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Alex The Adventurer
#1
First try at style of mixing this music which I love , I used Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Roundup as reference with not much success !
Any advice welcome for version 2 Big Grin !


.mp3    Alex The Adventurer-V1.mp3 --  (Download: 2.24 MB)



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#2
hey don!

don't be hard on yourself, I think it sounds good! fortunately, this tune was very well programmed with very good samples and doesn't need very much processing so the improvements I have in mind will be very easy for you, considering you've done quite well.

my humble suggestions:

The french horn in the beginning I think should be bigger and more triumphant... I used a delay insert and parallel reverb to accomplish this, but you're a very experienced and talented engineer, so I have a feeling you' could come up with something even slicker.
The unfortunate thing about sequencing samples is that they were recorded out of context, so I think a bit of transient processing would be a good idea... some of the legatos are a little TOO legato and some of the sharp, staccato instruments don't hit hard enough for me... so maybe a decreased sustain for slightly less legato instruments where you find it helpful, and a sharper attack and quicker release on the staccato for a more pronounced effect?
the raw woodwind sample that goes with the violins in the intro wasn't as balanced as it could have been between the flutes and the oboe, so the oboe tends to get lost... but I'm not sure I hear the woodwinds at all, so that could have been intentional and it sounds good as it is. If you want a little more oboe, the flutes and oboe are active in different ranges so a mild boost on the woodwind sample and a complimentary cut would do the trick, if you wish.
around 38 seconds in, something weird is going on... I can't really tell what happened but it throws the balance off for a second or two.
did you delete the piano that accompanies the xylophone? I can't hear it at all. That's a perfectly valid decision because the piano sample has a different character than the rest, so it takes a lot of work and the more work you put into it, you'll get diminishing returns. I had to mess with it quite a bit, and looking back I'm not very happy with the way it sounds, so I may do the same or replace it with a different sample in a revision.
your finale is much better than mine. you mentioned you may have overdone it but the emotional payoff is great. I'll definitely enhance that in a revision.

just suggestions based on my interpretation.. there are a couple earlier threads that are fantastic and polished, if you want to mess with it any more. it sounds very good to me except for the minor hiccup around 38. the emotion is quite enhanced by your balance and the stereo image it quite realistic. since most of the tracks are stereo, I just narrowed the few of them that were too wide for me and left the rest alone.. however you've worked it, though, I can imagine myself in a concert hall, especially with how I feel the low brass instruments hitting me in the chest.

if I don't catch your revised version, drop me a line so I can hear!
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!
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#3
The intro sounds great !
When the bas drum start playin with that thinner sound the balnace of the mix doesnt work for me, its like a drumsolo with orchestra backing :-) Workin on sinkin the drum into the orchestra is very diffrent from out usual goal of hearing the kick beater, but it sounds more natural.
I like your big finale, I dont think its too big (as i did work mine pretty much the same size ... )

The best thing I did for my mix were workin hard on placin the diffrent instruments more like a real symphony orchestra, I found some sketches of how its usually lined up on google and worked with Logics stereo tool - I dont know how it works in other daws but just panning wont actually place the instrument where you want, just turn either L or R down and thats not what we want. Also I narrowed most o the strereo channels about half, as some violins were more left and right than middle.

I actually like you eq better than mine :-)

Sounds great - just those small things to make it sound natural too.

