(This is a reply to John's remark about mixing and off-topic. Moderator, feel free to move this to a new thread, thanks)
After mixing and using all necessary tools, It never comes out like a pristine pro mix.
Don't beat yourself up. Mixing and mastering is an art (just like playing a keyboard is). It has to be learned and practiced, practiced, practiced, for a long time.
Maybe this will help.
An analogy to mixingWhen you want to paint a picture, say a house with a tree, fence and a smiling sun, you have certain limits to work within. You can't go outside the canvas, so the frame is the first limit.
You have to make a choice where to put the house and the tree. Is the tree standing in front of the house? Fine, but then you cannot see part of the house. If you want to see both the house fully and the tree fully, you'll have to put them next to each other. Where the tree and house are, there you cannot paint grass, the horizon or the sky. Things can't overlap; you'll only see the last painted object. Limit number two.
Limits to music audioBack to audio, there are also limits. Hard limits. Hard as in impossible to break, since it's designed that way. These three limits are:
- Channels
You only have two channels: left and right. - Volume (dynamic range)
The softest sound is silence. You cannot go softer than that. The loudest is 0dB. Even if you want louder, it's not possible. You'll only get clipping and that sounds like a distortion. - Frequency
The lowest tone (frequency) you can hear is around 20Hz and the highest around 20kHz. If you want to have higher frequencies, only dogs and bats are able to enjoy your song.
And things can't overlap, otherwise you don't hear them separate anymore.
ConclusionWhen you mix, keep these limits in mind. Just as the frame of a painting.
Where do you put each instrument: left, middle, right or somewhere in the middle?
If you want to hear the bass, which is most often in the middle, it occupies the lower frequencies. Other lower frequency heavy instruments therefore need a bit of EQ to remove the lowest frequencies, to make space for the bass.
Etc.
Play around with mixing and have fun with it. You'll get better with each time. If you want a really good mix, find a friend who has experience with mixing. Or pay someone to do it for you.
Fortunately for us keyboard players, the styles have already been mixed by professional mixers at Yamaha. They sound great out of the box!
Maarten