I really like this song. Brilliantly written i thought, and an exceptional vocalist btw!
I thought this was really well tracked/recorded and as a result i used 100% original drums. Didn't need much processing on the toms and they were already gated which saved alot of time.
Early on, before i started mixing i decided to combine the multiple kick drum/snare drum mics and commit to a "sound". I did the same for the four guitar tracks and ended up with two to mix with. I like having less decisions when I mix to enable me to focus on the more important aspects.
Hey Mulkey just making my critique of your mix as I`m listening, overall the mix sounds good.
The drum sound is quite solid, the kick is rather soft and needs more thwack in it to really fit with the aggression of the guitars and the snare needs a more aggressive attack with less snare rattle, but overall the drums sound good.
The bass is present in the mix but is lacking grit to help it cut through on the little interludes like at 1:29. Blending in some distortion to the bass will help give some added midrange to help the bass out and fit with the rest of the mix.
The guitars, for me at least, really are lacking energy in the mix. The tone is rather thin sounding especially in the verses when it get center panned. They fit in the mix but they don`t really do anything to build up to the chorus or move with the vocals.
The lead vocals sound nice and clear throughout the mix, sometimes the delay doesn`t really work and fit in, but overall they sound good
My overall thoughts on your mix are that while the balance overall is good, there`s something that`s missing from it. The mix lacks colour and a certain amount of energy and power. On the snare some saturation and soft clipping will help you out with adding punch to it. If you low pass the outside kick mic at 500-1000 Hz and high pass the inside kick mic at 400-500 Hz and blend them, getting a balance between attack and low end is easier to achieve. Some bass distortion will help reinforce the bass in the mix and help it drive harder overall. Finally using something like the Soundtoys Decapitator or the Audio Damage Rough Rider on the drum buss with some soft clipping or saturation will help give your drums some more colour and punch.
Hope this helps,
Dcp
Mixing is way more art and soul than science. We don’t really know what we’re doing. We do it because we love music! It’s the love of music first. Eddie Kramer
Gear list: Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, Mbox Mini w/Pro Tools Express, Reaper, Various plugins, AKG K240 MKii, Audio Technica ATH M50x, Yorkville YSM 6
(20-04-2016, 08:13 PM)dcp10200 Wrote: Hey Mulkey just making my critique of your mix as I`m listening, overall the mix sounds good.
The drum sound is quite solid, the kick is rather soft and needs more thwack in it to really fit with the aggression of the guitars and the snare needs a more aggressive attack with less snare rattle, but overall the drums sound good.
The bass is present in the mix but is lacking grit to help it cut through on the little interludes like at 1:29. Blending in some distortion to the bass will help give some added midrange to help the bass out and fit with the rest of the mix.
The guitars, for me at least, really are lacking energy in the mix. The tone is rather thin sounding especially in the verses when it get center panned. They fit in the mix but they don`t really do anything to build up to the chorus or move with the vocals.
The lead vocals sound nice and clear throughout the mix, sometimes the delay doesn`t really work and fit in, but overall they sound good
My overall thoughts on your mix are that while the balance overall is good, there`s something that`s missing from it. The mix lacks colour and a certain amount of energy and power. On the snare some saturation and soft clipping will help you out with adding punch to it. If you low pass the outside kick mic at 500-1000 Hz and high pass the inside kick mic at 400-500 Hz and blend them, getting a balance between attack and low end is easier to achieve. Some bass distortion will help reinforce the bass in the mix and help it drive harder overall. Finally using something like the Soundtoys Decapitator or the Audio Damage Rough Rider on the drum buss with some soft clipping or saturation will help give your drums some more colour and punch.
Hope this helps,
Dcp
Thanks Dcp for some really insightful feedback. I think this will be extremely helpful in making improvements. Thanks for being detailed, really helps.
