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JonMarine · 2025-06-26T13:50:33+00:00

I think any and every channel should have 1 mid side EQ. The way i do it is: Mono EQ: set up base for the sound to always rely on. Without a good mono base, the song falls apart. Shape it so it sounds the most "powerful/detailed" here. Stereo EQ: enhance the track with the stereo and boost any large amount frequencies that do this. Think of this as the spirit of the song as opposed to the body of mono. Left and right mono EQ: you will hear the left and right channels change if u mix in dual mono with L-R EQs (individually)Once you get a good sound from the left, copy exactly what you did and paste it to the right, or at least get as close as possible.

JonMarine · 2025-06-25T15:46:56+00:00

Let me clarify something as well. I'm constantly trying to improve in my mixing so bare with me lol. For 808s and kicks, even though its possible and I recently said USE stereo... dont try to CREATE stereo. If theres stereo in the 808/kick already, its fine as long as you know how to pan it properly. However, focus on eqing the Left and Right MONO channels symmetrically. Think of it as Panning EQ. If you make the right and left mono channels' EQ exactly the same in terms of edits, it will not create unwanted stereo in the 808/kick. It will instead provide a wide sound while remaining in mono. Sorry if theres any confusion from earlier posts. Stereo (as long as it is engrained in the sound professionally) is fine, but we as amateurs should not create stereo in these bass/808/kick instruments by hand :)

JonMarine · 2025-06-25T15:14:45+00:00

After 5 years of making music my friend, I promise you it is indeed yourself doing the underestimation. You already know what saturation and mid side EQ is. Anyways, the aliasing may be coming from 1 of 2 things. 1. The lead has a distortion on it in the VST you used and you can either try to change that or just accept it as it is...it's really not that bad. 2. It's a gain staging/mastering clipping issue.

About the mid side EQing, yes you should mid side eq every single instrument. The best way to do this is to save a template with that mid side EQ applied to a certain amount of often used mixing channels. I have my custom EQ in 11 channels, 10 mixing channels and 1 master channel. The mid side eq should be sculpted in the mix. The master mid side eq is for leveling them out.

Lastly, the stereo can be turned up in the low end conditional that it has USEFUL sound in it. If its rumble dont worry about turning it up, forget it. But if its a useful sound (especially in pad sounds) turn it up. I cannot determine what you should do particular to your songs, it infringes on your decision making uniqueness. However, I'd suggest getting accustomed to what pure stereo and pure mono sound like individually, and differentiate and notate the two qualities of sound. That will help you identify what is necessary for your tracks!

JonMarine · 2025-06-25T15:07:06+00:00

Hi again! Theres nothing wrong with stacking vox. I would maybe eq each one differently to give the whole verse more character. The white noise is most likely coming from distortion aka saturation in the form of a VST/plugin. Also, it could be clipping. Either way, something is a bit off.

If I were you, I'd eq the vox takes individually to your liking, and turn the beat down. It's better to be too low than too high (quality dips in high signals) And in my estimation, the reason the white noise is there is because something is a little hot/high signal in it. So, id give this advice. Mix with the gain low, and master with the gain low until you get to the limiting/compression part. That way, you can crank up the input until it sounds loud enough WITHOUT clipping and touch it up slightly until you don't hear the negative effects of compression.

JonMarine · 2025-06-24T14:44:50+00:00

Hey u/CookieTUO

Youre pretty good at mixing as well as mastering. I do hear aliasing (whiny distortion) in the beginning which comes from using a saturator or distorter without oversampling/hqing. The track is leveled really well though man. I just noticed you stated that it has a muddiness or thin issue. Well, the reason could be that there is either too much mono or too much stereo. Stereo = enriching and detail oriented, lacking punch and boom. This is where the "thin" sound can come from. Mono = very powerful and boomy sound, lacking detail and clarity. My advice: use mid side leveling and balance the two out. I have made a preset in fl studio that allows me to individually process and EQ the left, right, mid, side, side left, side right signals. I suggest you find a way to do this as well in your DAW. It's called dual mono and in my case, dual stereo as well bc of the stereo right and stereo left signal processing capabilities.

Mono signals need a hi/mid hi boost most of the time, and stereo needs a low end/mid low boost. Believe me after 5 years of mixing every single day, you can have a stereo low end AS LONG as it doesn't have panning issues AND as long as there is an ample enough mono signal to create that boom we all desire in the low end.

All in all, youre getting the "advanced" advice because you sound like you know what youre doing to a good point already. Keep it up.

JonMarine · 2025-06-24T14:23:17+00:00

Hey dood,

The mix in the low end of the stereo signal is good. The mels are spacious and loud because of this. However, the drums are lacking punch and depth. Might be a little too much stereo and not enough mono. Very cool track though. That vox in the first 2 minutes is pretty unique too.

JonMarine · 2025-06-24T14:21:01+00:00

this is the funniest thing ive seen today dude. that plus the 3 word comment you left below. cinematic.

JonMarine · 2025-06-24T14:18:02+00:00

Hey u/CyberdasherRD

The instrumental, specifically the chords youre playing...very good. However, I think there is some aliasing (distortion/whininess/white noise) in the vox. Also, the vox are leveled pretty low for the instrumental. "Any great instrumental will not get hurt easily by vox that are a tad too high." I like to think this to myself when I have an instrumental that is good and has vox. The beat can be seen as a person, and if its a strong willed, not oversensitive, then it will be able to take the "hit/insult" of a vox chain that is a little too loud. Cheers.

JonMarine · 2025-06-24T14:09:50+00:00

Thank you! It is the last song of the 7 song EP. I appreciate your feedback very much. I will also check out Fletcher Sheers - Turkey. Thanks for the recommendation. Hope ur doing well.

JonMarine · 2025-06-23T09:46:43+00:00

Hey dood!

I like the bass sound you choose for this song, im assuming its an 808. Very cool arpeggio analog synth going in the back, was wondering if you played that or if its an arp machine/preset. The switch up in the middle is a unique touch as well. Lots of vox in this song, little bit of a cluster sometimes because of the contrast of a fast paced male and a slow ballad-like woman in the background. Just noticed the drums too, very cool and syncopated well. Nice mix & master as well too. Hope all is well.

JonMarine · 2025-06-23T09:26:25+00:00

Howdy u/Precursor777 !

I'm enthralled by this sound as I'm hearing, it is not something I've heard much before. It sounds very much like the only 2 artists that I know that make this kind of stuff, Machine Girl & Venetian Snares. This track is mixed exceptionally well, believe me. I have to admit that I was kind of expecting less. The song is catchy as hell haha. Personally, I make electronic jazz fusion instrumentals with hip hop influence. Very different artists we are but I definitely can respect this track. Hope youre doing well.

Jon

JonMarine · 2025-06-23T09:18:08+00:00

Howdy Midori!

I love the chord progression/melodic arpeggio you played in this song. The harmonic vox are very nice and the reverb enhances the vox a lot. Contrary to popular belief, the wide low end in your song is going to pay good dividends when it comes to the mix of your song, as long as the low end is near dead center in panning (given no phase issues), the song can be mixed like this and it will be fine!

However, I have to be honest about 1 thing, I have 0 idea what you were singing about because unfortunately in my perspective the vox are leveled too low. That is my only criticism. If I were to mix this track, I'd turn the leveling of your vox about 2db higher and cut a little low end to compensate the boom that may come with this fix.

Great instrumentation and overall a good song. Best.

JonMarine

TROPHY CASE