Purple Hat Mob - Access Denied

[OctopusOnFire]

Hi!

Heh, apologies for subjecting you to my mix.  Doesn't everyone want their kick drums to sound like an underwater mine exploding??  Probably the coolest comment I've got yet.  I shall chalk that up as a win I think, no?  My mixes are mainly a service to the community to show what not to do.. mostly.  I learned a huge amount from the comments on this mix.  Still am of course.  It took me quite a while to begin to understand what people were getting at though, and hopefully this thread will help others a bit too, which of course is what this is all about.

The main issue with this mix is a huge lack of balance, and everything is really over processed.  Trying too hard to make everything big wide and stereo, then over limiting (multi band of course...) the mix to get everything even louder...  If everything is big wide and stereo then nothing is big wide and stereo and you end up with a big mess, eg really over doing the low end kick eq to get it to poke out, etc.  The bass is especially horrible.  I think everything has loads of stereo widening effects on or something. Ugh. Heh.

This mix aside, I'm currently trying hard to nail getting a good mix balance, volume wise (currently failing at this I think, but something to work towards anyway).  I feel this is really the thing, before anything else.  I think in my mind it kind of generally goes drums (kick, SNARE), vocals, bass, then kind of slot in everything else in, but at a lower level... If that makes sense.  I think a lot of it is also down to the arrangement, etc, too, to some extent with a lot of these mixes. 

I'm listening to some (lots) of 80's CLA mixes (Tina Turner, etc), and the balances (and arrangements) are amazing.  Lots to learn. It's also quite interesting listening to the difference in snare sound from his late 70's mixes to the mid 80's.  Also interesting to note is the RMS of the older tracks (youtube) is around 20 LUFS or so.  Also the reverb....

Bit of a ramble, but it's kind of where I am at right now I guess.  I'm currently downloading the tracks with the intention of having another go at it.  We shall see.

I'll be sure to check out your mix. 

Thanks again for taking the time to comment.  It all really helps a lot.

Cheers!

Hahaha, glad to be of service

Mixing is a reality check on how you "see" music. What I see is that people start mixing songs with a very altered perception of the elements of a mix.  We tend to exaggerate the memories that stand out to us and ignore the rest. When you have to build a mix of, say, a rock song, you imagine massive snare hits, gut-wrenching bass, larger than life vocals and thunderous guitars. Then, you realize there's no space to fit it all. After a time, you go back to the songs you had listened to before, and realize that the guitars are kind of thin, the bass is pretty tame, the voice is mostly dry and the snare sounds so massive because the room was louder than the actual hit... What happened? Has your life been a lie? did they change the mix when you were not looking? And most of all, why does it keep sounding so great altogether? 

So yeah, balance, balance, balance. And also listen back to your favorite music for another couple dozen times as your ears refine.