hi all i have been recording my music at home for approx a yr now i am using a behringer ddx32/16 mixing desk a m-audio delta 1010lt sound card tannoy reveal monitors 150watt alesis amp and windows xp running sonar 5 producer ,i alo use fruityloops for all my drum beats via vst in sonar .
i would be really greatfull if anyone could listen to some of my songs and give me any advice mixing or mastering wise i just feel astho something is missing i seem to have a really great sound whilst listening thro my mixing desk but when i transfer it to my car or hifi it seems very flat and bassy is there antway you can put onto cd what i hear thro my speakers ,

oh i use soundforge 8 and izotope ozone to do my mastering in conjunction with waves diamond bundle any help would be greatfully received

my music is on my web site here

www.undadogz.co.uk

many thanx undadogz

I listened to a portion, and I have a few words of advice... This is constructive, and in no way meant to hurt your feelings.

You can really really hear the lack of quality in your mix.

Replace the Berringer would be my first guess, get a good power amp for your good monitors, and soundproof the listening room if you have not already done so. You will be amazed at the difference you can here!

Taking into account those items you listed, I would assume you are doing the best you can. BUT, once you get some good quality equipment, the difference will be amazing imo.

Also, be very careful to not make your mixes too hot, there were a few places where it clipped my amps without being "loud". There is a high peak in the 100-259 range, and a hole in the 3K range. Just to let you know, this will make it sound "hollow".

Anyway, keep trying!

Thanks for taking the time to listen and give some good advice ,i am on abudget i managed to get the behringer for £300.
what desk would you recomend and power amp ? the room i am in is 9ft square with a double glazed window on one side and a double glazed door would you recommend i buy the foam squares and cover the whole room or just certain areas ? many thanks

undadogz

This Mixing article may give you some tips --> Mixing 101
_________________
Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

im using dp4 and mac g4 but still i have a bad mix and my mastering suck! even i have the best gear i still need to learn more on recordings!

any help?

popeye wrote:

im using dp4 and mac g4 but still i have a bad mix and my mastering suck! even i have the best gear i still need to learn more on recordings! any help?

yes... read the link to the article on Mixing I posted above....
_________________
Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

thanks BBS thats cool. im more on watch and learn learner but it helps a lot on my mixing.

We do free mastering evaluations.

http://www.DiskFaktory-Mastering.com/evaluation.htm

Jason
_________________
Disk Faktory Mastering!
Top quality audio mastering.

DiskFaktory wrote:

We do free mastering evaluations. http://www.DiskFaktory-Mastering.com/evaluation.htm Jason

Hmmm.... no gear list... very "strange" content describing mastering... the photos show nothing even remotely resembling a proper mastering studio....

Care to enlighten/elaborate?
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Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

We just re-designed the site, after moving into a new facility. So, the photos on the site are of the new facility. We'll be adding new photos soon.

And thanks for the heads up on the gear list, I totally overlooked that.

Also, what do you mean by very strange content? Some of the descriptions might be worded a bit weird, to help out with search engine rankings. That's according to our webmaster.

Thanks,
Jason Cole
_________________
Disk Faktory Mastering!
Top quality audio mastering.

"Encoding UPC, ISRC, CD Text, and other PQ information"

UPC has nothing to do with PQ information -- the UPC is a bar code for retail sales.


"Level maximization - Dynamically optimizing audio for CD format"

There's no such process as "maximization".... and the phrase "dynamically optimizing auidio for CD" is completely meaningless. I think you're trying to describe the use of a Limiter to raise overall volume levels, but you've described it very badly.


"1. Volume Level Maximization
This is to make sure that all audio is at maximum volume, so that all songs are at the same volume level. Ever watch late night TV, where the volume of the commercials are a couple notches higher than the show you were watching? If a professional CD mastering engineer was involved, they would raise the volume of TV show to match the volume of the commercials."

This is completely wrong... you don't want all the tracks on a CD to be at the same level... do you think a ballad should be as loud as the rocker track that came before it?

A very strange thing to say if you're an experienced ME.


