Brightening your mix

[Elementree]

I'm still learning alot about mixing my tracks. I'm teaching myself how to mix by messing around with different effects and eq's. I usually use a stereo-enhancer, compression and a little reverb on my final mix. I'm still trying to get my eq'ing right as well. any tips or suggestions on brightening the mix up a bit. my mixes and songs always sound clean because I dont use samples, but I need my final mix to become more brighter and less muddy and bassy. Any tips or suggestions I would appreciate alot.

Thanx,
Cincinnatti, OH.

 

[Carpe Diem]

ok....

i use 3 eqs when i mix down in reason, one for the high end, one for the mids, one for the low end.... i boost the low end and dip a tad in the mids, this usually gets rid of those ugly muddy frequencies... boost your high end a bit if your needing more brightness, but ensure to drop a small amount in the mids...

try this site (thanks to wings for the linkage.... http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/03_mar/tutorials/mixing_excerpt1.htm)

 

[Elementree]

so you would recommend loading 3 eq's into my mixer, should any of these eq's be turned up on the mixer higher than the other ones?

 

[Carpe Diem]

hmmmm.... try it, maybe boost the higher end one more seeing as your looking to add clarity and brightness

 

[Ash Holmz]

you dont need 3 seperate eqs .. try a 5 or 6 band eq ... each band will allow you to pinpoint certain frequencies ... also reverb on the final mix aint always a good idea ... some cases it works but it can also muck up your entire mix and push it back .. try only using reverb on indiviuadls channels ... that might be your problem right there .. on tracks that you want tight and in the front of the mix [ie: bassline} reverb usually does more harm than good... also try a multiband comp in your master chain .. it allows you to add diff level of compression to diff frequency bands .. u might be squahing up ur higher frequencies and that might make mixes sound dull as well cuz of the lack of dynamics

 

[joeburnem]

When I was interning years ago... the engineer would use an aural exciter to add "Pixie Dust" to a mix... just like sunshine, lol.

Is there any software that can truely imitate the fuctions of this machine?

 

[Hypnotist]

I would EQ each track independently when you mix. Sometimes the bass freqs will interfere with the low-mid sounds of the melodies, and the higher freqs in the melodies will compete with vocals.

If you rolled off some of the low-mids from your bass, then it won't be so rough sounding. And your low end doesn't have to BUMP like some hip hop heads think. Turn the shit down a little and listen to it both low and high volume, and see if it stands out too much. Avoid too much reverb to gain extra clarity. Use subtractive EQ and take out what you don't need, then make slight adjustments with what you want to add for brightness in your high-end.

Hope this helps

Hypno

 

[Elementree]

Thanks alot hypno. I started eqing each track in some of my beats and the final quality is great. it helped alot because i could get rid of those mids that were unwanted. I think the reverb sounds pretty good on my eq'ed tracks so I think ill kepp that. Really appreciate the feed though. good look!

Peace,
Cinci, OH.

 

[WingsOfAnAngel]

try this site (thanks to wings for the linkage.... http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/03_mar/tutorials/mixing_excerpt1.htm)

You're welcome, don't mention it!

Good Luck,
Wings

 

[Agility]

When I was interning years ago... the engineer would use an aural exciter to add "Pixie Dust" to a mix... just like sunshine, lol.

Is there any software that can truely imitate the fuctions of this machine?

BBE Sonic Maximizer- http://www.bbesound.com/products/maxim/newplugin.asp

Another great one is Spectralive by Crysonic- http://www.crysonic.com/spectralive.html

 

[open mind]

interesting i always eq the whole mix.but then i end up with changin to much that i didnt want to change.eqin each channel gives more controll thing that u dont have when u eq the whole mix.thanks hypnotist.its just logical to do it that way after a quick thought ehm a quick read.

 

[TeeBlack]

Dont Know jack about equalizing myself and work pretty much the same way u do. I just mess around until i hear what i want!! would be lovely to know waht all the high, mid and low ends are!!

 

[themucka]

use a multiband compressor... filterbank makes one i use called the mc4000 giving you 4 band 2 compress and adjust.. and a l2..

if your mixing a coming out muddy that means many your having frequencies clashing around 220hz-30hz.. try 2 eq so the bassline and kick have there own frequency range..