Extremophile's Mix

[Extremophile014]

Hi, I am a novice musician/sound engineer and this is my first attempt at mixing such a copmlex and dynamic metal song. I really found coping with the bleeding drum pretty challenging and I did my best with the whole song with what I have...... Just some stock plugins and free vsts.

Please tell me what you think about the mix! There must be plenty that can be improved but please go easy on the technical bits since I'm just starting off - don't mind being too harsh though, an explicit comment is always helpful.

Thanks!

Extremophile

[jugx]

You got ears, that's for sure.
That's pretty good for a beginner !

The best advices I can give you for now are :
-Keep on practicing because you're starting the right way. My first mixes were absolute junk compared to this xD
-Do compare, as much as possible, your mix with a reference, or any band that has a sound you love and can suit the project. In order to clearly get what your mix needs to be improved (The hard part is to think of a solution to reach the goal, once you got one :p)
-About reverbs and delay, unless it absolutely is an artistic choice, be gentle on their use. Always soft, especially in this kind of music. The way I see it is like "you can't hear it, but feels like something is missing when you mute it".

So, you used only recorded track ? No vst amp guitars on DI nor vst midi drums, right ?

[Extremophile014]

You got ears, that's for sure.
That's pretty good for a beginner !

The best advices I can give you for now are :
-Keep on practicing because you're starting the right way. My first mixes were absolute junk compared to this xD
-Do compare, as much as possible, your mix with a reference, or any band that has a sound you love and can suit the project. In order to clearly get what your mix needs to be improved (The hard part is to think of a solution to reach the goal, once you got one :p)
-About reverbs and delay, unless it absolutely is an artistic choice, be gentle on their use. Always soft, especially in this kind of music. The way I see it is like "you can't hear it, but feels like something is missing when you mute it".

So, you used only recorded track ? No vst amp guitars on DI nor vst midi drums, right ?

Hi jugx,

Thanks for the quick reply! Really helpful and inspiring . I will take your advice and make tweaks on the next mix.

About the tracks, for guitar and bass I used DI - all of them. Combined with some compression and vsts from IgniteAmps I achieved the tone I like. For drums I used MIDI for kicks and the snare - I found mixing the recorded ones very hard. Somehow the kicks and snare just sound so boxy and floppy, not enough punch or snap no.matter how hard I try to eq or gain. I also had a bad time tackling with bleed plus I've got no idea how automation works. The solo guitar somehow I just, ya know, think it's not soooo perfect? I am a guitarist myself and I know that's some damn quick licks.

In the end there's gonna be some work that need to be done and I will work on things one by one. I'm thinking about getting a Nail The Mix subscription for this month's Asking Alexandria though, have't decided.

Thanks,

Extremophile

[snabaz]

Hi, I am a novice musician/sound engineer and this is my first attempt at mixing such a copmlex and dynamic metal song. I really found coping with the bleeding drum pretty challenging and I did my best with the whole song with what I have...... Just some stock plugins and free vsts.

Please tell me what you think about the mix! There must be plenty that can be improved but please go easy on the technical bits since I'm just starting off - don't mind being too harsh though, an explicit comment is always helpful.

Thanks!

Extremophile

Hi Extremophile!

I have nothing to add to what jugx said. Follow his advices

And i really like your mix, it doesn't feel like it was made from a novice, instead from an average sound engineer (my first mixes were utter crap )

Believe in what you do and never give up mate!!

[Extremophile014]

Hi, I am a novice musician/sound engineer and this is my first attempt at mixing such a copmlex and dynamic metal song. I really found coping with the bleeding drum pretty challenging and I did my best with the whole song with what I have...... Just some stock plugins and free vsts.

Please tell me what you think about the mix! There must be plenty that can be improved but please go easy on the technical bits since I'm just starting off - don't mind being too harsh though, an explicit comment is always helpful.

Thanks!

Extremophile

Hi Extremophile!

I have nothing to add to what jugx said. Follow his advices

And i really like your mix, it doesn't feel like it was made from a novice, instead from an average sound engineer (my first mixes were utter crap )

Believe in what you do and never give up mate!!

Thanks a lot! Glad you like my mix .

Just wondering about the rhythm guitar tone, how do you find it? I'm a guitar player myself so usually when it comes to guitar tone I have a clear direction. The rhythm tracks are very simple, DI into some free amp sims and a few layers of EQ. I'm planning on making a short video sharing my guitar tone (also to test out a new-bought mic) and just want to collect some comments.

