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Ginger Daddy Group: Members Posts: 401 Joined: April 2002 Posted: April 10 2011, 17:05 Hi, I'm working on a new album - and have been for some time now. I've probably got about 1/3 of the music recorded now but I'm dreading getting to the mixing and mastering stage even though that's a few months away because I think I'm going to be a little bit lost... I've read in various places that when mixing and mastering an album you should have reference material from the same genre available so that you can check how your mix sounds compared to someone else's which has been professionally produced so.... if you listen to this track I'd sincerely appreciate it if you could tell me who you think this sounds similar to...! I'll check them out and use them as reference material for comparison! The track is just a six minute excerpt... don't worry I'm not going to ask you to listen to 20 minutes worth of unmixed material... http://snd.sc/gRX05n Oh, almost forgot to say - any helpful comments from your own experience are also very very welcome. Huge thanks in advance, Terry. -------------- http://purplerhapsody.co.uk - no words, just emotions Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: April 10 2011, 18:35 My first impression is that it sounds a little bit like a cross between Mike Oldfield and Enya - and no, I'm not talking about the homage by Edvard Poldrugo. Anyway, it's just a first impression. I noticed that, before the drums coms in, you used only sounds of real instruments (piano and oboe), which is very close to classical stuff. My advice is to try to mix the first section very 'classically', without too much echo, and then to pay particular attention to the levels of drums and bass from 1:48, there are various points where they sound distorted. From a strictly musical point of view, though, the piece is excellent. Congrats! -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Ginger Daddy Group: Members Posts: 401 Joined: April 2002 Posted: April 11 2011, 17:14 Thanks for listening, Ugo - and thanks for the advice. Cheers, Terry. -------------- http://purplerhapsody.co.uk - no words, just emotions Back to top

oblique Group: Members Posts: 411 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 12 2011, 06:04 Quote if you listen to this track I'd sincerely appreciate it if you could tell me who you think this sounds similar to...! I'll check them out and use them as reference material for comparison It doesn't sound familiar at all, and believe me, that's a compliment. The question is, do you want to compare it to other productions to aproach their sound, or do you want to avoid sounding the same? You've been here (at Tubular.net that is) long enough to know what MO records sound like. So my guess is you compare the sound of Five Miles Out/Taurus 2 (very rich in texture) with Voyager/Mont St Michel (a very sterile, allmost plastic sound) and with TSODE/Crystal Clear (with a lot of depth). First of all you have to make up your mind what YOU think your music should sound like, before someone can point you in a certain direction. I like the composition you've made, and no doubt that with good efford it will end as a good piece of music in the end. (Oh, and the leadguitar gets lost in the middle, but i guess you know that) -------------- "While we are alive we should sit among colored lights and taste good wines, and discuss our adventures in far places; when we are dead, the opportunity is past." - Jack Vance Back to top

Ginger Daddy Group: Members Posts: 401 Joined: April 2002 Posted: April 12 2011, 11:31 Thx Oblique! Yes, I've been listening to MO for over 25 years now and there are elements of things he's done that I could use as reference material but even thinking about his most varied album (The Millenium Bell) he mostly shied away from combining his 'rock' style with orchestral (or more pastoral) music. Each track has it's own identity and apart from the very last track (which I think sounds very 'cheesy' nothing gets brought together. In my head I hear a very rich and deep mix but I know that when it comes time to actually do the mixing there will need to be a lot of subtle nudges to various EQ parameters and effects and I must admit to feeling a bit daunted by what I've bitten off... I just hope I can chew it well enough (to badly reword a common simile ;-) ). I really appreciate the time you've taken to listen and put together some comments - thank you! Cheers, Terry. -------------- http://purplerhapsody.co.uk - no words, just emotions Back to top

oblique Group: Members Posts: 411 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 12 2011, 14:55 It is possible to copy a certain style of production. The russian group Ivan Kupala copied not only the musical style of Deep Forest's album Boheme, but also managed to sound exactly the same! I wish you lots of luck in your quest for the ideal sound, and i'd be happy to give more comments in the future. And i still think the electric guitar should be more up front... -------------- "While we are alive we should sit among colored lights and taste good wines, and discuss our adventures in far places; when we are dead, the opportunity is past." - Jack Vance Back to top

bob the screamer Group: Members Posts: 108 Joined: Jan. 2011 Posted: April 12 2011, 16:58 I think it sounds most similar to MO So I think that would do as reference material. Anyhow, it's always hard to find songs which uses exactly the same instruments and so on. I have personally not found it very useful to use reference material so far. First of all, as a beginner it is really really hard to come close to proffesionally mixed material, so a reference song will mostly make you feel miserable . Second, again as a beginner, you don't really know what to do to make it sound close to the original either, so I think its better to use your own dry mix as reference and see how much better it got Edit: when I say "as beginner", I'm talking about myself -------------- New free album out: http://www.bobthescreamer.com/music/twinety-twine/ Back to top

Ginger Daddy Group: Members Posts: 401 Joined: April 2002 Posted: April 13 2011, 13:19 Quote (bob the screamer @ April 12 2011, 21:58) I think it sounds most similar to MO So I think that would do as reference material. Anyhow, it's always hard to find songs which uses exactly the same instruments and so on. I have personally not found it very useful to use reference material so far. First of all, as a beginner it is really really hard to come close to proffesionally mixed material, so a reference song will mostly make you feel miserable . Second, again as a beginner, you don't really know what to do to make it sound close to the original either, so I think its better to use your own dry mix as reference and see how much better it got Edit: when I say "as beginner", I'm talking about myself Hi Bob, thanks for the compliment - I would never compare anything about my music favourably with Mike... so thank you! lol @ 'beginner' - I'm a musical hobbyist and I'll consider myself a beginner until I have a recording contract with at least 3 albums under my belt (as a hobbyist I don't count my 6 existing releases as professional...). I'm hoping to use this as a learning experience and will hopefully improve with experience. It's amazing what is technically possible with today's software... let's just hope I don't get too disillusioned when the time comes to finally do the mix... Thanks for taking the time to listen - and also for replying! Cheers, Terry. -------------- http://purplerhapsody.co.uk - no words, just emotions Back to top

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