Bridges - Rattleshock Mix

[rattleshock]

First mix using Harrison Mixbus32C. I used this song as a test to see how the DAW performs. I love the layout. Hope you enjoy. No 3rd party plugs used. Only the EQ and compressors in the mixer interface.

[Blitzzz]

Hey,

the mix is boomy and muddy in the low end. There isn't enough separation between bass, kick and guitars, and the snare is also fighting for space down there. The guitars sound very processed and not very pleasant to my ears. I don't think that you need more than high and low pass filters to make them sound good, although you probably have to cut away a tiny bit of mids to make some room for the vocals. It's definitely not the guitar sound that we (the band) like (check the FAQ on this forum for more information). Although you can mix this song any way you want, we had a different sound in mind and all our initial recording decisions are based on this "vision". So if you change the sound of the snare, kick, guitars and bass you are making your job harder than it should be. As far as I can remember the song almost mixes itself when you use the guitar and bass sound as your foundation and just make sure that the drums fit well with those two elements.

Famous mixer Randy Staub has an interesting perspective on this: "Your personal inclinations as a mixer won’t always align with that of the band & producer. Paying close attention to a client’s rough mix is the easiest way to gain some quick insight into their vision for the track and help you to determine the sonic direction to take it in. The band and producer have probably been listening-to & tweaking the rough mixes for weeks, even months before finally handing the sessions over to you. Chances are: They’re probably already in the same ballpark as what they want the end product to sound like. A mixer’s job is often simply to realise the artist’s vision and try to make it sound clearer, punchier, wider, etc… not to re-imagine and change the entire thing (Unless you’ve been told otherwise…) If the client wanted the final mix to sound drastically different from the rough, they probably would have recorded it differently in the first place!"

Speaking of the drums: The snare sounds really dark and doesn't really fit with the rest of the instruments. I also can't clearly hear the kick in most parts of the song. The background vocals are way too loud in the guitar solos - they should support the solo, not replace it.

It's not a bad mix, although there are some serious problems (low end, background vocals, the overall balance of all tracks) that need to be addressed. My advice would be to listen to the tracks before making any sort of eq or compression changes and really ask yourself if and what needs to be done to make them fit together. We just finished the album some weeks ago and I´m pretty sure that in the final mix the guitars and the bass sound didn't need that much work compared to drums.

Have a great week,
Dirk