Amber Skye - Howlin' (ONITB mix)

[OldNewbieITB]

Hi all - I'm pleased to present my mix of this interesting song. I don't usually mix pop so it was refreshing to try something a bit different than what I normally do. After I completed this mix earlier today I listened to most everyone's mix in these five pages. There are some very enjoyable and creative mixes here. I will try to provide some feedback over the weekend.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy my mix. As always, feedback and criticism are always welcome. Have a great weekend! Cheers!!

ONITB

[SonicTramp]

Very good mix. I like it. But I think it's a little dark to my taste. I wish there is a little more top end to the mix. That would make it sound awesome, brightens up the mix a bit and, perhaps bc of it, the mix would be clearer. I'm not sure about my hearing presently, but I think the snare and the kick in the beginning is a little loud relative to the vocal. And the kick carries some weird lo-mid resonant robbing your mix of its clarity. I also hear a little bit of that in your piano (maybe HP to trim out the fat?) But the vocal is really well pampered. Very skillful. I think I hear some tape sat on the top end of the vocal and some faint delay. That provides some top end to your mix but not enough, imho. Around 3:30-on, again, imho, the main driving force lies in the "Arp." When they kick in (3:42) the gated synths drive the song forward giving it the "exciting climax" (good lord, yep, that too, if it comes to it ) thus saving the whole song. Yet I hear it only faintly in yours. Btw, where are the hi-hats? (could this be the effect of a lungful of sweet California flowers on my part? Who knows?) the 16th notes playing (or is it 32nd? ) You can pull some top end to your mix by bringing the hats up in the mix, you know. Good job, nevertheless!

[OldNewbieITB]

Hi Sonic - Many thanks for your review and nice words about my mix. Really appreciate your detailed analysis.

I agree there’s some muddiness and resonances in the mix. Some of it could be due to having Slate VTM (16 track 2”) on each individual channel as well as some additional tape sat on the busses in Harrison Mixbus 32C. It was also mixed on headphones (AT 50mx and AKG k240 Studios) as my room is not yet treated (hoping to get it done in first quarter of 2019). I really think I need to subtract some frequencies between 200-500 Hz rather than boost the mid and upper frequencies. That could be subjective.

The drums are high passed around 20 Hz, the piano wasn’t highpassed at all. Kudos for picking up on that. The vox were a pleasure to mix and have a mix of reverb and delay, although the delay is only in the section around the 3:00 minute mark. Nice pickup!

My original intent was to fade out between 3:47 - 4:00 to make it a but more radio friendly as I didn’t feel there was enough interesting material to keep the listener interested. I ultimately decided against it at the last minute but will probably revisit that in the near future.

The hats are actually present in there. They’re layered below one of the synths but could be contributing to the mud/resonance as I didn’t scoop them as much as I normally do at around 250 Hz. I was actually concerned about adding too much too end and felt reasonably comfortable with them there. However, after reading your review and listening to it again I will see if it does make difference this weekend when I have some time.

Your comments really nailed some of the things I struggle with occasionally which are the low end rumble/mud and mix clarity. Thanks again! I’ll take a listen to your mix over the weekend and provide my feedback. Have a great rest of the week.

Cheers!
ONITB

[SonicTramp]

No problem! ONITB. When I am in the mood to listen, I don't mind listening attentively since I know the value of criticism. I learn so much from you guys (those who give a shit to leave a comment anyway). I wasn't born with a compressor in one hand and the EQ on another, you know. And I did not sail here without troubled winds (more like hurricane to me) either, my friend. Struggling is an on-going thing for me. Beside learning from books and Youtube, I find places like this is awesome to learn. Too bad many of us mixers lack a sense of solidarity. Oh, well.

And yeah, the lo mid (responsible for the clarity of one's mix) is the hardest for me to tame. They are fucking everywhere! (pardon my French). They are in the kick, the snare, the piano, the strings, the pads. They are even in places where I never thought they'd be: the hi hat, the tambourines. They are everywhere! They are ugly, hairy, and...scary! At one time, not too long ago, I was so ready to throw in the towel, yeah, the bloody one, and call it quit. Oh pray to the good Lord, the pain was just horrifying. But the love of mixing overcomes the agony, in addition to a little hit on the bong to gather my courage, of course, it always helps . And I take it like a man To this day I still find myself dragging my dull katana (that means cheap plugins) facing a sea of monstrous looking...125Hz-650Hz in every mix I get my paws on. But I am still learning. "Listen carefully and thou shall hear" is my 11th commandment and the 12th one probably be "practice makes perfect" . Have fun mixing!