Bravestar - The Metallurgist's "Tragedy" Mix.

[The_Metallurgist]

an interesting proj. normally, one would deal with the parameter and sound shaping during the build process.....so it's darn rare to have something like this to mix when separated from the construction. and it's that bit that makes it more difficult and time consuming. because with so many elements each demanding attention in their own way, the work load can get hazardous. another reason why a mix engineer wouldn't come across something like this i dare say....because the budget wouldn't stand for it.

i found the concept unintelligible...perhaps that was the concept - no concept, and was simply a process the artist engaged with on a purely personal, bohemian level. no worries. i found myself wondering if the sound of the waves was that of the Dorset coast, a bit of a tourist trap if ever there was one, and not without good reason. i note the artist came from a nearby town. perhaps the voice was indeed that of a tourist......but no Herring Gulls? i hear they are on the Red List of endangered species...such a common boyhood sound associated with the coast, on the verge of being lost. best not get into politics and population density...

this multi sounded like 2 different composing sessions, being clearly divided into completely different presentations, the sort of thing that can happen when picking up an unfinished project while in a different mood and emotional state of mind, and finishing it off. i found myself trying to fight it and re-organise something out of the apparent disparity. and while doing so, felt i was in need of some sort of foundation for the whole thing.....

.....and that's when i used the voice. it's buried quite deep in a lot of noise, however, feeding it through some noise reduction gear gave me something that was acceptably clear and defined sufficient for purposes.

i have fiddled and noodled around with some of the other materials quite a bit, especially the percussion based stuff, but my main priority was not to lose the essence of the original delivery. i've gone for some less than subtle strategies here, like the phase issue with the dog snoring....in the lounge...with the ticking clock. the cymbal for example, (which some might mention is toward the bright side in it's presentation - it would be a fair observation) is presented "in your face". but with this sort of thing...anything goes. my only problem was knowing when to stop; i could noodle with this for the rest of my life and go off on all sorts of jollies. so it's time to post, before i lose touch with reality in it's entirety.

this project has some major DC offset issues, at a level which will compromise audio quality if left unattended. if you didn't check and went ahead regardless...best not make a habit of it, i'd say. material like this is especially susceptible.

no feedback is necessary really, given that objectivity is going to be a bit difficult with something off the beaten track like this. but if you do, it's welcomed....

....wotevaaaa, thanks for listening.

Post amendment:
i've since removed the download link for the 24bit file. if someone is interested at any time in hearing the other 78 percent which an mp3 will deny you(!), PM me and i can make a link available for the pull.

[pauli]

In regards to your preamble, I had all the same difficulties... seems to me I roughed it in half a dozen times just to try and make sense of everything, particularly the musical/emotional role that Bravestar was intending for the various glitches and effects. Bohemian is a good word for it-- it's almost more of a musical sketch than a song.

I liked this mix, personally, and I think the creative touches are real necessity for this, since it's pretty formless in its raw state. Most of the guys I know who are making music like this mix it as they compose... probably for all the reasons you've highlighted. It's too damn confusing to mix in a separate process .

This material in my opinion begs for a really "mixy" approach, kinda like the pioneer rap music that was very obviously built out of samples. No sense trying to blend/weave together a bunch of pieces that won't fit, so the "unnatural" sounding approach you've used is perfect... and we might as well slice it up and distort the hell out of it while we're at it, and that's really helping the synths out a lot. And despite the dirty, lo-fi presentation, it still feels like a professional production, made with care.

Cool stuff, man.

This part is a sincere question: I was under the impression that the 32 bit to 24 bit crush isn't a huge deal since modern PCs are capable of handling the long decimals... and the noise floor for 24 bit audio is too quiet to be an issue. What am I missing there? I'm still learning how to hear dither, but with that much headroom, what is there to hear? There seem to be to many opinions on the web to sort out the facts...

[thedon]

This is the first mix of this instrumental i have listened to !
Enjoyed the 24 bit version sounds much better with cleaner tight bass and crisp top end .

[The_Metallurgist]

This is the first mix of this instrumental i have listened to !
Enjoyed the 24 bit version sounds much better with cleaner tight bass and crisp top end .

thanks for taking a listen Don, and for pulling the 24bit.

