Difficulty Mixing Instrumentals

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Mixinmax

New member
Hi there can any experienced producer (Or any Musician) out there give me some Ideas on what Im doing wrong, when it comes to mixing.
Keep on making beats but I don't fully get the result I want to achieve. Maybe someone can listen to my remixes and give me some feedback interms of soundquality and stuff. I just have the feeling that mixing the song is very crucial.

Diamonds Remix


Chandelier Remix


For Instrumentals go to
soundcloud.com/daniel-hahn-22

Im using FL Studio 11 as the DAW. Audio Technica Headphones for mixing. On the VSTi side I usually work with NI, Omnisphere, Drum Samples, Sylenth1 etc.
 
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I think the tracks themselves doesn't sound that ready. I mean you're close, but you lack that final touch. To be more precise I think the songs lack some depth, and many percussive sounds are too weak.
Solve this by adding different layers to the sounds to add more depth. For example, add synthlayers an octave lower, add further percussive layers that complement eachother, maybe pitch some down to give more beef to the final sound of it.
The reason why I talk about the track themselves is because you can't expect a good result on the mix if the track isn't good.

As for the mixing, I think it's unbalanced.
- Many volumes are too low, making the groove in the track vague and killing the vibe.
- It sounds like some sounds are clipping.
- Many sounds have unbalanced tones, and are harsh or boxy etc.
- The tracks aren't separated from eachother that well.
- The track is overcompressed.

Do this:
- Make sure that the FL Limiter on the masterchannel that is there by default each time you start FL, is turned off.
- Make sure you have an enough low playback volume, that way it's much easier to determine wether something is too loud or too quiet (in this case, otherwise there are endless examples of how a proper playback volume is essential for the quality of the mix).
- Make sure you have plenty of headroom in the mixertracks, that way you'll avoid clipping, and it will also be a lot easier to adjust the levels without them sounding crushed from clipping.
- Sweep a peak through the spectrum on an EQ on the individual sounds, do this with different bandwidths, to find nasty spots and remove those.
- Play the whole mix in mono and do subtle EQ moves to separate the sounds from eachother.
 
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Whow thank you very much, thats the kind off proffesional answer I was looking for.
So you mean like layering snares for example on top of eachother and Harmonizing different Synths with eachother. If thats what you mean, This is really helpfull. I tend to add more and more melodies because I just dont get the wanted result, ending up with overcrowded unfinished song. Ill give it a go.

And yes I tend to produce at the highest possible volume :) . Maybe an issue there
 
Mixinmax said:
And yes I tend to produce at the highest possible volume :) . Maybe an issue there
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That's a direct problem.
Make sure that you can talk without having to raise your voice while listening to your mix (or the typical lazy afternoon TV level), then it's good for mixing.
When you produce however, you can go really far with this. Try challenging yourself, and cut the level on your track even more, and make the track as appealing as possible at a really low volume.
I'm too lazy atm to go into details why you should do this, but in conclusion you get a lot more nonpartial look on your music, and your ears respond more naturally.

Good luck!
 
Mixinmax said:
Hi there can any experienced producer (Or any Musician) out there give me some Ideas on what Im doing wrong, when it comes to mixing.
Keep on making beats but I don't fully get the result I want to achieve. Maybe someone can listen to my remixes and give me some feedback interms of soundquality and stuff. I just have the feeling that mixing the song is very crucial.

Diamonds Remix


Chandelier Remix


For Instrumentals go to
soundcloud.com/daniel-hahn-22

Im using FL Studio 11 as the DAW. Audio Technica Headphones for mixing. On the VSTi side I usually work with NI, Omnisphere, Drum Samples, Sylenth1 etc.
Click to expand...

There's not really anything in particular to focus on - I think you should just work on the fundamentals.

Check out some of the "mixing" resources on this page:

Recommended Learning


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews/Blog)
gpWmqu
 
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Some very good points from steffeeh there, extreme volume level when mixing can really mess up your ability to balance levels well. The main thing in a good mix is a good balance.

The fact that you use FL is unimportant, I've worked on songs on platinum selling records that were produced in FL.

I would say practice the craft of mixing, and learn from whatever resource you can find online. Then your next big step should be to get a reasonable set of professional monitors (speakers) for your setup. Whilst headphones can be useful for checking a different perspective on your mixes, you'll laugh at how much easier it is on a decent monitoring setup...
 
dights said:
Then your next big step should be to get a reasonable set of professional monitors (speakers) for your setup.
Click to expand...

Yep.

The thing about monitors is this:
You have to treat your room and learn about proper positioning in order to get a good result.
Something like this:

Auralex Studiofoam Wedgies 2 Inches Thick and 1 foot by 1 Foot Acoustic Absorption Foam, Charcoal, 24-count (Amazon.com)

Otherwise, headphones will be more accurate (with the caveat that they're not so great at handling extreme highs and extreme lows).
If you have a sub or larger monitors, you'll still need something to trap bass frequencies, though.

-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews/Blog)
gpWmqu
 
Well I just got myself some new professional headphones, which I find to be a new sound experience for now. I did give it a try to listen to professional productions at a lower volume level. It is true that the quality of the mix comes out much better to the ears. hmmm why never thought of that before.

