Post your production tips

[Miek07]

Here some fairly advance techniques for mising


Widen your Stereo mix
1) Open a stereo file/song/track in a waveform editor or your DAW
2) Make an exact duplicate and Invert both the Left and Right waveforms
3) Line the Inverted signal with the original signal and you should have 0 output since they cancel each other out.

now for the 'trick'
4 (Optional) Nudge the inverted left signal + 2 samples @44.1khz or 3 samples @48khz
5 (Optional) Nudge the Inverted right signal -2 samples or 3 samples respectively
6) Reverse the Left and Right Inverted Channels
7) Adjust Gain of Inverted Reverse channels to taste (from -96db to -6db where 0 db equals a silent waveform)
8) Mix with Original Signal

This will 'Widen' your Stereo Mix significantly.

...

Also, on each track you make, imagine if your track was 'alive' where would it be at? A hall? a room? the moon?
Apply a tough of verb to your global mix to give it a sense of spaciousness.

---
What does These tricks sound like?

I have experimental tracks on my music page (same recording session/ different arrangements)

The first track: "Out of Control" uses Inverted channel switch
An older arrangement in the same session "Outpost" is the same insru/tracks with just raw mix note the difference.

let me knwo if you want to check it

michae

[vinylbytheton]

true there.ALWAYS back up your work.doing the exact same thing twice can turn fun into maual labor fast! lol

[michael day]

use compresssion sparingly on every channel...even master.

if your track sounds good all the way through with and without compression on master channel then you're on the right path.

i JUST started doing this literally this week. It has been the missing link in the 'fattness' of my songs.

then I drop in L2 and bump it up enough to play out. good to go.

oh, and if you have a good sound card installed but are still running through a pre-amp/mixer try cutting the pre-amp/mixer out of the equation all together. doing this is the single biggest improvement to my music.

i couldn't believe how much was being taken away by going though the pre-amp.

I've got Event TR-8's for monitors. So, RCA directly out of the sound card into the monitors. MUCH better.

I hope someone finds this useful.

[Left]

As some of you may know, i've been doing a lot more freelance mastering and audio work as of late, and have come up with a basic list of tips that i figured i would share. If anyone is interested (subject to my time available), i can provide short samples of my mastering on your song for free. An objective pair of outside ears can make all the difference!


Headroom
-Please submit final mixdowns with the highest peaks at -3db at the highest (-4 to -6db preferred)…all mastering engineers need headroom to work properly. The simplest way to do this on modern DAWs is to remove any limiters on the master and lower the master fader. If you are on an older DAW you may (for safety’s sake) link your individual channels together and lower them all the same amount to prevent fidelity loss.

Limiters/Compressors
-Do not have a limiter or compressor on your main out or use one on your final mixdown to be mastered…this significantly hinders the amount and quality of mastering that can be done without artifacts. Mixing with compression on the full mix is fine and can often be helpful for referencing but please do not use it on your final mixdown submission.

Bit Rate
-Mixing at a high bit rate (24 or 32 bit float) is always suggested when possible. Even if your project and audio are working at 16 bits, please bounce at a minimum of 24 bit for final mixdown, this will help slightly with truncation errors.

Reference Mixes
-Feel free to include 1-2 reference mixes of songs that have the sound you are looking for, preferably in the same genre of music as the tracks you are submitting. If you would like, you may also submit a rough master of your mix with limiter, but do not label that as the final mixdown…only as a rough reference master.

Mixing Tips
-Remember in arrangement, mixing, and mastering: less is always more. Fewer simultaneous sounds are easier to sound full and stand out in the mix, as well as preserve headroom and create clear musical direction. Use the powerful techniques of eqing, panning, spatial effects, and shortening sounds to create room in the spectrum, 3 dimensional field, and time continuum of your mix.

-Keep your low end (150 hz and below) in mono when possible, and avoid having two extended bass sounds at the same time. Simultaneous low end sounds (multiple kicks, basslines, or low end reverb) often have phase issues that create mud and destroy headroom. Sidechaining kicks to basslines and high passing all other tracks that do not need low end will keep your bass area clean and free up additional headroom.

-Keep your longer sounds (pads, long bass notes, whooshes, fx busses) lower in the mix than your shorter sounds (percussion, stabs, quick samples). These will be brought back up in mastering but your percussion will still punch through nicely. For reference, throw a compressor on your mix and listen. Remember, comparing an unmastered mix to a mastered mix can be very deceiving!

-Finally, LOUDER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. Squashing dynamics (with or without artifacts) significantly detracts from musicality, groove, clarity, punch, and can result in a “weak” loud. When using compression, always compare the compressed sound to the uncompressed version at the same perceived loudness level. This applies to both individual sounds as well as the final mastering process. Don't forget songs will be volume-adjusted to an even playing field based on their perceived loudness and RMS levels by djs, radio, and the average listener!

[#2onU]

After I ate at Arby's this afternoon, I produced a 32 bit floater in the commode.

[BigBallinColin]

Originally Posted by Miek07

Here some fairly advance techniques for mising



now for the 'trick'
4 (Optional) Nudge the inverted left signal + 2 samples @44.1khz or 3 samples @48khz
5 (Optional) Nudge the Inverted right signal -2 samples or 3 samples respectively
6) Reverse the Left and Right Inverted Channels
7) Adjust Gain of Inverted Reverse channels to taste (from -96db to -6db where 0 db equals a silent waveform)
8) Mix with Original Signal

This will 'Widen' your Stereo Mix significantly.

...

Also, on each track you make, imagine if your track was 'alive' where would it be at? A hall? a room? the moon?
Apply a tough of verb to your global mix to give it a sense of spaciousness.

---
What does These tricks sound like?

I have experimental tracks on my music page (same recording session/ different arrangements)

The first track: "Out of Control" uses Inverted channel switch
An older arrangement in the same session "Outpost" is the same insru/tracks with just raw mix note the difference.

let me knwo if you want to check it

michae

umm there are much better ways to widen the image with out all of that mess.
panning is one of them, like regular panning.

[BigBallinColin]

Originally Posted by #2onU

After I ate at Arby's this afternoon, I produced a 32 bit floater in the commode.

arby's? I surprised your rectum didn't peowf into eternity.

[FarangBa]

Originally Posted by BigBallinColin

umm there are much better ways to widen the image with out all of that mess.
panning is one of them, like regular panning.

Yeah, I got the panning from you guys on here. I thought that looked like a lot of work.

However, I might test it just to see if it sounds much different...

[#2onU]

Originally Posted by FarangBa

Yeah, I got the panning from you guys on here. I thought that looked like a lot of work.

However, I might test it just to see if it sounds much different...

You can use this free sample delay plugin to do almost the same thing.

http://www.voxengo.com/downloads/sounddelay/

Or you could use mda stereo.

http://mda.smartelectronix.com/

[Maxx Heth]

Here's a nice, simple formula you can use to sync up delay and reverb times to your project BPM, especially if there isn't a "sync" option already on the unit (as is the case with stock delay/reverb units in Ableton Live or Reason).

60/BPM of your project x 1000 (or 60,000/BPM, doesn't matter which one you choose) = timed response according to whole note value

Now, take that number and divide it by multiples of 2 for subsequent note values according to taste:

half note = 2, quarter note = 4, eighth = 8, sixteenth = 16 (you get the idea)

For dotted note values, take that result and multiply it by 1.5, and for triplet values, by .667.

(This also works great for syncing up the attack and release parameters on your favorite compressors and gates.)

Hope this helps!