GR-55 - Mixing and Mastering PCM tones to help them blend better

[DreamTheory]

I have noticed that my mixes using lots of GR-55 layers don't seem to blend. The sync is spot on, the parts are balanced in volume, the "band" (me playing various parts of GR-55) is really locked and working as a unit, but the end result in terms of sound just doesn't hang together. Any advice on how to make it sound a little more like the instruments are in the same room? Maybe duplicate tracks and layer them in at low volume onto other tracks to sort of create the sound of tracks bleeding into one another?

When MIDI samples are made, I assume they try to get the clearest, cleanest recording, probably using close mics. When you layer these samples, you get an aggregation of perfect little crystalline parts. Too perfect. I heard of a guy who runs his digital output into a regular tape deck, then records the tape back into his DAW, just to get the warmth of tape. I guess he has to remove some hiss.

If you listen to a vinyl record, or an analog recording from say, the mid 1970s (think "Muscle Shoals" sound), the tracks sound unified, sometimes to a fault. I am not saying I want total mud. Anyone know of a good plug in to warm up MIDI, maybe give it a little more analog sound? Any freeware that you know of that works?

What about within GR-55? Any recommendations on how to improve the sound by degrading it?

When I record acoustic guitar I am trying to filter out low rumble and add sheen with a high shelf, and notch out mud and annoying mids, and so on, to get a more bright and clear sound. Would a reverse process help digital things sound more natural?

[shawnb]

This is an excellent topic for the GR-55...   

I'd say yes to all of the above.  EQ as best you can.  Processing a common signal path (reverb, compression, low grade overdrive) can help munge them together.  As you said above, just like a mix. 

Not always, though.  Some other thoughts to consider:
  - Sometimes voices sound great individually and just don't work together.  Choose different PCM voices to see if something works better.  E.g., when using a flute, you may find that a panpipe works much better paired with that other voice.  Don't be afraid to think outside the box - I remember working on a violin patch but using a panpipe worked better to reproduce a violin's "chuffy" attack. 
  - Dont' forget ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release).  If a voice sounds too glaring 1/2 a second or a second in, shorten its release or or lower its sustain level.  In the above example, the panpipe didn't make a convincing held violin note, so I rolled it off quickly, leveraging only its initial "chuff". 
  - When adjusting ADSR, experiment with both TVA (time variant amplitude) and TVF (time variant filter).   
  - Remember filters are basically EQ.  Too bright?   Roll it off with a filter.  Or, if you like the sound initially but it's too in-your-face a second in, roll it off using a TVF.

[alexmcginness]

Mix buss compression will glue the tracks together better.

[szilard]

Mix buss compression will glue the tracks together better.

+1

There are two glues that are common in mixing - compression and reverb. You can try a very light room reverb to glue everything together. I normally use a convolution reverb for glue and have it on a separate buss.

[szilard]

Here are two examples that are using both a little compression and a little room reverb to help bring the mixes together. You can decide if it works.

[DreamTheory]

Here are two examples that are using both a little compression and a little room reverb to help bring the mixes together. You can decide if it works.

first of all- really cool music - nice use of space and interesting scales. I love it that you really play synth- so often we get all wrapped up in COSM and simulating things realistically that we forget we can go far out into synth landscapes. This has great application of effects. Creates a stirring mood, even if it is "just" a demo.
yeah these work, even though the instruments are panned all around they inhabit the same space.

[szilard]

Thanks for that and yeah, I like synths.