# String Mixing (EQ and whatnot)



## XiphiasAudio (Jan 21, 2016)

Greetings fellow composers, musicians and audiophiles.

I cannot for the life of my figure out how to get a good mix that sounds professional. I think I am looking for that sound where every orchestral line stands out and every part can be heard with a nice place in the mix.

I think I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth EQing each individual orchestral part?

Eg:
1Violin - Bumping up the 4-5khz range to get more of a rosiny sound
2Violin - ^ same as above
Viola - Bump up the 3-4khz
Cello - (depending on passage) boosting the mid range
Bass - Lastly boosting the bass end (provided there's no other bass lines)

I'll give an example of one of my pieces for reference but is there any mixing/mastering tutorials or resources (preferably free ) that I can have a look through to improve the quality of my mixes?

Also, why are there so many "How to mix/master" videos on youtube that mix EVERYTHING except orchestral music? I haven't found one good resource for mixing orchestral.

Anyways, little bit of a rant but hopefully we can go on a journey as I'm sure others feel the same way.

Reference Track:


Cheers,
Rowan


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## nas (Jan 22, 2016)

It's a bit tricky to talk about what specific frequencies work as every sample library is different and has been recorded and approached differently. However, if you know what you're looking for sonically, then that's half the battle and you just have to experiment until you get closer to the sound in your head.

There is indeed a very good course worth looking into for mixing orchestral music:

http://thinkspaceeducation.com/om/

BTW this is the engineer who worked on a lot of the Spitfire BML stuff.


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## geoffreyvernon (Jan 22, 2016)

Remember, not every single thing in the mix needs to "stand out". When I'm mixing a rock track, I mix it to where the acoustic guitar is just heard for the attack on the strings. You barely ever hear it switch chords, but you can hear the attack of the pick. The same came be said about mixing orchestral tracks and such. Some things need to stand out, some things need to be buried and used for "attack" and some things need to be in the track just for sonic space. Things like white noise and stuff. It honestly depends on what the track needs and what you're going for. Getting a great balance of everything is definitely needed! But sometimes certain instruments will need to be buried just a little bit more than the others. Not everything always needs to be the same level and as noticeable. Sometimes it's fun for somebody to hear a track, hear something and wonder what the heck it is because they don't know but yet it sounded great in the mix!


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## geoffreyvernon (Jan 22, 2016)

However to answer your question, EQ aside a good way to help out with making things fit in the mix is write an instruments part in the range of the instrument you're writing for. Know exactly what you wanna do with the track. Frequency space gets so cluttered so quickly sometimes. Try to avoid it! Don't write a violin part all the way down where the basses first not would be played. French horns can't play as high as a first violin. Stuff like that helps too! It helps mix the track itself to a degree


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## XiphiasAudio (Jan 22, 2016)

geoffreyvernon said:


> However to answer your question, EQ aside a good way to help out with making things fit in the mix is write an instruments part in the range of the instrument you're writing for. Know exactly what you wanna do with the track. Frequency space gets so cluttered so quickly sometimes. Try to avoid it! Don't write a violin part all the way down where the basses first not would be played. French horns can't play as high as a first violin. Stuff like that helps too! It helps mix the track itself to a degree



Yeah thanks. Orchestration always plays a big part :D

I think I just need to find a good course (thanks Nas I might check that one out) for mixing.
I hear a lot of music from guys up here on VI and hear absolutely brilliant mixes. I always wondered how it was possible to be a brilliant composer/musician AND be able to produce a good mix aswell. Always thought they were separate entities.

Always learning!


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## Hannes_F (Jan 23, 2016)

XiphiasAudio said:


> I cannot for the life of my figure out how to get a good mix that sounds professional. I think I am looking for that sound where every orchestral line stands out and every part can be heard with a nice place in the mix.



That is good but orchestral music is perhaps even more about blending and building a whole as about standing out. You brighten every voice but it leads to a race for a place in the sun and overall your strings are too bright then. Real players don't play bright all the time but they weave in for standing out and then weave out for making room for others, and that often even within one single note.


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