KVR Audio

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:49 am

Somebody over at Gearslutz was listening to one of my tracks and said it was too clean. That it needed to be dirtied up. I'd never heard that term before. What does it mean and how does one go about dirtying up a mix?

mcbpete · Post by **mcbpete** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:55 am

Probably whack some sort of distortion/saturation/gritty-drive on either individual instruments or some sort of overall harmonic distortion/warmer on the bus ...

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:59 am

mcbpete wrote:Probably whack some sort of distortion/saturation/gritty-drive on either individual instruments or some sort of overall harmonic distortion/warmer on the bus ...

Okay, question. Was that typical of 80s Synth Pop music?

TheCatBurglar · Post by **TheCatBurglar** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:01 pm

As suggested above, slight saturation on key elements. You could also try low level white noise or vinyl crackle throughout the whole song, which adds a nice texture element.

Either that or tell them to do one because you like your clean mix

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:01 pm

Why not respond to him with: 'What do you exactly mean with "too clean"'?
Because it can mean a bunch of things:
* Note timing is too rigid on the grid (quantised, no human feel)
* No subtle differences in note velocities
* Used instruments are plastic and lifeless. The same notes played by different synths/patches can make all the difference between ultra-clean and gritty-dirty.
* Unmastered low-volume is perceived as much cleaner than after mastering and compressing/limiting it to single-figure RMS levels.

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:03 pm

BertKoor wrote:Why not respond to him with: 'What do you exactly mean with "too clean"'?
Because it can mean a bunch of things:
* Note timing is too rigid on the grid (quantised, no human feel)
* Used instruments are plastic and lifeless. The same notes played by different synths/patches can make all the difference between ultra-clean and gritty-dirty.
* Unmastered low-volume is perceived as much cleaner than after mastering and compressing/limiting it to single-figure RMS levels.

Should I maybe just post the track here so you can tell me what he's talking about? Mind you, he said it was the best track I've done so far. Just felt it was too clean. I ran it through SDRR 80s Master and I got the sound that I was particularly going for but, oh well, was just wondering what he meant.

mcbpete · Post by **mcbpete** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:22 pm

wagtunes wrote:
mcbpete wrote:Probably whack some sort of distortion/saturation/gritty-drive on either individual instruments or some sort of overall harmonic distortion/warmer on the bus ...
Okay, question. Was that typical of 80s Synth Pop music?

Ah maybe he means it needs something like tape emulation, maybe a bit of analogue-wobbling on the synths

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:38 pm

mcbpete wrote:
wagtunes wrote:
mcbpete wrote:Probably whack some sort of distortion/saturation/gritty-drive on either individual instruments or some sort of overall harmonic distortion/warmer on the bus ...
Okay, question. Was that typical of 80s Synth Pop music?
Ah maybe he means it needs something like tape emulation, maybe a bit of analogue-wobbling on the synths

Well I've already got SDRR running through it on the 80s Master Setting which seems to be working well.

I don't know. Maybe it's just his own personal peeve which has nothing to do with reality because he's the only one who made such a comment.

I'm not gonna worry about it.

legendCNCD · Post by **legendCNCD** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:33 am

Maybe add different flavours to the channels in the mix, like Airwindows Desks or Console, or some other coloring stuff. Saturation in small amounts on buss does sometimes magic.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:42 am

wagtunes wrote:Should I maybe just post the track here so you can tell me what he's talking about?

You could do that. But if you want to know what he exactly means, ask him instead of us.

ramseysounds · Post by **ramseysounds** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 12:41 pm

TheCatBurglar wrote:Either that or tell them to do one because you like your clean mix

This +1

It's all about personal taste really. I've heard this phrase time and again. Always try it, never really like what I end up with.

wehkah · Post by **wehkah** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 10:45 pm

Do you have the track / stems available?

MogwaiBoy · Post by **MogwaiBoy** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:09 am

Can we have a listen? It'd be interesting to hear something that someone considers too "clean".

Overdriving stuff can be a desirable aesthetic though, especially with "retro" (nostalgia/throwback) style music.

shroom81 · Post by **shroom81** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 12:10 pm

I must admit I love me some Elektron Analog Heat for dirtying up a mix, PA Blackmagic HG2 is also well nice for those duties.

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 10:07 pm

MogwaiBoy wrote:Can we have a listen? It'd be interesting to hear something that someone considers too "clean".

Overdriving stuff can be a desirable aesthetic though, especially with "retro" (nostalgia/throwback) style music.

Here's the track.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... -ruby-trio

On the one hand he says he thinks it's the best thing I've done, though I don't agree at all. On the other hand, he says it's too clean. It needs more dirt. It sounds "general MIDI"

FYI, this is an 80s Synth Pop project, thus the mechanical drums and overall sound.

How To "Dirty" A Mix?