KVR Audio

clipnotic · Post by **clipnotic** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:44 pm

I'm working on a Trance album and that really costs me all my nerves, because I can do everything easily, except the final mix. I bought tons of reference tracks and many of them are mastered catastrophic from my view of good clear mixing and mastering tracks. Some are massiv overdriven, but okay I can also do this. Some are very dull, but I also can do this. But all of them have one similarity, they sound thick and muddy. On my tracks you can hear all sounds clearly and present, because for me this is the goal of a mix, but on all Trance tracks I know and bought the whole mix sounds like a coherent mud and dull. And I don't know how I have to do this? I tried with Gullfoss and Intensity and Maximus. I read and watched several tutorials and it seems they do this with multiband compression on the master track, but I didn't found settings for that.

So my question is, how can I make my mixes thick and muddy?

Thank you for help!

mgw38 · Post by **mgw38** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:53 pm

Very interesting. I usually find that most commercial trance is a bit too heavy on the top end for my taste.

clipnotic · Post by **clipnotic** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 11:03 pm

well, than my tracks would be extrem heavy ...

I have very much different electronic music here and other genres are much more present like EDM for example, but current trance tracks all have that thick and muddy mix and a friend told me, that this it what Trance fans liking. But I don't know how I have to do this?

I found a preset in Avenger, where they used a compressor to make a beat muddy. If I disable the compressor all beat sounds are clear and present, but if I activate it all sounds have additional stuff and that beat sounds like one muddy unit, but the settings there don't help in my mastering plugins.

andymcbain · Post by **andymcbain** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:51 pm

Could you post some examples of tracks that have the "thick and muddy" sound so we can hear?

Kinh · Post by **Kinh** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:42 am

Use parallel compression. Dont stick a compressor on every track, everything's gonna be compressed anyway on the master. If you want thickness, use a color compressor like a VC76 or Supercharger XT as a send and blend it in on the weaker tracks. Also use analogue saturation in the same way. You have to get each track sounding thick and crunchy before you bounce. Dont assume the mastering will take care of that, it's just gonna add clarity and loudness. All the magic happens in the mix.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:03 am

Big, thick reverb on the master will do it. Or increase the envelope decay on everything. That will take the definition off each track.

clipnotic · Post by **clipnotic** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 11:53 am

Thank you for your tips!

It seems multiband compression is one possibility on the master channel with a high attack and low release on the mid and high bands

And yes, with a reverb on the master channel it also works.

Bulbizarre · Post by **Bulbizarre** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:36 pm

Make sure you don't highpass too much, it's where the energy is concentrated. Compress the shit of out your synths and reverbs, don't be afraid to crank the ratios to the moon and see how that goes, works well for techno I think

kingozrecords · Post by **kingozrecords** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:11 am

All you do is make every stem stereo after making it mono from stereo. Only; rely on only one of signals, left or right. If you need to make that signal dual mono then do so.

Klanghelm's free comp does that. Just select dual mono; but does it sum the left and right, in actuality or virtually to ensure the stereo width will indeed be mono? That is the question. Small degrees of digital damage/aliasing; one more than the other - that would remove the problem you face.
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/dc1a-by-klanghelm

Hard work getting the stereo right after the fact but only a stereo microphone is truly stereo signal, nothing else; other than mic placement and perhaps an axis at a different polar region of some configuration.

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:41 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwGCsnsL70

ferez21 · Post by **ferez21** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:35 am

This is the first time I've ever seen someone asking to make their mix intentionally muddy.
Infected Mushroom for example are one of the top names in trance music and their mixes/masters are pristine and the elements are well separated, i am not sure why are you choosing to follow a way of making your mixes muddy, after you've already achieved a clean mix. I suggest getting different reference tracks.

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:32 am

What is the opposite of muddy? clean / clear
Instead of asking how to make your mix muddy, ask yourself how to make is not clean / clear.

beingmf · Post by **beingmf** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:19 am

It's your room or the extreme coloration of your headphones.

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:45 am

Think muddy here means warm, if that makes any sense.

andymcbain · Post by **andymcbain** » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:06 pm

Passing Bye wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:45 am Think muddy here means warm, if that makes any sense.

I think so too. Though it would still be helpful to hear some examples

Making Mixes thick and muddy