Mixing/Mastering Journal
02/12/25
I began mixing "Out of the cold"
The first thing I focused on mixing was the drums. I did this by listening to one drum channel at a time, mixing it and then listening to the other instruments with it together to see if it blended and sounded good enough.
I started panning some parts of the kit and guitars in order to balance them out.
Kick:
I wanted to have a punchy sort of kick, so I began with compressing it.
I tried out 3 different compressors before deciding this one was the most necessary for the kick. I noticed that the noise of the rest of the kit was bleeding into the mic a bit which wasn't good, although I knew EQ would help fix this a lot. I added some slight distortion and added more volume on the makeup and threshold. I didn't mess too much with the compressor for the kick, all I did ws mainly focus on the volume as I was looking for a punchy sort of sound.
Next I began the EQ for the kick
I started with removing quite a bit of the highest frequency in order to help get a more punchy kick, I also reduced the low mid frequency to have a more fuller kick. After hearing that the rest of the kit was bleeding into the kick drum mic, I noticed that by reducing the low frequency it got rid of the rest of the kit bleeding in.
I noticed even after adding compression to the kick, it was still pretty quiet so I added a small amount of gain. This improved the sound massively,
Snare:
Next I moved onto the snare, I first began Equalising the under snare. I mainly focused on removing the Low gain as it made the under snare sound brighter and more crisp.
Next i Equalised the snare. I wanted a tight sounding snare so I slightly decreased the low and high gains, and mid gains to keep it sounding tight. I thought this sounded really well.
Even after compressing the snare, it still didn't sound as loud as i wanted it, so I added some slight gain to increase the volume.
I then added a really small amount of reverb to the snare to keep that tight sound I originally wanted. I found that the reverb made a significant difference on how the snare sounded and i liked it a lot.
Low Tom:
Next I moved onto the low tom, I didn't end up mixing it as much as i should've but i was happy with the outcome
All I did was EQ it as I could hear a lot of buzzing and some of the other parts of the kit bleeding into the mic, therefore i cut a lot of the low end on the EQ.
I also added a small amount of compression to boost the volume as it was already at a decent level.
Mid tom:
Again i didn't mix it as much but I was happy with the outcome.
I mainly focused on the mid gains as i wanted it to balance out as much as possible and get a clearer sound from what i started with.
I added quite a lot compression to the mid tom as it was pretty quiet, I did also automate the volume slightly as it was still quiet but i noticed the level was way too high, therefore i turned down the compression slightly and removed the automation.
In order to boost the volume slightly without it affecting the levels too much, I added some gain to the channel.
High tom:
I mixed the high tom the exact same way as i did with the mid tom.
Again, I had to cut the low end frequency out as there was a lot of buzzing and other instruments bleeding in, but after adding the EQ and cutting the low frequencies it sounded a lot more clearer.
After listening to the high tom with the other instruments playing, I noticed it was very quiet therefore I added compression to the channel. The levels on the channel were extremely high so I turned the compression down and added a small amount of gain which worked perfectly.
Left and right overheads
I started by EQ'ing both of the overheads, and panning them both fully left and right.
I cut most of the high and low end frequencies on both of them as I experimented with cutting and boosting different frequencies and this outcome gave it the best sound. I could hear a wash noise which is a sustained shimmering sound after hitting the cymbals which I didn't like as I wanted a clean and dry cymbal sound. I could also hear rattling coming from the snare which also made me cut the high frequencies. I found that cutting the low and high end frequencies made the overheads sound a lot more balanced.
The volume on both mics were the exact same, therefore the compression is the same on both channels.
After adding compression to both, I noticed the levels were peaking so I had to turn the threshold and the attack on the compressors down a lot and even adjusted the automation I put on both of them. I was unsure why this problem occurred but I guessed it was the automation. I then added some gain to boost the volume as the overheads were extremely quiet when i played them with the rest of the instruments.
Bass
I noticed the bass sounded really trebbly and It didn't sound amazing so I tried fixing it with the EQ but nothing much had changed
My main goal was making the bass sound warm and thick rather than muddy and thin.
I experimented with removing a lot of the high end to start with but this resulted in the bass sounding way too edgy and harsh, this made me realize I needed to focus on removing the low end frequencies.
I ended up cutting a lot of the low end and slightly boosting the mid and high frequencies and this worked really well and the bass sounded exactly how I wanted it too.
I added a small amount of compression since the levels we're already at a decent level and i knew adding too much compression would result in the levels over reaching.
I'd previously used this compressor for a bass in a different track and thought it worked really well with bass specifically.
