Ableton Forum

hey there -

rather new to the forums and to ableton. I totally dig the program. My first piece I had a blast with.
It's called 'bowerbird suite':

http://www.kellyjwyse.com/
or
http://www.myspace.com/kellywyse

I don't yet have a a/d box so it's all in midi using the essential instruments. I squeaked my using my ibookG4 (1.33 GHz G4, 1GB ram) - my other pieces I started are on hold until my a get a more powerful computer -

Let me know what you think --- it sounds okay on headphones but when I take it to another system it's somewhat flat. I'm a total audio novice so any advice on how to make it more up to CD quality would be awsome.

Kelly

HI Via

Interesting first attempt. The mix is very quiet and some of the levels need adjusting like the the strings just before the break are way too loud. A lot of the sounds seem muddy as they are in need of Eqing. The song can do with a bit more variation too but as your getting know the program these things will come in time.

As for your mac. Dont put your music on hold just because you havnt got the prossesing power you need. Keep going with smaller projects just to get to know Live better. Dont forget the freeze function too. It can double the amount of tracks you can play with. I first got Live when i had a 1gig G4 mac. Could only use 3 instruments at a time. But made loads of practice projects. A month ago i bought an intel i-mac. I have been throwing as much as i can into a project including reverbs on nearly every channel just to see how far i can push the beast. Got to 51% prossesing power trying this(ofc i dont use revers on every track for a song, just wanted to see how far i could push it). So now I am developing the best of my practice projects that i started on my old mac.

Eqing takes years to suss out but heres some web sites to give you a hint about this art
http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=314
http://www.dak.com/reviews/Tutorial_frequencies.cfm
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/contact/ ... sic&sno=33

jackrabbit wrote:HI Via

Interesting first attempt. The mix is very quiet and some of the levels need adjusting like the the strings just before the break are way too loud. A lot of the sounds seem muddy as they are in need of Eqing. The song can do with a bit more variation too but as your getting know the program these things will come in time.

As for your mac. Dont put your music on hold just because you havnt got the prossesing power you need. Keep going with smaller projects just to get to know Live better. Dont forget the freeze function too. It can double the amount of tracks you can play with. I first got Live when i had a 1gig G4 mac. Could only use 3 instruments at a time. But made loads of practice projects. A month ago i bought an intel i-mac. I have been throwing as much as i can into a project including reverbs on nearly every channel just to see how far i can push the beast. Got to 51% prossesing power trying this(ofc i dont use revers on every track for a song, just wanted to see how far i could push it). So now I am developing the best of my practice projects that i started on my old mac.

Eqing takes years to suss out but heres some web sites to give you a hint about this art
http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=314
http://www.dak.com/reviews/Tutorial_frequencies.cfm
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/contact/ ... sic&sno=33

Hey there -
Thanks so much for the feedback - very helpful. I have a lot to learn about Eqing- thanks for the links - awesome.

Limits are the fount of newness.

Nice down tempo track i like it a lot tbh.

[removed]

shaffer wrote:

Via Negitiva wrote:

jackrabbit wrote:HI Via

Interesting first attempt. The mix is very quiet and some of the levels need adjusting like the the strings just before the break are way too loud. A lot of the sounds seem muddy as they are in need of Eqing. The song can do with a bit more variation too but as your getting know the program these things will come in time.

As for your mac. Dont put your music on hold just because you havnt got the prossesing power you need. Keep going with smaller projects just to get to know Live better. Dont forget the freeze function too. It can double the amount of tracks you can play with. I first got Live when i had a 1gig G4 mac. Could only use 3 instruments at a time. But made loads of practice projects. A month ago i bought an intel i-mac. I have been throwing as much as i can into a project including reverbs on nearly every channel just to see how far i can push the beast. Got to 51% prossesing power trying this(ofc i dont use revers on every track for a song, just wanted to see how far i could push it). So now I am developing the best of my practice projects that i started on my old mac.

