Fruition - Santa Fe

[mclee1993]

Fun song to mix. Tried to widen the drums with some panning. Did some drum triggering on the kick and the snare. Used amp simulator on Bass. Panned guitars left and right then panned their reverb opposite each other. Used double comp on led vocals. Used a double vocaler on the background vocals. let me know how it sounds.

[Mixinthecloud]

What were you practicing with this mix?

[mclee1993]

The whole thing was practice. Choosing levels, panning, EQ, parallel compression and many other basic but fundamental processes. One thing in particular was using a amp simulator for the DI bass. I wanted to get a distorted natural “Ampy” vibe for the bass without changing the original recording. I also tried a vocal doubler on the vocals. I tried to not apply to much, but it usually comes out too artificial.

[Mixinthecloud]

The whole thing was practice. Choosing levels, panning, EQ, parallel compression and many other basic but fundamental processes. One thing in particular was using a amp simulator for the DI bass. I wanted to get a distorted natural “Ampy” vibe for the bass without changing the original recording. I also tried a vocal doubler on the vocals. I tried to not apply to much, but it usually comes out too artificial.

What are you listening through? Speakers, ear buds, headphones, iPhone?

[mclee1993]

This is a headphone mix on some krk headphones. I’ve listened to the track through headphones, laptops, iPhones and my basic living room sound system. I haven’t listened to track in my car yet. Sense I mixed in headphones, this mix should and probably be to listen through headphones. I don’t like to mix on headphones but don’t have monitors set up at the moment. I also don’t use earbuds... unless listening to a finished track to see how they sound through different speakers.

[Mixinthecloud]

What I am trying to avoid here is coming down too hard on the frequency content of your mix, instead thinking it may be a consequence of your monitoring. What I am hearing is almost exclusively bass guitar and low end and very little else. Everything sounds very dull and lifeless with no top end on anything. That is why I was wondering about your listening environment. Have you listened to the reference mix or other mixes presented here?

[mclee1993]

You are correct about the excessive low end. lol, after listening to it again I realize how important it easy to listen to a mix with fresh ears... and as many speakers as you can. Upon listening to this track i can't find the hi hats, guitars, or background vocals. This is just one of my mixes of this song. Im working on one at the moment. Im working on balancing the highs and lows. Really trying to get the low end to stop competing with the guitars. Although now I am getting more comfortable with the balance of lows and highs. I'm having trouble with volume. Comparing the mix I'm working on right now, to your 4th mix, your volume is much louder. Im having trouble increasing my overall volume without clipping. Thanks for the feed back by the way I need all the criticism I can get. Im new to the game.

[Mixinthecloud]

You are correct about the excessive low end. lol, after listening to it again I realize how important it easy to listen to a mix with fresh ears... and as many speakers as you can. Upon listening to this track i can't find the hi hats, guitars, or background vocals. This is just one of my mixes of this song. Im working on one at the moment. Im working on balancing the highs and lows. Really trying to get the low end to stop competing with the guitars. Although now I am getting more comfortable with the balance of lows and highs. I'm having trouble with volume. Comparing the mix I'm working on right now, to your 4th mix, your volume is much louder. Im having trouble increasing my overall volume without clipping. Thanks for the feed back by the way I need all the criticism I can get. Im new to the game.

Don't try to get the volume from the mix alone. There are typically two steps to presenting songs; mixing and mastering. Use mastering to bring the volume up and polish the frequency and dynamic envelopes using tools specific for that job, which are different than the tools for mixing.