I'm gonna embarrass myself a bit here, but I thought I'd let you all see just how much production is needed for some tracks, especially when they haven't been recorded all that well, as was the case with this early demo version of one of my tracks.

Here's the finished (demo) product I had done in August:



And here is a version with all the COMPLETELY RAW stems, no mixing done:  Trapped_in_Ice.mp3 ( 6.78MB ) Number of downloads: 380


If anyone feels like taking on the mammoth task of mixing this and making it sound how they would envision it, here you have a link for the stems in WAVE file format:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1eigt79k4gf5het/...men4psJcya?dl=0

I actually don't really know much about mixing, though it's a learning curve and I have gotten better with time, so I have generally just chosen some plugins for mixing, started with some presets and altered them a bit to make them sound how I wanted them to sound.

As said, feel free to download the wave files and play around, then share with us here if you want to. I have included a midi file with the time signature information, which might prove useful for importing into your DAW.

First off nothing to be embarrassed about, I had my fair share of butchering many tracks just a note;

Keep in mind there are actually many people who want to practice mixing online and looking for resources like you shared. Some links;

https://discussion.cambridge-mt.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=184
https://homerecording.com/bbs/forums/mix-this.68/

You (ethically) can't use their mixes for release but can learn a lot by taking as reference.

Thanks, Mertay! I never knew about sites or forums like those. I don't mind sharing my stems. This came about as a friend of mine asked about 3 months back if he could mix one of my songs. I never got around to giving him the stems. Another person asked for stems from songs to mix on a Discord server today, and I finally got around to getting all the plugins and everything unchecked and exported the stems to both my friend and this random person Hopefully no one will run away with these tracks without my consent!

Very nice track Ben - I can really see how your singing has evolved as well 👌👌

Thanks, Kris!

It's one of those things that I wish I practiced more, but never seem to do outside of when I get an idea for lyrics for a song.

Did you check out my other new (cover) song? I think the mix is better in that one, but that has no vocals. I'd appreciate your feedback You can find it here:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...c=61870&hl=

Same here, I find it hard to practice vocals routinely...so I try to do it in the shower instead 🚿 That's something I wouldn't do with guitar practicing 😅

Yes that track rocks

Yes, don't bring your guitars to the shower

I think one of my issues with singing and with learning other instruments is that I've now played guitar for 18 years or more, and while I still have a lot to learn on guitar, I am almost a complete beginner on other instruments. I should not compare with my guitar playing, but that is what I do, and then I get a bit frustrated that I'm not as good on those other instruments. Of course it can be an advantage to know one instruments, as well as music theory, really well. Maybe that's the angle I should see it from

Yeah that is a constructive perspective for sure.

Also good vocals don't need to involve good vocal technique - I come to think of Knopfler, Cobain, Dylan etc. It's actually all about the song.

That's very true! Sometimes it's about the "delivery" and feeling more than great vocal technique.

Yeah I think delivery and feeling is much more important. If you have those nothing will stop you, however the opposite is not true.

Of course the marriage between technique and soul (ie Cornell, Labrie etc) is not a problem either 🤩

Chris Cornell is a wonderful example. I also listened a lot to Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder, who has a great voice too. Those are two very emotional singers, in my opinion.

Very cool work on this to be sure. Your voice gets better each time I hear you singing and each time I hear a track again I notice different things in the performance. Your vocals are complex and fresh each time I listen. Thanks for sharing the stems! I'll have a go for fun on the mixing!

Thanks, Todd. To be honest, these vocals were just supposed to be a scratch demo track. They were recorded sitting down in an awkward position leaning into my Røde mic.

As long as they give you credit, its ok if the tracks take on a life of their own in some other form yeah? Someone might use the drums to make a new song or something. I used OLA ENGLUNDS drum tracks from one of his releases to make a new song and he just said to credit him on it so I did Drums by Ola.

This is NOT down tuned btw. It's just a 7 string. I've never thought it was needed to go lower than that to sound heavy. What do you think? BTW I love OLAS drums!
https://soundcloud.com/techniqueswithtodd/solo-backing-track-six-demon

Also, I did a run through trying to mix from the stems myself. Because the original was not that greatly recorded, I felt it needed a lot of work. They do say to get it right at the source, so you don't need to do much post production, but this one needed it.

I just went ahead and created a video for the song as well, with visuals from Pexels, where you can find free assets, videos, pictures to use.



This post has been edited by Caelumamittendum: Apr 2 2021, 04:40 AM

WOW sounds so good - and your mixing is impressively clean!

I would say that mix-wise, to give this edge - the next step is for you to get more into reverbs. Learn how to use both short and long (and reverse!) reverbs to manipulate the mix even further.

Eq wise I can tell your ears have come a long way.

Thank you, Kris! I agree about reverb. I don't know much about it and just slap something on and fiddle with it till I like it.

I went to school to learn audio production at Art Institute of Atlanta where I later taught audio production as a professor. This was way before DAWs were a think. It was 24 track tape at the time. Many of the lessons did transfer, but in the end it still came down to just sitting with the gear and twisting knobs until you like what you hear. Then as technology shifted years later, it was pretty much the same. Understand the basics, then start trying to mix stuff and experiment and ask questions, get feeback, etc. Until your ears are at least a little happy with the result. All the schooling ever did was teach me the names of things and basic concepts but this was before youtube. these days you can learn everything you want just with a bit of searching and watching some vids. the rest you have to get your hands dirty for.

I've always been impressed with your mixes. You have a very good ear and that's what's most important imho.

Todd

Some people see the use of reverb as a more precise EQ tool. For example with vocals or guitar leads - you could dial in a bright sound with good attack (but a bit lacking in warmth / low end).

Then you could add a longer reverb/delay that ads the warmth after the initial sound/peak. This will give you super transparency while not sacrificing warmth. It's just that the low end part of sound won't mess with the peak/attack part of the sound - because they don't happen at the same time - even though the listener's ear won't be able to tell. And this is pretty much what you want in busy/metal mixes.

This technique is def key for a guitar tone that cuts through but which is still super sweet with a tail (ie like Satch's lead tone).

Awesome advice! Thanks, Kris! I'll try and incorporate that and read more about it!



Thank you, Todd! Yes, for me it's about experimenting and becoming better. As with most things there are not many short cuts. I have a friend sometimes asking me "how do you do this or that?", and the best answer I can give is "through years of experimenting I have learned what I think sounds best". My best advice to him is not to try and jump straight to the end, but learn by doing and experimenting. That way your ear "learns" a thing or two too along the way about what sounds good .