making a mix more hi-fi

[baskervils]

My elements seem to be sitting where they should be in the mix, but I need to add something else to make it more sparkly.

So far, I have: piano, bass, snare, tamb and a bit of organ

Are there any instruments that any of you sometimes add to make a tune sound less low mid range / bassy?

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by baskervils

My elements seem to be sitting where they should be in the mix, but I need to add something else to make it more sparkly.

So far, I have: piano, bass, snare, tamb and a bit of organ

Are there any instruments that any of you sometimes add to make a tune sound less low mid range / bassy?

Bright acoustic guitar? some tuned percussion (lots of mancini-style orchestral stuff has a glockenspiel playing the melodies)? maybe just take a bit of the weight out of the piano and/or organ?

[Slikjmuzik]

Making a mix more hi-fi, to me isn't in the instruments. If I want to open it up, imo, that's in the master bus, especially if what you say is true, that the balance of instruments seems like it's there.

Try 2 shelves. Boost 1db at a shelf starting just above 3khz. For me it's usually 3.1khz, but I mix my stuff that way...to allow for me to do this with an EQ I love on the master bus. That might do it. If that's not enough, try another shelf, again only boosting about a db around 11 or 12khz. Stuff that I mix a little darker needs to have this done to it and many times even when I don't feel the song needs this extra step, the artist still likes it. Btw, the eq I like to use for this is the UA Precision Equalizer. On individual tracks inside the mix, the Cambridge just can't be beat. That one and the Pulteq are amazing.

Ok, anyway, hope that helps.

[baskervils]

Thanks guys! Indeed, my mixes with acoustic guitar do indeed sound more shimmery.

I will try doing some aggressive EQ-ing. When I tried that before, it brought out some harsh stuff that I was trying to suppress.

The piano is especially difficult, because it's so dynamic.

[Slikjmuzik]

Originally Posted by baskervils

Thanks guys! Indeed, my mixes with acoustic guitar do indeed sound more shimmery.

I will try doing some aggressive EQ-ing. When I tried that before, it brought out some harsh stuff that I was trying to suppress.

The piano is especially difficult, because it's so dynamic.

Compress the piano in the mix, then add light EQ on the 2buss, def nothing aggressive on the 2bus or you will def get harsh. I do more cutting on the 2bus than anything else.

[baskervils]

I had to squash the hell out of the piano, and it sounds kind of cool but a bit Elton 1970. I wouldn't mind keeping that sound, but everything else has to work around it!

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by baskervils

My elements seem to be sitting where they should be in the mix, but I need to add something else to make it more sparkly.

So far, I have: piano, bass, snare, tamb and a bit of organ

Are there any instruments that any of you sometimes add to make a tune sound less low mid range / bassy?

Do not overuse it -- but when you really, really need to add occasional sparkles to an arrangement, a little tiny bit of glockenspiel on accent notes can really be neat. Check out the studio version of Hendrix' "Little Wing" to see how well it can work in a really unexpected context. A lot of folks probably don't even realize it's in there -- and I'd say that is the ideal. You just want the sonic equivalent of a little photoshopped light gleam or sparkle in a product photo. A little too much is way too much. Go light and then back it off.

Depending on the context/style, some more obvious elements might be guitar (acoustic or electric), possibly with some bottom end taken out to seat in the mix. Or banjo. Maybe mandolin. Celtic harp. Concert harp. (If you're going to use a keyboard/samples, watch out on the guitar... you can sometimes get the right effect with the others OK [mando's can be tricky, too, but as much because of technique issues, particularly trem picking] but sampled guitars so often sound fake-y unless they're buried (or buried with other, complementary real guitars).