[RWP] Mix Opinion, Please?

Tue Mar 20 00:10:08 EDT 2012

This is a non compressed version I posted, also not maximized.
I'm first trying to do all I can by getting relative midi track  levels 
adjusted.
I posted it to try to learn what others are hearing, since I hear it on 
headphones, no studio monitors yet.
Jim Snowbarger's report that it has minus 4 db peaks from drum snares 
and kicks shows how low the track is, but just to compress or limit 
those peaks is, if I'm thinking right, not gonna bring up the whole 
mix's level  as much as if I compress and limit the drums separately, at 
least that sounds like a better way to me
I read that the hip hop producers always process the base and kick by 
themselves, get them to the highest possible perceived level, then 
vocals and the breif snatches of instrumentation have to share what 
little percentage  is left of the total headroom.
I used compression often in Sound Forge, on drum loops.
To my ears, if it's done just right, it brings a track to life, rather 
than killing it
I'm also remembering what some of those rooms in Waves reverbs do to a 
drum track, make it sound like a real drummer playing in a real space, 
instead of something created in a digital vacuum.
I guess I could do the processing entirely in Reaper, but I love how 
easy it is to get just the right sound in Sound Forge.
I meant to ask you about your comment that you need to have asio, so use 
Sound Forge 8.
My EMu 1616M has its propriatary Emu asio driver, so everything goes 
through that.
Does that limit me to only using SF 8, or will I be able to bring tracks 
to Sound Forge 7, tweak them there without asio, then Sound Forge's 
output can go through Emu's asio driver so I hear it?
Thanks,
Indigo L

On 3/19/2012 10:28 PM, Patrick Perdue wrote:
> Did you try playing a non-compressed version in your Winamp? Maybe
> replay gain is attenuating it.
>
> On 3/19/2012 10:26 PM, indigo wrote:
>> I haven't found V U meters yet in Reaper
>> I need to learn where sighted users find them, and learn if they show
>> onscreen numbers.
>> Reaper is so full of numbers, it wouldn't surprise me to find V U values
>> expressed in numbers. smile.
>>
>> I'm just using my ears so far.
>> I've got adjusting midi track volume down pretty well.
>> I press control+right arrow on a selected track to show its first item,
>> then tab down to volume; in item edit; and set volume.
>> Then press enter to save changes.
>> I hear the immediate change in volume of that track.
>> So far, I haven't understood how to have the track playing so I can hear
>> changes as I tweak volume and other parameters.
>> I tried today to open item edit while a track was playing, and play
>> stopped.
>>
>> It's rough premixing in track view I'm doing so far, I'll get to the
>> mixer section later.
>> I just don't comprehend the difference in level; of what I hear while
>> recording; compared with what I hear playing the resulting file on
>> winamp later.
>> I also play other folks MP3's on that same winamp, and I sometimes get
>> my MP3's at decent levels and sometimes way too low.
>>
>> I've yet to learn how to find cymbal hits I want to zap on a midi drum
>> track.
>> I know there's some way to split a drum track into its instruments, when
>> the drum machine doesn't have a bunch of separate output jacks, 1 per
>> instrument, each instrument on its own midi channel.
>> I believe there's an NTonyx utility that splits a drum track into its
>> instruments.
>> Indigo L
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 3/19/2012 9:15 PM, Chris Smart wrote:
>>> i wouldn't worry about perceived loudness yet, just make sure you like
>>> the mix and watch out for any clipping.
>>> Do we have access to the meters in Reaper?
>>>
>>> At 08:46 PM 3/19/2012, you wrote:
>>>> I'm learning a little more in Reaper each day, but I'm wondering if I
>>>> recorded this track too high in level, so the bass and kick distorted,
>>>> and, if that's so, then why is my overall level so low.
>>>> It sounds right to me when I record it on my off line daw, then I take
>>>> it over to this online computer and my track is way too low compared
>>>> to what others are doing.
>>>> I balanced relative levels of the midi tracks, and brought the bass
>>>> just under hearing distortion on it, and it seems proportionate to the
>>>> piano and drums, but the track is still too low in level.
>>>> I haven't compress it yet, or used Waves l3 maximizer on it yet, I
>>>> can't believe those are going to bring its level up 3 or more times in
>>>> volume, to where it should be.
>>>> This is still a rough mix, I'll remove those annoying cymbol hits in
>>>> the second half.
>>>> I want to use this as a basic rhythm part, and leave room for some
>>>> live sax and flute to take the place of the original vocal, , maybe a
>>>> shaker, some fun things, and I can hear the girl chorus doing that
>>>> little Still the Same chorus, I don't have a female singer, I guess
>>>> I'll have to fake it myself with AutoTune's gender bender. smile.
>>>> Please let me know your thoughts about whether it's recorded too hot
>>>> in the bass already, and how you yourself get overall levels up higher.
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Indigo L
>>>> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63003631/1Still%20the%20Same.mp3
>>>>
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