Could anybody please help me to achieve more clarity with the different sounds I've got goin in my latest track. I think I've done an okay job with the mixing but when I compare it to proffesional releases, my track sounds a litle bit muddy in comparison. What does it need to gain that proffessional edge.

The following mp3 contains three short snippets of different sections in my track to give you an idea of the different elements involved. Is it just an eq thing or compression? Or something else entirely

[[ LINK REMOVED ]]

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you need to create a balanced oligopoly of sounds man

think oligopoly, become one with the oligopoly

hey man - I haven;t heard ure mix but clarity is all about EQ, compression, delay and reverb - tweak em all to sort your sound out

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usually cutting all frequencys below 200Hz on most of your percussion elements can help to reduce muddiness...sometimes "too much" delay and reverb can actually clutter up your mix too
Try soloing different instruments and see then if you have clarity...if you have well then some of your instruments may be clashing in the mix, try to seperate them with EQ, panning, widen 1 or 2 of the instruments......

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Thanks for all the replies. But I've done all those things to a degree (obviously not well enough). Was hoping for some tips a bit more specific to the samples I've uploaded.

oligopoly? Is that the new waves plugin?

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quote:

Originally posted by G-Con oligopoly? Is that the new waves plugin?

ya

You don't get clarity in an individual sound. Clarity is a characteristic of a mix and is affected by the separation and balance of said sounds. So it sounds like your problem is that you're approaching the whole thing from the wrong angle; you can't listen to a single sound in isolation, you have to adjust them all together and carve out spaces.

And yes, this is generally with EQ. Everybody says they use EQ but most people really don't have any idea what they're doing with it (including me, up to about 4-5 months ago). If you're trying to EQ individual sounds in isolation, or by trial-and-error, you're doing it wrong.

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IMO nothing wrong with eqing individual sounds.

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quote:

Originally posted by mysticalninja IMO nothing wrong with eqing individual sounds.

i think digi meant individual sounds in isolation...

meaning that you should eq the sounds while they are in context so they actually "fit".

with that being said, i dont limit myself with general guidelines such as not eqing in isolation or wahtever...i do whatever sounds good, as that is the bottom line.

Right, there's nothing wrong with applying EQ to an individual sound if your aim is to alter the characteristics of that sound. However, it will get you nowhere if your intent is to improve mix clarity.

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2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
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2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here

Man can I relate to trying to get more clarity out of my mixes, I spend more time 'tweaking' everything trying to get the perfect sound than anything else anymore it seems like.
I've recently gotten completely lost in the whole EQ and mixing process, most of the music I write is bottom heavy however (lots of bass and groove, minimal melody), funny thing I've noticed is, everyone seems to have different advice on how to approach the subject and how to achieve better mixes.

I recently picked up The Mixing Engineer's Handbook 2nd Edition from Bobby Owsinski, so far it's been a real good read and my mixing practices are actually starting to progress instead of being in a state of confusion.
The author takes lot's of good advice from some fairly famous recording engineers
I have'nt finshed it yet though, hopefully it doesn't just throw another tangent into the big mixing picture for me.

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it's highly important to use sound design/tweak your synths to get more clarity. and after that start with eqs. you can't fix bad sound design with such tools. it's important to have sounds which fit in the context and doesn't destroy your mix.