I can hear the Limiter pumping...What should I do?

Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 8:10 am

Im pretty happy with this mix... But definately am still open to critiques please. But if anyone could tell me how to fix this problem with the limiter that would really be great.
Thank you
Rico
http://www.soundclick.com/racinenj

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 2:16 am

RICO, you're recording and mix are both loud and brutal and loud. Sure, the limiter is pumping. A common problem with broadband limiters. Pumping can both be an attribute and a detriment. The remedy is probably not what you want? That's slowing down the release time which reduces "apparent loudness" levels. This would be good for you and your engineering. Being louder doesn't mean being better. I found I could not listen to your song all the way through due to the extreme fatigue it caused my hearing. Now I could force myself to listen to it if I had been paid to. But I wasn't. But you really have to get the mix down right. The pumping you don't like can also be remedied through multiband limiting. That's what radio stations use today. None of them use broadband compression anymore, because of pumping which was cool during top 40 radio. They really haven't used that in 30 years. But that's not the answer either. It's good mixing practices.

Also, if you can eliminate 50% of the notes played, it would be better. I can't hear through the wash of the mean guitars and other raucous noise. Washes the drums out. I like drums. I like them very much. I like them more than guitars. So how about some more? The vocals are good however. So don't change those just everything else. And let's not try to compete with the real mastering engineers shall we?

Rock-and-roll with drums kinda of girl
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 4:44 am

RemyRAD wrote:

...Also, if you can eliminate 50% of the notes played, it would be better...

Words to live by in sooooo many cases.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 9:31 pm

Thank you so much.
I will definatly give that all a try.
As for the mix I am happy to say I had no hand in writing this song except for the vocals because im the singer. If I had wrote it I would also avoid all of the nonsense like the overwritten bass and lead part. The drummer is also a highpoint of the band. I tried to convince them of this idea but they are more of a group of kids playing instruments at the same time then a band. No one seems to get the idea of playing what sounds best for the whole. So I did my best in mixing all these sounds to make it sound ok.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 9:34 pm

also, this is a demo. I would never really try to master something myself. We just wanted it to be loud enough on myspace. And things to the average teenage listener who is checking out bands in this genre, Loud does sound better.

The sad part about this whole post is I hate limiting. I really do. My sole stuff is never this loud. I hate the way it sounds. But if you want to compete you have to do what you gotta do.

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 6:08 pm

Rc061087 wrote:

also, this is a demo. I would never really try to master something myself. We just wanted it to be loud enough on myspace. And things to the average teenage listener who is checking out bands in this genre, Loud does sound better.

The sad part about this whole post is I hate limiting. I really do. My sole stuff is never this loud. I hate the way it sounds. But if you want to compete you have to do what you gotta do.

There are times when everything seems to be in sync and then theres some fill and it goes back to being completely out again. Like Remy, I couldnt listen to more than a couple of minutes and then I had to let it go.

With the limiter pumping at a beat that the music isnt playing to, its simply unlistenable. The singer is good, If the drummer is the highlight he needs to learn what all the bigtime pros already know and practice religiously.....dont play everything you know on every song!

The guitars are anemic and scatchy. If this is what you're going for, good job but they dont lend anything to the song. Just some more noise in the spaces between the words. AND its entirely distracting. One moment the listener is drawn to hear the singer and the next he's rebuffed by the obnoxious noise in-between the phrasing.

Thats what I hear.

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