Todays mix - Upper Hand

[Cassandra]

Hope you'll enjoy it :-)

/C

[ptalbot]

Some enjoyable things in your mix, good punch from the bass and drums, and nice horns treatment.
The distortion on the vocals is a bit overbearing though, I think it might have worked better if it wasn't on the whole time. Or if it was more subtle.
The lead guitar at the end is a bit too biting IMHO, but that's probably taste related. And you've missed the fact that it's supposed to fade out at the end, not end up abruptly like this.
But still a nice job!

[Cassandra]

Thanks for listening. Haha yes it was very abrupt ending, didn't really think about it.
Made a remix with some small adjustments. Less distortion, but not much you won't probably hear any difference. I think the voice gets a little more exiting with dist. in this case. :-)
Changed the guitarsound also was not really pleased with it and after your comments I felt it wouldn't hurt to change it.

Thx

/C

[ptalbot]

You obviously like distortion!
Problem is that I find that it gives a lo-fi vibe to the tune that I don't care much for. But hey, that's your vision, so why not?
I just think that distortion on a vocal can be cool, when it's used as a contrasting tool, but when it's on all the time, it quickly gets tiring. Also the extra distortion on the lead guitar is making it even more shrill.
Now I wonder if your monitoring is able to give you a clear picture, because overall your mix sounds very bright and even harsh at times... Others might be able to comment on that, perhaps?

[Cassandra]

Ptalbot, I'm not giving up :-) I tried to change the mix more into your preferenses now I hope. Tell me honestly, I'm still in the process of learning.
I removed the dist on both guitar and voice now, removed some of the brightness. It's interesting to mix after someone elses taste.

Cool song BTW

/C

[Olli H]

I listened the remix2

Overall sound is nice to me. Good balances.

Distortion in vox starts to disturbs me. I also tried it, but in the end dropped the idea. Maybe it could work better if also the band had more weird soundspace.

Snare sounds a bit unfocused. I’m quite sure that the kick and snare won’t make a pair if you solo drums.

Guitar solo in the end sounds a bit bodyless

Anyway, good mix to my ears.

[ptalbot]

Don't feel obliged to listen to me, Cassandra! Unless you want to, of course, as an experience...
I much prefer the vocal without the distortion.
I'd have to agree with Olli though about the kick vs snare: kick sounds very tight and dry, while the snare is loose and wet. I'd try to match them better.
And the lead guitar solo sounds better without the extra distortion, but still feels quite harsh (perhaps what Olli is saying about being "bodyless"). Overall, I'd say this version is better though.

[Mixinthecloud]

Ptalbot, I'm not giving up :-) I tried to change the mix more into your preferenses now I hope. Tell me honestly, I'm still in the process of learning.
I removed the dist on both guitar and voice now, removed some of the brightness. It's interesting to mix after someone elses taste.

Cool song BTW

/C

C,
I like what you did with this. My only real objection is bass is a little too thick for me. The voice I think would sound better with even more distortion. The idea was interesting but I think you weren't aggressive enough with it to flesh it out fully. I appreciate your approach on this as something fresh. I also like the guitar at the end but would have liked to hear it louder. And yes, a fade was definitely called for here.

One of the things I learned as a studio owner and engineer is that you had to learn to listen to the client to pick up clues as to what expectations they may have for the mix you were going to produce for them. Having a client around can be a good thing and a bad thing. In this forum we are pretty much free to do whatever we chose in expressing our ideas and personality. Patrick is somewhat enigmatic in that he is very present with the folks mixing his songs. He provides initial direction and patient critiques. This is a true treat and he is a good teacher beside being a wonderful artist. For me it was always about pleasing the client as I wanted them to come back and do more business. Being that I have been a full-time computer networking engineer for the past 16 years may be testament to me not listen well enough! This is not an issue here, but you can play at that or not with no harm done in any circumstance.

Anyway, keep up the good work and the creative approaches you take.

[Mixinthecloud]

Well Remix 2 shows you are fully capable of doing the same mix as everyone else. That's great, but I like your stuff better when you break the mold.

[Cassandra]

Mixinthecloud
Thank you for Your input. I really appreciate it. It is really a challenge to mix into someone elses direction. But I prefer mixing to what I like and I am always open for suggestions, thats the only way to progress I think.
The hardest thing is to be unique but in a way that still is tasteful.

Thanks again /C