Smoother Mix

Some light compression?

I export my mixes to a 24 bit stereo wav then bring them into a new project. There I use the fancy arsed EQ and compression right on the track to get everything nudged a little closer to where I like (this is ever so subtle) and now that I have the PC2A I put that on the master and set it to apply a little more light compression. Seems to work alright for making things a little less hairy... and believe me, my tunes are hairy.

Keep the volumes lower in the tracks instead of relying on limiters in the buses. Make sure the EQ is not coloring the sound.   

1) why not try a little tape saturation on the master bus OR just the tracks that sound harsh. That's if the Cakewalk one works for you without crashing, lol. There are others though like Massey Tapehead (now available as free VST although only in mono)
2) Are you using console emulation? I find this works well in reducing digital harshness, if that's what the problem is. 

Another thing I like to do is, use Subtractive EQ.

For example, if you want to increase the 1kHz area, use a High and Low Shelving and lower the frequencies on both sides of it. It takes some more work, but I always find I like my mixes more when I use this method.

I read somewhere that this is because boosting frequencies creates artifacts, while cutting them does far less so. Although I could be wrong. 

My approach is this:
1) Sub-buss each instrument (i.e. Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals, etc.
2) Solo each Sub-buss and just listen. find out which instrument seems to be making it worse. Or, conversely, Mute one sub-buss at a time and see which instrument seems to make the 'Best' impact by being taken out. 
3) Work on each one individually to see what frequencies are harsh. To do that, I use a Linear-Phase EQ, such as DMG EQuality (not the EQ you're already using in a track or buss--In fact, "Power" those off.) Using a single band, tight Q, and about 10db of boost, sweep the area you think is harsh and find the center frequency that seem to be the worst. Stop the sweep there, and then cut that frequency by about 3-6db (or more, if you need). Then, re-enable your normal EQs and unMute/unSolo your busses and see how this goes. 
4) Repeat. 

You may also add a little "air" up top with an EQ Shelf around 10Khz+ to help your ears.

Everybody else here has some great input. Don't just follow one method. Try them all or even combine methods. If all else fails, if one instrument is still bad, re-track it. I prefer to fix the source than fix the mix, where possible. 

I like that technique, Brian. Start muting stuff until you identify the element that most improves the mix when it's missing. Brilliant. We once replaced a drummer using a similar approach.

On the original topic, I associate "smoothness" with gentle compression. Kind of like when you drag the butter knife over the toast so that the butter (er, doctor-approved butter substitute) becomes uniformly dispersed rather than deposited in non-uniform globs with dry patches. Light compression is like that for audio. 

We once replaced a drummer using a similar approach.

Does this work in a live situation?  (kidding) We love our drummer.

Thanks for the compliment, btw. 

brconflict


  Something to consider here, too, which I assume has already been ruled out is the mix-setting, meaning your mixing room and monitors etc.  

And one thing we should probably mention is try mixing at a a low volume if you're not already doing this. If the monitors are good, the room becomes less of an issue and you can actually allow your ears to better hear those nasty little nuances and frequencies that can irritate you. At least you may be able to better identify what's wrong with the full mix.

Best of luck! 

I find that mixing at low volumes helps me hear the effect the compressor is having more easily too. 

bitflipper


I like that technique, Brian. Start muting stuff until you identify the element that most improves the mix when it's missing. Brilliant. We once replaced a drummer using a similar approach.

On the original topic, I associate "smoothness" with gentle compression. Kind of like when you drag the butter knife over the toast so that the butter (er, doctor-approved butter substitute) becomes uniformly dispersed rather than deposited in non-uniform globs with dry patches. Light compression is like that for audio. 

SO BUTTER MY SONG UP and il have a hit EPIC

Yeah, Jeff Evans is 100%, in my opinion. I don't think it's a good idea to use an EQ on the master bus -- UNLESS you're at the mastering phase, which you're not, I would assume. Make sure that you have an incredible sound BEFORE you hit the RECORD button. If you aren't happy with your sound before you record, you are definitely not going to be happy when you listen back to it. In fact, you're going to like it less and less the more you listen to it. I know first hand because it has happened to me. Sometimes, you cut corners to save time.... "that sounds OK, but I'll make it perfect when I mix it!" .... nope, sorry, doesn't work that way. I learned that lesson the hard way. Recorded my band, didn't get levels or mic placement correct..... some parts of the drum kit weren't loud enough, some sounded tinny.... etc. You can't "fix" a kick drum that wasn't loud enough to begin with, you can't "fix" a snare drum that was mic'd like crap..... learned this the hard way. Spent a month.... A MONTH.... playing with EQ settings.... plugins.... finally gave in to reality, RE-RECORDED the whole thing. Sometimes you gotta do that. Better to re-record than to waste time trying to polish a turd.

jwh-  can you post the HARSH mix somewhere so we can hear  what you are talking about?  Thx.

Bub

John

One last thing do not over drive your plugins. Not all are forgiving of this.

That's good advice.

One really nice thing about the Pro Channel Modules is, you can tell visually if you are driving them too hot. The little light to the right of the on/off button will go from green ~ yellow ~ red based on input level.

Except on the FX Chains. That one's still broken, even after the quickfix and X2a.