17-11-2016, 04:08 PM
Well, first things first, your mix tonality feels a bit off-kilter, with a big build-up centred around 200Hz -- I felt I wanted to dial out about 3-4dB around there most of the time. I think the nature of the bass sound is partly to blame here, because (as mentioned in my other feedback posts) the bass guitar's fundamental frequency isn't very strong on these recordings. It feels to me as if you've tried to balance the bass guitar to compete with the kick-drum at the low end, but that's then over-stuffed the low midrange with the bass's first and second harmonics. Just EQ'ing the mixbuss won't do the trick, either, because (having tried that here) you lose unacceptable amounts of warmth and body from the guitars in particular. The best thing to do would be to try to get a bit more low end out of the bass guitar track itself, and then see if it'll balance more easily with the rest of the track without adding too much woolliness. The plus-side of the bass prominence is that we can really enjoy all his great little performance details and fills, but I'd look to bring those out by tweaking further up the spectrum personally.
That aside, though, I really like the directness of the sound you've put together here, which totally suits the vibe of the music and performance -- a very appropriate vision to choose, for my taste. Not only is the balance very solid (especially the kick and vocal), but there's a subtle sense of movement within the balance as well, which gives it life. It's not as heaving as some people's visions in terms of audible compression artefacts, and might perhaps benefit from exploring that a little further, but I already like it as it is. There's a particularly nice balance between the electric and acoustic guitars: you get the attitude of the electrics, but the liveliness of the acoustics. Nice effects on the clean Mid-section guitars too. You've not gone for such a strong alternating panning as some people have, but you've nonetheless made an impact in the stereo image with the lovely reverb/modulation halo you've added.
And this leads me on to another highlight of this mix for me -- the depth perspective. The vocal blends really well, but never risks its dominant upfront position, while the drums, bass, and rhythm instruments also feel punchy and present, but never seem to eclipse the vocal, which takes some doing. But the cherry on the top is when things like those Mid-section guitars (and indeed the ElecGtr04 and backing vocals in the Outro) suddenly open up different, more distant perspectives that not only serve to make the whole mix more varied, but also cement the psychological impression that the main band is right up your nose.
But it's not just the dry/wet issue that's making the depth picture work so well: I think it's also the EQ and transient-processing choices, which all seem to support the front-back position suggested by the effects. That said, I think the snare could afford to have a bit more level and snap without it taking attention from the vocal. At the moment, the kick drum seems almost like it's a bit more present than the snare.
The more I listen to this mix, though, the more I like it. Great work!
That aside, though, I really like the directness of the sound you've put together here, which totally suits the vibe of the music and performance -- a very appropriate vision to choose, for my taste. Not only is the balance very solid (especially the kick and vocal), but there's a subtle sense of movement within the balance as well, which gives it life. It's not as heaving as some people's visions in terms of audible compression artefacts, and might perhaps benefit from exploring that a little further, but I already like it as it is. There's a particularly nice balance between the electric and acoustic guitars: you get the attitude of the electrics, but the liveliness of the acoustics. Nice effects on the clean Mid-section guitars too. You've not gone for such a strong alternating panning as some people have, but you've nonetheless made an impact in the stereo image with the lovely reverb/modulation halo you've added.
And this leads me on to another highlight of this mix for me -- the depth perspective. The vocal blends really well, but never risks its dominant upfront position, while the drums, bass, and rhythm instruments also feel punchy and present, but never seem to eclipse the vocal, which takes some doing. But the cherry on the top is when things like those Mid-section guitars (and indeed the ElecGtr04 and backing vocals in the Outro) suddenly open up different, more distant perspectives that not only serve to make the whole mix more varied, but also cement the psychological impression that the main band is right up your nose.
But it's not just the dry/wet issue that's making the depth picture work so well: I think it's also the EQ and transient-processing choices, which all seem to support the front-back position suggested by the effects. That said, I think the snare could afford to have a bit more level and snap without it taking attention from the vocal. At the moment, the kick drum seems almost like it's a bit more present than the snare.
The more I listen to this mix, though, the more I like it. Great work!