22-07-2014, 08:58 PM
Hey Chris, I enjoyed listening to your mix. This is a real beast of a multi to mix with a lot of unexpected challenges.
There are some balance issues with this that need addressing in my opinion, but I have some tips that may help you, having worked on this multitrack for an absurd amount of time.
The main issue that's upsetting the balance and emotional content here is that that rhythm section is far too forward relative to the melody lines. To me it sounds like you mixed the rhythm section first, and then tried to squeeze the lead guitars in at the end. That may or may not be the case, but if it is, I think you'll find a complete remix will happen much faster if you mix in the most important sonics first. In this case, the rhythm section sounds quite good, but it's masking the nylon guitar frequently and it's completely eating the electrics alive.
Now there are two main reasons for this to my ears... for one, there's a ton of reverb/delay going on, and to my ears the lead instruments sound wetter than the rhythm section, which is also too loud (especially the drums). The best thing to do in my opinion is to use two main reverb sends that apply more or less to the entire mix... a short, ambient reverb, and a longer "space" reverb to give it size... and vary the send levels on each instrument. Less to the space reverb will bring an instrument forward, and vis versa. Roll off a bit more high end from the verbs and keep them to where they're just barely present, especially on the shorter reverb. To bring an instrument even further forward on a more psychological level, apply a delay send strictly to the instrument in question, keep the level low, the delay time at least 100 ms (depending on tempo) and roll off both the highs and the lows. This gives the impression of a very distant slapback echo and is great for both guitars and vocals.
And for two, there's some serious EQ tweaking that needs to happen to bring those lead guitars forward. You've got more treble in the rhythm section than the lead guitars, which is going to push them back right off the bat. The electric guitars, aside from being rather soaked in reverb/delay, are going to need more in the upper mids, and the rhythm section could do with quite a bit less (cumulatively). There's an odd comb filtering effect in the electric guitar raw tracks that sounds quite nice actually, but you'll notice it makes the upper mids very inconsistent and they sometimes very nearly disappear. Tonal reverb (be careful not to let it get too wet) can help here, as well as dynamic EQ, but the rhythm section needs cuts in that region at least as much as the electric guitar needs more. And before you do anything... try bringing the steel string acoustics down, because they're chewing up the high mids more than anything.
These are obviously just my opinions, so take them or leave them. Without completely remixing this, I think you can try some of these ideas by simply turning down all the faders, deleting the reverb sends/inserts, and then fading in the instruments in order of priority with your current settings, tweaking the EQ/compression as space becomes more scarce. I'd bring the steel string acoustics and tambourine into the mix close to the end, and then consider reverb.
Just my thoughts
I enjoyed listening. I'll go listen to a few of your others when I get a little time. I liked your comments on my original mix... if you check out my "overhaul mix" that I posted maybe a week thereafter, you'll find I'd implemented many of your suggested fixes. Thanks for taking the time, looking forward to hearing more.
There are some balance issues with this that need addressing in my opinion, but I have some tips that may help you, having worked on this multitrack for an absurd amount of time.
The main issue that's upsetting the balance and emotional content here is that that rhythm section is far too forward relative to the melody lines. To me it sounds like you mixed the rhythm section first, and then tried to squeeze the lead guitars in at the end. That may or may not be the case, but if it is, I think you'll find a complete remix will happen much faster if you mix in the most important sonics first. In this case, the rhythm section sounds quite good, but it's masking the nylon guitar frequently and it's completely eating the electrics alive.
Now there are two main reasons for this to my ears... for one, there's a ton of reverb/delay going on, and to my ears the lead instruments sound wetter than the rhythm section, which is also too loud (especially the drums). The best thing to do in my opinion is to use two main reverb sends that apply more or less to the entire mix... a short, ambient reverb, and a longer "space" reverb to give it size... and vary the send levels on each instrument. Less to the space reverb will bring an instrument forward, and vis versa. Roll off a bit more high end from the verbs and keep them to where they're just barely present, especially on the shorter reverb. To bring an instrument even further forward on a more psychological level, apply a delay send strictly to the instrument in question, keep the level low, the delay time at least 100 ms (depending on tempo) and roll off both the highs and the lows. This gives the impression of a very distant slapback echo and is great for both guitars and vocals.
And for two, there's some serious EQ tweaking that needs to happen to bring those lead guitars forward. You've got more treble in the rhythm section than the lead guitars, which is going to push them back right off the bat. The electric guitars, aside from being rather soaked in reverb/delay, are going to need more in the upper mids, and the rhythm section could do with quite a bit less (cumulatively). There's an odd comb filtering effect in the electric guitar raw tracks that sounds quite nice actually, but you'll notice it makes the upper mids very inconsistent and they sometimes very nearly disappear. Tonal reverb (be careful not to let it get too wet) can help here, as well as dynamic EQ, but the rhythm section needs cuts in that region at least as much as the electric guitar needs more. And before you do anything... try bringing the steel string acoustics down, because they're chewing up the high mids more than anything.
These are obviously just my opinions, so take them or leave them. Without completely remixing this, I think you can try some of these ideas by simply turning down all the faders, deleting the reverb sends/inserts, and then fading in the instruments in order of priority with your current settings, tweaking the EQ/compression as space becomes more scarce. I'd bring the steel string acoustics and tambourine into the mix close to the end, and then consider reverb.
Just my thoughts
I enjoyed listening. I'll go listen to a few of your others when I get a little time. I liked your comments on my original mix... if you check out my "overhaul mix" that I posted maybe a week thereafter, you'll find I'd implemented many of your suggested fixes. Thanks for taking the time, looking forward to hearing more.
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!