18-05-2014, 12:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 18-05-2014, 12:30 AM by Pedaling Prince.)
Thanks for the input, guys! 
Actually, when I went into the mix I found that the guitars and synth are playing only during the choruses, except for one short section of the synth which leads into the second chorus. So I automated the synth level to fade in and create a buildup on that second chorus then just brought up the level of the guitars.
Hm... there are 20 blanking drum tracks here... I think they're interesting enough the way they are.
Besides, on a more serious note, I've never much liked the sound of automated drum levels; I prefer drums to maintain a consistent level through a song. That is, of course, personal taste, but nevertheless I decided to leave them alone for my remix here.
Hipass Filter at 76 Hz
Compression: Threshold 23.5 dB, Ratio 4.8:1, Attack 10 ms, 4 dB Gain
EQ: -3 @ 80 Hz, +1.5 @ 6200 Hz, +3 @ 12 kHz
Reverb to taste.
It was a conscious choice. Anyone who's been following my mixes knows that I tend to push backing vocals louder than most people here; I always find that backing vocals don't sound natural if they're significantly lower than the main vocal, so I prefer to keep them closer in level to the lead.
On listening to the OH just now I found the kick drum was terribly resonant, moreso than I realized when I did this mix the first time.
On this attempt I applied a hipass at 200 Hz on the OH drum track in an attempt to eliminate that; let me know if that helps.
Could be, but I don't think so. I actually found the chorused sound brought out more of the higher frequencies in the bass, particularly the sharp "snap" of the strings done for effect during the choruses, a sound I just love, which is why I decided to go that route with it.
So, gentlemen, you'll find a new mix attached here incorporating your suggestions. What do you think?
P.S.: Just listening to it after posting it here. Since applying that hipass to the overheads the snare has more crispness now, something I've been trying to achieve with this mix. I was thinking about getting more heavy handed with the EQ on the snare mics but I prefer not to do that. Thing is, I have a tendency to adjust drum sounds with the close mics; most of the time I avoid putting any kind of processing on an OH at all, unless there's some specific deficiency in the OH recording that needs addressing. Therein lies the rub here; the OH here sounds fine on its own so it didn't occur to me until you brought it to my attention that all that low frequency energy in the OH might be a problem in the context of the whole mix. Seems all I had to do was filter off some of that low frequency on the OH track and voila! There's the sound I was looking for!
Gotta get out of the habit of relying so much on adjusting close drum tracks...
(17-05-2014, 08:59 AM)Andreas Tyranopoulos Wrote: I miss the energy on the chorus and that's because your guitars and especially the synth lead are very low leveled. I think that an automation volume upwards for guitars and synth on the chorus could make it sound more powerful and big!
Actually, when I went into the mix I found that the guitars and synth are playing only during the choruses, except for one short section of the synth which leads into the second chorus. So I automated the synth level to fade in and create a buildup on that second chorus then just brought up the level of the guitars.
(17-05-2014, 08:59 AM)Andreas Tyranopoulos Wrote: Also try to play with the volume of your drums at each part of the song in order to give them a groove and make them more interesting!
Hm... there are 20 blanking drum tracks here... I think they're interesting enough the way they are.
Besides, on a more serious note, I've never much liked the sound of automated drum levels; I prefer drums to maintain a consistent level through a song. That is, of course, personal taste, but nevertheless I decided to leave them alone for my remix here.(17-05-2014, 12:24 PM)EKN Wrote: I . . . like the sound you got from the backing vocals, smooth like butter and with a good depth in the mix. Any hint about your processing ?
Hipass Filter at 76 Hz
Compression: Threshold 23.5 dB, Ratio 4.8:1, Attack 10 ms, 4 dB Gain
EQ: -3 @ 80 Hz, +1.5 @ 6200 Hz, +3 @ 12 kHz
Reverb to taste.
(17-05-2014, 12:24 PM)EKN Wrote: the backing vocal following the lead (named BV2) is quite loud and almost overtakes the lead in some parts (0:28 for example), which somewhat changes the main melody. Maybe it was a conscious choice of yours, in which case don't change a thing !
It was a conscious choice. Anyone who's been following my mixes knows that I tend to push backing vocals louder than most people here; I always find that backing vocals don't sound natural if they're significantly lower than the main vocal, so I prefer to keep them closer in level to the lead.
(17-05-2014, 12:24 PM)EKN Wrote: the low end is kind of lacking definition. Is it due to the EQ on the kick ? On the bass ? Or some low-end resonance in the OH track ? I can't really point out the culprit here, but I know I spent quite some time dealing with this myself !
On listening to the OH just now I found the kick drum was terribly resonant, moreso than I realized when I did this mix the first time.
On this attempt I applied a hipass at 200 Hz on the OH drum track in an attempt to eliminate that; let me know if that helps.(17-05-2014, 12:24 PM)EKN Wrote: I don't really care for the chorused bass sound, but that's just personal taste, not really an issue (unless it's related to the lack of definition in previous point ?)
Could be, but I don't think so. I actually found the chorused sound brought out more of the higher frequencies in the bass, particularly the sharp "snap" of the strings done for effect during the choruses, a sound I just love, which is why I decided to go that route with it.
So, gentlemen, you'll find a new mix attached here incorporating your suggestions. What do you think?
P.S.: Just listening to it after posting it here. Since applying that hipass to the overheads the snare has more crispness now, something I've been trying to achieve with this mix. I was thinking about getting more heavy handed with the EQ on the snare mics but I prefer not to do that. Thing is, I have a tendency to adjust drum sounds with the close mics; most of the time I avoid putting any kind of processing on an OH at all, unless there's some specific deficiency in the OH recording that needs addressing. Therein lies the rub here; the OH here sounds fine on its own so it didn't occur to me until you brought it to my attention that all that low frequency energy in the OH might be a problem in the context of the whole mix. Seems all I had to do was filter off some of that low frequency on the OH track and voila! There's the sound I was looking for!
Gotta get out of the habit of relying so much on adjusting close drum tracks...