Thickening up the mix - Mono vs Stereo
OK I have been reading up on thickening up your guitar tracks .
One way to do this is to clone the track and apply a small amount of delay on one of the tracks then pan hard L and R.
:?: Does this only work if your tracks are recorded in mono or will the same method work with cloned stereo tracks as well. :?:
I did not know if doing this with stereo tracks would produce the same thickening results of would it just get all muddy in the mix. :evil:
I usually record everything to stereo tracks but perhaps the bass and some other instruments should not be?
thanks for throwin me a freekin bone here guys LOL :P :roll:
One way to do this is to clone the track and apply a small amount of delay on one of the tracks then pan hard L and R.
:?: Does this only work if your tracks are recorded in mono or will the same method work with cloned stereo tracks as well. :?:
I did not know if doing this with stereo tracks would produce the same thickening results of would it just get all muddy in the mix. :evil:
I usually record everything to stereo tracks but perhaps the bass and some other instruments should not be?
thanks for throwin me a freekin bone here guys LOL :P :roll:
Comments
Im still to work out what mono and stereo tracks are, but when you mention clone tracks... using the same track twice will create a mean as flange effect and sound quite unatural, unless you \"reverse\" the clone track. Another way to get a thick as sound i found, also which you mentioned, is to record the same track 4 times, pan 1 track 100% left, pan one track 70% left, pan one track 70% right and pan the last one 100% right. Then just have the 70%'s a little quieter than the 100%'s, maybe 100%'s at -3db and then 70%'s at -6 or 7db depending on how loud the drums/bass/vocals are.
Now that may not have been related to what your asking or what is the \"done\" thing by pros but it has got me a good thick sound before from limited gear so oh well... \\m/
The fattening you mean goes exactly as you suggested - clone the (mono) track and pan each track hard left/right. Then apply nudging moving one track SLIGHTLY forward or backward. I guess that by \"reverse\" aRcTuRuS means inverting the track's phase. In Sonar/PTP you can find the phase-switch button in each track's pane (the circle with a single oblique stroke). Experiment with phase - you'll hear the difference.
For rhythm parts the best thickening is to record the part twice and pan each track hard left/right.
Mike can you explain exactly how you'd do this? Do you mean theres a slight delay between the tracks?
Yup it would mean having a delay between the two tracks, but very minor otherwise it would get out of time to a certain point. To adjust its time position, right click the recorded track (one of the coloured bars) then go to \"Clip Properties\" and this will bring a a box with some stuff in it. Locate \"Start\" and increase the timing of it to create the gap between the 2 tracks. Getting the right gap can be time consuming because you have on keep on checking to see what the gap is like. Its prob easier to just record the 2 tracks separtly, that way you dont need to worry about flange problems from duplicating the same track.
Track 1 stereo- pan 15% L - O efx added
Track 3 stereo -pan 30% L - but in EFX options add Lexicon Rev at 15-20%
Now do the same for the opposing guitar track on the R side on Tracks 2/4.
What you have now done was change the field that the guitar efx can operate or fill. Now if a drum roll that runs the channels L to R happens, it dominates over the guitar without needing to bump drum track levels. This is called a Masked Track. What this does is fill the space with a lot of guitar sounds, but limits the space for the efx to work in. Call it a trap. Disturbed, Tool, and other single guitar bands use this technique. It's really cool cause Reverb dominates subtlely and the overdriven tracks punch the mix without trapping other parts like, vocals, drums. Secondly, the Lexicon reverb will dominate the efx you hear so even high output ping pong delays will be trapped within the pans at 15% mix. These traps are great for Drum Fills, and really cool on Backing vocals. Try it It's also a great thing to do for a guitar mix live! It's how the pro's set the efx field for guitar players, KB players etc LIVE. In Live situations you would need a second mixer or import those channels through aux returns.
G3456
Trapping the efx LIVE, minimizes overpowering efx changes and boominess, feedback created by the efx levels of a patch.
:idea: I think I will start out most of my guitars (that are not useing stero effects) and vocals mono from now on that way like Mike says I can clone and get stereo on the track later if I want. Keeps my options open for Later in the mixing process.
Thanks to all for the advise.
Track 1 stereo- pan 15% L - O efx added
Track 3 stereo -pan 30% L - but in EFX options add Lexicon Rev at 15-20%
Now do the same for the opposing guitar track on the R side on Tracks 2/4.
Plus keep at 0dbs on all 4 tracks right?
EX1: Guitar 1 = pan left 75%, right 75% slid forward or back 2-4 ticks
EX2: Guitar 1 (left) = pan left 80%, right 20%
Guitar 2 (right) = pan right 80%, left 20% both slid 2-4 ticks
EX3: Guitar 1 (left) = pan left 80%, right 20% both slid 2 ticks forward
Guitar 2 (center) = pan right 25%, left 25%
Guitar 3 (right) = pan right 80%, left 20% both slid 4 ticks forward
:?