Getting my instruments to sit nicely in the mix

[ekord123]

I'm sure I am not the first to ask, and I know I will never be the last; but how to you get your drums and instruments to coexist and work well together without sounding muddy, or overshadowing one another?

drums- I have tried blending my kicks. I usually take one low (cut it off so that its 60-80), a mid (around, say 1300), and a high end attack (high pass filter, at around 6000-10000). It usually sounds great alone, or with just ONE instrument. As soon as I have a whole set going, the kick just doesnt "thud" like it should. What can I do to improve this, clearly im doing something wrong if three kicks are doing the trick. on top of this I usually use some reverb, and multiband compression on the whole drum track.

Instruments- With these, i have a similar problem. One technique I have tried is using spectrum to analyze the frequencies of each instrument, and played around with the eq knobs untill it would seem that they wouldnt interfere. Even if this does work sometimes, I seem to be sacrificing tonal quality. i'm usually working with a glitchy synth, e piano, violin, and bass (trying to get these elements working together).

I also use multiband compression on each track and make sure that nothing is clipping. I put a limiter and a tad of compression on my master track

In general, I KNOW the information is out there but its hard to find. its frustrating when you have an idea, you love creating it, and your work just doesnt shine like it should. some artists can paint a picture or write a poem, and the quality is preserved. Us musicians have to take that extra step. Any advice or resources anyone can throw me would be a huge help.

Cheers

[BlackMath]

Subtractive eq
Attack principle mixing
Sidechain gating/compression
Mid/side compression
Spacial imaging


Research proper gain staging
Dont compress every track
Mix to -6dB

Make kick freq below 200hz mono
Dont put reverb on kicks or sub freq...mono..mono

[whogivesaflux]

Subtractive eq
Attack principle mixing
Sidechain gating/compression
Mid/side compression
Spacial imaging


Research proper gain staging
Dont compress every track
Mix to -6dB

Make kick freq below 200hz mono
Dont put reverb on kicks or sub freq...mono..mono

You sound like the guy that knows all the kung fu words. Do you use tube modeled compression and hard limiting to finalize the entire mix?

[memes_33]

compression is one of those things- if you don't know how to use it properly, you will end up doing more harm than good. don't just throw a compressor on stuff because that's what you think it needs. eq and mix your tracks, THEN add compression where you think it needs it. if it seems like you don't need it or don't know if you need it or not, don't use it. using compression properly takes practice.

my mixing method goes like this: turn on bass and mix individual drums so those two play nice together. then start adding instruments in order of importance (except vocals, which i sometimes do last). when you add a new instrument, pay attention to the frequencies and if they conflict with one another. if so, carve out spaces in the conflicting frequency ranges with eq. its always better to cut frequencies than boost them. THEN add compression on the tracks that seem like they need more 'meat'. note that you will probably want to tweak eqs whenever you add compression.

sidechain compression is a great way to manage some of the clutter, especially in regards to bass freqs. if your kick & bass are competing for the same space, add a compressor to the bass track and sidechain the kick drum signal to activate the compression. so whenever the kick hits, the bass notes duck a little and give the kick some space. you can adjust this effect so its very subtle or dramatic.

i think its also worth mentioning the importance of acoustical treatment. if your mixes sound great in the studio, but you listen to them on your car stereo or living rooms stereo and the bass is completely effed up, your studio acoustics need some attention. bass traps are just as important as the quality of your monitors, IMHO. hope this helps!

[BlackMath]

Subtractive eq
Attack principle mixing
Sidechain gating/compression
Mid/side compression
Spacial imaging


Research proper gain staging
Dont compress every track
Mix to -6dB

Make kick freq below 200hz mono
Dont put reverb on kicks or sub freq...mono..mono

You sound like the guy that knows all the kung fu words. Do you use tube modeled compression and hard
limiting to finalize the entire mix?

Its Jeet koon do... and whats that? And no

[invol]

I also use multiband compression on each track and make sure that nothing is clipping. I put a limiter and a tad of compression on my master track.

Why? Too much compression and limiting is not going to help, as will actually make it harder in many cases. Try just setting good levels, and using automation to prevent clipping, or if necessary on a track or two try a limiter.

Good gain structure is essential to any good mix. Turn up the volume to your speakers and mix with lower levels in the mixer.

Just get a good mix and then bump up the level during mastering.

Cheers,
Brian

[Angstrom]

I would always look at "orchestration" , chord voicings and arranging before looking at (EQ) frequency carving.
It's not equally applicable to every musical style, but writing so instruments sit and play well together will prevent you spending ages trying to carve holes into errant overlapping frequencies.

Creating big fat instrument sounds in isolation is pointless really. They play in concert, so should be created and written for that way.

[UncleAge]

I would always look at "orchestration" , chord voicings and arranging before looking at (EQ) frequency carving.
It's not equally applicable to every musical style, but writing so instruments sit and play well together will prevent you spending ages trying to carve holes into errant overlapping frequencies.

Creating big fat instrument sounds in isolation is pointless really. They play in concert, so should be created and written for that way.

So true. I don't see this topic discussed much, yet, it is so important.

[yaddablah]

I would always look at "orchestration" , chord voicings and arranging before looking at (EQ) frequency carving.
It's not equally applicable to every musical style, but writing so instruments sit and play well together will prevent you spending ages trying to carve holes into errant overlapping frequencies.

Creating big fat instrument sounds in isolation is pointless really. They play in concert, so should be created and written for that way.

So true. I don't see this topic discussed much, yet, it is so important.

so where can the noob gain initiation into this craft?

[Coupe70]

I would like to second two points:

Too much compression can do lots of harm to the overall sound,
especially when not re-adjusting your EQ settings. I was once
asked by somebody who liked my live sound a lot and he was
completely surprised when I said "compression only as fx and
a master limiter cutting max 2dB".

The second point is that an instrument doesn't have to sound
good when solo'ed, it has to play its part in the mix. A
good example for me is rhythm guitar: I cut so much of the
low end that it sound like crap when solo'ed, but it does
its job in the mix and leaves lots of room for other sounds.

[mbird21]

This is probably someone going to say pointless its what i was told how to learn eqing by someone who knows.

Split your mix down even start again for the fuck of it, mix each individual sound as it happens so they blend together and build like that subtle eq's changes, always try to cut and not boost, try and leave as little fx as ytou can till your at end point cause thats a headache to mix with when its splashed in delays and reverbs.

Aslo ya can do what i done sometimes, practice with random sounds nothing seriuously musical and try to get them to mix well together, some just dont no matter what you do but you learn a hell of alot by messing about like that, mixing is really hard for me probably one of the hardest parts and yet some guys are naturals at it, im not one of them.