lowdown Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Yer, the track is great. A must for you guys that have been doing the mixing comp. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 [quote name='butlerk02' timestamp='1358773353' post='1944671'] Ok fellas. Are we putting a closing date on this? I reckon we let it run up until the 24th so it leaves a week for comments and ideas to be posted. It also gives me a week to post the CD out to the winner. [/quote] Agreed 24th as the last day of voting - although I dont know how I can stop people voting after then, other than to put the results up to that point into the OP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1358789384' post='1945042'] Agreed 24th as the last day of voting - although I dont know how I can stop people voting after then, other than to put the results up to that point into the OP? [/quote] Yeah that's the best way mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Right you are then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Last day of voting people..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I just listened to them all again and gave my vote to 51m0n. I'm not very technical and my mix uses pre sets in cubase, whereas I think you have all gone the extra mile with plug ins, eq etc. Having said that, my mix is still the one that will go on the album, because it sits better with the other tracks already mixed. Si's mix adds another dimension and really lifts the track - I love the way the bass and drums sound and I particularly like the vocal fx. It sounds more radio friendly and would make a good single, with a bit more work on the intro - I agree with Charic that the snare sounds too loud at the start. All in all, it's been very interesting to hear all the mixes and they all have something new and different going on, with none of them sounding at all bad. I have learned a lot, but I am lazy and I'm not really cut out to be a sound engineer - I just want to play bass, but I'm the one with the recording space and cubase, so it falls to me, since we can't afford a proper studio. I showed this competition to the rest of the band, but they couldn't give a monkeys - which was no surprise. They would be perfectly happy with any of these mixes and I suppose we are all more interested in writing and performing than recording. I would like to thank you all for your hard work and I look forward to the next competition, which I might even have a go at Oh, here's a video I nicked off youtube to go with this song: [media]http://youtu.be/Sowdkd4vnW0[/media] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerk02 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Congratulations go to Si. It's also cool that the overall winners mix was preferred by Redstriper who submitted the track. Si, I'll email you a link for a digital download of our album mate for you to pick the next track. Now would be a good time to review each other's mix and suggest improvements and also spill the beans on the secrets of your mix. Cheers Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Cheers! OK so I guess the results are in - unless we were to get a sudden an unexpected rush of votes today the results are as follows:-[list=1] [*]redstriper: https://soundcloud.com/redstriper-mix-stems/no-2nd-chance-un-mastered-mix (2 votes [9.09%]) [*]butlerk02: https://soundcloud.com/butlerk02/2nd-chance (3 votes [13.64%]) [*]51m0n: https://soundcloud.com/51m0n-1/no-2nd-chance/s-6Tbvx (8 votes [36.36%]) [*]OldG: https://soundcloud.com/lucy-hastings/bc-mix-final (2 votes [9.09%]) [*]RockfordStone: https://soundcloud.com/robslusarmusic/no-2nd-chance (1 votes [4.55%]) [*]Skol303: http://soundcloud.com/skol-mixes/second-chance-by-tacsi (4 votes [18.18%]) [*]lurksalot: https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/no-second-chance-again (0 votes [0.00%]) [*]charic: https://soundcloud.com/thebrokensky/no-second-chance-bc-mix-comp (2 votes [9.09%]) [/list] I'll post my review and so on tonight (its on the home machine, not here) Is there anything anyone really wants me to focus on about the mix I did? I want to know exactly what Skol303 was doing with the guitar filtering in his mix, thought that was really interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerk02 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I'd just like to know how you got it so tight and polished sounding without putting anything on the overall mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Fair enough, thats all about eq and transient control, saturation and panning, and ambience - damn that everything! I put it down to being a cheapskate and never buying any VSTs then, just using the free stuff I cant think of anything that you can put on the 2Buss that magically makes it all 'polished' sounding really. Not without getting the mix polished first. All those mastering things just make a bad job worse IME, unless you are an expert with mastering... I think Skols was at least as polished sounding (but his hihats were still a bit too 'skanky' if I'm harsh) , although I think he strayed from the intent of the original piece further (too far maybe) with his reamping of the guitars and filtering trickiness (as ace as it was, maybe it changed the track to the point of it almost being in a different genre?