had issues with the kick that most people had; after attempting to sort out the phase issues, my end result was severe EQ cuts, heavy compression, plus a triggered 60Hz tone. i tend to mix bottom heavy, so let me know if it's too much in the deep end.
i'm not entirely sold on the backup vocals -- i kept the second one right in the middle because of the heavy bleed, then panned the other two slightly to either side. also, i made the aesthetic choice of muting the first appearance of the backup vocals.
i'm also interested in any feedback about the overall frequency balance. i'm practicing mixing in my thinly-walled studio apartment, so headphones are a must for me, unfortunately.
Your mix actually feels quite bottom heavy, especially toms and snaredrum. Your kickdrum solution isn't the best, to be honest. First of all, it's not tight enough in the lower frequencies. It doesn't sit well in the mixing tuning-wise, either. The song is in Eb, your 60 Hz are a sharp Bb. Tuning it precisely to a Bb or even to an Eb might work better. Though I think, the easiest solution is replacing the kickdrum with a sample and maybe use the higher spectrum of the old kickdrum for better definition. At least Cubase can create some MIDI data with ease based on the transients. There are also more extensive ways to create MIDI data. Check out youtube about that.
Concerning the backings they don't blend very well. The main reason is probably the wide spread. Using only half the panorama width might do the trick. Furthermore, make sure to control the dynamics of each channel with a compressor. I would also recommend to mult the "slow down, baby" part. It needs some emphasis on the middle voice to work.
i know a lot of people mixing this song went the kick replacement route -- and i certainly thought about that -- but i was being stubborn and tried to make it work as it is.
but, i caved in, haha. replacing the kick really does help quite a bit, and so i feel the end justifies the means.
took your advice and cleaned up the low end -- i'm hoping i didn't overcompensate. also, i brought the backups closer together, width-wise, and it does work better.
Your kickdrum as well as the rest of your low end sounds definitely better now. It seems you've moved around the audio data? I ask, because I hear a delay between different parts.
Your backings also blend better, though it's not necessary to pan them that close together (same position?). You might consider putting a different, lighter reverb on them. It's pretty heavy on the low mids and too obvious in my opinion. On the other hand there doesn't seem to be any reverb on the lead vocals?
20-01-2015, 05:42 PM (This post was last modified: 20-01-2015, 05:45 PM by Bereket.)
First from the bat what I've noticed is the Dessing issue. everything is not going to be fixed with a de-esser if it is not working use your cutting tools and chop and put a fade in or out. another thing literally the toms have suffered from EQ problem. it happens for all of us. Toms needs to be boosted around 80-70 something like that. If you have a big bass sound I expect also Big bass sounding tom with body. that just a little bit killed your mix. Oh yes cut the toms around 400dish and boost it up 4k. you have a lovely mix anyways.
Stop collecting plugins and hardware. First understand the tool you got and then look for extension when you reach your limit.
