Stefan_Sarajevo
Eager Beaver
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 15
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| Snare and vocals in the mix |
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Hi!
I'm having trouble with the snare and vocals in my hard rock mix... Evrything sounds pretty good, but the snare and vocals just can't cut through the rest of the sound, it's like they are covering each other... I was listening to a band ''10 Years'' and I liked their sound, especially snare and vocals who both have
their place in the mix
, u can ALWAYS hear them well, but they are not LOUD and are not in the way for other instruments (if u know what I mean). I used a lot of EQ and compression, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right! I'm using WAVES plug-ins in Cubase SX3 and I would like U to give me some advice about compressing and EQing vocals and snare in a hard rock mix ( like "3 Doors Down", "10 Years", "Creed", "Muse") ... (attack, release, treshold.... tricks...) 
Tank u!
Stefan |
Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:19 pm |
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Calipso
Family Friend
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 155
Location: N.Ireland |
hey Stefan. Welcome to the forums.
its a little difficult to give exact details on help here as we can not hear the actual mix. If you can upload a mp3 of the mix you have done, and perhaps we have a better idea.
But general tips. If you are having trouble with a specific bit of a mix. leave it for a few days, then come back. You will have fresh ears. Also, if it isnt balancing up right, then perhaps start again. I personally like to start off from the bottom up. So I do kit and bass first, adding guitars etc, then the vocals then fine tuning the cymbals etc. Also, by slightly moving the snare to the right or left, away from the centre vocal, can also help sometimes.(as if you look at a kit and have a stereo image, the snare is kind of to the right, but this is all subject as to what way you have recorded it and what stereo overheads etc)
Well, basically, upload the tune so we can have a listen, and I will gladly try and help you out |
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Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:17 pm |
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Stefan_Sarajevo
Eager Beaver
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 15
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Thank U!
I will upload the song asap!
U'll hear, those are live drum samples in the mix, very good ones, so it's easy to control them... I will move the snare a bit to the right (this was the first time i decided not to move it at all heheh ) and give it a try.
Till the next post.... Thanx!
Stefan |
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Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:27 pm |
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Calipso
Family Friend
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 155
Location: N.Ireland |
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Hey stefan. Thanks for the upload! Makes a huge difference. Just had a wee listen there now. The song actually sounds quite good so far! Well done. I think the guitars and all are sitting very nice at the moment and the vocals sound brilliant! I think though in general, the mix is missing a lil bottom end. Its a little weak in the low bass frequencies. The kick doesn't have much of a presence. Its very "metally" sounding. I think with that kind of song, a more "bassy" kick drum would sound good. Its the same with the snare. The drums just sound weak really in the whole mix. You have done good programming with them to make them sound more real. Perhaps you could try other samples? Just an idea. Of course it could be the sound you may want, so dont take it wrong way! Have you compressed the drums heavily? As there doesnt sound much dynamism to them.
I dont really hear the bass guitar at all, as it is vey low in the mix. A bit more bottom end would be good. What monitors are u using to mix? Have you tried lisenting to it in different speakers? Like in your car stereo for example.
Hopefully more people wiil have a listen and give better advice than me! like you I am still learning. Always am =] |
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Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:45 pm |
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Stefan_Sarajevo
Eager Beaver
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 15
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Hey
Thanx for your oppinion! That's what I need right now, because in these past days, I lost the sense for what sounds good or not! heheh
Hmmm... I'm having trouble with drum samples, I don't have much of them... If u know any good drum sample archive that I can download or buy, please let me know. (OR, even if u have a good snare sample to send me, u can participate in mixing this song  )
Ok... so I'll give the song some bass and try to fix the snare, but it's very hard to give good dynamics to a sampled drum... I wish we could had recorded live drums...
I didn't listen to the song on other speakers yet, as the song is still in the process, only on my Genelecs, but I WILL ofcourse!
When I fix whatever I can, I will upload the song again...
Thanx!!! 
Steff |
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Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:54 pm |
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Calipso
Family Friend
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 155
Location: N.Ireland |
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Well why dont you record your own samples? If recording a whole kit is difficult for you, you could sample it etc.
This is what i find with samples. Most samples you get will be heavily compressed, and really not usable for pro use, unless they have been processed in some way, and not used as the main bare drum sound. What sampler are you using?
You should always listen to your mix on lots of different speakers throughout the mixing stage. it will give you so much more perspective. And if your speakers are descent in a car, its actually a good place to listen to it.
But hey, dont spend hours and hours mixing away, cuz after an hour, your ears just get fatigued, and you cant mix properly. Its best to take breaks every hour, to let your ears rest.
Just having another listen. Have you eq'd the kick, you have taken alot of the sub away, and it really has no "omph" to it. This could be down to your monitors not having the frequency response at the low end, which could make sense, as your whole mix is bass light.
It acutally could be the other way round though, it could be that your setup is creating a lot of bass loops in your room, making the bass sound louder than it really is. This is a common problem in home studios as they usually are not acoustically perfect rooms. I am no expert on the acoustics thing or the technical terms. But i know the basics. Basically bass frequencys can get stuck in corners and start to "loop". Also, depending on the size of the room, you can get standing waves, which as I said, make certain frequncies sound louder than they really are. Also, if your speakers are sitting on a desk, chacnes are they are making the desk vibrate and creating more bass. So very good chance that you are EQ'ing this bass out thinkings it very bassy, when in fact its not really!
Try it on different speakers and remember to have a listen to your reference material to compare. Try experimenting with your speaker placement. Try getting some foam or something so that the surface area of the bottom of the speaker is reduced and this will reduce vibrations.
Here is a fun test for you. Stick a tune on and stand in the corner and walk in and out to the centre, and you will hear the bass increase in the corner! |
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Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:49 pm |
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I'll try to find a good studio where I can just record the samples... That's a good idea. 
