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mixing with phones for uniform volume

Started by sugarplumsss, September 24, 2019, 11:57:54 PM

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sugarplumsss

I use a number of  "registrations" as a live keyboardist, as we all do. My registrations include some MIDI songs as well as Styles.  That is a lot of data.
Problem:
Some registrations are louder in MIDI melody, or keyboard part, or rhythm tracks, or style etc etc.

The ideal solution:  to make all these registrations for approx uniform in volume, is to mix them, ( Best solution ) in the open air, as on a live gig, or failing that, ( 2nd best solution ) at home through near fields.

I need, however, to accomplish this mixing ( of a 100+ registrations ) In EAR, through headphones . Reason being, I cannot disturb others.

Are any eg., meters , or as yet unknown pieces of gear that will aid my remixing for uniformity sake?

Drums, bass volume, or eq, or a too loud midi song part , are all subject to being too loud, or not loud enough.
On the gig, it is easy to tell the out of balance parts, eq's etc, but I do not have that luxury.

Mixing in headphones seems only solution.
I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.

DrakeM

Easiest way i have found is to record yourself playing the tune and save it as an MP3. Then put all the MP3 files of your songs onto an MP3 player or any device that will play them. Mix them all up in a random order and LISTEN to them. When you hear a wrong sounding one fix it. Keep repeating this process until you have them all correctly balanced.

I do this process with each new song style all the time. You have just got a bigger issue because you have waited too long to fix it.

Start with about 12 songs and balance them to each other correctly. Then each day add two more in a couple of months your done.

Regards
Drake

Lee Batchelor

Good idea, Drake.

I only have one problem in trying to achieve a uniform volume on stage. It's called Bass Megavoices!!! I truly hate them!!! I'm sorry everyone, but while bass megavoices provide a so-called, "realistic rendition" of the instrument for which they were designed, they can be a living hell for us gigging musicians.

It's been my experience when playing with a live band (as opposed to a dead one) as just the piano player, if the bass guitarist is using a decent bass amp, he or she sounds about the same volume all night. Not so with bass megavoices. You can adjust them for one hall, and then in the next hall they are either boomy, way too punchy, or non-existent - and that's within one style! Serious players don't have the hands nor the time to mess around with mixer volumes while trying to play live. Mixer settings do little to tame bass megavoices anyway.

If someone has ever come up with a magic pill for the "bass megavoice disease" please pass it on. Living room players will not have the experience of the problem with these voices unless they own gigantic and very expensive homes with a living room the size of a dance hall. I've tried revoicing the bass channel to an SA2 voice. That doesn't work.

Suggestions most welcome, providing you don't give me the line that "megavoices work really well for me :)." I'm using very expensive, state of the art gear. Some styles with bass megavoices are just terrible. I've had to actually re-record them with an SA2 voice to get them to sound right. End of rant.
"Learn" your music correctly, then "practice" it. Don't practice mistakes because you'll learn them.

sugarplumsss

I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.