Production - quick fixes...

[Dave Elyzium]

I posted this over on the trance production board, but I konw some of you dont visit there and it is relevant here SO......

Can anyone suggest any "quick fixes" for quality of production?? Any secrets that are guarenteed to make a mix sound better?? Compression, EQ, reverb, effects etc....

Personally, I would say stick a light hall reverb over the whole mix with all the bottom end EQ'd out...sink it down in the mix until you cant notice it then bring it back up slightly...you dopnt want it to "effect" the mix really, but you can tell that the reverbed version is better than the dry version, if you see what I mean...

What about you guys??

[Patrick DSP]

bass sounds don't need treble
high sounds don't need bass
so use yer eq
pan yer drums slightly except the bass kick
and if your mix sounds the same super loud as it does super quiet then your mixdown is solid.

-Patrick DSP

[Dave Elyzium]

Cool thanks for the advice mate...So do the treble sounds you cant really here in the bass for example all combine with the hats, hi synths etc and cancel eachother out or something...
isnt that kind of how MP3 works, by cutting out all the super hi and super low frequenceis that we dont really hear??? shit im going off topic already.!

[Patrick DSP]

i don't understand what you mean?!?!

i ment before you mixdown... eq'ing all the parts seperatly.

[DJZeMig_L]

so people do what i said.. but then add a bbe maximizer (1db bass, 1db treble... ) plus a little (very little ....peak comp.. fast attack ... fast release ... redution around 2-3 db no more...... some use waves L2) comp.. then do the same with the verb again... very very gently...

Z

[Dave Elyzium]

i don't understand what you mean?!?!

i ment before you mixdown... eq'ing all the parts seperatly.

yeah i understood that! i just know that even though you cant hear them, the high frequencies can overlap and cause problems muddying the mix

[alpha_unit]

tbh mate teh wisest thing anyone said to me is its just experience, i try no harder now than i did before but i make better shit.

personally i think there is no quick fix's and u have to put work and time in to get anything decent out

[Patrick DSP]

i don't understand what you mean?!?!

i ment before you mixdown... eq'ing all the parts seperatly.

yeah i understood that! i just know that even though you cant hear them, the high frequencies can overlap and cause problems muddying the mix

yes this is true... but thats where experiance and time come into play. unfortunatly i don't have a short cut for that... if anyone does... let me know too.

[davethedrummer]

there is no magic wand really
but like patrick dsp said
listening quiet will help with general balance
listening loud will get your bass right
just make sure your speakers are accurate so they'll reproduce sonically at a low level as well as a high level
pan things a little here and there to create space but not too much as many sound sytems are still in mono or the speakers are too far apart to get the stereo effect
carefull with those f.x. too
a "dry" mix will sound up front, a "wet" (ie lot's of reverb) mix can sound a little distant.
eqing and compression can help a final mix but be careful with it.
the old saying " shit in ...shit out" really applies here

[Basil Rush]

multiband compression can sometimes polish a turd ... of course sometimes it does nothing useful at all.

tiniest touch of some kind of stereo width thing can also make things sound a bit posh...