general mixing question

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

I'm working on my first ever mix (heavy rock) and just have a simple
question about levels. A few articles I've read have mentioned that in
mastering, multiband compression is often used to compress bass frequencies
before the limiting stage because they normally constitute the peaks of the
final mixdown. I've remixed my material several times and in order to make
the snare even reasonably audible I need the level up such that peaks in the
final mixdown are very predominantly caused by it - bass instruments don't
come even close.

Just wondering if I should be concerned by this, and/or what I should
consider doing to correct it. The mix sounds good the way I have it (though
I haven't gotten to mastering it yet) but it concerns me that the snare
shows up so high on my VU meter (relative to all other instruments) yet has
very little volume to it. FWIW I have a low pass to remove any very high
freq transients, and I've fiddled with a number of different compression
settings (including "invisible" compression).

Any suggestions/comments appreciated. Keep in mind I'm pretty green.

Thanks,

Dave

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

You need to compress the snot out of that snare and squeeze out any
unnecessary lows. Basically do whatever you need to to get the sound
you want. You want to keep the apparent loudness, but control those
transients. The only way to get a really hot level on the final is
to reduce the dynamic range. Anything too spiky will knock it down.
If you can afford a good mastering engineer you'll learn tons. Good
luck.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Dave,
Also, don't completely disregard the artistic judgements you make on
your own. Your personal mastering style is as much a contribution to
the record as the musician's. As this is your first mix, definitely
don't limit yourself to only doing the orthodox techniques (though if
you're pressed for time, follow suggestions above to finish ASAP, then
experiment more on your own time). If you think the mix sounds good,
then bring in someone who's never heard it before (someone not in the
band) and have them give a listen. If you have some engineer friends,
see what they think. But also, follow your gut. It sounds like you
know enough about this to experiment and figure it out on your own.

Best of luck,
Mike

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

David Grant wrote:
> Thanks Mike...
>
> I found cutting at the peak frequency took away from the body of the sound
> too much. The snare sounds very pingy to begin with (with no EQ/compression
> at all) so with low removed it's even worse. Cutting higher up doesn't seem
> to work too well either somehow. I'm contemplating replacing it with a
> sampled snare as I'm getting frustrated trying to mould this one into
> something I like.
>
> Dave
>
> "bsuhorndog" <bsuhorndog@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1119618157.532856.263180@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> > Dave,
> > Also, don't completely disregard the artistic judgements you make on
> > your own. Your personal mastering style is as much a contribution to
> > the record as the musician's. As this is your first mix, definitely
> > don't limit yourself to only doing the orthodox techniques (though if
> > you're pressed for time, follow suggestions above to finish ASAP, then
> > experiment more on your own time). If you think the mix sounds good,
> > then bring in someone who's never heard it before (someone not in the
> > band) and have them give a listen. If you have some engineer friends,
> > see what they think. But also, follow your gut. It sounds like you
> > know enough about this to experiment and figure it out on your own.
> >
> > Best of luck,
> > Mike



Did you try some fast attack and fast decay compression ON THE SNARE
ONLY, not on the entire mix? Take the peaks off the snare, then you
can raise the average level of the snare relative to the rest of the
mix.



Mark

> >