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 i'll try and get some of my opinions up later. would like some comment/critique of mine if anyone gets chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldG Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Just finished my tax return - should be able to sit and listen and comment soon.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Well done Si!! A very deserving result. Thanks for your kind words about my own effort... I think you're spot on about my 'skanky' hats and the fact I'd messed with the track perhaps a little too much. This is my first straight-up mix of someone else's material - I'm much more familiar with remix projects, where the brief is always to stamp your own personality on something. So I must admit I found it very difficult to refrain from messing with the mix even more than I ended up doing... definitely something I'll be more mindful of in future! Anyway, I'm at work at the moment but I'll write up something about my own mix and also some comments on everyone else's either tonight or over the weekend. I think it'd be great if everyone can do the same, as that's where we're really going to learn stuff. Also, just to say that I think this has been a great success! I've really enjoyed it and am keen to get involved in others, so let's keep it rollin'... Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I'd spill the beans on my effort , but after listening to everyones elses , my mix sounds like I already spilled the beans all over it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 OK here's my set of 'mix notes' from my sitting down and listening to everyone elses mixes. They are written as I listened throug, so they are pretty abrupt, simply because there isnt time to write an essay as the mix unfolds. Hope I dont offend anyone with any of the comments.... [b]redstriper: [url="https://soundcloud.com/redstriper-mix-stems/no-2nd-chance-un-mastered-mix"]https://soundcloud.c...un-mastered-mix[/url][/b] Panning: everything is on top of each other - no room for lead vocal Reverb on vocals: sounds rather fake, and everything else is pretty dry compared to the vox Very static mix: its left entirely to the song/arrangement to keep the listener interested [b]butlerk02: [url="https://soundcloud.com/butlerk02/2nd-chance"]https://soundcloud.c...rk02/2nd-chance[/url] [/b] Panning; too conservative still - ok on phones, less seperation on a hifi than might be best as a result Reverb on vocals: almost sounds like a small room reverb, its nearly a doubling effect rather than a reverb - maybe thats a delay doing that, in which case that delay output could do with some filtering to make it a bit less in your face and distracting? Mix helps the arrangement unfold really nicely though - percussion and rhythm guitar treatment are really nice! [b]OldG: [url="https://soundcloud.com/lucy-hastings/bc-mix-final"]https://soundcloud.c...gs/bc-mix-final[/url][/b] Theres a very odd and distracting delay on the snare in the intro and outro that makes it sound like the drummer may have been at the sherry! The guitarists are swinging around everywhere which is really distracting in headphones. I cant talk, there is a glitch on the snare in the intro on my mix too! Note to self, check the final render more carefully before uploading! Panning: other than the mad boogeying guitarist(s) its all a bit on top of each other in the center competing with our dear lead vocalist The mix is quite static again though, this song definitely can be helped a little to unfold IMO, without doing something too gimicky [b]RockfordStone: [url="https://soundcloud.com/robslusarmusic/no-2nd-chance"]https://soundcloud.c...c/no-2nd-chance[/url][/b] Panning: again pretty conservative headphone mix panning, although the panning choices are good they arent as hard as they could be Vocal reverb: another pretty fake sounding reverb/doubling thing going on, its a bit more subtle than the others though, which helps it along a lot There is something going on (a delay maybe) right on the beat which is a bit annoying and sounds very fake indeed, I think its off the vocal? Very static mix: its left entirely to the song/arrangement to keep the listener interested [b]Skol303: [url="http://soundcloud.com/skol-mixes/second-chance-by-tacsi"]http://soundcloud.co...chance-by-tacsi[/url] [/b] OK now this is very very 'clean' sounding, considering the effort thats gone in to saturate everything, pretty sure the gates are in use in full on this to achieve that kind of clean but super processed sound. The downside may be that it is almost sounding like a selection of samples put together in a DAW rather than a live performance? Really nice hammond, some compression on there somewhere to get it to 'pop' like that I would think, maybe a re-amping as well? Huge reberb length on the vocal, really well done, good bit of filtering to keep it under control Not at all sure about the eq on that hi hat though, I know its a really tough and nasty sounding hi hat in the first place, but I think more needed to be done to get this under control The re-amping of the guitiars and subsequent filtering is very very clever, but maybe too much for the song? Great re-arrangement to add more interest with the big drop in the midddle though. Very very well done (re)mix, if this were more conservative (ie a little more Tacsi, a little less Skol) I think this could have beaten mine hands down.... [b]lurksalot: [url="https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/no-second-chance-again"]https://soundcloud.c...nd-chance-again[/url][/b] Snare-ring-tastic