Eqing takes years to suss out but heres some web sites to give you a hint about this art
http://melbournebeats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=314
http://www.dak.com/reviews/Tutorial_frequencies.cfm
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/contact/ ... sic&sno=33

Hey there -
Thanks so much for the feedback - very helpful. I have a lot to learn about Eqing- thanks for the links - awesome.

Don't run straight for the EQ. Go to the mastering tools. Used a multi-band compressor..
http://homepage.mac.com/shaffer.david/Live3.mov

Hey THanks Shaffer for the vid-
very helpful!

Educate yourself as much as you can. Tutorials and links can be helpful but often there is no EASY button you can press to fix the mix.

There are general recognized techniques such as removing low end in a BUSY mix from anything like guitars and synths, where sweeping through the bands, you might find you can eliminate all frequencies below 200, 250, 300 or 400 Hz if it sounds right. Bass is only your friend on the bottom end of a kick and toms and a bass (synth or guitar), otherwise it muddies the mix. But you have to sweep the bands and make sure you don;t kill too much bass on other instruments or voice or your mix can sound very thin and weak. The Bass is like the meat in a Sunday Lunch. If you like a roast beef dinner and someone brings you just vegetables and gravy, then that's weak. But if all you get is a plate with roast beef and no gravy and no roast potatoes or carrots or peas etc. then it's unbalanced. Just like the mix

A great book on mixing is The Mix Engineer's Handbook 2nd Edition by Bobby Owsinski.

PS - I agree that the music has some nice potential. But it does have a lot of elements fighting for the same frequencies, so EQing can help. Muddiness in the 150-350 Khz range is evident, and also the mid range around 900-1.3 Khz has a lot of stuff going on.

It also seems to lack a little sparkle in the high end in the first minute and a half until the drums with the prominent hats come in. Also, this piece is quite a dynamic piece, so watch your compression, don't squeeze tha life out of it, like it was a gangsta rap tune or some kind of in your face death metal, just a gentle touch on those compressors will suit this music best.

Live 7 has a spectograph. Live 6 doesn't. If you are on PC, download something like Voxengo SPAN which is a freeware vst spectograph and look how bottom heavy your mix especially 30 - 300 Hz is and how weak the 6-10 Khz range is in comparison.

leedsquietman wrote:PS - I agree that the music has some nice potential. But it does have a lot of elements fighting for the same frequencies, so EQing can help. Muddiness in the 150-350 Khz range is evident, and also the mid range around 900-1.3 Khz has a lot of stuff going on.

It also seems to lack a little sparkle in the high end in the first minute and a half until the drums with the prominent hats come in. Also, this piece is quite a dynamic piece, so watch your compression, don't squeeze tha life out of it, like it was a gangsta rap tune or some kind of in your face death metal, just a gentle touch on those compressors will suit this music best.

Live 7 has a spectograph. Live 6 doesn't. If you are on PC, download something like Voxengo SPAN which is a freeware vst spectograph and look how bottom heavy your mix especially 30 - 300 Hz is and how weak the 6-10 Khz range is in comparison.

Awesome thanks for the feedback - I do have a question for you though - How can you tell where the Khz lies in a midi track?

Via Negitiva wrote:

leedsquietman wrote:PS - I agree that the music has some nice potential. But it does have a lot of elements fighting for the same frequencies, so EQing can help. Muddiness in the 150-350 Khz range is evident, and also the mid range around 900-1.3 Khz has a lot of stuff going on.

It also seems to lack a little sparkle in the high end in the first minute and a half until the drums with the prominent hats come in. Also, this piece is quite a dynamic piece, so watch your compression, don't squeeze tha life out of it, like it was a gangsta rap tune or some kind of in your face death metal, just a gentle touch on those compressors will suit this music best.

Live 7 has a spectograph. Live 6 doesn't. If you are on PC, download something like Voxengo SPAN which is a freeware vst spectograph and look how bottom heavy your mix especially 30 - 300 Hz is and how weak the 6-10 Khz range is in comparison.

Awesome thanks for the feedback - I do have a question for you though - How can you tell where the Khz lies in a midi track?

Ahh a spectograph like you said. Thanks I'll look into Voxengo.

I do not understand you that, it never did
and do not know as correctly?








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