Urs A & N, Urs 1970, Waves S1, Waves Metaflanger, Altiverb, Moogerfooger Lowpass... I hope I've forget nothing :)

[H-Rezz]

Originally Posted by frankreverbo

Hello everybody,
and thanks to the ones that posted a comment. I'll explain some things, first of all. The real problem was the quality of the sounds. The track isn't produced by me... and it's produced with Reason so, the first thing is said. You know that Reason's engine quality (expecially in the bounce of the wav files) isn't so good. The second is that the bass was completely wack. The producer didn't want to change that so I've done the best to create a bass from zero. If you want I can give you an example of the track, as arrived in my studio... you will notice that the difference is like night & day :)
The beat was also not so weight, I've do the best to give it some transients (they were completely absent) and some presence.
Reason is really a big problem for me, when I mix other things produced with an Mpc the situation and sound quality is COMPLETELY different. Same thing for Triton or sampling workstation like that.
Thanks so much anyway :)
P.S. the mix was done itb with Pt 6.4.1 on a Mix Cube System and an Apogee Ad8000 SE. The master section was sent to a Fatso and then to a Nagra IV-S (used in bypass mode without recording on tape). The Nagra's out sent directly to PT.
I've used Sony Eq, Inflator and Transmod, Uad LA2A, 1176 and Pultec, Crane Song Phoenix, Urs A & N, Waves S1, Waves Metaflanger, Altiverb, Moogerfooger Lowpass... I hope I've forget nothing :)

Frank a bit of advice , when you mix other peoples stuff ALWAYS have handy fattening and attack drum sounds available to mesh with the sounds you get from the producer....

EG, for kicks you might want some subby kicks with no attack , some kicks with click on there own if you feel you cann't get enough click(3k) out of a kick that is given to you....so might only need 4-5 kicks that you can layer with the original , this will save you trying to fatten a sound which simply has not got those frequencies , cover you basses ....

Same with snrs, you might have an attack snr , a wide snr etc, this will save trying to give depth to a snr that just simply has not got it in the sound ......

Do not be afraid to ask for the midi files to do this , or simple sound replace/add to the original sound !

To give some sounds character do not be afriad to darken them up , some sounds that come from modules can be pretty sterile and clean in an ik way .

Good job

[Sirocco]

couldnt agree more... i have a library of about 10,000 kicks, snares and other things that are all very unique but barebone..but since they are all from different sources...i get to pick what kinda of attack i like, etc

[frankreverbo]

Originally Posted by H-Rezz

Frank a bit of advice , when you mix other peoples stuff ALWAYS have handy fattening and attack drum sounds available to mesh with the sounds you get from the producer....

Hi Rezz,
and thanks so much for the comment. Believe me, if you work in a studio you'll be according to me that you can't express artistic opinions on the music you mix. I'm the track's engineer, not the producer... I've tried in different ways to say to him that "the sounds aren't good, the beat have no transients, isn't weight...the bass isn't fat". He told me that he wanted the track in this way, so I did my job in the best way, tryin' to elevate the quality of the sounds he gave me.
I'm able to find some good samples (I'm also a producer...) in addiction to the ones he gave me in the studio but if the producer doesn't want this, what I've to do? Nothing. I do what I can with what I've got and with my (little) knowledge.
Havin' say that, how's the mix quality?
Thanks so much to you and to the ones that leave a comment, really.
Keep it up!

[H-Rezz]

It's a tragedy when pride gets in the way of a better result , maybe he needs to understand that all mix engineers have and arsenal of sonic tools to make the end product better ......... have an article available by an A mixer where he explains what he has done to get his mix to be fat , and that the producer that let him do this just finished Beyonce's new Album ,ha ha ha, sometime people need to be lead by the nose

Maybe you can darken your 'O hat, a little and tuck it in , this will let you snr and kik breath a bit better , and maybe you can give the E Piano a slightly lo fi sound with a plugin .If you find the bass is lacking wieght you can try 'max bass, by waves to give it an artificial octave if it is available.

Considering you had no choice as to how to work the mix you have done a good job , maybe it's a bit sparkly but that might be a result of the mastering , but good effort nonetheless , keep it up .

[frankreverbo]

Thanks so much Rezz!
Can you please give me the url of the article you mentioned about Beyonce? I will print that in A3 format and give it to the producer ahahahaah :)

[H-Rezz]

Here you go Frank

Dave Pensado.....

By the time I'm through with a drum sound, it doesn't matter what it started with, because if I don't have all the components in the sound, I'll add 'em myself. For example, let's say I'm missing that last octave, from 80 to 40 [Hz]. I'll add it myself. I'll add a sine wave that's in tune with the track. Or, let's say I'm given a poorly recorded snare and I've got more hi-hat in my snare mic than snare: I'll find a good snare without too much hi-hat in it and sample that and run that back in, and if I still don't have enough attack, I'll take the front part of a sample—like just the instant when the stick hits the head of the drum—and I'll add that back in. So by the time I'm done, it's better than digital or analog.

"The whole point of mixing is to not be limited by what you're given, but only be limited by your imagination. My philosophy is don't sit there lamenting the sound you're given. Fix it. That's your job.

http://mixguides.com/consoles/tips_a...ro-tools-0502/

[Sirocco]

Originally Posted by H-Rezz

Here you go Frank

Dave Pensado.....

By the time I'm through with a drum sound, it doesn't matter what it started with, because if I don't have all the components in the sound, I'll add 'em myself. For example, let's say I'm missing that last octave, from 80 to 40 [Hz]. I'll add it myself. I'll add a sine wave that's in tune with the track. Or, let's say I'm given a poorly recorded snare and I've got more hi-hat in my snare mic than snare: I'll find a good snare without too much hi-hat in it and sample that and run that back in, and if I still don't have enough attack, I'll take the front part of a sample—like just the instant when the stick hits the head of the drum—and I'll add that back in. So by the time I'm done, it's better than digital or analog.

"The whole point of mixing is to not be limited by what you're given, but only be limited by your imagination. My philosophy is don't sit there lamenting the sound you're given. Fix it. That's your job.

http://mixguides.com/consoles/tips_a...ro-tools-0502/

great link! - from that link and the many threads ive read, my style is very similir to pensados!

[con?one]

Originally Posted by frankreverbo

I can't post the file of the track with the voices on because it's copyrighted. [/url]

cool, i'll take a listen when i get home.
but fyi, if it's copyrighted, you can't sell it, but you can play it on the internet for free all you want