Making your mixes sound better.

[sermad]

Anyone care to share their thoughts on making mixes/comps sound better?

What works for me.

1) Record as close to 0db as you can (without clipping)

2) Clean the record. Amazing how a quick rinse works.

3) If the record is pretty crackly then add a touch (and I MEAN a touch of noise cancellation). If you have adobe audition you can take a noise print and apply this to the track so it removes only the noise. Listen to the noise being removed - If the top end is being taken off then turn it down. Better to a nice crackle then no top end.

4) Do a 40 hz gate to get rid of record rumble.

5) Set the levels of each track so when they blend together its consistent.

6) Create a rough version here and play it back in your headphones to check everythings going ok. Then play it back in your car/work/bedroom/kitchen. If any blends jump out now then go back and tweak.

7) When the mix is finished add a touch of compression over the whole thing but be very careful. Too much and it'll sound flat as a pancake.

Over to you wooly for the   techniques!

[rolex baxter]

another one - ensure your needles are in good nick!

I replaced mine a week before recording, the old ones were sounding kinda ratsass

[wooly]

ah, meeester serms. you are baiting me to get on my mastering soapbox and i've only just finished my dinner.

1) get me to master your recordings.

2) see above.

3) i'll be serious-ish here - handing over your work to someone else (not particularly me, by the way - it's not an advert) to master might seem like a daunting idea, but it's amazing how a fresh set of ears can reveal things you'd not thought of and you'll get a new perspective on the bigger picture (if you're mastering a set of tracks). for example, i never master my own recordings (i leave it to abbey rd) but i master other people's material often.

4) it's very subjective, but i don't trust consumer software. noise-removal is a black art and requires an extremely good monitoring system and a good pair of ears more than anything. i don't even trust multi-million ££ systems like CEDAR a lot of the time, because in the hands of a cack-handed mastering engineer you can end up with a horrible squeaky top end and ruined dynamics. i'll stick with a few crackles a bit of hiss if need be, no problem.

5) one thing to remember is that louder doesn't necessarily mean better. piling on shitloads of compression may sound impressive first of all, but it's very tiring on the ears in the long run. if you're mastering it yourself, a bit of compression can work well to increase the energy levels, but don't overdo it. the question of how much and the type depends on the programme material. if you're planning on handing the mastering over to someone else, leave it off the overall mix completely if possible.

right - i've bored everyone silly now with complete drivel. let's talk about records again

[sermad]

CD MIXES WOOLY.

[wooly]

Quote[/b] (sermad @ Nov. 18 2004,21:54)]CD MIXES WOOLY.

you fiend! i warned you i'd start.

still... 'easy does it' is the way forward.

[emperor tomato ketchup]

Quote[/b] (sermad @ Nov. 18 2004,21:15)]1) Record as close to 0db as you can (without clipping)

But he's just died... do I have to go to the cemetary?

[Blighty]

Quote[/b] (sermad @ Nov. 18 2004,21:15)]3) If the record is pretty crackly then add a touch (and I MEAN a touch of noise cancellation). If you have adobe audition you can take a noise print and apply this to the track so it removes only the noise. Listen to the noise being removed - If the top end is being taken off then turn it down. Better to a nice crackle then no top end.

Noooooooooooooooo!!! I love the crackle.

[theeman]

horses for courses - personally i'd recommend not using any noise removal. it works much better on, say, tape where the noise floor is much more consistent. vinyl is completely different and you end up losing all sorts of frequencies all over the spectrum if you use noise reduction based on a small sample of 'quiet' vinyl.

compression - totally agree with wooly, plus the only half-decent compression you'll get would be out of a valve system, the rest grates after a while.

there's a useful bit of software called 'volumiser' that you can use to create a standardised volume level across your cd. loses dynamics but is a handy shortcut if your system can't handle adjusting volume per track.

avoid clipping at all costs... overloading can sound ace on tape but awful glassy and harsh on digital formats. some software can apply dynamic compression on very quick clips so turn that on or otherwise turn down your recording volume so it doesn't clip...

totally agree with maxing volume around 0dB and reducing inaudible rumble - just makes your speakers work overtime for no audible effect.

could also record at a higher bit rate (20, 24 etc bit instead of standard 16 bit) if you wanted to 'archive' your vinyl... higher-end software can handle this no problem...