is that done with a lot of compression, or with eq? OK, this is clearly a mix newbie, there are some real classic mix issues in here that everyone makes when they are starting out (really pleased you entered this - thanks!). You need to achieve far better seperation between instruments, this is done with EQ and Panning in the first instance, and after thats right then compression and ducking techniques play a role too. Have a good read of the Recording101 blog on eqing and have another go at eqing this, then, when its all eq'ed as nicely as you can try a stupidly simple LCR pannign approach (everything is only allowed to be Left, Centre or Right in the mix, hard panned. The seperation will be far greater making the track easier to hear, without the build up of competing frequencies. And we havent even got on to the compression side yet Its a decent early effort though, a bit of perseverance with the basics and it will improve massively [b]charic: [url="https://soundcloud.com/thebrokensky/no-second-chance-bc-mix-comp"]https://soundcloud.c...nce-bc-mix-comp[/url][/b] That hihat that still has way too much of the 'nasty' about it IMO, you need to be vicious when you get a sound tha tis tracked that badly, only leave the good bits (however little that may be) The reverb is completely overpowering the vocal, and everything else too a bit, you're forgiven, if oinly because you didnt live through the 80's Panning is a little conservative Mix is pretty static once it gets started, although I do like the vox fade on the outro, thats a neat way to end it, nice! EQing could help "de-muddify" the result some more.... Sorry if thats all a bit abrupt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) As for my mix, it went something like this.... Listen to the tracks up at a unity gain to see what we are dealing with. Go through them individually to check for the biggest offenders, try and foresee issues - in this case the kick and hihats were always going to be [i]really [/i]tricky to get right (really stinky bit of drum tracking as it goes!), the bass had nothing above the low mids, and so couldnt possible work on a lappie, the backing vocals were a cheeky cut and paste job and not doubled, the guitar was charming (really useable tone that fits the song really well, the keys were great, the vocal was OK but needed to be pulled into a sapce with the band, eq'ed and compressed to pop in the mix etc. Set out the tracks and group them all into sensible and useful groups and subgroups, I ended up with:- FX group - Plate reverb - Ambience reverb - Delay Rhythm Section Group - Drum kit group - - Parallel Compressor - - kick - - Snare Group - - - - Snare top - - - - Snare bottom - - hi hat - Percussion group - - loop shaker - - djembe - Bass group - - bass mids (more on this later) - - bass track - Guitar group - - Guitar 1 - - Guitar 2 Vocal Group - - lead - - bv - - bv (treated) - - bv dub delay Keys Group - - Keys 1 - - Keys 2 Which enabled mixing of sub groups (and sub sub groups) and control over sections to be maintained nice and easily. I decided right at the start to make this a very quick mix by my standards, so I limited myself to just a couple of reverbs and a delay (I've used as many as three reverbs on a lead vocal alone before now), and to try and keep things as simple as possible. Having said that I just checked and I used 20 different VSTs in the mix, thats not 20 instances thats 20 different fx, way more than 20 instances! I used Reacomp, Reagate and ReEq all over this mix, nearly every channel (and group) has a Reacomp and a ReaEq on it unless it has something a little more exotic to help eq or compress it. EQ out the nasty stuff - that turned out to be almost the entire hihat as it goes, the kick had a huge amount of eq on it too EQ the tracks to fit together - Thats some deep bass isnt it, better not compete there with the kick drum then, so I went for a slappy kick and deep bass, this is how the whole thing goes, listen to sounds competing in the same frequency range and hack chunks out of one area of one for the other and vice versa (hack may be a strong would, lets say carve). This is done with both/all tracks up to allow me to hear when the competing tracks sit nicely together. Its generally done in mono too, I want them to overlay so I can clear them up and still hear the 'essence' of what makes each sound the timbre that it is. Sort out the transients and levels to fit together with comrpession - somethings have to have a big transient spikee to have the impact they need (snare drum for instance), is there another instrument in the same area of the frequency rang that might compete with that instrument's transietn (bv's maybe) if so consider the use of very fast attack on the compressor on the competing instrument to keep it out of the way when the more important transient htis. This is hard to do, to be honest it takes a lot of mucking around with mixing to hear the music like this, and a good understanding of comrpessors to be able to think in terms of seperation in those tiny durations that we can get compressors to help prevent a build up in, or accentuate a transient spike in. I then panned the entire mix to work together nicely, being very careful to seperate elements that were competing for space to opposite sides of the stereo field. I opted for a very hard panned sound, its not quite LCR but it is very