Smoothing over the cracks

[Definity]

wow cool, thanks for the reply terminal3 i think i need to start a new thread

[TrevCircleStudios]

T3's post (as ever) is on the money. The only place I'd disagree (apart from on the pres which we've rehearsed elsewhere) is the order. Ikd say sort your monitoring chain and room treatment out first. If you can actually hear what you are dealing with on individual tracks you are more likely to be able sort problems out before you have 60 of them stacked up together. This maybe counter intuitive but you will be able to get the best out of your input stage if you have a good monitoring chain but if you have a great input chain but a poor monitor chain you are likely to bog up the mix in any case.

[Semi-D]

Originally Posted by PAFO

I will drop the multiband comp and the limiter. At times, I definitely sense in myself the urge to throw the kitchen sink at my mixes in the hope that one of the effects will have a magic "solve all mix problems" setting ;-)

As much as I can agree with the fact that with top quality gear comes top quality results I think people are missing the root of this problem!
Maybe your understanding of what you are using is playing a big part in your problem?
I can't help but feel your above comment possibly shows you have a lack of understanding of the tools, which is fair enough non of us are perfect at everything we do..!!

I think you maybe need to go back to basics, you should never just use tools blindly, that won't fix your mix!!
the golden rule is always use your ears, not your brain!! (well maybe a little, but only if you totally understand the changes you're making)
are you over doing it? drastic EQ cuts and boosts and massive amounts of multiband compression are usually not needed, think subtle changes instead!!

its not impossible to get a 'decent' master at home, if you don't think you are managing this its time to do some research and then put it all in to practice untill you find were you have been going wrong, then sell everything you own (car ect) and buy the best gear you can!!

[FrankGIK]

T3 and Trev have covered most of it.

To add to T3's quote, you're only as good as the weakest link. The problems you're experiencing are probably a combination of a poorly treated room (comb filtering), low end DAC (harsh mids, veiled highs, bloated lows) and monitors that are lying to you to begin with, and even if they weren't, couldn't possibly tell you the truth in a room that's lying to you.

To add to Trev, I'd also work on the room, the DAC and the monitors in that order. After that's sorted out, then upgrade preamps, then mics. You'll be shocked at the leaps forward you'll make as you do these things. Of course, along the time it'll take to gather all that together you'll get better by practicing with what you have.

Don't despair...make the most with what you have. If you can do that, then you'll make even greater gains with better equipment.

Frank