yeah, that was it jerry - r-mix.  I'm not real surprised at how it panned out, though...



@bapu, I was just thinking there might be some stuff in a product like ez-mix that would get the OP in the ballpark, closer than starting from scratch.  A source of concepts rather than a solution, maybe?

The trouble with the whole idea is that, as an engineer, you will never ever learn the basics, let alone the advanced stuff.

Just plug in a preset and tweak a few things? Sorry, that's not mixing, that's not engineering, that's taking the easy way out.

The only true knowledge anybody gains is by learning the hard way. Make a few mistakes, trial and error, do it again & again, read books, watch videos, absorb knowledge and apply it.

Anything else is just a cop out.

In My Opinion

Bristol_Jonesey


The trouble with the whole idea is that, as an engineer, you will never ever learn the basics, let alone the advanced stuff.

Just plug in a preset and tweak a few things? Sorry, that's not mixing, that's not engineering, that's taking the easy way out.

The only true knowledge anybody gains is by learning the hard way. Make a few mistakes, trial and error, do it again & again, read books, watch videos, absorb knowledge and apply it.

Anything else is just a cop out.

In My Opinion

all I'm saying, Jonesy, is that you can do the things you say one should - which I agree with - using a template or a preset of some kind as a starting point and still be fine.  Besides, most genres have a fairly standard way of approaching production, and I'd think you want to have your skills down before you start straying from it too much, lest you become the blind squirrel who just stumbles upon the nut, or more likely, just stumbles about. It's whether or not you're trying to learn that matters - trying things, comparing stuff, reading, listening, etc., like you said...

(Sorry, new Firefox on this lappy.The quote message function doesn't work, neither paragraphing.) Cychan wrote:"I think the closest thing I can find is the Ableton feature where they make the sound very elastic. Although I am not familiar with Ableton, however, I was hoping that after Ableton process it with the elastic sound, I would love to edit the EQ and Compressor, and other stuff of each track." .......................................................................................................................................................................................... That sounds really confusing. In your opinion, what does an audio stretching/pitch shifting tool have to do with mixing? ............................................................................................................................................................................................The basic problem with your request is: The hardware mixer can't know if your bass recording is snappy or muddy, it can not know what kind of a room echo there are in drums, it can't know what kind of microphone was used etc.etc. A software could do some analysis, but those things I mentioned apply to software as well. It seems to me you are so in the beginning of your recording career, that the biggest service you can do to yourself is learning the basics................................................................................................................................................................... As mentioned by the others, Har-Bal is most likely closest to what your looking for. It does not do any mixing, though, neither does it correct any individual instrument sounds, but it creates a frequency balance to a finished mix according to a source track.

I'll be the first to admit that I know eff all about "engineering," "tracking" and "mixing."

But I thought that the first rule in music is, there ain't no rules.

I just use my own ears and create what I think sounds okay, perhaps using my everyday favourite music as a reference point.

And in general, I have to agree with everyone here who suggests that there is no quick fix, no "preset" for the mixing process. I use presets, and tweak them, all the time, for things like synth sounds and effects, but when it comes to mixing, you need to put some effort in.

And that's not even covering such aspects as "what are you using to mix with," cos that's a whole other ball game, and can seriously effect your mix anyway, as I found out the hard way one time.

Regarding Har-Bal... I've never heard of it, which pretty much gives away my lack of experience, but I've just googled it and it appears to be a "mastering" tool, not a "mixing" tool.

Here is an example of why this is complex:
 
Yesterday I was working on the final mix of a song I wrote.  It has a rhythm section, some strings, a couple of triple horn lines, accordion, mandolin, sound effects, 20 vocal tracks, etc.  I decided I did not think the bass was sitting right in the mix.  I replaced it with another bass from the same sample library.  This radically changed the bass level, the kick level, and the bass EQ, and caused me to make a minor adjustment to the kick EQ.  I also tweaked the EQ of a guitar track to make more room for the bass.  And keep in mind that I am a lowly songwriter and do not claim to be an expert engineer, but yet I heard the need for all these changes immediately.

I am not saying that some complex software analysis might not be possible in the near future—hell, polyphonic Melodyne would have been laughable science fiction when I started working in studios—but it would not be simple and at best would give you a starting point. 

The other issue is that it would become dated.  If you mixed Lady Gaga like early Paula Abdul, it would sound odd.  Or imagine if Benny Blanco produced The Beatles.

Staples makes an EASY button for buying office supplys. Cant we contact the maker of that button and ask him to make one for mixing

Izotope Alloy would be your best choice but it's software... http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/alloy/

http://www.tcelectronic.com/finalizer96k.asp

Here's one that's been around for a while. It still doesn't address all the issues you need to address.

Just out of curiosity. If I were to have a studio, is there any device that I can use to automate mixing a little bit?

 
As it happens, that particular hardware device is indeed found in most commercial recording studios, most often parked conveniently close to the mixer, racks or coffee machine.
 
Just so you know, it's generally referred to in the industry as a "sound engineer".