Ableton Forum

Hey y'all,

I'm currently recording some of my bands track for a demo. It's pretty straightforward music - just fast Punk/Metal. Anyone, got any tips on how to make the sound that bit better while mixing and trying to finish the track. At the moment, I'm just using some compression and EQ on the master channel. I'm kinda' new to the whole mixdown lark to be honest.

Thanks in advance!

Robert.

Hmm...

Like all things in life, skill comes from practice.

Hire a mixer that has done it before.




Still here? Okay. First take eveything off the master bus. That is for after your mix is at least getting there, and then only when you really know what you are doing. Once you have taken the training wheels off then maybe we'll let you try a little limiting or something simple on that master bus.

Anyway,
If you still want to try it yourself. I would first make sure I have some speakers(monitors) that I know pretty well. I would then find some recordings of bands that sound like the band you want to mix. Listen to the recordings through the speakers a lot. Pay attention to certain elements, and also pay attention to the whole picture.

Now start trying to mix your song. Everyone has their own way to start. Some start with vocals some start with drums. It depends on the song and the mixer.

When you mix you have to find a way to make all the elements fit with each other without them getting in each other's way. This is is done through volume, panning, effects, eq and compression. Some elements will need EQ, Some will need compression. Some will need both. Some won't need anything. You have to decide.

After many long hours and many mixes are done. Pick the best mix, or make a composite of the better mixes.

Rich

I used to spend long hours trying to record my various rock bands in Ableton, especially when I first got Ableton. But I could never capture the RAW beauty of songs like I could with something kind of like this http://www.etsy.com/listing/58114799/po ... udio-1970s, which I used prior to recording on computers.

These days I will get a raw take of the whole Band with just 2 great mics and a 2 Track Cassette Recorder. Use it as my base track in Ableton, and add Vocals or Leads over it.

I like this approach just because it sounds more live and exciting to me. Usually with bands recording things individually, or with tons of mics, wearing headphones, etc etc...tends to make songs stale to me. Sounds great, but it has always lost energy to me that way.

Lastly, computers are great for digital music, and fun with analogue gear, but in my days with them, they suck at rock music.

Thanks guys!

Sorry I should have made it a bit clearer - I'm not really looking for that highly polished "AC/DC" type of sound production (which is really cool for them). Really, it's pretty much just highly charged aggressive punk with a metal overtone... Music like that, if it's over produced sounds a bit dry (imho), if you know what I mean. I'm thinking of early Suicidal Tendencies, Early Sick of it all, .etc.

At Juan Solo. Yeah, analog gear is great, and produces a much nicer sound. But I don't have any and wouldn't have a clue how to use it - so I'm just going to stick to my compu for now.

Cheers,

Rob.

Indeed as savyurrecords said, use a pair of speakers you know well, if you think anything isn't right get some good headphones but first try it with some speakers.

I like to start with the drumkit because I think it's the best to have as a base.

Secondly there are some good plugins in ableton to help you a bit with especially the drum sound since compression is used a lot, and is the main part of the drum sound, foremost kick and snare. In Punk you want a more clean sound so less compression or effects and more eq. Just try them and if you don't like it remove and try another one. But beware of changing the individual controls, for a first time it's better to stick with the presets.
Try to set them up together with your hihatt track in wich you will probably filter out a lot of low frequencies.

Once you have that set up start adding your overheads, and last your toms and maybe the ride if you recorded it seperately.

Then guitar and vocals are more or less simple since they don't need as much postprocessing but a reverb and eq on guitar and maybe a reverb on the vocals but certainly not much.

Other then these guidelines, just try and have fun, but don't expect to much and certainly not Abbey Road quality the first time! And don't underestimate the amount of work gone into making those records.

Robmobius wrote:Thanks guys!

... I'm thinking of early Suicidal Tendencies, Early Sick of it all, .etc.

At Juan Solo. Yeah, analog gear is great, and produces a much nicer sound. But I don't have any and wouldn't have a clue how to use it - so I'm just going to stick to my compu for now.

Cheers,

Rob.

OK, so what kind of gear are you using to get to the computer? I think we are on the same page as end results, not too much production. I recommend using a simple amount of mics, a less is more kind of approach.

Yeah Early Sick of it All, really under produced in your face BITE!