Getting Keyboard Parts to "Pop" in Mixes

[tommypenngotti]

Hello all….my songs lately are very progressive and verging on dub step / syncopated keyboard accompanimnet with the instruments in DP . I have Waves 9 .

Besides panning , what do you guys use to make keyboard parts stand out in mix. Most of my keys are stabbing / rythmic kind of sections mixed with lush pads (see link below) At times I have used MW EQ and just messed with eq's until I hear the part pop in the mix…..

thanks !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXnVJtndi3E

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Edited: others obviously know soooooo much more.

[BKK-OZ]

When I have something that kind of lays in a mix and needs some pop, I always have a go @ putting Stillwell's Rocket in an insert slot. It is a great (and cheap) compressor plug.

[Phil O]

In addition to the above suggestions, you might also take a look at the other elements of the mix. Sometimes the problem is that there are other sounds masking what you want to pop. Cutting some of those other sounds (through faders, dodging, EQ cuts, etc.) is sometimes better than boosting the buried sound. Or it may need a little of both. It all depends on what's going on in your particular mix.

Phil

[David Polich]

This is actually a question related to every part of a mix, not just "keyboard" parts.

It isn't a matter of compression or EQ, I can tell you that. Adding a comp/limiter or equalization to a keyboard part has next to nothing to do with "making it pop".

The real answer is your arrangement. You simply can't have ANY parts stepping on each other.
Each part in your mix has to occupy its own little hole, that's the best way I can put it. Think of it as call-and-response - one part occurs, "asking a question". Then another part happens, "answering the question". This is basic arrangement 101. Listen to any recording, classical, jazz, pop, country, rock, whatever. You should be able to hear this concept…instruments should be either answering each other by not playing at the same time, or complimenting and reinforcing another instrument (for example, a piano line doubling the vocal melody).

If you're posting this question about how to get your parts to "pop", then I'm gonna make an educated guess that your arrangement is too busy, and you've just slapped part after part on because you thought it was cool. You'll have to go back to square one and strip everything away and start over with the drums and the bass line, which is the foundation of your arrangement. Then start with ONE part, lay that down. Then lay down another part that either compliments (doubles it) to reinforce it, or plays in the "holes" where the first part isn't playing. Notice I'm not saying mix…I'm saying arrangement.

The concept of arranging keyboard parts correctly struck me when listening to Cars records
so many years ago. A good example is the Cars song "Let's Go". The signature keyboard sync
sound is a legato figure played over a staccato guitar rhythm. The guitar and the keyboard are not both playing the same thing at the same time. Really simple.

Another helpful tip - don't get "married" to any particular part, no matter how cool it is.
The more parts you have going on, the smaller every part becomes. Do you really need that
cool TB-303 line, even if it really does nothing but muddy up your mix? No. Think of how many parts you don't need. Your mix will sound better with fewer parts, not more. If you have a super-cool part you just love but it doesn't fit, put it in another song.

[mhschmieder]

Yep, what Dave said. Once I'm "done" with a piece (ha-ha), I start stripping away. This is also where it starts to get really fun and creative. It makes us more aware of what each part is contributing musically as well as to the story being told (a story is being told whether there are lyrics or not BTW).

This also gives you the opportunity to distinguish each repetition of a part by layering different tracks each time. Each one gets its moment in the limelight, making it that more special when it occurs.

Although Dave says EQ and compression won't achieve your goal of making a keyboard part pop out of the mix, I do find that the choice of the sound source can at least avoid muddying things up. And with acoustic piano, even though I'm not a Yamaha fan, their pianos can often blend better with certain instruments than a nice Steinway or other vintage brand. Similarly with organ sounds; a dark and muddy B3 emulation may be hard to work with vs. a good one like the more recent XK-series updates from Hammond.

Clavinet is an interesting keyboard because it can often serve a rhythm guitar type role -- especially in funk and r&b. More often than not, I will move a rhythm guitar part to the clavinet in such material rather than doubling, or have them do entirely different things. The clavinet is interesting when used well, because it is simultaneously popping through while remaining in the background.

With synths, it's important how you play as well. Too many people treat them like organs, playing giant chord clusters in unison. I recommend limiting yourself to mono synths for awhile, to develop discipline in how to properly layer synths. Also, change the voicing or patch with some of the repetitions, or even the octave it sits in. These sort of arrangement tricks keep the listener from getting bored or desensitizing to the parts.

[Shooshie]

Nothing I do ever pops. Is it too late to go back and take lessons?

Actually, I have to admit that if I just quit listening to it and come back to it in 6 weeks, it's a popping' all over the place. Then I keep listening and trying to make it better, and everything stops popping, I'm hearing crap everywhere, and...

well...

"Pop" is a relative term. If only we could tell what pops in OTHER people's brains!

Shoosh