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My go on Dead Enemies
#1
Ok, this is my third mix ever. Maybe littte too early for this advanced project, but I decided to give it a try. Don't be too hard on me :-) Just joking...tell me what I did wrong and how I can improve. I appreciate any comments. Thanks /Peter


.mp3    DeadEnemies2.mp3 --  (Download: 9.58 MB)


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#2
Hey Peter,

Dead Enemies is not the best song to start with. There are a lot of things you need to take care of beside mixing the song itself -and your mix is a clear sign that you should focus on the basics first. My advice would be:

- Give Burning Bridges a try. It´s a lot easier to mix then Dead Enemies
- Read the FAQ I wrote. And if you'Re thinking of mixing BB: Read the FAQ first, grab some reference tracks from killswitch, load them into your project and constantly check if you are on the right track.
- Don't eq and compress EVERY track.
- Do you really have to eq the guitars? Or are you just trying to eq them with the sound YOU like - which is bad. The guitars sound hollow, thin and outright awful. PLEASE DO NOT follow any kind of mixing guide that tells you to cut 5db mids around 1khz, add a 8db high shelf or some other shitty tips. Use your ears - and a reference track. Without eq the guitar tracks sound a lot like Killswitch Engage and have a lot of mid energy. Together with the bass they are the fundament of the original mix - everything else was build around them.
- The whole mix sounds overly squashed, bright and distorted. Do you really think that this is a powerfull and exciting mix? The only thing you need to check your mix is to compare it with the original mix and reference tracks from Killswitch. I bet there is NO reference track in your project and you never a/b'ed your mix with a commercial mix.

I´ve allready written it a thousand times: Don't eq and compress a track just because they are there. Chances are that most of the tracks of Dead Enemies don't need more then a hicut/lowcut and volume automation to make them sit in the mix
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#3
Hi Blitzzz
Thanks for the comments. I know I have a lot to learn :-) and must start somewhere. So I am very happy for your advice. It's funny, recently someone told me 'use your eyes not your ears'. I think my ears tells me more actaully :-) I have already re-mixed this a couple of times by now and I clearly understand what you say. Listening to this mix now makes me wonder what the hell I was thinking :-) I have removed a lot of the compressing and eq and most of all I have learnt a lot from this song. The reason I'm here is to receive critics and comments that helps me get better. I wouldn't come here if I already was a professional sound engineer. And I do not think NOW this is a powerful mix, but there was a moment I thought so. I was very happy with it, like a child doing the first paintings. I will make a try on Burning Bridges and use what I learnt from this. So I am happy for your comments and I love the song :-)

Thanks /Peter
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#4
no problem mate, I've been there too. It's hard to understand that there are no rules when it comes down to mixing. For me, it's all about meeting the expectations of the potential listener. That's why using reference tracks is so important, at least for me. They give me all the feedback I need - on my speakers and my headphones.
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