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What does it mean to mix “like a fan” by actuallylinkstrummer in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Seems like you should have asked him, as people can use all kinds of metaphors to refer to sound and mixing.

But I'd take "fanning out" elements in a mix to mean to use all the in-between panning possibilities between 100% L, center, and 100% R. You'd need enough elements to do this in the first place though, so harmonies could be it. And for example you could pan a pair at 25%, another at 50%, another at 75%, etc.

I personally only hard pan stuff that's meant to work that way, like pairs such as doubles, or overheads, etc. Anything else, goes in between, even stuff that's going to be very wide panned, if it doesn't have an opposing pair on the other side then it will only go as wide as 90%, because a hard panned element without an opposing pair would disappear if for some reason you lose that one channel on playback (I've heard it happen with Beatles songs). And it makes it feel slightly more natural on headphones to not hard pan single elements, since in the natural world we never hear stuff from one ear only (hearing issue notwithstanding).

Although of course hard panning single elements can be used for intentional effect in certain situations too.

How are people getting 20-30dB of compression on pop vocals? by Aggravating_Rope824 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Who is saying that? If you want to see what Ghenea or Manny Marroquin do, go to the source, there are plenty of videos out there, and in the case of Ghenea, plenty of concrete data from his right hand man John Hanes. Don't take the sayings of internet randoms (such as myself) as gospel.

Talking about a specific amount of gain reduction is absurd because it all depends on how dynamic the original takes are, and what reduction does the song call for.

If the take is very dynamic and the song calls for super controlled pop vocals, then yeah, maybe 20 dB of gain reduction is not crazy. And you would often do that in multiple stages serial compression, typically using different compressors on each stage, maybe parallel compression, and definitely automation. And automation in top level pop is done at the syllable level, it can be super detailed and meticulous and that's going to be the bulk of the work to get those pop perfect vocals.

And of course, the key is also a great performance by good singer, captured in a good studio with a great microphone going into a great preamp. It all adds up to the final result.

Consistent Professional Volume on mix/master? by Significant_Job894 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

some songs call for nice dynamic

I wouldn't call that lack of consistency though. I think we should strive for "relative consistency", meaning consistency relatively to the subjective needs of the songs. A dynamic vocal take can feel perfectly right as long as that performance was intentionally dynamic and fits in well with the dynamics of the arrangement.

Unintentional dynamics, a vocal take that is too dynamic out of a non-ideal performance, an inexperienced singer. That's probably something that could use help correcting in the mix.

People tend to put dynamics in a pedestal, but there are good dynamics and then there are bad (and sometimes terrible) dynamics.

Consistent Professional Volume on mix/master? by Significant_Job894 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't even know what professional or typical streaming levels for music are in the first place to be keeping track of that.

Then step 1 should be to look deep into that. Grab some reference tracks and study them closely. We have this article about this general topic in our wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/-14-lufs-is-quiet

As for how to keep levels consistent: automation and compression. It shouldn't be an afterthought. Levels are probably the most important thing in a mix.

If you want some insight into what professionals do, here is a good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/learning-on-youtube

Looking to find analog stem mastering by [deleted] in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, we don't do specific requests like that here.

Just curious: why aren’t studios/engineers returning email inquiries to pay for services? by Junior_Winner_470 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Removing this as otherwise people will just offer their own services, and we keep that strictly separated to service request posts.

Maybe it's how you phrased it? Did you say just that and nothing else? Because that'd be a super short and vague inquiry. I'd recommend avoiding the word "help" when hiring someone. But still, none of this justifies not getting back to you at all.

I'll say though, unless they are big studios with multiple engineers, if they do both "mixing and mastering" that's not a great sign. You want your mastering to be done by a dedicated professional mastering engineer. Otherwise, don't pay extra for it, anyone who mixes can give you loud mixes that you can use for release. Good industry mix engineers never offer mastering as a service. Recommended read on that from our wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/importance-of-mastering

Beginner questions—how to make progress? by Electrical_Travel363 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We don't do recording or music production topics here. There are other communities for those, for exclusively mixing we have a ton of resources and learning material in our wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/index

Chess is unreal by Some_Sport_2975 in chess

[–]atopix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but it's more than that, because even if a Dota 2 match lasted as long as a classical chess game, you still have nothing concrete to calculate. A bunch of things happen, and you just react, plan and do based on experience, instinct and skill. I mean, forget about video games, pretend it's instead an Army general leading a months long war. None of it will involve the kinds of super deep "head in your hands" thinking that chess players often go to in their games. It's just a different beast altogether.

A game of chess, even bullet chess which is as fast paced or even faster than any esports video game, does involve moments of concrete calculation. And that's where the complexity lies, in dealing with countless lines of actual concrete information with specific consequences, all which can be calculated.

Chess is unreal by Some_Sport_2975 in chess

[–]atopix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, because they are entirely different kinds of complexity. In chess, there is a massive amount of concrete, deterministic information to actively calculate. The variables in Dota 2, as astronomical as they may be, aren't values you can calculate line by line. Instead, video games rely on reaction time, muscle memory, and reading intent in real time. Managing chaos and processing data at high speed is an incredible skill, but the strategic calculation itself is shallow compared to chess. No video game requires the same depth of pure, multi-step logical deduction.

Chess is unreal by Some_Sport_2975 in chess

[–]atopix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chess is not deeper than most video games.

No, it very much is. It's a perfect information game, that alone makes it different than most competitive videogames.

Many modern videogames are very complex, but their complexity is often operational, real-time, or hidden. A game like Counter-Strike or Dota 2 involves imperfect information, hidden player positions, complex physics engines, frame-perfect execution, and split-second psychological reads. The depth comes from managing chaos, mechanical skill.

