• Techniques
  • Been working on a mix in Sonar and I am losing my mind
2017/10/08 12:48:45
melhoff13
Good morning folks.  New to the forum so I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong section.  I am working on my first mix/song in Sonar and I am struggling.  I can't seem to get the vocals to sit right.  The guitar feels weak.  The bass is lost.  Geez.  So many issues.  I would love to find someone that is willing to review my session and offer me pointers.  Maybe even mix the song for me using my session files and send it back so I can see what tweaks were made.  I'm willing to pay a fair price, but I really want to see what effects and edits were made in the session.  I want to learn and ask questions as to approach.  Thanks again.  Cheers.
2017/10/08 13:18:10
jamesg1213
There's a section where you can put your stuff up for review;
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Songs-f89.aspx
 
Most people these days upload their tunes to Soundcloud, but you need more posts to insert a link (it's spam filter thing)
 
2017/10/08 14:08:27
bitflipper
Mixing is one of those activities that's harder than it looks. Like skiing. You watch somebody do it and think "how hard can that be?". Then you try it yourself.
 
It'll be frustrating at first. Everybody experiences that. For most folks, it takes a good year or so of trial and error before they start feeling satisfied with their mixes.
 
And just when you're feeling good about your efforts, a strange thing happens: a second wave of dissatisfaction as you start to hear more and more flaws. That's your ears being trained to listen critically. The better you get at listening, the more flaws you hear. Fortunately, all the while you're also learning techniques to mitigate them.
 
And now the bad news: that feeling that the mix is never perfect lasts forever. I've been doing this for 50 years and it's still frustrating.
 
First step: take our Scottish friend's advice above and post your mix. It's a leap of faith to expose yourself to criticism, but you'll be able to leverage the experience of people like James and many others. Spend some time listening to other peoples' submissions. That will let you know which posters know what they're talking about.
2017/10/09 02:50:48
jonboper
pm me
2017/10/09 11:50:51
melhoff13
Thanks for the help guys.  I will check out the other forum.
2017/10/09 11:51:42
melhoff13
jonboper
pm me


Will do.  Thanks.
2017/10/09 13:23:16
bdickens
Low end is what tends to give most people the most trouble. This is a gross oversimplification of course, but you almost can't go wrong cutting everything below 40 - 50 Hz.


The basic idea in crafting a mix is to carve out seperate holes for every instrument so that they all fit together without any one covering up another.

Also, one of the most oveooked factors is the room in which you record and/ or mix. Acoustic anomalies - even ones you might not be able to hear - can really wreak havoc. That's why you can spend untold hours crafting something that sounds awesome in your room, but turns into a muddy mess when played anywhere else.
There are quite a few good books on the subject that have more specific ideas
2017/10/09 14:26:29
melhoff13
bdickens
Low end is what tends to give most people the most trouble. This is a gross oversimplification of course, but you almost can't go wrong cutting everything below 40 - 50 Hz.


The basic idea in crafting a mix is to carve out seperate holes for every instrument so that they all fit together without any one covering up another.

Also, one of the most oveooked factors is the room in which you record and/ or mix. Acoustic anomalies - even ones you might not be able to hear - can really wreak havoc. That's why you can spend untold hours crafting something that sounds awesome in your room, but turns into a muddy mess when played anywhere else.
There are quite a few good books on the subject that have more specific ideas

I hear that.  Definitely gonna keep researching.
2017/10/09 17:38:23
bapu
melhoff13
Good morning folks.  New to the forum so I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong section.  I am working on my first mix/song in Sonar and I am struggling.  I can't seem to get the vocals to sit right.  The guitar feels weak.  The bass is lost.  Geez.  So many issues.  I would love to find someone that is willing to review my session and offer me pointers.  Maybe even mix the song for me using my session files and send it back so I can see what tweaks were made.  I'm willing to pay a fair price, but I really want to see what effects and edits were made in the session.  I want to learn and ask questions as to approach.  Thanks again.  Cheers.


PM me. I'd love to review your project and maybe see if I can help.
2017/10/09 17:43:18
melhoff13
bapu
melhoff13
Good morning folks.  New to the forum so I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong section.  I am working on my first mix/song in Sonar and I am struggling.  I can't seem to get the vocals to sit right.  The guitar feels weak.  The bass is lost.  Geez.  So many issues.  I would love to find someone that is willing to review my session and offer me pointers.  Maybe even mix the song for me using my session files and send it back so I can see what tweaks were made.  I'm willing to pay a fair price, but I really want to see what effects and edits were made in the session.  I want to learn and ask questions as to approach.  Thanks again.  Cheers.


PM me. I'd love to review your project and maybe see if I can help.


Will do.  Thanks.
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