20-08-2012, 01:49 AM
First of all, KMNX8RS,
it is not horrible. Secondly, don't believe me. Never believe anyone who makes absolute statements. Ok, that is an absolute statement in itself. Let my try again.
I think mixing is a very subjective thing. I guess that in pretty much every book on mixing, you find the advice that mixing is both a craft and an art. I think that is true. Different mixers master the craft to a different degree, but eventually, the craft is only a tool to the art, an in art, you can do pretty much nothing that is wrong per se. I think. To me that means that there is no "horrible". (There is a "that doesn't yet work how I wanted it to", though. Lots of them, actually.)
Different people hear different things in a song, and develop different ideas of what to do with it. Or stumble into different results, depending on their level of playfulness and/or mastery of the craft. What I like most about this site is the opportunity to compare different mixes of a song side by side, because it makes these differences apparent, and the variety of decisions to make and of how to make them.
I did not yet compare your mix systematically to the other mixes of this song, but I quickly checked uzilevi's mix, because I think he's always a good, textbook-like starting point. I find his mix rather muscular and robust (no surprise here) and confident, not just regarding mixing decisions, but regarding the mix's... hm... posture, if you will. Yours in comparison appears fragile and brittle to me, if not slightly clumsy. And I think that fits the lyrics equally well (while it probably does not make for a good "radio edit"). I like listening to it, specifically to how it falls apart in the end, and I'm glad that you shared it!
You say you're not done. A couple of questions and suggestions come to mind. But since you mentioned the acoustic (guitar, I assume) that you'd like to be both mellower and more upfront, I would try to soften its transients, either by means of a fast compressor or a transient shaper. It may also help if you find the acoustic guitar its own space, either in terms of depth (think reverb) or stereo panorama... or even frequency. If one finds some frequencies that are meaningful to the guitar and that one can cut out of the other voices without crippling them, why not?
But most importantly, don't be afraid. Again, there is no "horrible".
I hope that makes sense to you...?
Marc
it is not horrible. Secondly, don't believe me. Never believe anyone who makes absolute statements. Ok, that is an absolute statement in itself. Let my try again.
I think mixing is a very subjective thing. I guess that in pretty much every book on mixing, you find the advice that mixing is both a craft and an art. I think that is true. Different mixers master the craft to a different degree, but eventually, the craft is only a tool to the art, an in art, you can do pretty much nothing that is wrong per se. I think. To me that means that there is no "horrible". (There is a "that doesn't yet work how I wanted it to", though. Lots of them, actually.)
Different people hear different things in a song, and develop different ideas of what to do with it. Or stumble into different results, depending on their level of playfulness and/or mastery of the craft. What I like most about this site is the opportunity to compare different mixes of a song side by side, because it makes these differences apparent, and the variety of decisions to make and of how to make them.
I did not yet compare your mix systematically to the other mixes of this song, but I quickly checked uzilevi's mix, because I think he's always a good, textbook-like starting point. I find his mix rather muscular and robust (no surprise here) and confident, not just regarding mixing decisions, but regarding the mix's... hm... posture, if you will. Yours in comparison appears fragile and brittle to me, if not slightly clumsy. And I think that fits the lyrics equally well (while it probably does not make for a good "radio edit"). I like listening to it, specifically to how it falls apart in the end, and I'm glad that you shared it!
You say you're not done. A couple of questions and suggestions come to mind. But since you mentioned the acoustic (guitar, I assume) that you'd like to be both mellower and more upfront, I would try to soften its transients, either by means of a fast compressor or a transient shaper. It may also help if you find the acoustic guitar its own space, either in terms of depth (think reverb) or stereo panorama... or even frequency. If one finds some frequencies that are meaningful to the guitar and that one can cut out of the other voices without crippling them, why not?
But most importantly, don't be afraid. Again, there is no "horrible".
I hope that makes sense to you...?
Marc