close, that seperation in the stereo makes the space for the lead vocal and so on that a radio friendly mix really needs. I then got the ambience close to right - the reverbs and delays that the whole track sat in, which involved choosing a couple of good convolution reverbs, a Plate (mainly for the vox) and a good convolution IR for the ambience (A small bright ambience from Samplicity a set of free Bricasti IRs). The filtering of the reverbs is the key to making them sound real. The delay I used was NastyDLA from Bootsy, it just lets you do lovely things to saturate the repeats and sounds gorgeous, I used a dotted 8th on the LHS and a dotted quarter on the RHS with a cross feedback type of ping pong to get plenty of delay movement going on, but filtered out all but the mid range to keep the delay from overpowering the mix, careful feedback setting is a must for this to work out ok. I think it was about now that I parallel compressed the drum kit for more punch (using the Molot compressor I smashed the hell out of it the snare and kick then mixed that back in with the original to get some more punch) and then went around adding some saturation with a mix of either FerricTDS and/or TesslaPro (mainly on groups) to various tracks to make them pop out of the mix a bit more. I used a feedback compressor (TDR feedback compressor) on the entire rhythm section to help ride the levels throughout the track a little, its a really really nice vst that very very transparent gain riding tool. I ended up liking the drums so much that I put them a bit louder in the mix than I normally would. At about this point I realised the bass wasnt going to cut it on anything but big speakers, so I took a send to another channel, heavily filteredit to include only the upper mid range that was there then ran that through a guitar combo amp & cab emulator called California Sun (from Auratone) and blended that back in with the original bass track to add a load of upper mid harmonics to the bass track itself. This was very tricky to balance but meant there was something from the bass to hear (albeit overdriven) on small laptop speakers - something I know RedStriper has tried to get right before. After that i concentrated on the vocals, using Spitfish to de-ess the lead, and reacomp to control both lead and bvs. Then it was time to find a bit of secret sauce to help pull the mix along. This was quite tricky, I wanted to double the bvs and pan them left and right, I even tried to copy a bv from a different section to get some double tracking, but alas the BVs were one shot copied and pasted so that didnt work. Finally I decided to take the one BV channel I had, copy it, effect it very heavily, and send it to a really tasty dub delay fx called TAL DUB II which allows for repeats to be filtered and overdriven very spectacularly (its one of my favourite delay fx). Then by carefull automating the send to the delay and the level from the delay through the duration of the song I could use that effect as the 'earworm' pulling the listener through the arrangement. and ended up using it for the last gasp of the outro. I hope that gives a bit of an insight. I spent about 4 or 5 hours on the mix, which is tiny by my standards. In a 'real world' scenario at this point I may have spent another couple of hours refining balances, and automating some levels (that opening snare, which has a timbre shift from intro to first verse, the lead vocal etc etc) before presenting the mix to the client for review and a round of mix tweaks. Again for me, this is rushing things along, but I only have so much time to spend on this competition I'm afraid.... Butlerk02 has sent me his album - which is a excellent. I think we are going to have a completely different set of problems mixing it though. I'm going to listen to it for a couple of days before picking a favourite track for us all to have a crack at... Edited January 24, 2013 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 UH I think I will have to read that post about 5 times to understand the jargon , still , I am not sure exactly what the answer was going to tell me, as I guess I didn't really understand the question. hey ho , whats the next track I can sort out for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ok, here are my notes on the various mixes. A couple of quick caveats: firstly, please don't be offended by any of my comments! Really. My intention is purely to be constructive and I think it's going to help us all progress if we just have confidence in our camaraderie as fellow BC'ers and "tell it how it sounds", with no punches pulled… that's certainly how I want people to respond to my effort. Secondly, I mix and listen solely on headphones. Well, I do test-drive my mixes in the car and on the lounge hifi, but by using 'cans I'm likely to pick up on stuff that might not be such an issue when listening more 'naturally' thru speakers. So here goes... [url="https://soundcloud.com/redstriper-mix-stems/no-2nd-chance-un-mastered-mix"]Redstriper:[/url] I particularly like how you've cleaned up the snare. Good idea having the Hammond quite loud and proud in the mix - it works. Vocal seems slightly quiet. The mix overall sounds 'muddy' - perhaps too much panned down the centre, or a case of needing to be more brutal with the EQ'ing. Guitars also felt a wee bit lifeless - but on the flipside it leave plenty of room for the Hammond. [url="https://soundcloud.com/butlerk02/2nd-chance"]Butler:[/url] Punchy