Find My Way

BayouTexan · Jan 17th 2022

I hope this one shows marked improvement. I feel like I really filled the spectrum on this one. I've been wanting to mix this song for several months but I could never arpeggiate the F-chord portion without the Low E being too spongy even when using the kemper compressor stomp. The new Keeley Compressor pedal I just got is da bomb! I used it on both guitars and the bass (and at much higher compression in the mix than I thought I would use). The bass tone is still kind of iffy though --maybe more treble on the tone knob next time?

Guitars --->Keeley Comp--->Kemper input.

Jackson Soloist - lead tone.

Jackson SDX - rhythm tone.

Squire PJ bass.

SD3 drums.

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Per · Jan 17th 2022

Good progress!

The bass is very far back in the mix here, I can barely hear it. Don't worry about having the bass full tone up, you can always curb the treble in your DAW to make it fit if it's too much, but it's that upper end that's the audible non flubby bit of the bass, right now you've eliminated everything but the very low frequencies that you really only feel rather than hear.

BayouTexan · Jan 17th 2022

Quote from Per

Good progress!

The bass is very far back in the mix here, I can barely hear it. Don't worry about having the bass full tone up, you can always curb the treble in your DAW to make it fit if it's too much, but it's that upper end that's the audible non flubby bit of the bass, right now you've eliminated everything but the very low frequencies that you really only feel rather than hear.

I had it more front but found it way too overwhelming. I really notice more of what you describe while listening to it now at very low volume. I'm missing the pick attack character of the bass. I think I would back off on some compression as I add treble on the tone knob next time.

Thanks for input!

waraba · Jan 17th 2022

keep on it ,perseverance is key !

I wonder if your monitoring system is loud enough as the bass is lost in the mix with the kick. I tried on my 2 monitoring systems , and still no bass.

I'd try a bass centric track to get the right feel on the mix , and get that in your face punch & groove, just try some motorhead stuff with a big dist bass for fun , you need to kill the neighbors with your mix.

I reckon I use a special FX chain template on all my bass tracks to enhance it and it does , in spades , post comp , EQ , verb ... The difference is night and day with post FX in DAW, but it's only waves plugins presets for bass mainly , super simple.

BayouTexan · Jan 17th 2022

Loudness and neighbors are not my problem. I need more experience playing and recording bass.

musicmad · Jan 17th 2022

You should try using reference mixes when mixing. I use the magicAB plugin which makes it a breeze, but there are more modern plugins. It would benefit you immensely I'm sure.

BayouTexan · Jan 18th 2022

Quote from musicmad

You should try using reference mixes when mixing. I use the magicAB plugin which makes it a breeze, but there are more modern plugins. It would benefit you immensely I'm sure.

I use some Pat Benatar for a reference to this, but still doesn't help me much if I just started learning to play a bass.

BayouTexan · Jan 18th 2022

Per waraba musicmad I increased the bass volume and EQ'd a 3k boost to get more pick attack. How is does this take sound? Is the bass a little too loud?

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musicmad · Jan 18th 2022

It's not too loud I think. Mixing is a subjective thing but here are 5 things I would do to the mix:

1. The kick drum is a bit flappy. Reduce 3 db around 250-300 hz

2. The mix is very mid-forward. Need some umph. Add 3 db to the kick around 60 hz

3. The guitar sound (lead and rhythm) is way too wet and therefor gets pushed to the background compared to the snare drum (and other instruments). Reduce the reverb level

4. The widening effect on the guitar is too extreme. Sounds a bit phasey. Reduce that drastically

5. Generally the arrangement is thin. The instruments can fill more frequency-wise

Find a pro mix on Spotify of a song that fits the style. Compare back and forth with that.

YMMV

waraba · Jan 18th 2022

Bass is much better , but still a bit off the mix.

I have to agree with the guitars being too wet and maybe too wide , as stated before : a clean palm muted guitar needs very low reverb settings and no FX ( except EQ & comp) to be percussive, and maybe naturally double tracked. I don't use the KPA double tracker myself as it gives some phase like sensation that I don't like.

BayouTexan · Jan 18th 2022

I had left my subwoofer on again when I went to add the bass track (2nd time this happened). I couldn't figure out what ya'll were talking about with "no bass" until I saw the crossover on. (facepalm). So that was a quick fix.

I actually love the wider effect on guitars. I only used the Waves Doubler plugin and a Kemper Delay on guitars. So, I remove the doubler and inverted the right guitar. I did the boost and reduce on the drums as musicmad suggested. I do not like how the intro guitar sounds without the doubling effect at least on that riff. Probably should have use a bypass envelope on the left guitar doubler.

I can easily spend days tweaking the crap out of this but good enough for now, and maybe about as far as my skills can take me now. . Lets see if you think it's better? I need to go practice guitar for the next one. I'm still open for critiques to apply on my next mix.

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