Hey Mike ,
I like you mix a lot , Sounds well balanced and translates well on my monitors.
Some top end transients of the Snare popping out and maybe competing with the vocals around the 3-5 k area especially listening on the Ns 10's.
Well Done
16-11-2019, 06:37 PM (This post was last modified: 16-11-2019, 06:38 PM by mikej.)
Hi!
Thanks for listening and taking the time to comment - much appreciated.
This was actually my second attempt at this track. I'm sorry to say that I deleted my post of my first go at this as I hated it so much! I generally try not to do this and leave all my different versions up, as sometimes it turns out the earlier versions were not quite as bad as I thought...
I've really not been all that happy with my mixes, and have felt I should be able to do better. I've recently been working at a few things and have changed my approach a fair bit. I've switched out some plugins, and have been experimenting with some different chains, etc. I think this was one of the first tracks I mixed trying to take a new approach to things. I've been trying to focus on mix balance and a few other things that I felt I was really struggling with.
I think I will revisit this mix and check out the snare/vocal issue you mentioned. I recall I found the vocal tone and verse/chorus dynamics quite a tough challenge, so it could well be the snare that was causing me problems. It's quite a full and ambitious arrangement, but it also has quite a bit of 'space' too, so quite tricky to mix.
I didn't really come close to the example mix. I can say though that for me this mix was a lot of fun, and was one of those mixes where I felt I learned quite a lot during the process that has helped me a lot in subsequent mixes. Even if the end result isn't quite where I wanted it, I feel I've managed to move things forward just a little.
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
(16-11-2019, 06:54 AM)thedon Wrote: Hey Mike ,
I like you mix a lot , Sounds well balanced and translates well on my monitors.
Some top end transients of the Snare popping out and maybe competing with the vocals around the 3-5 k area especially listening on the Ns 10's.
Well Done
Yeah, I agree the snare and vocal are clashing. I've just reopened the project and made some eq changes to the snare based on your suggestion. You are pretty much spot on. Turns out I'd boosted the snare just above 3k. I've changed that to a dip, and added just a touch at 6.5k. I think the snare and vocal are co-existing a bit better now and it is an easier listen? Many thanks for the tip, much appreciated.
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
(16-11-2019, 06:54 AM)thedon Wrote: Hey Mike ,
I like you mix a lot , Sounds well balanced and translates well on my monitors.
Some top end transients of the Snare popping out and maybe competing with the vocals around the 3-5 k area especially listening on the Ns 10's.
Well Done
Yeah, I agree the snare and vocal are clashing. I've just reopened the project and made some eq changes to the snare based on your suggestion. You are pretty much spot on. Turns out I'd boosted the snare just above 3k. I've changed that to a dip, and added just a touch at 6.5k. I think the snare and vocal are co-existing a bit better now and it is an easier listen? Many thanks for the tip, much appreciated.
Listened to V1.1 The snare is a little dead sounding (ha I just read the don's posts*). I like the vocals for the most part. The lead could be a hair more interesting. I think the balance of the chorus vocals is a bit off and could use less "lead" and more of the BGVs/Harm parts though overall the BGVs are a bit loud, they just need some rebalancing. Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either but they're what we have to work with.
I think overall it could be a hair brighter. A little more upper mids. It's a pop song and needs that extra bit of sugar and spice to catch the ear. You have to pretend you're a teen girl listening to it.
(*I checked out a bit of V1 and can hear what thedon was referring to regarding the snare/vocal. I think in V1 the snare was 'boxy' and I think those low mids in the snare are what were causing the masking. I still think the snare could have more crack though)
21-11-2019, 04:53 PM (This post was last modified: 21-11-2019, 04:55 PM by mikej.)
Hi!
Detailed and useful comments, many thanks!
Certainly motivates me to revisit this mix and try for a version 1.2.
Snare: I feel I can perhaps brighten it up a touch or something? I wanted it to be quite short in this track so I gated it, and I quite like it like that I think. Not sure if that is contributing to what you are describing as 'dead' sounding? I'll have to give it some more thought.
- I am with you on adding a just bit more snap to it. I feel I can certainly have a go at that anyway.
Yeah, I really didn't pick up on the snare/vocal thing, useful comments with the low mids, and hopefully something I'll remember to keep in mind for the future.
Vocals: It would seem I really buried the vocal delays! Not sure if that is a mistake on my part, as I do recall playing around and experimenting with different delays on this mix. Maybe I wasn't really feeling them at the time. You are right in saying that I should look to do something there, to make things a little more interesting.
BV's: Listening back today, I think I can understand what you want to be hearing. I'll have a play around and see what I can come up with. That might be part of the reason that I was having issues with the chorus perhaps too?
Overall brightness: I did actually do a fair bit of referencing, and I recall I did add a bit more to the upper mids (have to go back and check) so I thought it should be in the ballpark... Listening back now yeah, I think there is a bit of room (if that makes sense?) to add a touch more without any drama.
Thanks once again for your comments, much appreciated.
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Actually re-listening, I'm not sure what I meant about the snare. Maybe it had to do with the shortness. Maybe by snap I just mean longer. Or space. But you said you wanted it shorter so we might be wanting different things from it.
As far as the vocal, I may have being thinking something similar. It just feels somewhat 'small'. I'm not sure I notice any delays on the lead vocal but it might not need that. Maybe some space and a little less 'honk'? It's not bad but it feels like it could be, well bigger. I think I'm being ambiguous on purpose.
I'm not sure about the brightness now. Maybe my ears are tired. Maybe a slight bit of a scoop in the mids might create the eq shape I'm thinking of. It's definitely in the ballpark though.
All these comments are subjective. Sometimes I just go with my gut and at the time they make sense. Then again, it might feel different some other time of day. Nothing is that far off (Ok maybe some of the BGV levels) so don't dig into it too deeply.
(21-11-2019, 06:37 PM)RoyMatthews Wrote: All these comments are subjective. Sometimes I just go with my gut and at the time they make sense. Then again, it might feel different some other time of day. Nothing is that far off (Ok maybe some of the BGV levels) so don't dig into it too deeply.
Yeah I understand what you mean (and I feel pretty much the same I think). You've raised some good points, and I think it's going to be fun to play around with the vocals a bit, and to check out the brightness, etc too. Thanks!
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Hey, i'll offer my two pence if it is worth anything!
I personally would like to hear some more reverb or delay on the main vocals, as you said yourself it plays such a major role. Don't get me wrong, the vocals sound very nice and warm but I think just some audible reverb or something might help. Having said that though it might lose that intimacy you are going for. Maybe just have it in the chorus? Maybe increasing the volume of the drum room mikes (high hats etc..) as well in the bridge.
I'm really not a fan of the high pitch vocal tracks recorded. You definitely have made it sound more in tune, but i think i might has some sort of effects next time to make it less obvious which is something I might try in my next version.
