28-01-2015, 11:18 PM
Hey man, thanks for checking it out. The important difference between the two was more time spent adding color and character to the synths. Polyana is great, but it's sort of a blank slate and almost every musical element here is Polyana, so modulation, saturation, stereo jiggery pockery, tonal reverbs/delays.. it all helps create contrast and interest.
So you raise a good point that I hope any newbies who might happen upon this thread take seriously.... volume matching and gain staging. For those who haven't learned these critical skills yet, let me stress that they're ABSOLUTELY VITAL to getting a good mix.... and the better you get at level matching and gain staging, the better you will get at mixing. Most people will automatically interpret a musical sound that's louder as sounding better when they're focusing on it, although that's not always the case. Since Juan was thoughtful enough to bring it up, I'll add to the discussion with a quick explanation to matching/staging as it pertains to mixing.
Every time you make a processing decision-- it could be EQ, compression, or anything else-- you're also likely to incur a change in the subjective level of the material. For instance, most EQ and compression applied during mixdown are subtractive processes, which ultimately means that after processing, the material will be lower in level. If you bypass the plugin to evaluate the change, the track's level will return to normal, and may initially sound better until you make the decision to move on and start focusing on something else. Even worse are those times we choose to use additive processes like distortion or EQ boosts, which will often seem like instant improvements due to the increased level... even though you might be making things much worse.
On top of all of this, since you've already balanced the tracks against one another while working up a rough mix, these collateral level changes might have you reaching for the fader to correct the imbalance ... and if you decide to ditch a plugin after 3 or 4 plugins worth of fader tweaks... well, you may as well have skipped the rough balance altogether! This makes for a disorganized and frustrating mixing experience, and you'll often use way more processing than is necessary, which is generally also a bad thing.
Fortunately, the entire problem is easily solved and it gets easier with practice. Most plugins feature a parameter called either output, gain, trim, or makeup gain that will allow you to compensate for any level alterations. Simply bypass the plugin and reintroduce it as you tweak the output until the level difference is resolved. This will give you an unbiased A/B comparison... so you can evaluate if the plugin is helping at all! If you're diligent, you should be able to bypass the entire FX chain without a significant difference in level, and that can REALLY put things into perspective.
This also applies to comparing my new mixes with my originals... the new mixes are all a good deal louder than the originals due to several factors, so you'll get the most benefit from the comparison if you put them side by side in your DAW and adjust the faders until they seem to be roughly the same volume when solo'd. Use a similar technique when comparing your own mixes to a commercial reference for a more accurate comparison... you'll often find that your mixes are quite a bit better than you thought, but you'll also know right away if you're on the wrong track and why.
I considered providing both files, volume matched, on the same thread to facilitate comparison... but I'm now beginning to think that it would be of more benefit to inexperienced mixers to try it on their own to start training their ears. Thanks again for bringing it up, Juan.... feel free to contribute any time
So you raise a good point that I hope any newbies who might happen upon this thread take seriously.... volume matching and gain staging. For those who haven't learned these critical skills yet, let me stress that they're ABSOLUTELY VITAL to getting a good mix.... and the better you get at level matching and gain staging, the better you will get at mixing. Most people will automatically interpret a musical sound that's louder as sounding better when they're focusing on it, although that's not always the case. Since Juan was thoughtful enough to bring it up, I'll add to the discussion with a quick explanation to matching/staging as it pertains to mixing.
Every time you make a processing decision-- it could be EQ, compression, or anything else-- you're also likely to incur a change in the subjective level of the material. For instance, most EQ and compression applied during mixdown are subtractive processes, which ultimately means that after processing, the material will be lower in level. If you bypass the plugin to evaluate the change, the track's level will return to normal, and may initially sound better until you make the decision to move on and start focusing on something else. Even worse are those times we choose to use additive processes like distortion or EQ boosts, which will often seem like instant improvements due to the increased level... even though you might be making things much worse.
On top of all of this, since you've already balanced the tracks against one another while working up a rough mix, these collateral level changes might have you reaching for the fader to correct the imbalance ... and if you decide to ditch a plugin after 3 or 4 plugins worth of fader tweaks... well, you may as well have skipped the rough balance altogether! This makes for a disorganized and frustrating mixing experience, and you'll often use way more processing than is necessary, which is generally also a bad thing.
Fortunately, the entire problem is easily solved and it gets easier with practice. Most plugins feature a parameter called either output, gain, trim, or makeup gain that will allow you to compensate for any level alterations. Simply bypass the plugin and reintroduce it as you tweak the output until the level difference is resolved. This will give you an unbiased A/B comparison... so you can evaluate if the plugin is helping at all! If you're diligent, you should be able to bypass the entire FX chain without a significant difference in level, and that can REALLY put things into perspective.
This also applies to comparing my new mixes with my originals... the new mixes are all a good deal louder than the originals due to several factors, so you'll get the most benefit from the comparison if you put them side by side in your DAW and adjust the faders until they seem to be roughly the same volume when solo'd. Use a similar technique when comparing your own mixes to a commercial reference for a more accurate comparison... you'll often find that your mixes are quite a bit better than you thought, but you'll also know right away if you're on the wrong track and why.
I considered providing both files, volume matched, on the same thread to facilitate comparison... but I'm now beginning to think that it would be of more benefit to inexperienced mixers to try it on their own to start training their ears. Thanks again for bringing it up, Juan.... feel free to contribute any time
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!