I changed the ratio and threshold in order to get the best I could out of the compressor. Normally I work with a 3.5 ration but this time I changed it too 4.5 which I didn't notice that much of a difference.
After not being able to solve the issue of the bass sounding too trebbly, I realized the bass had a guitar amp plug in rather than a bass so I changed it back to a bass amp and this quickly solved the issue.
I adjusted the EQ and the compressor on the amp, and this quickly changed how the bass sounded and it made it sound exactly how I had planned at the start which was thick and warm.
This time I used a different reverb plug-in rather than space designer, and i found that chromaverb was much easier to adjust and understand.
I made the reverb a small amount of wet and 100% dry as I didn't want the bass over filled with reverb as it is quite a dry sounding instrument.
I mainly dipped the reverb EQ as again I didn't want a lot of reverb on the bass.
To finish my mix on the bass, I added some gain to the volume just to make it slightly louder as it was pretty quiet to begin with.
Unfortunately after doing this the bass channel levels we're peaking so I had to go back and turn down the compressor and the gain and remove the automation to bring the levels back to a good level.
Guitar
This song included 4 different guitar tracks including rhythm guitar, double tracked guitar, lower guitar and chorus lead guitar.
I started with mixing the lead guitar part for the chorus as i knew it wouldn't take as long to mix as the others.
Lead guitar (Chorus)
Jack had already added pedals to the mix which I later removed as I wasn't happy with how trebbely and thin the guitar sounded.
I began with the EQ.
The notes were mainly high so I removed all the lower frequencies and boosted the high and mid frequencies to get that rich and bright sound.
I removed the lower frequencies due to the fact I didn't want a raw fuzzy sound and was looking for a more clean sound. Jack had already used a reverb pedal when recording the track so I didn't want to overdue it and add even more reverb as it already sounded glossy and bright.
I compressed this guitar track in the exact same way as the bass as I really liked how the bass sounded. This was a mistake since I should've compressed it like I had with guitars before rather than bass which has a completely different frequency and sound compared to a guitar.
Unfortunately I had the same issue again as I did with bass. After adding gain the levels we're peaking so I had to go back and turn the compressor and the gain down as much as possible.
The guitar still sounded good but I should've used a different mindset when compressing the guitar, rather than copying how I compressed the bass.
To finish this mix I added this Noise Gate plug in to remove unwanted background noise in order to get the cleanest guitar sound possible.
This plug-in also allowed me to bring the levels back to a good level by reducing the noise and removing the quieter parts in the guitar track such as string buzz, the picking and the noise of jack's fingers sliding across the strings.
This was the amp used for this guitar track. I wasn't happy with how the one Jack picked had sounded as it sounded like a metal guitar type of amp.
I only made a slight few adjustments like turning most of the effects off as it already sounded how I wanted it too and I didn't want to overdue anything.
Looking back I wish I would've added reverb to get a brighter and smoother sound out of it.
Guitar (Lower)
I began with the EQ as I normally do.
Considering this was supposed to be the rhythm guitar in a lower pitch, the notes were still pretty high. I did what I did with the lead chorus guitar and cut most of the lower frequencies and slightly boosted the high and mid frequencies to cut out string buzz and picking.
I thought my technique with the EQ worked well.
Next I used compression on this guitar track.
My lecturer had recommended using this specific compressor for a guitar.
I made some slight adjustments to the ratio, threshold and attack.
I was happy with he outcome of how my guitar was sounding so far.
After wishing I had used reverb on the previous guitar track, I decided reverb would also suit this track therefore I used a different plug in.
This reverb suited well with the guitar and I was happy with my outcome.
I didn't want to add too much as I was worried it would sound too trebbely.
Lastly, I added some gain to make the volume slightly louder and luckily the levels stayed at a good level.
Guitar
To start with the EQ, I did try out some different EQ settings for the guitar but I couldn't find one that matched the sound of my guitar properly so I ended up doing the EQ myself.
I tried balancing the sound out as much as possible by mainly focusing on the mid gains. The outcome of the sound was balanced but I wish I'd spent more time on the EQ since I believe I cut way too much of the low end frequencies which made the guitar still sound okay but it could've sounded better
Next I used this specific compressor since Jack recommended it after his track sounded really well after using it.
I only made some slight adjustments as the guitar was already pretty loud so I made the compressor lightly quiet to balance the levels out more. I also removed the automation I previously placed on the guitar track.
To complete this mix I added some reverb.
This time I looked at the different reverb settings and I tried out a medium hall setting which I thought sounded perfectly. I did have to make some adjustments to the length and the wetness just to shorten the reverb a bit as it sounded too much. I was happy with the outcome of this guitar track.
Guitar (Double track)
I made this mix fairly similar to the other main guitar track.
