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+---- Thread: Into My Dreams - HB Mix (/showthread.php?tid=19603)
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Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 18-07-2017
Epic Song!
IMO this would have to be one of the best performed, arranged and recorded sessions that its been my pleasure to work on. Thanks so much to the band for sharing.
Took my cues initially from the reference to build out my rough and then just went with instinct to enhance. I'll make some small balance changes here and there once my ears cool down - it always seems easier to spot flaws once a mix is published!
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New version, 1.1, uploaded below
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New version, 1.2, uploaded below - competition entry
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 24-07-2017
oops! missed 23rd deadline by 2 hrs. I was a day off in my head
If I can get feedback from the band on this mix that would be great but totally understand if i cantnew version 1.1 - a few minor changes and small re-balancing
(27 July - couple of things still not sitting quite right for my taste but will wait for band feedback before making any more changes)
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - Shon - 24-07-2017
Nice work HB! Kick sounds huge but snare has a bit of resonance in it. Maybe a little too much snare bottom for my taste. Guitar tones are good, vox cuts through nicely. I found I had problems with too many low mids in my mix and I hear some of that here as well.
I also missed the deadline, it was a lot of work but a very enjoyable set of well recorded tracks to work with made it fun.
Cheers!
Shon
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 27-07-2017
Hey Shon, thanks for listening. Appreciate your comments
Cheers, Simon
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - Mandubien - 27-07-2017
Hey Simon ! I'm Florian, Perpetual Escape's drummer and original mix engineer. Thank you for mixing our song
Here's my feedback:
The general tone you achieved is pretty interesting. The drums drive the song nicely, the bass works well with the kick, the guitars have nice separation, the keys sit well in the mix without being too loud. Vocals are upfront, but not too much which is the way we like them
Here's what you can do to improve the whole thing:
- Drums are probably a bit too loud, especially the cymbals and the kick. They also have a lot of distortion. Maybe you have compressed them too much ? The bottom snare is a bit too loud too. It adds a nice brightness but the sympathetical vibrations of the wires makes weird artifacts when I hits the toms. At last, the hats are very aggressive and too loud. They're even louder than some vocals.
- Bass: I really like its tone
It works really well with the kick. You can add some distortion on the heavy parts too add some spice, but it's more a matter of taste.- Guitars: I really like their tone too! They have nice separation without being aggressive. The acoustic guitar in part 3 is a bit aggressive. You can use a compressor to tame the attack a little bit. Some EQ could help too.
In part 4 (the prog part), I think the guitars could be have more low ends. This part is the heaviest of the song, so I think it should sound like something more metal.
The final solo is not loud enough. It should emphasize the end of the child's nightmare, it's resurgence. So don't hesitate to make it epic
- Keys: some parts could be a bit louder here and there (like the Steven Wilson-like frightning violins in the progressive part), but you managed them well through the whole song.
- Vocals: the first thing you need to do is to deess them more. They have aggressive sibilances. Most of the time they sit pretty well in the mix, but sometimes they need more automation to make sure they're at the right volume, especially with the male lead vocals.
You did not use a lot of FX, which is fine actually. Maybe verse 2 could deserve a special treatment, but it's fine as it is right now. Sometimes simple is better
One last important thing: I can barely hear the backing vocals. It's very obvious in the last part with vocals. The Aaaaahhhhs should emphasize the female lead vocals like Pink Floyd used to do
Something big and epic.That's all
We hope you had a lot of fun with these tracks, and we're looking forward to hearing your revised mix.Cheers
Florian - Perpetual Escape
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - CJ Fuller - 27-07-2017
Wait, the drummer is complaining the drums are too loud? Damn, Mandubien, you've just destroyed one of my longest held pet theories - that everyone, given the chance, will mix their own favoured instrument as loud as possible...
But in all seriousness, I found this mix to be quite listenable overall. It's a pretty good effort! The overall mastering was decent in terms of overall loudness, compression and limiting, which is a sad rarity on this site. Nothing worse than playing an otherwise decent mix only to see the meter constantly jump up into the red on my mixer, or worse, so over-compressed and limited that it stops being a mix anymore and could just be every track normalized and set to 0... This is FAR from that...
However, that said, Mandubien is right - the vocal is often buried under the drums or other instruments. You would benefit from going through the song again, and keeping in mind that, really, in almost any song, the vocal IS the one thing that needs to shine out amongst everything else. Give it some love! You might be onto a winner...
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - Mandubien - 27-07-2017
Well, as a drummer, I'm very happy ah ah
But today I'm trying to think as a band/producer/mix engineer. So what I prefer does not matter at all, but only the song ! But I must admit it's hard not to listen and think as a drummer.
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 03-08-2017
Hey CJ -Thanks for listening
(27-07-2017, 04:49 PM)CJ Fuller Wrote: Nothing worse than playing an otherwise decent mix only to see the meter constantly jump up into the red on my mixer, or worse, so over-compressed and limited that it stops being a mix anymore and could just be every track normalized and set to 0...
I guess the loudness wars have contributed to the expectation that mixes have to be LOUD but with Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music now limiting their streaming music levels to -12>>>-14 RMS maybe things are slowly changing for the better (except EDM which is still actively mastered at -7 RMS for maximum loudness in clubs)
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 03-08-2017
(27-07-2017, 04:10 PM)Mandubien Wrote: Hey Simon ! I'm Florian, Perpetual Escape's drummer and original mix engineer. Thank you for mixing our song
Here's my feedback:
Hey Florian,
Mate, thanks for the detailed feedback!
Everything you said made sense and many of your points were already on my "things to do list" but having your feedback brings clarity to some of those 50/50 balance calls especially things like vocals and drums which can vary song to song or genre to genre.
Will definitely put up a final mix before closing date.
Cheers, Simon
RE: Into My Dreams - HB Mix - HbGuitar - 06-08-2017
New Version, 1.2 - competition entry
1. re-balanced snare close mics and EQ
2. adjust cymbal and kick levels
3. dial back drum bus compression
4. beef up EG low end in part 4
5. boost solo in part 5 for extra epicness
6. small level adjustments for keys
7. de-ess and tweak level automation for vox
8. boost choir BGVs
9. tame acoustic transients in part 3
Good luck everybody!