Why Your Self-Produced Tracks SUCK So Much
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2024
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Mixing is important, but it's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a professional-sounding production as a whole.
Subscribers often lament about their tracks sounding "amateur" and that their music is always missing that final 10% of quality heard on their favorite records.
The truth is that so many of the issues that people think are mixing issues..
Are actually NOT mixing issues at all.
They're production-related issues that home-studio owners overlook or simply ignore altogether.
In this video, I share 5 unexpected mistakes that might be holding your music back from sounding as pro as you'd like.
I want you to produce the results that your music rightfully deserves and hopefully, this video will help push you in the right direction.
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Attention guitar players: Bass is where a lot of the energy lies in a song recording - not really the guitar. Pay attention to it. A good bass track with some movement in it can make or break you.
A song is about the song - NOT only about your guitar. I'm a guitar player and not a bass player. Took me a while to learn this.
Very true!
Yep, the Justice For All effect. I like to double track my bass parts, with extra crunchy bass tucked away under the crunchy guitars.
@@Mikey__R
Double tracking the bass is a bad idea.
Splitting the signal and treat the mids, highs and lows in a very different way will give you the same results and no phase issues.
"song is about the song" - amazing quote!
somehow, the more skilled the musicians are, the less they are concerned about their performances being edited because they're generally already realized how music production works.
Yup, you're 100% bang on.
somehow? is this word sarcasm
Waiting to mix until the song is complete is so crucial. I literally learned this yesterday. A solid vocal will make everything so much easier because at that point, there's no reason to geek out over guitar tone because it's no longer the focus when there are vocals. Great video.
Thanks for the post man. I remember the old (4 track tape) days and in those days, you had to commit to your performance (usually with the other guys). Now it is really cool to be able to develop ideas and then to create some sort of arrangement and then just cut (and paste) sections as you work something up. My current process is to get a shape/groove and direction before anything else. I'll have a theme (to which I may or may not write the words to) and sometimes leave empty space which I specifically leave to fill later when jamming with the piece sometime later. I'll edit, I'll re tune every take, I'll try guide vocals ( and really try to avoid the obvious), and in the end I will turn down elements which may be too loud and polish elements (like bass) being lost. The DAW world is fucking awesome. I say embrace it and I'm over 60.
Awesome advise man! Watching on my TV but had to come off and go to phone to comment … you are da man. Appreciate your wisdom! 🤘🎸
Thanks for the straightforward, no BS advice man. As someone who has been playing guitar for a while and recently picked it back up and am taking mixing and editing seriously, while just starting out, these tips help a ton and I recall watching a video where you used some cheaper equipment and still got a kick ass sound out of the production. Keep up the great work and looking forward to more of these!
Man, your vids and theories are the best. Thank you.
Solid advice. Keep it coming.
The hardest thing i find is doing things in a useful order and maintaining that discipline. I end up going back to stuff i should have already sorted/edited/automated/tuned and end up chasing my tail so to speak. It comes from enthusiasm but ends up drawing out the whole process. Tips on this would be appreciated.
I find this as well.
my problem, not being able to execute a lot of tasks effectively and efficiently working alone.
so I just chalk it up as another long winded project, but its a hobby sooooooooo ....
Spot on. Trying to be the band is hard 🤘 respect to all you taking on the production phase
Solid advice, man. I've done all of the B.S. above, and suffered from sh*tty mixes for years. I think the worst habit to break was the "too much stuff going on" part. Always thought it's my thing, sounds orchestral and etc., but in the end of the day the mix was bloated and honestly no one needs 10 guitar tracks playing the variations on the same riff at the same time, lol. The rule nowadays -if i can't make it sound coherent on a single acoustic guitar/piano -it's not a song, just a riff collection.
Solid suggestions.
