[quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (28/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (28/04/2010)[hr]I think i’m struggling with mix downs too. At least i THINK i am. Problem i’m finding with my tracks is they sound good when I play them, i’ve worked the EQ of everything and made sure everything fits together, also worked pans and thought about my stereo range… but when i play it alongside a released track, i notice a difference. It’s not the loudness, it seems to be something else like a all round fullness of it.
Maybe it’s just the mastering, but i feel it must be more than that. I thought maybe it could be my mix downs?
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You are probably hearing the mastering portion of it. A mixdown will not be loud. All it does, is make sure that your sounds sit properly in your mix. When I mix down, I will always have Ozone on the master track that I can A/B with to get an idea of what the loudness will sound like after mastering.[/quote]
spot on :)[/quote]
Cheers guys, like I said, it’s not the loudness of it. I also already have Ozone on my master set on CD Master preset.
I’m thinking it may be down to the compression like Sean mentioned, i will need to have a play around really, basically it’s the all round fullness compaired to other tracks, even though all areas of the frequency range were covered and stereo range fully considered during production. It’s only subtle, but noticable to me.
[quote]roben (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (28/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (28/04/2010)[hr]I think i’m struggling with mix downs too. At least i THINK i am. Problem i’m finding with my tracks is they sound good when I play them, i’ve worked the EQ of everything and made sure everything fits together, also worked pans and thought about my stereo range… but when i play it alongside a released track, i notice a difference. It’s not the loudness, it seems to be something else like a all round fullness of it.
Maybe it’s just the mastering, but i feel it must be more than that. I thought maybe it could be my mix downs?
[/quote]
You are probably hearing the mastering portion of it. A mixdown will not be loud. All it does, is make sure that your sounds sit properly in your mix. When I mix down, I will always have Ozone on the master track that I can A/B with to get an idea of what the loudness will sound like after mastering.[/quote]
spot on :)[/quote]
Cheers guys, like I said, it’s not the loudness of it. I also already have Ozone on my master set on CD Master preset.
I’m thinking it may be down to the compression like Sean mentioned, i will need to have a play around really, basically it’s the all round fullness compaired to other tracks, even though all areas of the frequency range were covered and stereo range fully considered during production. It’s only subtle, but noticable to me.[/quote]
from what i’ve been learning, to make a track sound fuller you need to make elements of the track smaller letting the bigger elements breath, putting sounds into your track that are all big will make your tracks sound thin
[quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (28/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (28/04/2010)[hr]I think i’m struggling with mix downs too. At least i THINK i am. Problem i’m finding with my tracks is they sound good when I play them, i’ve worked the EQ of everything and made sure everything fits together, also worked pans and thought about my stereo range… but when i play it alongside a released track, i notice a difference. It’s not the loudness, it seems to be something else like a all round fullness of it.
Maybe it’s just the mastering, but i feel it must be more than that. I thought maybe it could be my mix downs?
[/quote]
You are probably hearing the mastering portion of it. A mixdown will not be loud. All it does, is make sure that your sounds sit properly in your mix. When I mix down, I will always have Ozone on the master track that I can A/B with to get an idea of what the loudness will sound like after mastering.[/quote]
spot on :)[/quote]
Cheers guys, like I said, it’s not the loudness of it. I also already have Ozone on my master set on CD Master preset.
I’m thinking it may be down to the compression like Sean mentioned, i will need to have a play around really, basically it’s the all round fullness compaired to other tracks, even though all areas of the frequency range were covered and stereo range fully considered during production. It’s only subtle, but noticable to me.[/quote]
from what i’ve been learning, to make a track sound fuller you need to make elements of the track smaller letting the bigger elements breath, putting sounds into your track that are all big will make your tracks sound thin[/quote]
That’s a really good thought and one i’ve kinda known about but maybe not put into practice as much as i probably should, this is spot on advice dude, i’ll have to play around more, maybe it’s a case that i’m EQing my channels, just not EQing them enough, enough so that the bigger picture makes all the difference in the long run.
