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About This Multitrack
#1
You can find the multitrack files for this project in the 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library.

Before posting a mix, please read The Three Commandments!
Please post your mix as a new thread, rather than as a reply to this sticky.

Here's some more project info you might find useful:
  • About The Raw Multitracks:
    • The drum tracks comprise stereo overheads and room ambience, and close-mics for kick (in, out), snare (over, under), and two toms (which have already had spill between the hits removed). An additional kick sample is provided to create a fill variation at the end of the middle section.
    • A bass DI track is accompanied by three different miked amp tracks, one for the intro (and similar post-chorus-1 bridge), one for most of the rest of the song, and one with the rhythmic reverse-envelope effect during the middle-section.
    • There are 12 electric-guitar overdubs, all single-miked, as well as one acoustic-guitar part during the middle-section. (Note that the piano part you can hear on the preview mix wasn't in the original multitracks -- I added it with 4Front's TruePianos virtual instrument at mixdown.)
    • Two tracks of lead vocal are accompanied by three tracks of ad libs (intended for editing around to taste) and 13 tracks of backing vocals.
  • Challenges You're Likely To Face:
    • This isn't a bad arrangement, and the performances are also good, so a lot of the more creative thinking has already been done for you. However, pushing the sonics beyond 'alright' is where the work gets harder, and if you're pushing for more of a pop sensibility then some additional arrangement input may prove necessary.
    • The balance and processing of the bass and guitars is likely to be the trickiest thing to managed, because some over-zealous use of distortion has rendered a number of the parts rather ill-defined and spongey. There's also quite a bit of rather woolly low-end on many of them.
  • Some Mixing Tips:
    • Make sure you check the polarity of the snare mics, and I'd also recommend checking the time-relationships between these mics too for the best tonal result. (The same goes for the kick's multimics too, of course.)
    • The overheads present a very wide stereo picture, which always sounds a bit odd to me. I'd be much more inclined to narrow the overheads a little and then use the ambience pair to paint out to the edges -- although you'll probably have to pull down the low end of these mics with EQ to avoid an over-roomy kick.
    • I remixed this song for Sound On Sound's November 2009 'Mix Rescue' column, which not only shows how I approached this band's recordings myself in practice, but also includes a selection of audio files demonstrating the effects of some of my processing and layering decisions.
    • I have to say that if I had to mix this track again, I'd probably look to replace some of the guitar overdubs with new recordings, because it ended up being a bit of a headache achieving the sound I wanted with the raw tracks as supplied.

If you have any other general questions about this multitrack, just reply to this post and I'll see what I can do.
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