About Making Music.

[rab2591]

And here it is: Too Many Notes. (Just rough--VERY rough!--acoustic guitar and a couple voices. Three, actually.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1bao1v

I really like it! It's got a nice folk-feel to it.

[rab2591]

Ok, so I suck at mixing.

I'll mix a song to perfection on my studio headphones, then I'll listen to it on iPod headphones and the song will sound like utter rubbish.

Does anyone have any suggestions (whether referring me to youtube how-tos, or just a few pointers)? I'm using Logic Pro 9 and I'm trying to master/mix a song and it's not going well.

[hypehat]

Wish I could help, but I am afflicted with a similar problem.... Taking a step back is always valuable, and I tend to find I go overboard in the recording process anyway, so I always end up taking stuff out.

In other news, I am finally back with all my instruments so have started recording again! Just did the tiny introductory bit to my album yesterday, now on to the next big song.... after a couple of cigarettes and a cup of coffee 

[the captain]

Ditto. Anyone who has ever listened to my mixes knows that my combination of uninformed/unskilled and lazy just isn't a good one. I guess for me the best results tend to come from reiterations, not only new mixes but sometimes even re-recordings. I just have to live with things a while.

btw, I am hoping to really get into gear and do some of the recent demos and/or other unfinished things. A friend is going to handle drums and I'll go from there. No target dates yet, but probably half a dozen "finished" tunes by mid July. I have to whittle down the list, though. I think the only sure things are Cognitive Dissonance, Keep it Simple, and All That I Want. Then there are probably 8-10 more (one or two of which aren't even demo'd) serious candidates for the final few spots.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Does anyone here use synth drums? How do you find it works? I don't think I'm skilled enough to make them sound anything like real drums.

[rab2591]

Does anyone here use synth drums? How do you find it works? I don't think I'm skilled enough to make them sound anything like real drums.

What program are you using?

I use Logic Pro 9, the drum machine plug-in is fairly good. If you tweak the EQ and reverb you can get fairly real sounding drums (and it really takes no skill at all).

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Does anyone here use synth drums? How do you find it works? I don't think I'm skilled enough to make them sound anything like real drums.

What program are you using?

I use Logic Pro 9, the drum machine plug-in is fairly good. If you tweak the EQ and reverb you can get fairly real sounding drums (and it really takes no skill at all).

I'm using Acid Pro 6 - not sure how good it is but it works well for what I do. I will work on the EQ and reverb. Thanks so much for the tips!

[hypehat]

In terms of VST instruments, I use Native Instrument's Battery.... But I torrented it. If you have no problems with that sort of thing, the sounds are great/infinitely tweakable.

[hypehat]

Bah, think I need to go to the doctor and sort my right ear - either that or I'm going deaf in it. All my mixes seem to be veering over to the left. As does all the music I seem to  be listening to today. Humbug.

[hypehat]

In other news, I woke up from a nap today to find  my house deserted, so I celebrated by recording a cover of Heart Like A Wheel and covering in atonal  noise and effects. Because I know how to rock my Saturday nights, motherfuckas

[SBonilla]

Bah, think I need to go to the doctor and sort my right ear - either that or I'm going deaf in it. All my mixes seem to be veering over to the left. As does all the music I seem to  be listening to today. Humbug.

Debrox first, then the doctor.

[kwan_dk]

Ok, so I suck at mixing.

I'll mix a song to perfection on my studio headphones, then I'll listen to it on iPod headphones and the song will sound like utter rubbish.

Yeah, mixing can be like opening a can of worms. The group I'm in consist of four guys and all of us have our views of the do's and dont's when it comes to mixing - which means that whenever we record a song the f..... mixing proces tends to take way longer than recording the song & the vocals, because everyone of us always insist of changing little things. It can go on and on before we all can agree on a mix. We're currently in that very process with our most recent track as I write this.

So, if nothing else, appreciate the fact that you only have to take your own mixing taste into consideration.

[hypehat]

So I am borrowing a flatmates bass for all of these songs.....


I now have huge blisters on my fingers. I will never, ever, ever belittle any bass player ever again.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Ok, so I suck at mixing.

I'll mix a song to perfection on my studio headphones, then I'll listen to it on iPod headphones and the song will sound like utter rubbish.

Does anyone have any suggestions (whether referring me to youtube how-tos, or just a few pointers)? I'm using Logic Pro 9 and I'm trying to master/mix a song and it's not going well.

I do the same thing, it's mostly about the bass and volume, which are all preference of the people who buy the headphones

[SBonilla]

Ok, so I suck at mixing.

I'll mix a song to perfection on my studio headphones, then I'll listen to it on iPod headphones and the song will sound like utter rubbish.

