emusonacid!

Another question I have is compression. Since it's a midi performance and I had control of levels when I recorded the samples and also have control over the attack velocities so that nothing is sticking out in the mix, is there any need for compression?

Some people are saying that I should compress each track differently. If so, I'm very inexperienced and am afraid I wouldn't do it right. The other question is EQ.

Bass guitar is usually what needs it most. The bass instrument is a metallophone but sounds an octave higher than a proper bass guitar. I'm also not using guitar, synth pads or piano so I'm inclined to ignore EQ entirely since those are what traditionally need it and I wouldn't know what I was doing anyway.

So far, I listened to how each instrument sounds when playing back in Cubasis and adjusted the levels in the midi track mixer so that it's like in a live performance with each instrument panned where it would be on the stage never pushing anything farther to the left or right than 50.

Would you do it differently?

Gongchime

You Talking about "realtime " Compressor ( RFX Card Plug or Extern ) or the Compressor in the Sample Edit Modus ?

anyway... The are a view things you can do .
One way is using the Compresser for Sound Design in the Mix.
You can get more " Punch" with Compressor for Synt Stack?s and Drum?s . For this kind of using is the RFX Card Compressor wonderful.
It?s an other kind of getting "Punch" as working with the Attack Envelope Parameter in Preset Modus. more effectively .
For special Sounds like Synth Bass , Single Sound like Bass Drum you work better with external Equipment. ( More and better Attack release Controll as the RFX Compressor.)

An other way to work with Compression is to get more "Power"and Loudniss with the whole Mix , but that is something very Special and you are in the Mastering Area. Keep carefull in this Prozess.

Same thing with the EQ .

Example . It?s very usefull to split the "Deeper" Sounds with EQ.
Specially the "Bass" and the "Bassdrum need to be cleared up in the Mix.
Maybe Bassdrum fat under 80-100 hz and the E/synt/ Bass above them ( 180- 260hz) . So you get more and clearer Sound within the whole Mix.

For me is the Working with Compression and Equilizing in the Mix the most importend Part , for getting "The Sound ".

I really don't know what kind of compression I'm talking about. I'm inexperienced. I just want to do as little as possible.

I think the music is almost where it needs to be. I just want to make it sound like you're sitting between 6-10 feet away from a live concert of my instruments none of which are electronic. So that means changing the close mic-ing I did to sound like there's some air between the instruments and the microphone. I'm not using a synth, guitar, bass or drum kit.

Whatever compression I would use would already be in Cubasis or E-DSP Patchmixer. And it would probably only be on the taiko drum and the lead line but only if its drowning in the mix. I wouldn't go out and buy anything other than what I already have.

I want to try to make the best product I can with what I have first and then compare to what an engineer might do with it sometime later. If there's not much difference then I won't keep paying the engineer to mixdown my stuff.

Gongchime

...ah... i si...you talking about Music and Sound engineering..

It?s better you try to find a more suitable Forum for that kind of Stuff.

You are here in a Emu-Sampler Forum

www.emu.com

Michael

Too true. Too true. However, though I'm on at least 5 music production forums, you never know who is or is not going to answer a post. I might not get a reply over there for awhile and I'm sure there are knowledgeable people right here who might be able to help.

So, to cover all my bases, I post everywhere. Then maybe three people respond and perhaps only one of them knows what they're talking about or can say it in a way I can understand.

Anyway, I had all of my Emu questions answered already. Eventually I'll learn where I'm wasting my time or not.

Gongchime