from the off, which is good. Not sure about the vocal - seems a little thin and in a slightly different 'space' to the rest of the mix (reverb-wise). Kick drum a little pillowy and perhaps fighting with the bass. Djembe fits in well. Nice sparkly hats. Has plenty of 'oomph' overall. [url="https://soundcloud.com/51m0n-1/no-2nd-chance/s-6Tbvx"]51m0n:[/url] Nicely balanced! Clever use of reverb that works well with the overall feel of the track (particularly on the vocal). Lovely and wide with good use of panning. Everything has it place - very clean and sounds good at different volumes. Dislikes: kick a little too clicky perhaps, but it does cut through well. Not sure about the distortion on the bass - again it cuts nicely but not so keen on the tone is creates (but minor grumbles). Overall you've nailed a really strong vibe for the track as a whole / it sounds 'complete'. [url="https://soundcloud.com/lucy-hastings/bc-mix-final"]OldG:[/url] Snare too loose and lacking 'snap'. Like the bass. Kick perhaps needs a bit more 'kick'! I'm getting a slightly weird pumping effect on headphones - maybe too much compression? Some crazy ping-pong panning on the guitars too - but it's weirdly likable! Vocals are nice and clear - I can hear every word. Overall the mix sounds a little light and lacking 'oomph'. [url="https://soundcloud.com/robslusarmusic/no-2nd-chance"]RockfordStone:[/url] Gutsy low end, which I like. Not so keen on the doubled-up (or delayed?) lead vocal, lacks clarity but nice idea. Could do with much wider panning to open up it up. The guitars seem a little 'isolated' on the edges; too much panned down the centre. Kick could be louder - the snare seems to be dominating the drums. Has a nice warm feel overall but perhaps bordering on being 'muddy'. Easily fixed with more brutal EQ'ing, maybe. [url="https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/no-second-chance-again"]Lurksalot:[/url] Crazy! But strangely creative!! Way too much delay and reverb 'muffling' the mix - it sounds like I'm listening to it in another room or under water. There are however some odd moments that I really like. The heavy kick/open hat sound during the verse in particular - sounds almost mechanical/industrial. I know you're new to this mixing malarkey so don't be dispirited by these comments or others! Best place to start doing some homework would be EQ'ing and panning. And a sincere doff of my cap for having the cajones to get stuck in. Good on you. [url="https://soundcloud.com/thebrokensky/no-second-chance-bc-mix-comp"]Charic:[/url] Hi hat needs cleaning up to remove the clatter. I like the guitars, nice and clean. Not so keen on the vocal - too high in the mix and way too much reverb. Kick and bass seem to be fighting for the low end, could do with some EQ to fix. Snare getting lost, too loose and diffuse - needs some snap to cut through. Djembe sounds good being prominent. Not sure about fading the vocal at the end - makes the track fizzle out rather than crescendo. ---------- Ok, still friends? I'll scribble down some notes on how I approached the mix over the weekend and post them up shortly. Cheers all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 (edited) [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1359067379' post='1949541'][b]Skol303: [url="http://soundcloud.com/skol-mixes/second-chance-by-tacsi"]http://soundcloud.co...chance-by-tacsi[/url] [/b] OK now this is very very 'clean' sounding, considering the effort thats gone in to saturate everything, pretty sure the gates are in use in full on this to achieve that kind of clean but super processed sound. The downside may be that it is almost sounding like a selection of samples put together in a DAW rather than a live performance? Really nice hammond, some compression on there somewhere to get it to 'pop' like that I would think, maybe a re-amping as well? Huge reberb length on the vocal, really well done, good bit of filtering to keep it under control Not at all sure about the eq on that hi hat though, I know its a really tough and nasty sounding hi hat in the first place, but I think more needed to be done to get this under control The re-amping of the guitiars and subsequent filtering is very very clever, but maybe too much for the song? Great re-arrangement to add more interest with the big drop in the midddle though. Very very well done (re)mix, if this were more conservative (ie a little more Tacsi, a little less Skol) I think this could have beaten mine hands down....[/quote] ^ Wow! Very kind of you, Si. You've clearly given the track a very thorough critical listen which I really appreciate (and you've picked up on some details that show you have a fine pair of ears!). You're bang on with your comments and especially the line about it bordering on being a remix - something I'm going to bear in mind for the next one. I'll address your other comments when I post up a summary of how I went about it. Thanks again mate. Paul PS: cheers for the detailed notes on yours - very useful indeed. I'll get back to you with comments and questions once I've had chance to try out some of your methods - lots of new things to experiment with from reading that! Edited January 25, 2013 by Skol303 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldG Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 As Simon and Skol have covered this in detail... I'll add my notes jotted as I listened: