How I do I Get A Punchy Track

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dnaturalmusic
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2006/01/11 05:26:16 (permalink)

How I do I Get A Punchy Track

I just got a Behringer Eurorack UB1204-PRO and I have plenty of songs recorded via my Casio WK-1630 and I would like to get the loudest signal for each instrument on the track. I hope whoever replies is patient with me because I'm stil new to professional recording, but know from how far my music has progressed it is time to step in this realm. I'm currently saving money for Sonar 5 and more Ram & memory for my PC, but until then I want to get the best audio recordings possible so I can just open it up in Sonar and do the final mixes. I'm new to hardware mixers so when I turn the EQ knobs will this change how the song sounds when I burn the rough mix of it on CD. Until I get Sonar I might possibly take my tracks to a studio that uses Pro Tools so how would I get my audio tracks into Pro Tools? Would I have to export each track individually or is there some other method? Also is hardware compressors and gate processors better or plugins. Also I would like to know if it's better to do all of the mixing of my music at my home studio once I get Sonar and just simply record my vocals at the studio. Another thing is it better to use EQ then compression or vice versa, and would noise reduction be the last plugin I use when doing the mix. Also would I still need a wave editor like Audacity to give my songs extra punch or will Sonar do the job. My main objective is to get the loudest final product I want my demo tracks to sound as close as to professional records as I can get when I start sending out my demos to labels. I know that's kinda alot, but I appreciate anyone's help n my quest to make good quality music. I'll be happy to send finished products to people after I get a chance to put your advice into practice.
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    joeh20_444
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    RE: How I do I Get A Punchy Track 2006/01/11 21:59:03 (permalink)
    Wow, you brought up about a thousand questions there... there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm gonna stick with the one on the title of your post. A punchy, commercial-volume track requires a lot of work. Firstly, it needs using EQ on the individual tracks and the song as a whole to "carve out" the instruments in the mix and then using subtractive EQ to free up some energy on the track (which allows a bit more possibility for loudness without boominess). The next best thing to do is to use volume envelopes on the final mix (this is assuming the mix is the best it can possibly be) to keep everything at a very consistant volume, which takes off the strain on your compressors. Compression usually comes next, usually in the form of multiband compression. This is to keep the bass in check while boosting the more "fundamental" ranges (mid-high, etc.). Finally, a limiter is applied, which boosts the volume while keeping the sound from clipping.

    You can see how I could only answer the one question. I will say this, however. Make sure you have your mix the best it can be before you start into the mastering phase. It's best to keep them seperate and focus on them individually.

    Good luck!

    Joe
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