It’s always the little things isn’t it, thanks 
[quote]roben (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]jon_fisher (29/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (28/04/2010)[hr][quote]roben (28/04/2010)[hr]I think i’m struggling with mix downs too. At least i THINK i am. Problem i’m finding with my tracks is they sound good when I play them, i’ve worked the EQ of everything and made sure everything fits together, also worked pans and thought about my stereo range… but when i play it alongside a released track, i notice a difference. It’s not the loudness, it seems to be something else like a all round fullness of it.
Maybe it’s just the mastering, but i feel it must be more than that. I thought maybe it could be my mix downs?
[/quote]
You are probably hearing the mastering portion of it. A mixdown will not be loud. All it does, is make sure that your sounds sit properly in your mix. When I mix down, I will always have Ozone on the master track that I can A/B with to get an idea of what the loudness will sound like after mastering.[/quote]
spot on :)[/quote]
Cheers guys, like I said, it’s not the loudness of it. I also already have Ozone on my master set on CD Master preset.
I’m thinking it may be down to the compression like Sean mentioned, i will need to have a play around really, basically it’s the all round fullness compaired to other tracks, even though all areas of the frequency range were covered and stereo range fully considered during production. It’s only subtle, but noticable to me.[/quote]
from what i’ve been learning, to make a track sound fuller you need to make elements of the track smaller letting the bigger elements breath, putting sounds into your track that are all big will make your tracks sound thin[/quote]
That’s a really good thought and one i’ve kinda known about but maybe not put into practice as much as i probably should, this is spot on advice dude, i’ll have to play around more, maybe it’s a case that i’m EQing my channels, just not EQing them enough, enough so that the bigger picture makes all the difference in the long run.
It’s always the little things isn’t it, thanks :)[/quote]
I started to Eq until the Sounds FIT without worries of “There is no Highs in that sound” I now aim for the “overall” sound to be crisp in the end result . This Tip help me :)If I could post my new Loop I made with a Drum kit and baseline I think you guys would be impressed 
[quote]seanl (28/04/2010)[hr][quote]Redemption (28/04/2010)[hr]
Hi Roben, usually a compression is attributed with bringing fulness and ‘roundness’ to the mix, gelling it together. Try some on your master, you don’t want to do much just a few dB, with low ratio (1.5:1 maybe) and soft knee, (and in RMS mode) or just start from ‘mix gel’ preset. There are of course plugs better suited for mix bus compression but abletons one should be a good start.
Also try running your mix thru a saturation/compression plug such as PSP Vintage Warmer, this thing really can do wonders to your mix(but be gentle with it ), you can download demo for free from their web page.
I’m experimenting (mixing in to a compressor) at the moment with a combination of the above and some emulations from liquid mix. Great fun but…too much choice 
BTW Great idea with Fix the mix concept!
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Hey thanks - Also when you said the above ( Mixing into a a Compressor ) what did you mean by that "start a trackwith comp on the Full track , before you start mixing ? [/quote]
Yes, mixing in to a compressor can give you a better idea of what the finished track is going to sound like, many producers mix in this way (and mix ‘as they go’ rather than wait for all the parts to be finished). There are many advantages, one being that you’re not going to kid yourself that things can be fixed later on in mixing or mastering. So you tend to get things right from the start, also it can be more rewarding, because you get a feel for it quicker
That’s one school, the other one is that you should never mix in to a compressor, IMO more associated with mixing ‘real’ instruments. (But booth techniques are used by engineers mixing pop, rock, etc)
So the best thing to do is …to try it Mix a few tracks in to a compressor and see which one you like best…what sounds better is better
I’m not great at mixing (either way it takes time to learn) but I feel that my tracks improved quite a lot with this technique. So in my (very) subjective opinion it is sooooo much better 
Hope this helps mate.
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Also I found by doing this trick it allows me to Make better tighter beats - I used to have problems with the kicks and snares then Highhats , but man this trick really works!