I can see every producer and sound engineer simply nodding for the whole video like I did :)
To add on to point number 1 in this video is "Intonation"...Don't just tune your guitar and bass with open strings. This may work for band practice and maybe a live setting but, not even then really. So Intonation is when you hit you open string and lets say its a A note and your tuner says its a perfect A ok cool but, now hit your 12th fret on the same string it should also say a perfect A or what ever string it is. If not you may need you make your string longer or shorter and that is done in a few ways but, mostly at the bridge of your guitar and bass with what ever saddles your bridge has. Your string action , your neck bow aka neck relief and even your string gauge can effect this as well. Another tip is make sure the guitar and bass player uses the same tuner and the same tuner for Intonation as well because at least if there off they will be off together and not fighting each other. (What me (guitar player) and bass player did is just buy the same brand and type of tuner and set them to the same settings). Another tip when tuning strings is go lower then the pitch you want to hit and tune up to that note and never tune down to the note because your strings are more likely to slip this way and if you're like me you do some pretty hard bends on the strings and if they slip you tune them up again.
Great points👍 Would have been cool with some sound-examples as well.
As a guitar player I was doing number 4 for a while. I wouldn’t notice it until I would go back and listen to things later and realize the guitars were consistently too loud. When I’m mixing now I always lower my guitar a bit more than I think it should be initially. Often it will even drop a bit more when I’m finishing a mix.
I'd love to see how you mix all Bogren products! They're all good and I'd love to hear how you'd approach a mix using them.
Its weird, my main instrument is guitar but I always seem to mix the drums way too loud initially. I found that double checking on headphones, earbuds, and car speakers help me get a better balance.
Pretty on point...I find I have a problem of putting my guitars too quiet because I want to avoid someone listening and saying "This was mixed by a guitarist" lol I play everything but my main instrument is Guitar. So I find I put the guitars upfront because I love guitar lol...Its a balancing act but sometimes I'll listen to my mix and catch myself putting the guitars too loud...
Thank you for this video brother
My pleasure!
I learned about the importance of editing on your channel but actually also on others like Joey Sturgis or watching videos from Mick Gordon (I basically learned what Crossfading is from reading about his conflict with Id Software).
I try my best to follow your advice and mix formula and simultaneously learn tricks from other producers.
But my Tracks still kinda suck 😂
I think it's coming down to 3 issues in my case:
1. I'm relying too much on presets when using Mastering Plugins or Plugins I don't fully understand.
2. My Songwriting just sucks (at least sometimes).
3. Maybe I still don't really understand compression (I think I understand EQing by now though - thanks to your videos 🤘)
Hey Bobby, speaking about vocals, would you automate some instruments to go down when vocals appear? i know you say that rhythm guitars should go lower when solo guitar comes in but that`s it
Great question! I make sure that the main vocal, rhythm guitars, bass and drums all work together in a static mix. I then automate any additional layers or elements to make room for when other stuff pops in.
@@FrightboxRecording so basically no automation at 1st place, understood and thanks!
The day I learned the importance of bass, my songs started sounding waaaaaay better. I'm a guitar player and decided on investing more money on my bass guitar just because of the difference it makes! Also, a good bass foundation helps your vocals sit better. At least in my case, I try to record my vocals while listening to a piano midi track (melody as reference) and a loud bass; this helped me a lot with vocals and I was always complaining about my vocals before doing this.
Acho seus vídeo muito massa!
your videos are very cool.
Do you edit timing before every double of vocals and guitar? Especially harmonies. Are you editing every take before it’s doubled.
Most of those things I don't do, even as a guitarist I try and balance the mix pretty well and ensure the guitars are not too loud. What I am not good at, and have only just started dabbling in a bit is automation which I know makes a huge difference, and is another huge thing that makes a massive difference to a song and also the difference between amateur and pro.
I hate messing with automation. 😂
When you feel confident with utomation start exploring chain compression ;)
Excellent advice! You have some great tips on every video I've seen from you. Tuning is super important, and getting your instruments setup properly beforehand too. Can't a vocalist have the vocals too loud though too, and then you know that a vocalist mixed the album??? Reference tracks is a must though which I've neglected a little in the past.
Yes you are correct, although it seems that 80% of home-studio owners recording metal are guitar players for some reason 😂
@@FrightboxRecording I am part of that 80 percent too. My upcoming album however I'll make sure the vocals are at a decent level :)
I've bought all the gear. The plugins, the hardware, the comps, the eq's, the mics, the instruments, the interfaces, RME, Neumann, Shure, Sennheiser, Daking, UA and on it goes. All that's missing is musical talent. I have none.
workflow is meta, if you cant make a pro mix take a step back and utilize any structures you miss understanding of, most mixes should sound good before mastering, even if it means to seperate your project and work out some kinks like guitars in another mix to capture what your going for without being distracted by the structure of ghe rest of the song,
im an amature writing progressive powerful doommetal and i have a lot of learning, but going back through and ironing everything out and even rewriting stuff has been a great help
A good tip I've came across to reveal if guitars are too loud : slowly turn down the monitors volume, the vocals should be the last thing to disappear. If it is guitars, they are most than likely too hot.
