Sample of a trance project I'm working on.. need tips!

[Barnelby]

Hey guys,

So i constantly feel like I am chasing sound quality... been working on this stuff as a hobby for a couple years now, and while I can say I've learned a lot, I am hell bent on closing the gap between my sound and the professional quality that you hear from the big guys from armada etc.

This project is somewhat barebones- I'd love to have some people listen with fresh ears and tell me anything you can hear, mainly about the mix/technical stuff that needs improvement- just as a side note, no compression on any of the instrument tracks- you're hearing them straight from the virus.

Thanks so much!!

https://soundcloud.com/barnelby-jones/trance

[Berni]

Originally Posted by Barnelby

Hey guys,

So i constantly feel like I am chasing sound quality... been working on this stuff as a hobby for a couple years now, and while I can say I've learned a lot, I am hell bent on closing the gap between my sound and the professional quality that you hear from the big guys from armada etc.

This project is somewhat barebones- I'd love to have some people listen with fresh ears and tell me anything you can hear, mainly about the mix/technical stuff that needs improvement- just as a side note, no compression on any of the instrument tracks- you're hearing them straight from the virus.

Thanks so much!!

https://soundcloud.com/barnelby-jones/trance

Well my eye's & ears tell me this is compressed to shit.

[Barnelby]

BAH!

I forgot to take my faux-compressor off the master bus when I bounced it...

here it is without:


https://soundcloud.com/barnelby-jone...trance-project

[TweakHead]

Originally Posted by Barnelby

BAH!

I forgot to take my faux-compressor off the master bus when I bounced it...

here it is without:


https://soundcloud.com/barnelby-jone...trance-project

so based on what you're saying, there's an easy tip for you: build your song with nothing on the master bus channel. why? because any extra processing on the summing of the mix is going to influence your judgment of it and that can be misleading.

about compression: it's kind of normal to use a (bus) compressor on a mix so as to provide a feel for what the song can be after the mastering stage. I say compressor here and I could say limiter - a compressor with an infinite ratio and (sometimes) look-ahead abilities. but one should only use it for bouncing down the file if you want to show it to someone (for example) or for evaluation. the gold lies with a good sounding mix on its own, with no further processing. leave that to the mastering stage.

but overall, the low end (mainly Kick and Bass, usually) is centered (mono=equal volume for each channel) and gets compressed the most. this only means that you really don't need much dynamics there, more so then "go crazy with a compressor on that group". rule of gold is: you really don't need more then 3dBFS (peak level) of gain reduction imo. and use the envelope settings on the compressor to allow the "attack portion" of the sound to come through untouched by the compressor, so as to keep the contour (transients) defined and preserving the "impact" of your sounds. think of it as a way to massage the sounds, rather then squashing them.

there's a handy trick: surgical EQ on the tracks, so as to remove (sort of, don't use extreme settings -2 or -3dB is a good cut) bad sounding frequencies and to reserve space for other sounds in the mix with digital, parametric kind of EQ. blend the sounds together with a bus compressor to glue the elements a bit and use some "tone shaping" kind of EQ (analogue modeling is fine for this) to bring out the best sounding frequencies of the sum a bit and add some character (not to much) into the equation.

highpass other elements that would interfere with the low end instruments where everything is playing at once. as the mix gets higher in frequencies, you can spread it in the stereo and use all kinds of stereo effects for that big and wide sound.

keep your levels down, -10dB (peak level) on a Kick is good and place the others based on that. should give you something like -6dBFS maximum peak level for the whole mix, more then enough for proper mastering when all things done!

don't forget to enjoy yourself and don't get crazy with tech stuff!

[Barnelby]

Originally Posted by TweakHead

don't forget to enjoy yourself and don't get crazy with tech stuff!

THAT, my friend, is the piece of advice that I really needed. I get SO obsessed with trying to make everything perfect that it kinda takes some of the pleasure out of it. doesn't hurt to be one's harshest critic from time to time but I've definitely pulled a few strands of hair out trying to get the right sounds... gah!

What i have found is that yes, making everything sound as good as possible before applying compression/EQ is a major factor...I do usually try to only put stuff on the bus just for fun.. will definitely leave that stuff up to people who know what they are doing with it.

thanks so much for your tips! much appreciated!