Antman261

No worries.

Back off on the compression of the kick drum. If it's not RMS detection then it's often best used on drums for shaping the attack, but not so much for gaining volume. If it is RMS compression, then turn it off, It's only going to ruin your kick drum sound and give it a bloated sort of feel. Unless it's really short and whimpy to start with. My advice however would be to listen to what's covering up those parts of the kick drum sound that you need to identify it rhythmically. If the high end crack of the kick is at 2.5k, then maybe cut that frequency a bit in the guitar and bass tracks. Also, I'd suggest not cutting 180hz too much unless it really does need it. That's a nice frequency that can translate well to lots of other speakers. There's nothing more annoying then a bass drum that doesn't have a good bit of body/bass until about 100hz. Also, maybe find another frequency a bit higher, it might be between 4k and 8k, where the attack of the bass drum really seems to stand out, and give that a bit of a boost. Oh, and don't be afraid to spend a lot of time automating the volume itself. Hope this helps.

Thanks dude

http://www.myspace.com/screaminglifeband The tracks I recorded for them most recently is Lucky and Crazy Animals.

Errrr. You dont need to record with two mic's to pan a track out of one speaker or another. A mono track can be panned. Down the centre means the same signal will be coming out of both speakers. To the right, just the right speaker, to the left just the left speaker. Most mic's record only one signal. They can only send something in mono unless they are specifically designed to be stereo microphones. You then build a stereo mix with these individual mono tracks.

Hey guys, www.myspace.com/facepollutionband Recorded, mixed, and 'mastered' by me. Was recorded for a local TV appearance. Band wanted it to have a bit of a live and raw vibe, which I think I captured, and I think for the most part it sounds ok. Although mic'ing the kick was a bit tough cause the drummer had set up a bass drum tunnel going from his 22" to his 16x16. If anyone has any suggestions it'd be very welcome.

setup a reverb effected delay on the other side (so it sounds as if it's at a distance) Could be fun. Pan it the opposite way to the side of the drummers riding? Chuck in some sort of second part? like a simple rhythm part or muted part, mix it in subtly on the other side? Maybe bass one side guitar on the other? (though consider the bass's relationship with the drums before doing this) I haven't heard the song so I can't say what choice I'd make, but there's a bunch of random ideas to try out.

Uh send it to a pro for mastering if you want radio stations to even consider playing it... And the whole art of mixing and mastering is sublime, sure your average mates who aren't that into sound probably wont notice it's not professionally mastered, but they might think less of the music! And I'm not quite sure what finalizer is, but it sounds like it might add compression to the stereo bus, which is a bad idea before sending to an ME. They'd have every right to slap you and send you home to take it off.

I can't believe you didn't realise booshy's account of cellists was taking the piss out of your interpretation of mastering engineers. Also, bigger text/TALKING IN CAPS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT JUST MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT YELLING. IT SHOWS YOU'RE GETTING WORKED UP please note, the above was done in irony.

Yeah I got that, just making sure thinkingthought didn't mistake that as one of those 'golden rules' we seem to search for kind of naively when we first start out (but quite understandably).

I hope so. If not, he sure is pushing the bounds of human idiocy! (Excuse the poor gramma, it's late here)

Sometimes a track that sounds full and rich by itself just sounds bottom-heavy and muffled in the mix, while a track that might sound thinner alone might cut through the mix and give you a clearer sound. Don't mistake that last couple of sentences in the previous post as saying 'Highs are always better then lows' because that's not the case either. Not criticizing the poster, just making sure it's not misinterpreted. Just having an idea of where abouts in the frequency spectrum you want a sound to end up (in relation to the other sounds) can be a really useful big-picture idea to have when setting up mics etc.

It does reduce the room, but to say it takes it completely out of the picture is a big presumptuous.

The thing about all these things that try to tell you WHERE to place something is that it usually neglects a whole bunch of variables. The room makes a huge difference to sound, the amp, the guitar, the mic, the context of the guitar in the mix, arrangement etc. Sometimes those sounds that weren't what you were looking for, and thus disregarded as bad, are exactly what you need.

YES!!! Place mic's with your ears not your eyes! You're not listening to music with your eyes so really it doesn't make sense.