Nice one! I turn down really low, as low as I can go, and I want to hear everything.
@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn
I do that too, and mix in mono.
just don't forget to turn mono back to stereo before your final two track mix or export, because your mono mix should sound that good, you might forget.
Okay thank god I dont do all of the mentioned things. But I have a bad room, abd cant tame the background noise :( cant use RX at the moment
I use hard boiled eggs and ghost meat for my omlet fillings. Then I pour some grape gravy through an ostrich beak into the omlet. Good stuff.
I’d love to see a video about editing tracks in the pocket.
Doug Mark's said they re-intonated guitars at specific areas so that the recordings were absolutely perfectly in tune no matte what
Hi Bobby.
On this note, what is your opinion on plugin aliasing and sample rates?
It's a non-issue and I'd recommend not even worrying about it. Check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/BYTlN6wjcvQ/v-deo.html
@@FrightboxRecording i love your "always straight to the point" answer - thank you for that. I personally don't hear the impact in a way that would make me stray away from beloved plugins, but at some point everyone will read up on the aliasing aspect and get confused. I guess i just needed the confirmation from a guy i respect 👍👍 thank you.
Plugins hide a secret "Sound like Shit" algorithm and when you send your track to a pro engineer they just turn that algorithm off....
A-Fuckin-Men Brother! I was saying this to my clients this week!
now that's a great name for a course: "You Will Never Not Edit Ever Again"
Do you have any tips of vids or lessons for recording noobs? Like I am aware of what compression is but how do I apply it? People just say, "or cut this or boost this at "x" hz"....I'm like ok...what do I click on to do that exactly? I feel that your paid courses might be for intermediates and not noobs so much
Bobby's paid courses are very well explained and clear. You will learn a lot from them at any skill level. I know, I am learning from them right now.
Nice new intro music
People say editing is cheating, and I have to hide and edit everything.😂😂🤣🤣
And yeah, I kind of accidentally found out the mightyness of editing, meaning what an impact it has working-wise. We were recording our band's guitar and bass tracks at our home studios and I just pointed out how I can do some editing and all of a sudden I was hired (free-of-charge, surely!) to edit all the bass tracks, record acoustic guitars etc.
Had to mention, David GIlmour literally treats his vocals as an after thought. Although he does have his wife interpret his tonal mumbled some what rhythmic vocals he records while writing the music. Works for him sort of. He hasn't hit Floyd status with his albums, but I'm glad he knows he doesn't have to compete with the past. Honestly, the elites control our music, though we never expected to understand that. It's been happening quite a while.
Do you ever forget the name and call it BrightFox recording?
😂
Thank you for stressing how important the vocals are. Such a huge thing that us guitar players forget. Also important to have drums, not guitars drive songs.
I don't edit much, but I zoom in, and go through looking for notes that are just too far off the grid and move them. How far is too far off is the question!
There are 2 levels to this:
1 - an amateur or "standard" musician trying to stay on grid and fail.
2 - a pro who knows when to rush or drag.
If you are working with case one, stay next to the grid, not quantizing everything but putting it back where you think it's flowing right.
If you are working with case two, you already know it and you won't touch a thing.
I admit I've met just a few musicians who you can put in the second category in the span of hundreds and hundreds of recordings through almost 30 years, and we call them "monsters". :D
Well said! It's pretty rare to come across musicians at that level.
I agree with most of what's said here. The things I disagree with mostly come from personal philosophy and taste. Like, what if you DON'T want to sound like a modern production? The reason I would avoid overly editing any and all instruments is specifically because I don't want to sound like Periphery or modern metal in general. I get that if you get raw unedited tracks and you're expected to turn those into a modern metal production, that will get pretty infuriating real quick but I'm very much at the point where I'm tired of that production style. Hell, most of the music I listen to now is from the 70s anyway.
