- Joined
- May 16, 2009
- Location
- Ghent, Belgium
Damn, every track i produced is made with that limiter on the master channel. SO WHY THE HELL is that a standard template if it's totally unnecessary :p
Mastering tips and tricks
- Thread starter Mr Fletch
- Start date
Damn, every track i produced is made with that limiter on the master channel. SO WHY THE HELL is that a standard template if it's totally unnecessary :p
could be that its set so that it wont have any influence over the output unless very high volumes are used? could offer some protection for monitors esp with noobies, but i agree its not particuly helpful
i know this has been posted about all over, but some mixing tips can b found on my blog...
http://johnmiszt.com/ableton/mixdown-tips-tutorial/
i know this has been posted about all over, but some mixing tips can b found on my blog...
http://johnmiszt.com/ableton/mixdown-tips-tutorial/
BLAST:RADIUS
Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
Its all alot to take in.Still slowly but surely im getting better at this.Now my question is.Threr is speak of hz and frequency.I want to know if that refers to the eq i put on each instrument.I use FL studio 11.s this a reference to the EQ plug in for instruments after i put them into their individual mixer tracks.SUPER noob at mixing.Dont know all the lingo.Thanks for all the insights here.
- - - Updated - - -
Its all alot to take in.Still slowly but surely im getting better at this.Now my question is.Threr is speak of hz and frequency.I want to know if that refers to the eq i put on each instrument.I use FL studio 11.s this a reference to the EQ plug in for instruments after i put them into their individual mixer tracks.SUPER noob at mixing.Dont know all the lingo.Thanks for all the insights here.
- - - Updated - - -
Its all alot to take in.Still slowly but surely im getting better at this.Now my question is.Threr is speak of hz and frequency.I want to know if that refers to the eq i put on each instrument.I use FL studio 11.s this a reference to the EQ plug in for instruments after i put them into their individual mixer tracks.SUPER noob at mixing.Dont know all the lingo.Thanks for all the insights here.
Hey Radius,
I'm also learning as I go here, and I'll ask the more experienced guys to call out any mistakes i've made in this post.
Yes, this does refer to the EQ you have on each individual track. Generally speaking, you will use an EQ on almost every sound (if not every sound) you have going in your tune. The amount of work you will do within the EQ can range from very subtle (+/- 0.1-3 dB) to very drastic (10+db) depending on what sound you are working with. You may want to accentuate a particular set of frequencies in a sound (ex: boosting the highs a little bit in a bassline to give it more crispness would be 1 of a million examples) (see the first couple of posts in this thread about different frequency ranges, i found them very helpful).
You may also have more than 1 EQ in any particular sound's effect chain, especially if you have added effects that change the sound substantially. This is not mandatory in any way, and is very circumstantial. Experimenting will help you learn what does/doesn't work on a case-by-case basis.
One thing i will strongly recommend avoiding is putting an EQ on any bus channels until you are very near the end of your tune creation process. Fix the sound at the source, not at the end of the chain.
There should be no need to EQ your final output at all. This happens in mastering, as others have said before me.
With respect to the mixdown process, EQ-ing a sound well can make all the difference in the world because you can "place" the sound into your song's mix. It helps you achieve overall clarity in your tune.
That's what I've got, I hope this is helpful.
Welcome to the world of production!
I'm also learning as I go here, and I'll ask the more experienced guys to call out any mistakes i've made in this post.
Yes, this does refer to the EQ you have on each individual track. Generally speaking, you will use an EQ on almost every sound (if not every sound) you have going in your tune. The amount of work you will do within the EQ can range from very subtle (+/- 0.1-3 dB) to very drastic (10+db) depending on what sound you are working with. You may want to accentuate a particular set of frequencies in a sound (ex: boosting the highs a little bit in a bassline to give it more crispness would be 1 of a million examples) (see the first couple of posts in this thread about different frequency ranges, i found them very helpful).
You may also have more than 1 EQ in any particular sound's effect chain, especially if you have added effects that change the sound substantially. This is not mandatory in any way, and is very circumstantial. Experimenting will help you learn what does/doesn't work on a case-by-case basis.
One thing i will strongly recommend avoiding is putting an EQ on any bus channels until you are very near the end of your tune creation process. Fix the sound at the source, not at the end of the chain.
There should be no need to EQ your final output at all. This happens in mastering, as others have said before me.
