NEEDS HELP !! (Basic Recording)

[Sparks7Sparks]

Hi all,

I have been recording for a while now and figured some things out on my own and others, well I just can't seem to get my finger on some things.

I can't really get my recordings to a decent volume, and when I turn it up, it gets very muddy.

My recordings don't sound like it mixes well together and I figured it was because of some instruments drowning out other instruments.

Can anyone suggest some basic rules to follow by for a decent basic recording and hopefully I can get on a correct path and get better from there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Below is what I use for my setup.


Setup:
1. iMac
2. Logic Express 8
3. Line6 toneport UX1
4. Washburn WG-587V (it's an ok guitar)
5. 5 String Squire Bass (it was a cheap bass for the mean time)
6. Addictive Drums (software)
7. Recabinet (for different cabinet models & mics)
8. iZotope (software)
9. Mackie MR5 Studio Reference Monitors


Thanks to everyone in advance for replying.

 

[Radius_Vector]

Frequency-dependant mixing. While this statement is largely simplifying things - sometimes it's a useful reference, especially for those who are starting out -

How do you slot in frequencies in your mix? Or, how do you EQ?
Bass Guitar below Kick Drum, Kick Drum below Keys, Keys below Guitars, Guitars below Vocal sheen, and Vocals below Cymbals.

Sometimes keys and guitars are interchangeable, they share a common frequency range.

And generally MUD = excess low mids. Declare war on them with your EQ, without losing much warmth.

 

[Sparks7Sparks]

Thanks, I'm gonna spend a weekend and try exactly what you said and see what happens. I'm pretty excited about trying it out. I'll probably put a short demo up and have people critique it.