Warmest greetings from London to everybody here.
This mix is my debut. Some tracks are edited, looped, adjusted a semitone in order to harmonize
Inspired by London's most fashionable parties I wanted to rock. I'd really appreciate your comments on whether I have succeeded.
regards,

Yes, I believe you've succeeded. This is a really great set. The style cohesion is excellent, and I really like the progressive element of the overall funky tracks. The harmonics are flawless 100% of the time. The set really drives you forward, and gives you just enough of break here and there before driving you right back into the beat.

The only thing I would recommend is that you check your dB levels fully throughout your sets prior to mastering. I found that I had to adjust my knob periodically throughout to keep levels even. Also, the dropoffs during quieter moments were significant at times, and I would recommend adding some compression gain to those locations. This would not be an issue during live performance because you would be dynamically adjusting your levels as you progressed. However, for recording it becomes important. If you're always working in your cans, get out of them for final proofing (in fact, get out the cans as much as possible when working) and listen to your entire set at a medium low volume level on your studio monitors. At that level, the gradations in volume are easiest to detect and remedy prior to mastering. If you don't have a good set of pro studio monitors, get a pair--you're at a level of expertise that demands them.

Outstanding!

Hey Tim!!!

Thank you very much indeed for your response, and yes I now do realize that I have problems with acoustics since I use basic 2+1 computer speakers and some of the cheapest headphones on the market. While monitoring Db levels in Fusion I only tried to equalize them by adjusting volume, base and trebles. Mp3 gain does not work for me as I mix wav files and I could never figure out compressing effects in Fusion - the sound gets very distorted no matter how I try. The cause of it might well be my lack of knowledge and I'd really be grateful if anybody could enlighten me on compression topic in Fusion.

And yes, I'll definitely take your advice and improve my acoustics. Thanks again, your comments have been of grate help and it is pleasure to be here. I look forward to further communicating with you and other mates on this site.

Myc

Myc,

Although I'm still primarily working in Pro6, which is an entirely different animal, I have begun working in Fusion and I've managed to use the volume level settings and compression tools effectively to normalize the sound. Although I do use high bitrate MP3s, I also don't like to use MP3 Gain because I don't really like the idea of doing an additional bitrate conversion on master tracks, as that can result in bit loss. I don't trust those tools and prefer to adjust my levels on a track by track basis in MM as I use them.

With Pro6, normalizing the volume with compression gain is quite easy. Basically you just add the compression effect to the track and then adjust the gain upward. The VU meters are pretty accurate in representing the output levels, and will always force the ouput to remain at or under the 0 dB level. During transitions, the volume will exceed that O dB level, but the compression is very effective at preventing distortion. In my opinion, a certain amount of level increase during transitions is desirable anyway, as it compliments the energy of the transition. With digital music and Pro6, you have to really exceed the 0dB level (up to between +4 and +6 dB) before you hit the distortion threshold.

However, with Fusion, using the basic compressor is definitely more tricky, more time consuming and difficult. I've noticed that the VU meters in Fusion do not really accurately reflect the physical volume level of the sound that's being produced. It's definitely problematic and I repeatedly hear sets mixed in Fusion here on the rotation where I can hear that problem (widely divergent output levels) on a regular basis--something I don't generally hear with the MMPro sets.

You really have to listen to your sets carefully in Fusion to make sure the dB levels are even. In terms of controlling this with compression, I add the basic compression effect to every track (not the dual compressor), then I adjust the volume of the tracks upward or downward to get the level to the desirable range. I usually find that the level of compression desired with this particular effect is between 1.20 and 1.40 (for basic volume normalization), which you will also need to tweak in conjunction with that overall track volume level. The VU meters may be slightly over or under the 0 dB level on the various tracks, although the levels will be equalized between the tracks. You'll need to listen for the optimal level. The VU meters are somewhat useful in this regard as volume normalization seems to occur on all tracks with this method somewhere between -2 and +2 dB. But, the lack of accuracy in having the VU meters display the actual volume being produced is kind of annoying. Hopefully this is something that the developers will work on as they continue to release the product. In all fairnes, earlier versions of the Pro series line of product also had strange idiosyncrasies with respect to how they handled volume, compression and gain. Those managed to all get worked out by the time Pro6 was released, and in the interim, there were always ways to compensate for them as there seem to be here. One thing is definitely certain--you cannot rely on the accuracy of the VU meters to predict your volume level, you must use your ear--another reason to have a good set of studio monitors.

Not sure if this will affect your .wav files in exactly the same way as I don't use .wavs, but try it and see what happens. If anyone else here has thoughts on this, or has a trick that I'm missing, please share.


In terms of headphones and studio monitors, I can wholeheartedly recommend what I use:

Headphones: Bose Quiet Comfort II Acoustic Noise Canceling (a set runs about $250 USD)

Studio Monitors: Self-amped M-Audio BX8a (a pair runs about $450 USD. In fact, these monitors are so responsive and powerful that, in a pinch, you can perform live with them to a party in a good sized room without any additional equipment. I had to do this recently when the sound system that a promoter provided failed.)

Thanks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tepmix,

Great stuff, Tim!
Thank a lot.

Basically when I upgraded from MM express5 (with no effects) straight to Fusion few months ago, I looked at this compressor affect and thought: “What kind of a compressor is that – there’s just 1 knob – no threshold, attack, release and gain… “ There’s also this OzoneIsotope effect which you’ll be directed if you search help files for “normalize” or “compress” - it seemed to be just an equalizer when I clicked it’s presets.

Having red your last reply and spent few hours on these effects I have actually managed to shift the mix considerably.
I ended up applying “slight” option (1.23) of basic compressor for the whole mix and some minimal levels of OzoneIsotope, which appeared to be complex but actually nice volume normalizer. I could then adjust volume, base, trebles, and middles of tracks without horrible Db gain or loss, but sounding a lot better.

I am not at the level where I could notice inaccuracy of VU meters but they are now between +1 and -2Db and it’s nice to see that in addition to better sound.

Unfortunately applying these effects overloads my CPU (Pentium4 1.8Ghz). It might still be ok to export the play list (I’ll try tomorrow), but it is not an option for performing life.
I will experiment with faster CPU; if not stable I guess converting files to Mp3 320 might help.

In any case, I’ll be happy to send you this mix again so that you could compare.

And I am really grateful for the advice on gear. That’s the next step I am going to take.
Regards
Myc,

Hey Myc,

Agree with Tim - this is a great set. Really enjoyed it .... superb stuff for your debut .
A "phat", solid sound and feel to this set. Echoing Tim's comments, this set flowed real nice, in terms of harmony and progression.

Picking up on one of Tim's comments, one tool you might find useful is the Kjaerhus Classic Master Limiter. Do a search on the forums and you'll find plenty of positive references to it.

Look forward to your next set here on J2I

Neb.

Neb is right! The Classic Master Limiter definitely is a must :-)
Just install the .dll file in the Mixmeister program directory (you may need to restart the program). Then to apply the plugin, just drop it somewhere in an empty space in the mixing window. Default settings are just right, so no need for tweaking.

Robert