"2. Ensuring a Consistent Balance of Audio Frequencies
This ensures that all audio frequencies are accounted for in the recording; bass, mids, and treble, so that there are no areas in the audio recording where there is no bass/mids/treble."

Highly questionable phrasing at best............


"3. Noise Reduction
This is the process of removing noise from an audio signal. When using analog technology, sound recordings exhibit a type of noise known as tape hiss. This is related to the particle size and texture used in the magnetic emulsion that is sprayed on the recording media, and also to the relative tape velocity across the tape heads."

This is just flat out wrong on so many levels.....


"Services include everything in detailed audio restoration but also includes perfectly balanced multi-band compression parameters, peak limiting for consistent (apparent) dynamic levels between tracks, and removal of resonant frequencies from recordings done in the "less than ideal" room."

Say what???? Exactly what is a "perfectly balanced MB compression parameter"??? Removal of resonant frequencies... huh????


"Most professional mastering and recording studios owners do not distinguish mixing from professional mastering, and try to do both at the same time. If you are planning on sending your material out for audio mastering, focus your efforts on the THREE aspects of a mix. Leave the audio mastering to the mastering engineer. There is a huge benefit to having an experienced set of ears listen to your material with a fresh perspective."

This is complete nonsense... it's the pro studios that DO distinguish between mixing and mastering. It's the amateurs, wannabes and novices that do not know the difference.



I also had a listen to your before/after sample - to be completely honest, the after sample is just plain awful. The before is much better sounding. The after is totally squashed to death and WAY over-EQ'd. Again, highly suspect if you're an experienced ME.



So why am I pointing these things out anyways? Because Mastering is a serious business that is not understood by many musicians and hobbyists. And with the broad availability of home-recording tools available, home-grown musician/recordists are easy targets for the ever-increasing number of fake online mastering place who want to sell highly substandard mastering services to the unsuspecting musicians who've been told they "need" to have their material mastered.


As a professional in this industry, it is of great concern to me and many of my colleagues that musicians don't get taken advantage of by these poseurs.


I don't know if you are serious about the craft or not - your website content seems to indicate otherwise (as I pointed out above)- but if you do want to be accepted as legitimate, then be aware of what you say. The real pros in the industry ARE watching for nonsense.... and we aren't afraid to point it out.


For more information on this new breed of "poseur" mastering house - read this outstanding article one of my colleagues wrote.
_________________
Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer


Last edited by BlueBearSound on Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:20 am, edited 4 times in total

Thanks for the feedback Blue Bear.

Jason
http://www.diskfaktory-mastering.com
_________________
Disk Faktory Mastering!
Top quality audio mastering.

Yikes Bruce! But points are well made.

There is a lot of misinformation on your site that you may want to consider revising.

It would be interesting to see some of your clients.
_________________
Tom Volpicelli
The Mastering House Inc.
http://www.masteringhouse.com
CD Mastering and Media Production Services

Hard words - I know, Tom...

But these fake mastering places are becoming an epidemic. John's had his site content lifted and re-badged by poseurs so many times, it's not even funny. And they're so clueless that they didn't even take out some of the one-of-a-kind custom pieces of gear in the list before they re-badged it!

In some cases, they'd even left his logo on computer screens in the background..... truly pathetic.

I think the only recourse is for the legitimate and highly skilled ME's like you and John, and other audio professionals to educate musicians in hopes of avoiding these kinds of fakers.
_________________
Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

after listening to your stuff I'm going to agree with the first reply and say get rid of the behringer. No offense, but you cant polish a turd and no matter how good of a source you're getting TO the console, its getting lost in translation FROM the console. Try saving up some cheese and get at least like a Mackie or something. Now Sonar is a decent program, but I like Pro Tools, however that wont affect your sound per say. I'm not HUGE on M-audio gear, but I dont figure you're losing TOO much using that interface and I know the Waves bundle helps a BUNCH. I've never been a fan much of Fruity Loops, I've always been able to spot a Fruity Loop from a mile away, so I'd invest in like Reason or something a little bit up from that and that should help. Your monitors should be fine, make sure the room you're in is treated a bit to help your sound, but definately ditch the Behringer!