I used the speaker from my laptop to produce the chandelier remix. And now with the Audio Technica's I can acctually hear the bad mix.
Very good advice from yall thanx.
 
No worries, glad to help.

Salem Beats is right about treating the room as well, but it would be a game changer for you in the future. It sounds like at present learning mixing fundamentals is key anyway.

As far as listening loud goes, you should also remember that your ears are muscles... they get tired. If you listen to loud music they will get tired much more quickly, and then your ability to hear accurate volume differences gets completely shot. The first thing to go is your high frequency response as well, so you tend to over compensate and end up with very toppy mixes (we've all been there).

Monitor at a low level, and take regular ear breaks every hour or so :)

Another good discipline would be referencing. If you want to know what a good balance is: set up some similar well mixed "released" songs that you like in your DAW mix and bring their volume faders down until they sound similar to your mix. Then you can flick between your mix and the others as a reference. It's always a good learning process.

Good luck.
 
Hi friend,

Basically I feel your mix is lacking space, meaning that everything sounds like it's in the center and upfront. Do you use stereo wideners etc. ?
 
CharlesCharlie said:
Hi friend,

Basically I feel your mix is lacking space, meaning that everything sounds like it's in the center and upfront. Do you use stereo wideners etc. ?
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Yeah I guess that's an issue, how can I best overcome that. You mean some plugins like Fl Stereo Shaper.
If yes I don't really use it much, maybe I should start using it more often. Which stereo wideners would you recommend, I heard that Waves S1 is supposed to be good.

Are there any other ways of separating tracks/ Instruments from each other?
 
I don't use FL so I wouldn't know how good or bad FL Stereo shaper is. However I was going in the previous post advise you to buy Waves S1 that is just a magical plugin when it comes to giving spaces to each element of your mix.
 
Well I actually have Waves diamond Bundle Including S1 Imager, but I think I need to work on more basic layering to add depth into my percussion's and synths. Than I will work on Imaging the song and separating tracks. Well maybe I can do it simultaneously. Yeah but thanx really gonna look into working with wideners. As I said before I really didnt have appropriate monitoring equipment for music production really. Now stereo widening and separation of tracks is something Im gonna look into (well gonna have to look into)
 
Mixinmax said:
Are there any other ways of separating tracks/ Instruments from each other?
Click to expand...

As steffeeh and Salem Beats have pointed out, the best way to achieve space and depth in your mix is to work on your mixing fundamentals. These are gain structure, level balance and pan, and then EQ and compression.

To me stereo imaging and stereo imagers such as the S1 are effects, to be used more like reverb or delay. Sure they're great tools to understand and to use, but it's relative to the main body of your mix.

A stereo widened instrument may sound good in a mix when contrasted against other non-widened elements, just like an instrument with reverb may sound good in a mix when contrasted against other drier sounds. But if the mix fundamentals aren't there, or you have reverb or stereo imaging slapped all over everything it's not going to work.

It's all about balance. Mixing is balancing; balancing levels, balancing frequencies, balancing effects...
 
what I would say is. it feels like most if not all your instruments have a high volume. You need your track to be able to breathe in and breathe out. Your tracks feels like someone is blowing in my face, never taking a breath in. Even when you take out some instruments, it still feels like they are all loud, there is not too much dynamics. quick dynamic definition, difference between your highest and lowest sound. Up and Down volume controls the depth and panning controls the width. now fill your box, without it feeling too packed [compressed]

hope it helps !
 
What's going on OP. Let me start by saying the mixes aren't terrible. They could be improved but but they're not horrible. From listening to the first song, I can sense an issue with sound priority. Some sounds, that are louder in the mix, shouldn't be and others sounds, that shouldn't be as loud, are. For example, the hats in the first remix are a bit loud. For the most part, the hats should only be loud enough to add brightness to your track (especially in mixes with more instruments). Also the drums(mainly the kick) should be a little louder. It sounds like its swimming in the mix rather than sticking out the top. I'm not sure if you do this or not, but you should look at your mixes like a stage performance. Bands usually have the lead singer and drummer in the middle with the singer in the front because he's the "most important" part of the songs. Guitarist, keyboardist, or any other player is placed to the left or right accordingly. Pan your instruments so they have their own place on the stage and are not covered up by other sounds.
I'm also going to post the link to this video that helped me a lot when I first started mixing. Its a bit long but I promise its worth it.
I hope this helped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjOdqZFvhY&list=WL&index=4
 
The first I do when I start to mix anything is turn down everything to at least -12db. Then I start with simple pans and EQ's and compressions. Just make sure that you leave enough space decibel wise to add to the mix and never let it peak over -6 db because when it is mastered there will be no room for limiter's and such
 
You really need to get some good monitor speakers. Headphones are good for checking a mix but I can't imagine using them for the primary reference. There are some very nice speakers available in the under $300 price range that would work wonders for you. I just got a set of Tannoy 501s and couldn't be happier. They sound great and I would be confident in using them for my primary monitors. Listening to the first mix the are some bass frequency's that jumped out at me that might not be evident through headphones. Pulling those down would go a good ways in cleaning up the mix.
 
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