Old ears, old gear, little boy inside love music and sounds and my wife, not necessarily in that order
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#4
Heres the one I used:

http://www.loopblog.net/tutorials/studio...l-panning/
Old ears, old gear, little boy inside love music and sounds and my wife, not necessarily in that order
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#5
it's amazing how difficult it is to mix something that is supposed to sound natural and simple! But I think you did a great job. I like your finale! It's full of emotion!
mixing since April 2013
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#6
(11-02-2014, 03:35 PM)pauli Wrote: hey don!

don't be hard on yourself, I think it sounds good! fortunately, this tune was very well programmed with very good samples and doesn't need very much processing so the improvements I have in mind will be very easy for you, considering you've done quite well.

my humble suggestions:

The french horn in the beginning I think should be bigger and more triumphant... I used a delay insert and parallel reverb to accomplish this, but you're a very experienced and talented engineer, so I have a feeling you' could come up with something even slicker.
The unfortunate thing about sequencing samples is that they were recorded out of context, so I think a bit of transient processing would be a good idea... some of the legatos are a little TOO legato and some of the sharp, staccato instruments don't hit hard enough for me... so maybe a decreased sustain for slightly less legato instruments where you find it helpful, and a sharper attack and quicker release on the staccato for a more pronounced effect?
the raw woodwind sample that goes with the violins in the intro wasn't as balanced as it could have been between the flutes and the oboe, so the oboe tends to get lost... but I'm not sure I hear the woodwinds at all, so that could have been intentional and it sounds good as it is. If you want a little more oboe, the flutes and oboe are active in different ranges so a mild boost on the woodwind sample and a complimentary cut would do the trick, if you wish.
around 38 seconds in, something weird is going on... I can't really tell what happened but it throws the balance off for a second or two.
did you delete the piano that accompanies the xylophone? I can't hear it at all. That's a perfectly valid decision because the piano sample has a different character than the rest, so it takes a lot of work and the more work you put into it, you'll get diminishing returns. I had to mess with it quite a bit, and looking back I'm not very happy with the way it sounds, so I may do the same or replace it with a different sample in a revision.
your finale is much better than mine. you mentioned you may have overdone it but the emotional payoff is great. I'll definitely enhance that in a revision.

just suggestions based on my interpretation.. there are a couple earlier threads that are fantastic and polished, if you want to mess with it any more. it sounds very good to me except for the minor hiccup around 38. the emotion is quite enhanced by your balance and the stereo image it quite realistic. since most of the tracks are stereo, I just narrowed the few of them that were too wide for me and left the rest alone.. however you've worked it, though, I can imagine myself in a concert hall, especially with how I feel the low brass instruments hitting me in the chest.

if I don't catch your revised version, drop me a line so I can hear!

Thanks Pauli for having a detailed listen and kind words, wow you have great attention to detail as the hiccup at 38 is lazy attempt to increase the volume of the finale on the final mix at exactly 38 Blush!
Will use your advice in version 2 Big Grin

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#7
(11-02-2014, 06:58 PM)juanjose1967 Wrote: it's amazing how difficult it is to mix something that is supposed to sound natural and simple! But I think you did a great job. I like your finale! It's full of emotion!

Thanks Juanjose Big Grin

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#8
(11-02-2014, 05:04 PM)Voelund Wrote: The intro sounds great !
When the bas drum start playin with that thinner sound the balnace of the mix doesnt work for me, its like a drumsolo with orchestra backing :-) Workin on sinkin the drum into the orchestra is very diffrent from out usual goal of hearing the kick beater, but it sounds more natural.
I like your big finale, I dont think its too big (as i did work mine pretty much the same size ... )

The best thing I did for my mix were workin hard on placin the diffrent instruments more like a real symphony orchestra, I found some sketches of how its usually lined up on google and worked with Logics stereo tool - I dont know how it works in other daws but just panning wont actually place the instrument where you want, just turn either L or R down and thats not what we want. Also I narrowed most o the strereo channels about half, as some violins were more left and right than middle.

I actually like you eq better than mine :-)

Sounds great - just those small things to make it sound natural too.

Thanks Niels !
I will try more panning in version 2 ,it also doesn't translate well and sound as balanced as your mix when listening back on single mono speaker !

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#9
(11-02-2014, 05:05 PM)Voelund Wrote: Heres the one I used:

http://www.loopblog.net/tutorials/studio...l-panning/

Thank you !
I will use this as a guide Wink !

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