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Angelsaint MIX & MST by BKM
#1
Hi everyone,

Here's my take on Triviul's Angelsaint. Had a pretty good time mixing this, the individual raws already had a lot of attitude and I didn't do a lot to them despite basic saturation, EQ, and compression.

Here's some things I ran across during the mixdown (I like to write these down post-mixing, it helps me to remember the lessons I learned during the project):
  • Was struggling with the drums at first, but then just threw it all out of the window - some EQ, some parallel compression (which I automated up during the choruses for intensity), nothing more. They're not the most interesting thing in the world but they sit well in the mix.
  • Loved everything about the strings, especially the slightly detuned / eery vibe. They were however too abrasive for my taste (esp. the solo viola), so I tamed them. When I listened to the reference after I was done, I realized that the abrasiveness was most likely intended by the artist - had I known that in advance, I would've treated them differently, but I usually go into these blind as it makes comparing in the end more interesting imo. The solo viola had a very annoying low-mid resonance around 400 Hz which I tamed with a narrow multiband (EQing completely destroyed its body, so that was a no go).
  • The bass was very uneven but sounded overcompressed once I applied heavy compression, so I went for a multiband instead to fill out the low-lows but leave the mids untouched (except for a pretty extensive low-mid cut).
  • Didn't do much to the vocals at all. Notch-filtered some annoying high-mid frequencies, applied 7-10 dB compression (which surprised me since I'm 100% sure the raws were already compressed, but well - they kinda needed it). Some automation (especially in the mid section), but again, not a lot. Went for a bit of ping pong delay for size which I automated up and down to make the choruses feel bigger (and the intro / middle part more intimate and dry).
  • In general, there was a lot going on in the high-mids and I did some extensive cutting there across most instruments to avoid buildup. It turned out that I lost some master volume there in comparison to the reference track but my track has better instrument separation in my opinion.
  • Still though - listening to the reference, I think I tidied up the mix a bit too much. It seems that it was intended to be a bit more ... difficult, I guess. As I said before, that's something I would have discussed with the artist beforehand in a "real" mixing situation.
  • I'm pretty happy with the master. Didn't lose a lot there - subs are still punchy, nothing pumps, doesn't feel overcompressed. I got a healty 8-7 dB RMS (Cubase metrics) out of it.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it on its own, but I probably would have approached it differently had I known the artists intentions. The only thing about it is that it's a bit flat since I still suck at automation and using effects creatively. I think I managed to lay a good foundation but I still lack the finesse to make it feel like a pro mix.


Please let me know what you think. I'm hard-working and eager to improve, so by all mean, be honest.

Cheers,
Björn


.mp3    Angelsaint.mp3 --  (Download: 9.64 MB)


Amateur audio enthusiast.
Twitter: @bjoernkmusic
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Messages In This Thread
Angelsaint MIX & MST by BKM - by BKM - 28-01-2017, 08:27 PM
RE: Angelsaint MIX & MST by BKM - by BKM - 29-01-2017, 07:56 PM
RE: Angelsaint MIX & MST by BKM - by Mike Senior - 30-01-2017, 09:55 AM
RE: Angelsaint MIX & MST by BKM - by BKM - 30-01-2017, 10:18 AM