Still Lost!

[MeLoDrUmMaDiLL]

i don't know whether this thread should be here or at the software fruity loops section and i dont know how to start..ok here it goes..after much reading tutorials and various forums regarding manipulating sounds..i begin to understand it..but i got this one big problem..ok..let me tell you briefly..i'm using fruity loops 7..i have an m-audio 2496..i'm using key station 88es..i got no problem making a beat and creating melodies and stuff...but im frustrated that my beats sound so "together" although i pan here and there..eq here and there..it still "stick"..hope u guys understand what im saying..i just make everything in FLstudio...no..dont get me wrong..i haven't actually mix yet..cause i still don't know the basic..well i know..just don't know how to implement it in FLstudio..example i can eq a soft kick to sound thumpy and hard using parameter eq,compressor and reverb but then my meter will be over the red line..but kicks that i import or get kicks from online and such..they already sound eq'ed and stuff and wont go over the line...what im really trying to say is my beat doesnt sound commercialized..its not that "loud" and i'm no close to mixing either..i need help..serious help..

What am i not doing?

After i make/sequence my beat in Fruity Loops..how do i transfer each track to a more capable mixing program? and what program should i use?

Lastly..i really need to know the very extreme basic of mixing and getting that closest sound to commercial music cause they say that u can only get close but not exactly the same as you're not using what current music industries are using...

hope u guys understand what im saying coz my mind is blank when i type this..

Your kind help is gladly appreciated..

Peace

 

[NobleWordz]

Ok don't take what I say the wrong way, I'm just trying to help you.

By the terminology you use I can tell you don't have the basics down, I'm not sure you even fully understand what mixing is.

Basically, mixing is about giving each sound its own space, and to do this you use panning, levels (volume) and effects. You place the different tracks in their own space so the listener can hear each individual part and a cohesive song.

Let me go over a couple of thing:

Panning - panning is the placement of a sound between 2 speakers, its a valuable tool. For example if you have sounds that are clashing and masking each other using panning to place them in opposite positions will give them their own space and allow them to be fully herd.

Levels- levels basically corespondent to the volume of each sound. Along with panning its important, for example if you have a bass heavy track its going to mask the kick making the mix muddy and overpowering, by simply lowering the volume of the bass its going to let the mix breathe.

Getting to grips with panning and levels is the basic and the foundation of every mix. Without it effects is just going to make even more of a mess.

BTW FL is fine for mixing.

I hope that helps, sorry if I rambled. Been a long ass day so far.

NW

 

[Relic]

^^Nice

 

[MeLoDrUmMaDiLL]

thankx..i do understand what panning and level is. but i seriously dont know where to start..for mixing that is. how to go about doing it and stuff? i know im a pain in the ass but can someone like tutor me or link me to a tutorial that i can understand..im not asking to be spoon fed or anything like that..i just need a starting point. yes, a starting point is by learning tutorials..and exploring..but i still dont get it..thats why im lost..

thankx again..and thankx noblewordz..i dont mind harsh words even if u wanna say im totally dumb or wat..everyone is when they dont know and wanna learn something..right?

 

[LDB]

thankx..i do understand what panning and level is. but i seriously dont know where to start..for mixing that is. how to go about doing it and stuff? i know im a pain in the ass but can someone like tutor me or link me to a tutorial that i can understand..im not asking to be spoon fed or anything like that..i just need a starting point. yes, a starting point is by learning tutorials..and exploring..but i still dont get it..thats why im lost..

thankx again..and thankx noblewordz..i dont mind harsh words even if u wanna say im totally dumb or wat..everyone is when they dont know and wanna learn something..right?

MAKE GOOGLE YOUR BEST FRIEND! U can never be considered dumb because you don't know how to mix! There's a lot of people here who can't do it. This forum thread won't get you to where you need to go IMHO. You'll be more confused when everybody puts there 2 cents in than you were before you started. I don't know how old you are but you may want to try and intern at a studio where you live and if you want to get real serious about mixing enroll in school. They have online courses for audio engineering as well. Sometimes you have to spend money to get what you need. The internet is a powerful tool if you know how to maneuver around it, but sometimes you just have to get back to the basics and go to school.

I don't know your background but do you make music? If so you have to be doing some form of leveling. That's the first step to mixing. Leveling your instruments to give them there own space i.e adjusting the volume!

 

[Ash Holmz]

listen to your favorite cds and just look for the relationship betweeen levels of diffrent insturments and also the spacing of diffrent insturments and vocals within the mix.... DO NOT listen to commercial cds and try to get them to sound that big.. thats gonna get u nowhere except frustrated but mostly pay attention to the level realtionships and panning and that should give u some kind of starting point.

 

[dacalion]

melodrumadill, this is some really great advice, all these guys are on point with their help. Just experiment with what they told you and use your ear, it sounds like youre looking for a fomula and there isn't one really. I have FL7 also, alot of that stuff isn't worth using unless you layer or alter your sounds in some form so I know where youre coming from on that. Morphine is really good with FL7, I highly advise you to look into it just because of what youre trying to do with FL.

With Morphine, it's a helluva lot easier to modify the sounds in FL and you can do a lot more with those sounds in FL7 that you normally wouldnt ever use. As far as mixing, Ashs advice was perfect, listen to one of you favorite cd's and listen to the different levels of each instrument, then try to do the same thing with one of your beats.

As for the loudness, get the mixing part right first, then focus on the loudness, in FL7 highlight your Master Volume and go to the right side of the window, click on the arrow button beside the number, goto the fruity compressor, when that window opens, look in the top right and you'll see a left and right arrows, click on them several times, those are mastering presets which will alter your volumes. It will limit things that are a bit too loud, raise things that are too low and so on...

Good luck,
MOF

MOF