06-11-2018, 01:38 PM
thanks for feedback. took a listen at the second mix, and also that mastodon record mentioned. dont know, how much time and effort you're putting on this, but the mastodon record (at least the track show yourself) seems to back its main drum punch between 100-200Hz, with nice lofi distortion. and even though the bass sounds low tuned/5-string, they/the mix/master is taking very little if any use of the lowest octave for the 'main band groove'. to counter this, the average high frequency energy starts to gently roll of also relatively soon, at around 4-5kHz. with only hints of higher frequency transients, mainly from ride cymbal, and lead vocal sibilances to keep them 'in front of things'. but from the very beginning, for me, the pedal hihat/and/or/shaker/tambourine kind of 'ruins' it by being very present at the 10k-ish area, even though it doesnt sound harsh. at least my brain start to call for 'complementary' musical information at the sub bass octave, if there is musical energy in the highest audible octave, and vice versa. but at least my, and from personal the average, brain seems to tolarate sub bass with lack of highs better, than the other way around. but in overall, i think the mastodon records has a nice appeal to it with it's smashy sound.
so, if you're after that kind of sound, you could try constraining (pre-filter) the overal frequency range of drums, and 'energize' them with some type of clipping/saturation, as you mentioned earlier. the lead vocal (source track) seems to also have some nasty high frequency ringing, i think somewhere between 7-10k-ish, which would require similar type tricks. i honestly dont know how to fix that without really mufflying and/or blend distorting the vocals, but seems to be a result of loud vocals tracked with large diaphram condenser microphones and 'clean' or 'non-coloring' preamps. it seems to be present in pretty much all mixes here, mine included, and seems to make the highs sound somewhat 'harsh' when combined with the constant cymbal spanking.
but you seem to know your trade, so just keep in mind people rarely appreciate 'separation' or 'clarity', 'high air' etc when mixing dense high energy stuff. in fact, the resulting reactions can be quite the opposite when trying to mix it 'clean', perhaps bringing up flaws in musicianship, performances, source track tones and so on, or the track sounds just boring and unexciting. and if you bring up the fact that this it how it actually sounds when mixed 'properly', that's when you start destroying your own career. in dense stuff, the nice bright-/tightness of guitars could come from when combined with drum transients/cymbals, and the 'defined low mids' from combining snare, guitars and bass. even if the individual tracks end up sounding somewhat non-optimal, and guitars might be off time and so on. not saying i did any better job with the mix, or there would be any significant 'no-show' issues with the source tracks, but if you're after the mastodon sound for example, your mix sounds like you're perhaps trying to make individual elements 'better' than in the reference, when, at least for me, the 'goodness' of the mastodon record seems to come from the 'forgiving' sound of the entire mix, and my brain start to fill in the gaps for what actually isn't there. ^_^
so, if you're after that kind of sound, you could try constraining (pre-filter) the overal frequency range of drums, and 'energize' them with some type of clipping/saturation, as you mentioned earlier. the lead vocal (source track) seems to also have some nasty high frequency ringing, i think somewhere between 7-10k-ish, which would require similar type tricks. i honestly dont know how to fix that without really mufflying and/or blend distorting the vocals, but seems to be a result of loud vocals tracked with large diaphram condenser microphones and 'clean' or 'non-coloring' preamps. it seems to be present in pretty much all mixes here, mine included, and seems to make the highs sound somewhat 'harsh' when combined with the constant cymbal spanking.
but you seem to know your trade, so just keep in mind people rarely appreciate 'separation' or 'clarity', 'high air' etc when mixing dense high energy stuff. in fact, the resulting reactions can be quite the opposite when trying to mix it 'clean', perhaps bringing up flaws in musicianship, performances, source track tones and so on, or the track sounds just boring and unexciting. and if you bring up the fact that this it how it actually sounds when mixed 'properly', that's when you start destroying your own career. in dense stuff, the nice bright-/tightness of guitars could come from when combined with drum transients/cymbals, and the 'defined low mids' from combining snare, guitars and bass. even if the individual tracks end up sounding somewhat non-optimal, and guitars might be off time and so on. not saying i did any better job with the mix, or there would be any significant 'no-show' issues with the source tracks, but if you're after the mastodon sound for example, your mix sounds like you're perhaps trying to make individual elements 'better' than in the reference, when, at least for me, the 'goodness' of the mastodon record seems to come from the 'forgiving' sound of the entire mix, and my brain start to fill in the gaps for what actually isn't there. ^_^