Yeah, mixing can be like opening a can of worms. The group I'm in consist of four guys and all of us have our views of the do's and dont's when it comes to mixing - which means that whenever we record a song the f..... mixing proces tends to take way longer than recording the song & the vocals, because everyone of us always insist of changing little things. It can go on and on before we all can agree on a mix. We're currently in that very process with our most recent track as I write this.

So, if nothing else, appreciate the fact that you only have to take your own mixing taste into consideration.

Mixing should not be a democratic process. Have a production meeting, take notes, suggestions, etc. and designate someone in the group as Mix Down Producer and mix away. Or find a mixing engineer/producer and have that person mix it along with someone from the band.  Don’t allow anyone else in the room while mixing.

[hypehat]

After a solid afternoons recording, I think I am the ghost of Phil Spector's talent. Should probably leave the house.... 

[kwan_dk]

Yeah, mixing can be like opening a can of worms. The group I'm in consist of four guys and all of us have our views of the do's and dont's when it comes to mixing - which means that whenever we record a song the f..... mixing proces tends to take way longer than recording the song & the vocals, because everyone of us always insist of changing little things. It can go on and on before we all can agree on a mix. We're currently in that very process with our most recent track as I write this.

So, if nothing else, appreciate the fact that you only have to take your own mixing taste into consideration.

Mixing should not be a democratic process. Have a production meeting, take notes, suggestions, etc. and designate someone in the group as Mix Down Producer and mix away. Or find a mixing engineer/producer and have that person mix it along with someone from the band.  Don’t allow anyone else in the room while mixing.

I agree.

And perhaps the point I wanted to make in my post was a little unclear - it's not as if we sit four guys around a computer mixing together. One of the other guys in the group always comes up with a proposed master mix based on our original ideas for the song's overall sound and feel. When his idea of a finished mix is done he passes it on to the rest of us for a bit of feedback.  We might then come up with a couple of suggestions, usually adjusting the volume on various parts or vocals. And it's this part of the process that can take some time with ideas for little tweakings flying back and forth. I'd say that it's worth it though with a better end result where we all feel we've had a say.

[the captain]

I'm stuck on a song, which is the worst feeling for me. Obviously the best is when it comes easily, but I don't mind having nothing at all, either. But right now I'm working through that half-done moment where I have a chord progression I really like, a 3-section tune that goes from a haunted to a sweeping, momentum-building vibe, really dancing around keys and built on highly extended chords. I really like it.

But I can't finish it. What I have now, I've had for about two months. I've got melodies I'm maybe 75% happy with and lyrics for about a quarter of it...and I don't like them much anyway. I usually feel like it's easy to find the song in the music, but this is one of those where the music doesn't want to become a song. Ugh.

Such is life.

[hypehat]

I just finished the score for my latest show. I think it's the 9th one I've done in about two years, 11 if you count more abstract things. I'm really proud of some of it - lots of new techniques, innovations, better sounds, more complex arranging than I've ever done, all of that. But I think I might have just made my difficult second album.... The inspiration was not there. Sigh.

I want to have time to focus on my own stuff as well. I need a cohort to start a band, but my musical taste is a bit of an outlier with people I know and most of them aren't musicians. And I'm absolutely shite on a stage by myself. Again, sigh.

[the captain]

I might just abandon that song for now. Today I was thinking: I should write a song for each school-year of my life. I was telling a story about 5th grade today, and realized I already have one for 3rd and one for 6th. May as well keep going!

[hypehat]

Some days, you just can't mix.

Finally added instrumentation to a song I did a year ago, which was just guitar/voices. Can't get it to work, not because the new parts are shite, but just because i can't get them to sit right with the original vocals. This is going to be one of those things where I prefer the original demo, regardless of what I actually want to do with the song, isn't it? 

[the captain]

In the shower before work, I thought of two measures to add to a song I've been working on. Two measures. Just something to go from verse to some other section. Sadly, I've been so stuck, I was excited about it. A little chromatic riff into a relative minor. Big whoop.

[EgoHanger1966]

In the shower before work, I thought of two measures to add to a song I've been working on. Two measures. Just something to go from verse to some other section. Sadly, I've been so stuck, I was excited about it. A little chromatic riff into a relative minor. Big whoop.

That's a bigger deal than you make it out to be. I can't even play a note or chord of music, but I've "written" several songs just by hearing melodies in my head. Sometimes, one little idea turns into a whole song. Or, a little idea, as in your case, adds a little certain something to a song.

[hypehat]

Yeah, I do that all the time. Mostly when I'm out and about, which is frustrating as I can barely remember it by the time i get home.

Reckon I've got a mix of the tune I mentioned yesterday. Although I'm considering doing a Murry and speeding it up a wee bit so it sounds a bit brighter/faster, I seem to prefer it that way. Let's see.

[the captain]

Don't mistake me, that is a normal way for me to "write" music--many, many of my songs were conceived and largely worked out while I've been on walks, for example. My frustration is the slowness in ideas lately, so that this tiny idea felt so good.