Redstriper .I like the slightly laid back feel to your mix, but it could do with opening out with eq,and pan positions. The vocal sounds like you have placed reverb directly onto the track - rather than being fed to a separate reverb track, I may be guessing wrongly but the vocal needs to come out of the pool of verb somehow... Butler, love the filtered guitar work and general mix dynamics but was wishing for more vocal - had to try to hear it... 51m0n A lot to be learned from this one - an expert at work for sure. I do feel I'm being physically beaten with the snare tho'. Charic Nice work -but a tad itchy in eq and the cavernous reverb needs taming for me. Skol Would have voted for this if 51m0n's mix was absent, still a little toppy on eq for me really - probably cos I grew up with tape and vinyl. Lurksalot Good start - advice above (see 51m0n's review). Using that advice try to get the sound out of the speakers and into the room more... RockfordStone Full and punchy, maybe a tad too full (only a tad) - vocals need a clear copy dominant with that double track version to work imho... As above, no offense intended - I'm using this comp to improve (after hearing my mix you'll agree I need it ) so honesty is needed here methinks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Fully agreed on the hi-hat front, although I have actually been pretty brutal with it (I just felt that it played such an integral part to the rhythm that I had to have it above that "shaker" sound). As for that snare... it's wishy-washy because I wanted to delete it completely (I did at one point) but felt bad doing so Next month I'll be more brutal where needs be drummers don't have feelings do they? [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The reverb is completely overpowering the vocal, and everything else too a bit, you're forgiven, if oinly because you didnt live through the 80's[/font][/color][/quote] Funny you should say that, it's what I was aiming for all the compressors, EQ's and Reverbs I used were "vintage" emulations from the renaissance waves pack (new toy syndrome). As for the static mix, yep totally agree. In my defense though I'm used to cutting back a bit on "the cool stuff" as I tend to mix an entire album at a time and this particular song struck me as the one of those that should balance the rest. Also... I only found 2 hours to do any work on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerk02 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Wow, lots to read and take in. I'll post some comments of other people's mixes this afternoon. Cheers Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 [quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1359074897' post='1949679'] UH I think I will have to read that post about 5 times to understand the jargon , still , I am not sure exactly what the answer was going to tell me, as I guess I didn't really understand the question. hey ho , whats the next track I can sort out for you [/quote] Sorry if its all too jargon heavy mate. Its really hard not to use the terms I'm familiar with. If there are specific bits that leave you competely non-plussed after a couple or three read throughs [i]dont hesitate to ask for clarification[/i]. This is all supposed to be a learning exercise for [i]all[/i] of us (still waiting to read Skols in depth how to for his mix, will learn a lot from it I'm sure!), if anyone cant follow the terminology of an explanation then it is up to us to help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1359067379' post='1949541'] [b]lurksalot: [url="https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/no-second-chance-again"]https://soundcloud.c...nd-chance-again[/url][/b] Snare-ring-tastic is that done with a lot of compression, or with eq? OK, this is clearly a mix newbie, there are some real classic mix issues in here that everyone makes when they are starting out (really pleased you entered this - thanks!). You need to achieve far better seperation between instruments, this is done with EQ and Panning in the first instance, and after thats right then compression and ducking techniques play a role too. Have a good read of the Recording101 blog on eqing and have another go at eqing this, then, when its all eq'ed as nicely as you can try a stupidly simple LCR pannign approach (everything is only allowed to be Left, Centre or Right in the mix, hard panned. The seperation will be far greater making the track easier to hear, without the build up of competing frequencies. And we havent even got on to the compression side yet Its a decent early effort though, a bit of perseverance with the basics and it will improve massively [/quote] Cheers for that ,I did read all your Blogs , but I guess I still haven't understood it yet , I did try the EQ malarkey but my technique needs some refinement , Panning , well I only sussed how to do that last weekend so my mix was totally devoid of it , compression is waaaaay over my head but will read and play as time permits , I did try reverb and delay on stuff but that was about as far as technique stretched to . Must try harder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Its all in your ears, listening, learning how to use the tools and then experimenting.... You will only get better the more you are doing thins stuff. What DAW software are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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