[snabaz]

Hi, I am a novice musician/sound engineer and this is my first attempt at mixing such a copmlex and dynamic metal song. I really found coping with the bleeding drum pretty challenging and I did my best with the whole song with what I have...... Just some stock plugins and free vsts.

Please tell me what you think about the mix! There must be plenty that can be improved but please go easy on the technical bits since I'm just starting off - don't mind being too harsh though, an explicit comment is always helpful.

Thanks!

Extremophile

Hi Extremophile!

I have nothing to add to what jugx said. Follow his advices

And i really like your mix, it doesn't feel like it was made from a novice, instead from an average sound engineer (my first mixes were utter crap )

Believe in what you do and never give up mate!!

Thanks a lot! Glad you like my mix .

Just wondering about the rhythm guitar tone, how do you find it? I'm a guitar player myself so usually when it comes to guitar tone I have a clear direction. The rhythm tracks are very simple, DI into some free amp sims and a few layers of EQ. I'm planning on making a short video sharing my guitar tone (also to test out a new-bought mic) and just want to collect some comments.

I obtained the guitar tone simply with Guitar -> Jack -> Behringer DI -> Audio Interface -> Schuffman Amps S-Gear 2 with impulses from Rosen Digital

What did you was not so distant from what i've done on the album

[Extremophile014]

Hi, I am a novice musician/sound engineer and this is my first attempt at mixing such a copmlex and dynamic metal song. I really found coping with the bleeding drum pretty challenging and I did my best with the whole song with what I have...... Just some stock plugins and free vsts.

Please tell me what you think about the mix! There must be plenty that can be improved but please go easy on the technical bits since I'm just starting off - don't mind being too harsh though, an explicit comment is always helpful.

Thanks!

Extremophile

Hi Extremophile!

I have nothing to add to what jugx said. Follow his advices

And i really like your mix, it doesn't feel like it was made from a novice, instead from an average sound engineer (my first mixes were utter crap )

Believe in what you do and never give up mate!!

Thanks a lot! Glad you like my mix .

Just wondering about the rhythm guitar tone, how do you find it? I'm a guitar player myself so usually when it comes to guitar tone I have a clear direction. The rhythm tracks are very simple, DI into some free amp sims and a few layers of EQ. I'm planning on making a short video sharing my guitar tone (also to test out a new-bought mic) and just want to collect some comments.

I obtained the guitar tone simply with Guitar -> Jack -> Behringer DI -> Audio Interface -> Schuffman Amps S-Gear 2 with impulses from Rosen Digital

What did you was not so distant from what i've done on the album

Ah I see. For this one I used the Ignite Amps Emissary with a TSE 808 screamer emulator. Loaded Catharsis impulses using the NadIR from Ignite Amps. Before everthing was a quick attack gate. After that just some EQs enhancing frequencies in the mix and losing some screaming bits.

[LukasL]

Hey Extremophile,

very nice does not sound like a novice mix to me.

The only " beginner trap" you fell in is the reverb on the kick drum which (when it is played this fast) kind of shrouds the bottom end of your mix and looses a bit of punch.
I'd be cautious in general with reverb on the low-end because it can quickly muddy your mix.

Also a nice procedure in setting reverb levels (e.g. vocals): Increase the level until you can just hear it and than back it off a few db.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Lukas

[snabaz]

Some more informations for you:

The rythm guitars were only 2 tracks (no quad tracking) and i've converged the output on one send to the master where i made the effective mix; other than panning the tracks L and R and applying the VST i've made nothing else. On the converged output that i called "Rythm Guitars" I applied an EQ with low pass that cut on 200-300hz and high pass that cut on the 5000hz and above; with a curve to boost the mid range on the 2000-3000hz range and another curve to boost the 400-500hz in order to give that great massive sound when doing palm muting on chords. After that i created a split send from the converged output to make the parallel compression; and there it is! Rythm Guitars done!

[Extremophile014]

Hey Extremophile,

very nice does not sound like a novice mix to me.

The only " beginner trap" you fell in is the reverb on the kick drum which (when it is played this fast) kind of shrouds the bottom end of your mix and looses a bit of punch.
I'd be cautious in general with reverb on the low-end because it can quickly muddy your mix.

Also a nice procedure in setting reverb levels (e.g. vocals): Increase the level until you can just hear it and than back it off a few db.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Lukas

Got it! Thanks a lot. Guitarists like me often trick ourselves into getting loads of reverb to make things sound 'huge' haha.