05-04-2023, 03:02 AM
Thanks for leaving a comment, mikej. I appreciate it. No worries, we each have our own little lovely demons in life to deal with. At least you made it. That's all that matters. Thanks.
Anyway, I love the song but could never mix it properly. For example, right at the beginning ~(0:07) the guitar entrance just didn't sound like I wanted it to be, always weak and timid. The first verse, (0:37 on), the same, I mean I could hear the chugging but still weak and unimpressive, somehow unable to articulate. (I think it's the best part of the song). I want to hear all the chords, even the long sustained power chords, clearly and completely. I could get it to where I could hear it, but always partially never completely. I grew up with Metallica, Slayer, etc, so I have a vague idea what a guitar should sound like in a metal song. What I had, up to now, is not it. Same with the snare. I can hear it but it's not aggressive enough to drive the song forward and in denser parts obscured to the point of disappearing. In short, there's always something wrong or incomplete in everything. I mixed it with a frown rather than a smile. That bugged me to no end. I spent a bit of time thinking, trying to figure out what's wrong. I came to a conclusion that I want to share with you hoping you'll (or anybody) find it useful. A form of thinking out loud, if you will.
The reason my mixes never gave me what I wanted was that I simply could not control the compressor. I could hear the attack, only recently, but not the release. It's actually the easier of the two. Being able to hear the attack helps me control the front ends of all instruments so that each has its own "pulse" and they don't get in each other's ways. The release is much harder to hear because of a few reasons. First, it has no attack (duh!) for the ears to latch on. Second, it lasts only a few, if that, milliseconds. But, to me, intuitively, it'll provide the "swing" to complete the "pulse" of each of the instruments. It'll give me the snap of the snare, the chugging of the guitars, etc. Most of all, I later found out, the release helps a great deal on separation, a vital part of a good mix. Only if I can hear it. And only if I can control it. I still think that s/he who can control the compressor rules the magic kingdom.
So I spent a month, close enough, to learn to listen to the release with thousands of tries using this song. I don't know if it's out of sheer trying or luck but I think I can hear it now. I mixed this song using my new found knowledge and I think I like it. If you have some time, I'll really appreciate your comment on it. I need to make sure it's not an illusion of knowledge and that it's not a confirmation bias on my part. Second pair of ears is always better than one. And of course any tips to get me to the next level would greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Anyway, I love the song but could never mix it properly. For example, right at the beginning ~(0:07) the guitar entrance just didn't sound like I wanted it to be, always weak and timid. The first verse, (0:37 on), the same, I mean I could hear the chugging but still weak and unimpressive, somehow unable to articulate. (I think it's the best part of the song). I want to hear all the chords, even the long sustained power chords, clearly and completely. I could get it to where I could hear it, but always partially never completely. I grew up with Metallica, Slayer, etc, so I have a vague idea what a guitar should sound like in a metal song. What I had, up to now, is not it. Same with the snare. I can hear it but it's not aggressive enough to drive the song forward and in denser parts obscured to the point of disappearing. In short, there's always something wrong or incomplete in everything. I mixed it with a frown rather than a smile. That bugged me to no end. I spent a bit of time thinking, trying to figure out what's wrong. I came to a conclusion that I want to share with you hoping you'll (or anybody) find it useful. A form of thinking out loud, if you will.
The reason my mixes never gave me what I wanted was that I simply could not control the compressor. I could hear the attack, only recently, but not the release. It's actually the easier of the two. Being able to hear the attack helps me control the front ends of all instruments so that each has its own "pulse" and they don't get in each other's ways. The release is much harder to hear because of a few reasons. First, it has no attack (duh!) for the ears to latch on. Second, it lasts only a few, if that, milliseconds. But, to me, intuitively, it'll provide the "swing" to complete the "pulse" of each of the instruments. It'll give me the snap of the snare, the chugging of the guitars, etc. Most of all, I later found out, the release helps a great deal on separation, a vital part of a good mix. Only if I can hear it. And only if I can control it. I still think that s/he who can control the compressor rules the magic kingdom.
So I spent a month, close enough, to learn to listen to the release with thousands of tries using this song. I don't know if it's out of sheer trying or luck but I think I can hear it now. I mixed this song using my new found knowledge and I think I like it. If you have some time, I'll really appreciate your comment on it. I need to make sure it's not an illusion of knowledge and that it's not a confirmation bias on my part. Second pair of ears is always better than one. And of course any tips to get me to the next level would greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.