Mixing the Midifile

[weeo]

Hi Guys,
I've been mixing some midis over the past few weeks for a couple of new venues.
Normal procedure was do the mix in my den and then go to the club i was resident at and try them out.
Get it back home and (sometimes) do a remix.
I haven't got the luxury of the resident job now, so i'm finding it difficult to get a mix at home that sounds good at gig volume.
Do i need to upgrade my system at home ?
I'm using a Roland JV1080, through a power amp and 2 inexpensive monitor speakers.
I think i may need better quality power amp and speakers
Just wondering how you guys do it ? or any recommendations ?

Any help appreciated
Regards
Eddie

[Sequenzzer]

Eddie,

Usually I mix at a lower level at home and give lots of room for volume increase at the gig,and more often than not I'm remixing at the venue as I'm performing the song as it's playing and adjusting the volume for each track as I'm going. It's much easier to try and gain volume bit by bit and SLOWLY when Controller 7 is set low and not loud enough rather than fight distorted sounds in a patch because you are overdriving it...

Not sure if you have invested in a Parametric EQ for your rig,but this will allow you to boost or reduce those select frequencies...In other words there might be certain ones that might be emphasized or minimized at home with the construction of your home,walls,sound proofing,etc...that might be just the opposite at the gig where you are playing due to their building walls,shape and size of building,etc....It's really just a gamble unless you go to the venue and do a full out soundcheck in my opinion.

Take Care

Mike

[weeo]

Hi Mike, Thanks for taking the time to answer, much appreciated.
My problem is, due to health issues i've downsized my rig and i now record all tracks to MP3 .
Which means i have to do all mixing at home, and as you rightly say, it's all a bit of a gamble.
I haven't got Parametric eq, maybe that would help.
I was thinking bigger (or more powerful) speakers would help ( at home )as it seems to be bass and drums where most problems arise.
Maybe i'll have to invest on new recording equipment. That'll please the wife lol x
Thanks again for your input
Regards
Eddie

[simmo123]

Hi Eddie, just had a look at you latest post re editing your midi's ,I am still pretty green at this editing midifiles but I am happy with most of my finished tracks even though I may have to remix them after playing the finished item out for the first time. I firstly am using what is now probably all outdated equipment to do my editing on. I am using cakewalk Sonar Le to edit the midi running it through what is now probably an ancient sound module called a Sonic Cell unit, from there onto my old computer which has Windows XP then after customising the track to suit I make first a wav file. I can then roughly get the overall volume balanced to suit. Next step is to load the wav file onto another old programme called "Sound Forge" which allows me to fine tune the highs and lows on the Wav file to suit my needs.
I have a separate programme called Razorlame ( our good old friend John G put me onto this one many years ago ) whereby I can put the wav file's into MP3 format.
This may seem very old and outdated way of editing but it works for me. The other thing is I save all of the edited midi's, Wav & Mp3's into there separate formats as I do them which means it is a fairly easy job to come home after I have played the new tracks out for the first time and then make any changes needed, which happens quite a bit.
All of my mp3 tracks are loaded onto an outdated player ESS MBLASTER2 MIDI/MP3 player which has never let me down, it takes a memory card which can hold all of my Mp3 tracks plus more,it is very simple to change tracks at my gigs. I am using a medium size Yamaha pa system which is very easy to set up,ie, on arriving at my oldies gigs I can be playing in 15 minutes as I have it all set up on a trolley with every thing pre plugged in .As the gigs are only one hour of playing it is the perfect setup for me.

Best whishes to all Simmo

[weeo]

Hi Simmo, My system is pretty much like yours, the only difference being i go direct to mp3 from the midi. I use a free programme, Audacity.
there have been a few recently where the midi sounds good at home , but when i use them at the gig, the mix seems to be totally different.
Drums and bass especially.
So I'm thinking i have to get better equipment (at home) so the mix i hear at home is the same as the mix at the gig.
I think the main culprit is the studio monitor speakers, i have a cheap set of Tannoys that don't handle the lower register very well, so that's the first step.
I just need to convince the wife, thats the hard part haha
Thanks for your input, Terry. Much appreciated
Regards
Eddie