This was my EQ for the track. I learnt from my mistake with the previous guitar track and didn't cut as much of the low and high end frequencies as I did before. Before I did this I did try different techniques such as experimenting with boosting and cutting different frequencies and I found that this was giving me the best sound rather than a muffled or muddy sound.
This was the prefect sound I was looking for with the EQ and I am happy with the outcome
While in the studio recording, Jack had added this plug in. I am unsure what it is but decided too keep it on my mix because I liked how fuller it made my guitar track sounded, it brightened up the track a lot and before it was added the two guitar tracks put together sounded very thin and similar but this plug in definitely made a huge difference in the thickness of the track.
Next I compressed the guitar track.
Like the previous track, it was already pretty loud so I used the compressor as a tool to turn the guitar track volume down.
This worked well in bringing the levels down to a balanced level.
This time I did try out a new compressor to see how it worked but i think in the end I realized the compressor I used in the previous guitar was the most suitable for a guitar specifically.
I didn't add any reverb to this track as I thought the reverb on the previous track was enough and was still standing out in the mix which I was happy about.
Vocals
While in the studio, Jack introduced this new plug in which was a pitch corrector.
We put this plug in on the vocals and it instantly made a difference. I was really happy with the vocals after this plug in and decided to leave it how it was on my mix without adjusting it.
I used two different Equalizers for the vocals.
This was the first EQ I used.
I chose this EQ because my lecturer recommended using this one on vocals last year and I found it much easier to use rather than my usual one.
Since David has more of a middle range, I slightly cut the low frequency, boosted the high frequency a bit and boosted the mid gain frequency.
This was the second EQ I used.
I'm glad I did use two because I did hear a difference regarding the background noises too, using two definitely reduced the noises.
Again I mainly cut the low end frequencies because of David's vocal range, doing this technique definitely got the sound of the vocals how I wanted them to sound.
I also boosted some of the high frequencies just to get that right balance in the vocal track.
Next I compressed the vocals.
The vocals we're very quiet compared to the rest of the instrument so I used the compressor to turn them up as much as I could without making the levels peak.
The compressor definitely made a difference in the volume which I was happy about, although I did had to remove the automation and turn on the limiter on the compressor as I accidentally made the levels over reach.
Next I added a small amount of reverb.
I only added a small plate since I knew I wanted to add tape delay afterwards and was worried if I had too much reverb the vocals would sound too harsh and whiny.
I used a setting on the reverb plug in called soft plate which I found suited the vocals perfectly without overdoing the reverb.
Next I added tape delay.
I haven't used tape delay many times before so I had to experiment a lot with it.
I changed both the delay times and the notes a few times too see which one suited the vocals best without over doing it.
I found that 1/4 and 1/8 dotted suited it best and I was happy with how the vocals sounded after it.
Lastly I added a DeEsser in order to remove those harsh mouth sounds such as "S" and "T's".
I've used this plug in many times and it always makes a huge difference. I only adjusted a bit with also adding a small amount of automation during the choruses because the levels we're peaking during them.
To conclude, I think the vocals sounded the best in my mix and after listening to it back I don't love how the main guitar sounds so I made some changes during the mastering process.
Mastering
The first thing I did was look over the levels and listen closely to the track, I noticed the kick drum was extremely loud so I removed all the automation and gain, I also turned down the makeup and threshold on the compressor and turned on the limiter. This did make a difference. I also turned down the gain on all of the toms due to their levels peaking during the choruses.
I used this AI mastering assistant plug in on the mastering channel.
I previously researched this plug in too understand it better as people had recommended using this to help with mastering.
I turned on the loudness compensation and turned down the loudness on the dynamics.
This plug in completely changed how my mix sounded and even sorted out all of the levels by putting them at good levels which helped me a lot.
Before using the mastering assistance I put gain on the mastering channel and turned the whole mix down quite a lot due to the levels.
After using the mastering assistant I removed the gain on the mastering channel as the assistant managed to turn down the mix and reduce the levels peaking.
I panned the guitar and double track guitar a quarter to the right and to the left and I found that this blended perfectly.
Most of the drums we're panned which I did to begin with.
I also used a loudness meter plug in on the mastering channel to check on the levels occasionally throughout the mastering process.
Finally, this is how all of the channels looked.
I am very please with the outcome of my track, although next time I wish I had spent more time mixing and had done more research on mixing a guitar because that was the only thing I was unhappy with in my mix. Next time I'd also like to try mixing without the assistant, it was very helpful but I think it would be more useful to know how to do it properly on my own. I think I also need some improvement on my EQ skills too.
This is my track completed
Comments
Post a Comment