logic production advice

[loci]

hey,

as nearly all these post start: i'm new to logic,
have been recording an album and it's going fine... however, i want to make sure i get the best mix and production sound to it all - i know there's a bunch of compressors and EQs i can apply but as i've not done it before and there are large numbers of audio tracks per song i wondered if anyone had any advice on how best to go about getting a good shine to the finished product?

i thank you!

[WinterMute]

Sadly that's an almost impossible question to answer in a forum...

My advice would be to get enrolled on a good evening or part-time course at a local studio or college and learn about compression and EQ, mixing is an art that takes many years of practice to learn properly, you can't learn it out of a book.

Many people will have tips about mixing and all the component issues, but the fact is that there is no template to a mix, every single one is different and has it's own unique characteristics.

You could do worse than get friendly with local studios and ask if you can observe their processes, don't go looking for "work experience" you'll be in a queue...

My personal bottom line is the "can't polish a turd" maxim, which means that your source tracks have to be as good as possible to make the mix really happen, "fix it in the mix" is a poor approach in my book, but works for others.

Good luck.

[loci]

thanks, i appreciate the advice, i was thinking of enrolling on a class and i reckon probably will now... now, how to condense years worth of training into a couple of weeks! ;)

[zimv20]

personally, i'm not really a big fan of plug-ins. i use up my hardware first before resorting to plugs. as wintermute said, it's a question of experience. mix skills have little to do with your DAW.

but i'm chiming in to let you know about Charles Dye's Mix It Like a Record DVD (http://www.harddisklife.com/index.html?Main=MILAR.html). mr dye is a fan of plug-ins and, despite its dodgy visual style, the DVD does contain a lot of valuable info and imo is worth having.

i'd recommend it before going to a class, as i expect classes will be more concerned about how-to instantiate a plug than how-to use a compressor.

there's a lengthy thread about the DVD @ gearslutz, here (http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?t=50843).

[beatsme]

personally, i'm not really a big fan of plug-ins. i use up my hardware first before resorting to plugs. as wintermute said, it's a question of experience. mix skills have little to do with your DAW.

but i'm chiming in to let you know about Charles Dye's Mix It Like a Record DVD (http://www.harddisklife.com/index.html?Main=MILAR.html). mr dye is a fan of plug-ins and, despite its dodgy visual style, the DVD does contain a lot of valuable info and imo is worth having.

i'd recommend it before going to a class, as i expect classes will be more concerned about how-to instantiate a plug than how-to use a compressor.

there's a lengthy thread about the DVD @ gearslutz, here (http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?t=50843).

does this DVD have info for getting a nice sheen on the guitar sounds? I can get a nice "garage" sound (which is good) but there are times when I'd quite like a little more polished sound, too.

[zimv20]

does this DVD have info for getting a nice sheen on the guitar sounds?
i'll confess i've not yet watched the whole thing and haven't gotten to the guitars yet.

that said, you may be disappointed if looking for this exact thing. the big downside i saw to the whole project is that charles is starting with some very well recorded tracks, and that's the only song he works on (afiak).

but it's still worth it for other reasons, imo. what's most fascinating to me is the manner in which charles has no qualms about using plugs to absolutely mangle the sounds into something different.

[Maxiseller]

In terms of mixing a final track this has always been my approach and thus is my advice:

Either use something you've written and/or mastered which you KNOW is pretty much what you're after and use this as a reference tool. A purchased record would also suffice.

Load up both your stereo mix and the above master and use the solo buttons to toggle between the mixes and experiment with compression, eq etc.

The best, and in my opinion the cheapest and most succesful way to learn is to actually be plunged into the deep end and get on with it...mastering is an extremely subjective thing and you need to hone and develop your own ear...

By the way, a good set of monitors will help you get those sounds you want.

[airkarol]

waves diamond bundle :D, i mostly use the q10 EQ, compressor, C4 to balance the sound a little more, and then the l2 to bring it up to cd quality.
(i use this with pro tools, im not sure if it works with logic)