[The_Metallurgist]

This part is a sincere question: I was under the impression that the 32 bit to 24 bit crush isn't a huge deal since modern PCs are capable of handling the long decimals... and the noise floor for 24 bit audio is too quiet to be an issue. What am I missing there? I'm still learning how to hear dither, but with that much headroom, what is there to hear? There seem to be to many opinions on the web to sort out the facts...

thanks for your notes. especially glad you liked the version.

it's debatable whether dithering from 32bit to 24bit is necessary, especially given that i'm finishing the process at 24bit for this particular file, and given the nature of the material in this project! one might actually suggest that some harmonic distortion from quantisation would be a benefit (lol), or conversely, we might prefer to dither and have the hiss rather than add further sonic degradation from the additional harmonic distortions which would inevitably occur. but would they be detectable? most likely not.....so let's be sure and dither, i say.

a crucial factor getting in the way of judgement, is the presence of background noise. this will tend to mask a decent low noise floor anyway, and even a REALLY BAD ONE of which there's plenty of example mixes in the forum.....and issues throughout the MDL are also noted.

and if the SPL is cranked right up, we are far more likely to hear the cumulative noise of all the semiconductors and goodness knows what else in the signal chain, even cables can be a culprit and especially the amps in active monitors! cheap monitors will have lower-grade components which means a greater preponderance to emit more self-noise than more expensive stuff (we have to pay for quality because it costs more to manufacture low-noise components). it is possible that quantization noise could be detected, present in the form of buzz, harmonic and inharmonic distortions resulting in brittle or harsh audio, for example. but i also think genre is a factor...a smashed metal song isn't going to show truncation issues that are detectable even at 16bit...or less But it's not a cut and dried case...and music material and recording quality will influence the decision whether to dither, and even the kind of dither selected.

not many people will be using high resolution monitors or a decent hi-fi setup; such enthusiasts are in the minority, but the fact that some will be shouldn't be over looked in a lossless audio presentation. one regular forum participant actually condemns quality and has derided and even ridiculed some of my views in that regard. don't ask me why

perhaps understanding quantization issues and truncation isn't necessary any more than it's necessary to understand how your car's gearbox works when you push the stick. just so long as you know what the stick does when it's pushed and when it's best to push it. but it is fascinating stuff...

if you dither, make sure it's the ultimate process in your signal chain, and post fader. but unless one's aspirations are towards a commercial grade presentation, i would only bother if wishing to be pedantic

i firmly recommend Bob Katz's Mastering Audio and get the technical stuff directly from the horse's mouth. music based forums do one thing extremely well in my opinion - they help perpetuate myths. myths get in the way of knowledge, but how to tell if one is hearing a myth or not? dither

[pauli]

Hey, thanks for the reply... it mostly confirms what I generally believed based upon what I know. I always dither and understand the truncation issue (in layman's, not academically), but I've been using the dither that comes bundled with my DAW... is that likely to effect the outcome for the worse? I've heard of people spending hundreds of dollars on dithering programs.... if I had access to that kinda tech I'd do a null test, but alas

not many people will be using high resolution monitors or a decent hi-fi setup; such enthusiasts are in the minority, but the fact that some will be shouldn't be over looked in a lossless audio presentation.

I agree wholeheartedly... unfortunately I'm shooting at an invisible target until budget allows better equipment, but that's in the works always. It's a slow process

one regular forum participant actually condemns quality and has derided and even ridiculed some of my views in that regard. don't ask me why

That's kinda bizarre, since we're here to learn, ostensibly...

Can't help anyone who doesn't want to be helped, though.

music based forums do one thing extremely well in my opinion - they help perpetuate myths.

Yep... it's hard to know what to believe when you're just getting started... It's making me skeptical of almost everything. Thanks for the Bob Katz suggestion, I'll add that to the reading list.

Thanks again, that's a big help.

[Mixologist?]

Nice one man, a good trip, and got away from the standard beat - btw it was the Cornish coast, and my girlfriend - does that take the mystery away, apologies!

[James Cullis]

Metalugist...this is an awesome mix. Reminds me of Cold Cut Solid Steel circa 1996. Spot on mate.
Nice dorset reference. Could it be Durdle Door or Chapmans Pool I wonder.
An element of BlueJam/Jam TV too.
In my opinion the best it can be. Very good job. Hit the mark.
Could easily turn it into a half hour trip.
What DAW do you use? Would love to mess/add/mutate this mix.
Nice one metalurgist.
James, London