I'm in a similar boat as you. I'm also so sick of sterile terminator-like productions. The problem is that so many people want old school 70's and 80's-style productions, but they're not playing at the same level as players did back then. That's why you still need to edit even if you want an old-school sound (unless you're recording insanely good musicians).
One big thing is if its not broke dont fix it. If you hear a problem then fix it if you dont know how to then research how. But dont go adding plugins or changing stuff just because
Spot on man :)))
Editing is a skill set like mixing. So if you did some editing before and didn't like the way it sounds, it's your skill set that needs to improve.
Too many layers: GUILTY!
Yup, I've definitely been there.
I prefer not to edit, unless there's a considerable need to (i.e., cutting tom tracks to remove the bleed altogether when the toms aren't played, removing some miscellaneous noises, fixing BIG mistakes). Generally, I prefer realistic performances in extreme metal, there's no way I would quantize drums in a grindcore, sludge or brutal death recording, unless big fuck ups are made. The way I look at it: there's no crime in editing tracks, but one shouldn't abuse it when there's no real need.
You also have to set up a guitars intonation, most guitar players don't know how so high notes are out of tune.
Very true, although some players tend to bend when chording certain positions of the neck.
I understand editing is the norm but I'd much rather retrack a part that's out of time. I wouldn't feel good about trying to sell a manipulated performance. That's just me.
Here here, Mr. Torres!
Tip #2 doesn't apply to industrial music by the way. The Downward Spiral has like 6000 tracks per song. It's ridiculous but taking any of them out would destroy the record. Just throwing that out there.
The legend says the downstrokes of james hetfield needs little to no editing . That's how in time he is.
Just insane
Editing doesn't have to be done to the grid, the grid is just an easy reference to line up to but you can edit one take to another take and they'll be in the pocket with each other while still allowing some amount of natural ebb and flow in the tempo. It's just that when we say editing it always seems like the discussion is around an assumption that everything will be edited to the grid when it could just as easily be lined up to some other time source like a live drum take or something.
Agreed!
……if you play to a click then you WILL be editing to a grid lol and unless you’re some super old school country or classic rock band you SHOULD be tracking to a click.
"way back in the 80's" .... Damn man, making me feel like an old man. 😂
plot twist - we put a dumb amount of layers in our songs specifically because they’re good :)
Songs with poor or worse no Arrangement are a total killer. It will not matter how nicely I Mix em, with core problems in the song itself, it will always feel weak. More LOUD + W-I-D-E will not fix the missing Story.
Aah, guitarists mixing: ALL 57 layers of Guitars, no vox.
I am not a fan of over-editing, but if the band wants that over-edited sound, they have to edit (preferably before I get the files). A loose performance will not fix in the mix, actually it will get worse.
The better the mix, the more it shows off what is there.
:-)
If you watch a year and a half in the life of Metallica part 1 the engineer is cutting and splicing tape together, proof of editing !
Not in tune: Solution, buy a guitar with evertune, done 😂
I want a guitar with evertune honestly maybe ill get one one day. Would make my recording life easier.
One thing I have heard to learn to do is, TURN GUITARS down. Way down. You can always turn stuff up.
What forced me to do this the most is that I added piano/keyboard parts. Try balancing the synthesizer with that "sick lead guitar part". All of the sudden, you will turn your guitar track down.
Dude how old are you?
One year shy of 40.
@@FrightboxRecording wtf you looking well boss
80% of Mixing is Editing! After these step is mixing easy and more fun!
You're a smart man!
HA HA , 70% of the people who do all these things are the ones who tell ya' they don't do these things.
but if only a few folks can have some Introspection the video did its job.
'I want my production to sound like Nickelback'- Scott Stapp
Melodyne can tune your guitar for you…
If you play one not at the time :D
Even then, it can sound wonky. It's best to track it right at the source.
Editing is cheating!?
I'm pretty sure Sgt. Pepper was chopped up in production back in 1967.
Exactly!
Actually, they don't
This guy
Ok mr. perfektion
Then this video isnt for you. Lol
Why is this comment at the bottom it's the top comment
He has several myrrh records to prove it.
tune after every take