nothing going on my master channel typically (sometimes plugins that are performing time based changes).

But I'm a producer, not a masterer, and I philosophically believe in letting the masterer be in charge of the master track, in the same way I believe an author should not be the editor of his/her own book.

Gold Diamonds. Beautiful work! It sounded quite thick in sections, but I attribute it to your personal style - the mix is nice and smooth, and a beautiful composition!

Song names often hint to the listener what the experience or journey will be like. It's time to step away from your song for a bit, and come back to it with fresh ears. That will help you be aware of the story, emotions, and imagery it evokes.

Oh so I just drag it down to below 0db right? Until it sounds good?

I guess that's one way to put it. Maybe instead of thinking "until it sounds good" (because afterall, your track already sounds good), think of it as just lowering the irritation and sharpness away from what is already working. You don't want to take it so far down that it starts to actually alter the sound (or else you're getting into actual sound design). You want it down just enough that it still sounds like itself, but just has that "edge" rubbed out. Does that make sense?

As you sweep, you are listening for areas that make your ears go "ouch! that frequency of my flute is WAY louder than it needs to be compared to the rest of it, let's just take that down a bit..."

Quote from: lyteside on January 19, 2016, 10:17:07 pm

beautiful sound. I like it! Contemplative...

Some great decisions and combinations happening for this track. It feels full and rich, and yet deceptively simple.

A few technical issues to work out, such as the bass areas, and some problem frequencies to tame that are resonating just a little too much, but obviously you have some natural talent if this is your first go!

Thanks a lot lyteside. How would you suggest I fix those problems?

honing in on your problem frequencies will be pretty painless. When you're using your EQ on individual channels, look into some of the high areas - sweep back n' forth with a steep Q curve until you hear them... should be around 2k and above.

If it's increasing volume, then Erik is right, the plugin is doing something automatically on the backend there... make-up gain, etc.

Released about a year and a half ago. This was my first track where I went through a third party label (instead of releasing it myself). It was an interesting experience and I learned a lot!



There were some disagreements with the label on its overall sound. When I later released the song a couple of months ago on my own album, I changed the mix quite a bit, and went with a softer and more "mid heavy" sound... I also added back in some material I had to cut from the single release due to the breakdown being overly long. curious on everyone's thoughts.

Album Version:
https://delta-s.bandcamp.com/track/alive-feat-christina-novelli