With respect to the mixdown process, EQ-ing a sound well can make all the difference in the world because you can "place" the sound into your song's mix. It helps you achieve overall clarity in your tune.
That's what I've got, I hope this is helpful.
Welcome to the world of production!
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2013
- Location
- São Paulo, Brazil
Unless you're aiming to change the sound through drastical EQ parameters. I don't think it hurts to EQ things as you go through the creative part of your song. Let's take an example: you want your bass to be all crunchy and stuff, and there's a way of giving the bass this characteristic through EQ. Question is: will you do it only at the final stage of mixing, taking in consideration that any difference on the sound will affect the entire mix?
Re: Mastering/Mixdown tips and tricks
^Good call, I worded that poorly. What I was trying to get at with this point more so was that if there's a component of your bass sound you don't like, to fix the component at its source, rather than in the bus EQ, so you don't effect the parts of your tone you like.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk.
^Good call, I worded that poorly. What I was trying to get at with this point more so was that if there's a component of your bass sound you don't like, to fix the component at its source, rather than in the bus EQ, so you don't effect the parts of your tone you like.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2013
- Location
- São Paulo, Brazil
Re: Mastering/Mixdown tips and tricks
Let's say you made your bass in massive. And you go all crazy with distortion (Parabolic Shaper, Brauner Tube, Teletube, etc), this will probably generate some nasty frequencies to the sound. and you just can't strip those frequencies out of the final sound inside massive (unless you give up distorting it, which I think it's not the case). How will you EQ it? On the bus you routed the bass.
Try learning about surgical EQ, and you'll know what I'm saying about. With very narrow bands (or "Q"), you can cut out those nasty frequencies without changing anything else on the sound.
Also, you can (as BLAST:RADIUS said he's on FL 11), create a patcher, and split the signal into different parts (I normally split in three: high, medium and basse), and you can EQ any of these bands without affecting the others.
Let's say you made your bass in massive. And you go all crazy with distortion (Parabolic Shaper, Brauner Tube, Teletube, etc), this will probably generate some nasty frequencies to the sound. and you just can't strip those frequencies out of the final sound inside massive (unless you give up distorting it, which I think it's not the case). How will you EQ it? On the bus you routed the bass.
Try learning about surgical EQ, and you'll know what I'm saying about. With very narrow bands (or "Q"), you can cut out those nasty frequencies without changing anything else on the sound.
Also, you can (as BLAST:RADIUS said he's on FL 11), create a patcher, and split the signal into different parts (I normally split in three: high, medium and basse), and you can EQ any of these bands without affecting the others.
Re: Mastering/Mixdown tips and tricks
Aaahhh my bad I forgot about the Fl part. I use logic. I am indeed talking about using an EQ in your insert out, not the built in Massive/whatever synth you're using's EQ. In any case, DarkYSidro said what I was trying too in a much clearer way than I did.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk.
Aaahhh my bad I forgot about the Fl part. I use logic. I am indeed talking about using an EQ in your insert out, not the built in Massive/whatever synth you're using's EQ. In any case, DarkYSidro said what I was trying too in a much clearer way than I did.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk.
BLAST:RADIUS
Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2014
Ill say.Ive learned more in the last month then the last 10 years.The more I pick up here the more my approach changes.for the better.Tough thing is remembering all this new intel.As you answers always lead to more questions.So to the folk who read this thank you in advance and thank you Mr Xiris...Seriously!
Some useful tips I use for master:
I make sure all my levels (at the drop essentially) are sitting at -4 to -6 dB, which gives me enough room for the mastering process. I usually avoid presets, but in this case, presets will work wonders for you!
My FX chain usually consists of slight eq, roll-off at 30 hZ and 20khz or so, and then from there I move on to the compressor, multiband compressor, and lastly I'll plug the limiter into my FX chain.
I generally start with presets and tweak until the level is sitting well, always avoid clipping.
I make sure all my levels (at the drop essentially) are sitting at -4 to -6 dB, which gives me enough room for the mastering process. I usually avoid presets, but in this case, presets will work wonders for you!
My FX chain usually consists of slight eq, roll-off at 30 hZ and 20khz or so, and then from there I move on to the compressor, multiband compressor, and lastly I'll plug the limiter into my FX chain.
I generally start with presets and tweak until the level is sitting well, always avoid clipping.