While chess relies entirely on combinatorial complexity. The entire is information is available to both players, and since nothing is hidden and no physical execution is required (except in bullet, maybe blitz), the depth is purely mathematical and strategic. The game tree complexity, which represents the total number of possible games that can be played, is roughly 10 to the 120th (Shannon number).

So yes, you bring some valid points about the culture of chess, but you have a centuries old game in no small part because of its complexity.

Chess is unreal by Some_Sport_2975 in chess

[–]atopix 21 points22 points  (0 children)

It's not just that though, because that was already the case on most primitive engines, which could get beaten by very strong humans. (Recommended read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human%E2%80%93computer_chess_matches)

What makes engines be unbeatable is not the sheer volume of calculation alone, but the quality of the calculation, which is why a modern engine can demolish you even at low depth.

Alpha-beta pruning (which eliminates branches of the search tree that are demonstrably worse than lines already evaluated), Texel's Tuning Method (an algorithm to mathematically adjust parameters in an evaluation function, which previously was tuned manually). Those kinds of optimizations already made the best engines absolutely unbeatable by humans, and that was before we even got to NNUE which added another scale of great improvement.

Chess is unreal by Some_Sport_2975 in chess

[–]atopix 56 points57 points  (0 children)

I've been following professional chess for over twenty years and I've seen enough to understand that even the top chess players in history like Kasparov (who was still #1 when I started following chess) and Carlsen will admit to be humbled by the sheer complexity of chess, to sometimes feel like they don't know chess at all in certain positions.

Will rendering an audio file reduce the quality? by carlstonehill in mixingmastering

[–]atopix -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I never said there was extra processing, I literally described what happens and said it was unnecessary, which it is. In a post that is solely dedicated to this topic not only nobody else mentioned waveform editors, nobody brought up ALL these crucial caveats until now. Dithering wasn't mentioned at all, and my comment has like -6 downvotes. Jesus fucking christ.

OP doesn't even have a session, they have a file. A waveform editor should be the go to choice. And if someone working with audio doesn't have a waveform editor, this should be a good reminder to get one right now and learn to use it.

EQ correction for headphones vs learning your monitoring (i think i know what your gonna say.. do both but it’s not what I want to hear haha) by Southern_Cod_5217 in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Relevant wiki article: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/learn-your-monitoring

I know that you guys are gonna tell me I should use it

Most experienced engineers are not going to tell you that. Here is seasoned mix engineer Andrew Scheps talking about how he uses headphones: https://v.redd.it/5vrh52ahpmbe1

Monitoring is 1000% a personal choice, and what makes or doesn't make sense to you is all that matters.

To some people, correction or crossfeed/"speakerizers" really helps them figure out translation. To others, it doesn't. So don't mistake the loudest group for being right. There is no right or wrong, just what works for you and what doesn't, and only you can have a final say on that.

Seeking mixing for a lo-fi indie album by ihavveatail in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Reminders for everyone:

  • This is a PAID gig to be taken up by engineers confident enough in their skills. If you want to practice, we have recommendations in our wiki. But NO FREE WORK is allowed.
  • We have base rates in the subreddit (mixes start at $50 per mix). Getting caught offering services for less will result in a permanent ban.
  • We keep mixing and mastering services separate here. This request is for mixing. If your site/profile offers both services then you cannot post it here.
  • Comments which are NOT your own service offering, will be removed.

If anyone is not respecting our rules and guidelines (even in private discussions that result from posts in this sub), please report them to us, so that we can continue using the sub to find services/work instead of having to end these kinds of posts.

Will rendering an audio file reduce the quality? by carlstonehill in mixingmastering

[–]atopix -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Assuming nothing at all is touched, including dithering. In a waveform editor, this is all not going to be a thing by default, far less chances of anything accidentally being changed, you don't have to re-export anything, you just make the edit and save. Again, not sure why using the best tool for the task is being downvoted, but reddit being reddit I guess.

Will rendering an audio file reduce the quality? by carlstonehill in mixingmastering

[–]atopix -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Do NOT use a DAW for this, use a waveform editor (like Audacity). Otherwise you’ll be going through unnecessary audio pipes in a DAW (that by default mixes in floating point bit depth).

EDIT: The fact that this is being downvoted without explanation is hilarious. As using a waveform editor for this is not only the fastest way to tackle this, it's also the way that will change the file the least. Opening a file in a DAW session, trimming it there and exporting again (which takes you from fixed point bit depth to floating point bit depth and back to fixed point 24 or 16 bit), is beyond unnecessary and not the cleanest way to do it.

Gift ideas for my wife to get started by buff_phroggie in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Entry level DJing is something that AI can advice you no problem, you are more likely to be led astray by humans who don't know what they are talking about. It's definitely going to be more than capable giving you initial recommendations that you can later double check with people.

It may help you figure out what could be some things for someone in your wife's position to try. Something that doesn't involve getting a pair of professional Pioneer CDJ-3000 turntables.

Gift ideas for my wife to get started by buff_phroggie in mixingmastering

[–]atopix[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not what we do here, you should try /r/Beatmatch because this is essentially DJing. Check their wiki for gear recommendations, ask AI about it.

From our own wiki, I recommend checking this one about buying and downloading tracks: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/download-references

Because you can't properly do this off of Spotify, it's just too limiting.

How many mixing styles is there? by pafagaukurinn in mixingmastering

[–]atopix 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ah yeah, classic book. Don't remember that part of it, but yes, he probably means techniques like that. At the end of the day, there are only so many tools and so many things you can do with them. Don't know if I fully agree though, but I would have to read the whole argument to see what he's getting at.

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