Inner Circle Final Mix and Master

[dcp10200]

One of the issues with only quoting gain reduction values when discussing compression, is that different parameters can have a significant impact on the attack and decay envelopes, and still achieve the same level of reduction. Another point i'd mention, in passing, is that a gain reduction that never goes to zero, or rarely gets the chance, is being compressed almost permanently. So, I take gain reduction statements generally with a pinch of salt because it doesn't mean anything. What does help tell a story to me, is whether I can listen to music without suffering fatigue from the lack of dynamics and the consequences of high rates of compression/distortion and it's artifacts. I hear what you are saying, but the mix is a problem and you need to address the issues in order to progress it....if you wish to progress it, of course.

I don't know what you are using for monitors, nor how effective your listening environment is (including room acoustics, volume, etc), but this might also be playing a part in one's ability to make reliable and accurate assessments in the quality department.

Excitement in music comes from transients and attack, for example. Compression, and I say this while being mindful of the different envelopes we can shape, will, on the whole, reduce transients. Furthermore, electric gtrs are compressed as part of their sound, therefore any further compression in the mix merely removes what dynamic was actually remaining....adding a disproportionate level of distortion while doing so. So, when we compress on the master buss, for example, those already “well compressed” guitars [from the tracking stage amps] risk being adulterated. If I can't listen without discomfort/fatigue, then I must question the whole philosophy behind the vision at a fundamental level.

I understand the essence of your goal, but I think you need to re-evaluate what you've done here, even accounting for the issues in the multi (especially the cymbals which are excessively abundant in the recordings around 4kHz – smack in the ears most sensitive region). Compress this, compress that, saturate this, saturate that, clip this, clip that, all stacks up if not applied tastefully and carefully. Our ears get to like treble too quickly and before you know it, it can wrong foot us.

the “soft-master” has a mere LRA of 2.2. For a song that's 5 minutes or so long, that's musical suicide. Incidentally, the “hard-master” file had an LRA of 1.9! In subjective terms, it explains why the mix is boring - it lacks macro dynamics. It's our responsibility to put them in as best as the arrangement allows; it's a fundamental skill of a mixing engineer to do this. The graph attached illustrates diagrammatically the full nature of the issue....on top of the points I've already discussed regarding over-compression and distortion at the micro level.

Looking forward to the revision, if you get round to it

I'm mixing on a set of AKG K240 MKII headphones through a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, my room at this point is very small and I don't have much room for monitors, I do have a pair of Yorkville YSM6 studio monitors but I'm currently working on my monitoring setup. All my mixes are checked on a Sony Home Theater in a Box for a "real world" comparison. I still live at home with my parents so that does handicap me as well. I'm 21 and still looking for work so my budget is very limited, most of what I have now were partially funded by my parents.

Regarding ear fatiuge: I guess you aren't a metal or heavy rock fan, personally those genres are most of what I listen to and mix. I don't find my ears get fatigued after listening to heavy compressed mixes and masters, only if I'm mixing for hours on end in excessive volume which is rare. I guess you are very sensitive in that regard. Probably physically it's a different case for me but that's that.

I appreciate that dynamics are part of music (I play in a military style band and pay everything from Jazz to Military marches and modern Pop), some forms of music have more than others and this genre is based off of a wall of sound, if you don't like hard compression and distortion, this isn't what is going to make you want to really listen to it. Also "Boring" is a subjective term, something that isn't helpful in the slightest so please refrain from using it. Something you warned me and Mixinthecloud about on a couple of your mixes. I'm working on a revision but I must warn that the sound will be similar to this but less harsh and more automation.