Digital Only Logic Proz Late Night Neverland Butt Hoe

[Quathamer]

Heyyyyyy,

So spent a fair amount of time on this mix. 2x 4hr mixing sessions which is way more than I usually spend but hey, it's a good song for it and I like the end result.

So the idea behind this mix was as pop-rock as I could get it by using Muse as reference tracks. Lots of cool effects, lots of dynamics, lots of distortion. Crunchy on the outside but silky in the middle.

Feel free to comment. I may even share a secret or two!

** Edit ** Uploaded a mastered version, however for the competition I used the unmastered version

[Ringoman1]

Hi Quathamer!

I listened to the mastered version, just to be clear .

Cool L/R (reverse) delay effect in the beginning to tease in the guitars!

Overall: a bit heavy on the low end - very punchy though. The kick sounds deep and punchy, perhaps a bit loud, but that's a matter of taste...

Very beautifully-done vocal processing and use of the backing vocals (it really stands out in the verses) + tasteful use of reverb.

Guitars really blast out well - I like their balance and positioning.

Nice distortion added for the crunch of the guitars.

At 2:38 a bit of (sidechain?) compression action (I think...) is noticeable (duck in volume) - could perhaps be a bit more subtle.

I didn't hear the piano and acoustic guitars very clearly in the busier (chorus) sections; did you purposefully put focus on the other instruments in the chorus sections?

Overall, a very nice mix indeed. Very different from the one I did earlier today -- I like how endlesslly creative mixes can be and how the outcome differs each time. Enjoyed listening to your take on it multiple times . Cheers!

[Quathamer]

Hi Quathamer!

I listened to the mastered version, just to be clear .

Hey ringo, wow that's a lot of questions! Here's some answers and comments for you.

- Cool L/R (reverse) delay effect: The reverse effect is actually apart of the session, though I did enhance it a bit. It's one of the tracks (I can't remember what it's labeled).

- Overall a bit heavy on the low end: So this a mastering thing. All mastering that I do is to make it sound good on small speakers, so you would be right in assuming then that the unmastered is not as bright, not as heavy on the low end, and a lot more dynamic. Essentially the unmastered version is for listening loud on big speakers.

- Very beautifully-done vocal processing and use of the backing vocals (it really stands out in the verses) + tasteful use of reverb: Thanks! Because he's straining his voice so painfully in the choruses, the trick for this song is not to compress his vocal too heavily, and not to make his backing vocals too bright otherwise they will overwhelm the mix clarity.

- Nice distortion added for the crunch of the guitars: A lot of the distortion was already in the tracks and I just tried to bring it out a bit more (or a lot more). I love a good crunchy but silky guitar.

- At 2:38 a bit of (sidechain?): No actually, this is again another side effect of the mastering - but done intentionally. I enjoy the sound of pumping masters because it gives energy to mixes when listening at low volumes. The umastered version doesn't have this.

- I didn't hear the piano and acoustic guitars very clearly in the busier (chorus) sections; did you purposefully put focus on the other instruments in the chorus sections?:
Yeah, spot on. So the parts are definitely there, especially the acoustics that give little chimes here and there in the choruses, but you shouldn't have everything clear and up front all the time. You can if you want, but what will happen is your mixes will become either cluttered or confusing. The human brain can only process a few things at a time, so you need to feature one thing, let the feature be supported by a few other things, and then you can have hundreds of tiny details in the background if you want but as long as you give your listener one defined thing to hang onto, your mixes will be clearer, more defined, and easier to listen to for your brain. Keep it simple.
If you want to know what to "feature" in a mix at any time, just ask the artist - either listen to the reference track they send, or ask them.

I hope that helps you in some way there Ringo, and thanks heaps for all those comments and questions. I really appreciate you took the time to comment.

[Ringoman1]

I hope that helps you in some way there Ringo, and thanks heaps for all those comments and questions. I really appreciate you took the time to comment.

It helps in a huge way -- thank you for taking the time to really go into my reply! I'm taking your advice along the way for my future mixes. I have heaps to learn as this was only my 5th 'not-my-own-tune' mix thus far, so thanks a lot for that!

So funny I gave you credit for the cool L/R effect when in fact it was just there (sort of)... I missed it in my own mix, because I just hadn't put the fader of that track quite right. Oops! I did hear it after I knew it was there, but still it was not very obvious :-).

[crownoise]

Hey Quathammer, i like this mix, very modern and metal. I know its hard to get that enery witouht making stuf harsh. I got akg headphones and this mix/master is a tiny harsh in the guitars when i listen to it. Other then that i like the energy you got, i actually od not think that its 2 bass heavy, i like it that way.

[Quathamer]

Hey Quathammer, i like this mix, very modern and metal. I know its hard to get that enery witouht making stuf harsh. I got akg headphones and this mix/master is a tiny harsh in the guitars when i listen to it. Other then that i like the energy you got, i actually od not think that its 2 bass heavy, i like it that way.

Yeah I agree, I'll try to get another master up soon

[Roy]

I listened to the mastered version. Sounds great. I like the solid low end. Sounds very balanced tonally.
I think the chorus could pop more dynamically. The chorus guitars don't feel harsh to me but maybe too 'thick' and don't cause the chorus to jump enough. I feel like the tone of the guitars in the chorus should be the tone of the chorus piano and the guitars could be a little brighter and thinner and both the guitars and piano could exist without one masking the other.
The last chorus especially feels too constrained by the overall compression after the quieter break. The build off doesn't pay off enough. I think the "Drop" track (SFX2?) may be the biggest culprit. That extra low end may trigger the extra compression. Maybe there's a LF side chain function on the compressor.
The solo guitars may feel a little 'grainy'. It might be the added distortion.
Really like the vocals.

Good job.

[Quathamer]

I listened to the mastered version. Sounds great. I like the solid low end. Sounds very balanced tonally.
I think the chorus could pop more dynamically. The chorus guitars don't feel harsh to me but maybe too 'thick' and don't cause the chorus to jump enough. I feel like the tone of the guitars in the chorus should be the tone of the chorus piano and the guitars could be a little brighter and thinner and both the guitars and piano could exist without one masking the other.
The last chorus especially feels too constrained by the overall compression after the quieter break. The build off doesn't pay off enough. I think the "Drop" track (SFX2?) may be the biggest culprit. That extra low end may trigger the extra compression. Maybe there's a LF side chain function on the compressor.
The solo guitars may feel a little 'grainy'. It might be the added distortion.
Really like the vocals.

Good job.

Hello mate,

Yeah really great feedback. I'll have a look at it and see what I can come up with.

[Shul]

There is some pumping and clipping going on.. balances are really good though.. that quiet voice by the end is quite loud.
It's a hard mix.. it's giving me a headache so.. good job