17-01-2019, 03:49 PM
Hi ArmedNDaverous! As I've come to expect from your work, this mix shows a sure hand. The balance is very solid and sensible, with plenty of kick and snare attack, and a low end that balances the needs of bass guitar and kick confidently. The use of mix effects like delay and reverb is very sensitively done, so the mix coheres nicely and has a sense of envelopment, but without compromising on mix clarity. As such, all further detailed comments should be taken as suggestions, because the core presentation here is already very strong.
I like the overall spectral balance of the mix, although there is a sense of slightly woolly build-up around 250Hz or so from time to time. You can reduce this a bit just by using a band of dynamic EQ to cut 2-3dB in that range, but a more targeted approach would be to address the vocal, bass, guitar, and hammond overlaps that appear to be causing it. The bass could maybe have a touch less 100-150Hz, and some added 1-2kHz (so you get more audibility with less risk of 'bloat') and I think its mix level could be controlled a little more firmly, because I felt it wasn't quite delivering dependably during some moments. It's so important to the song harmonically, melodically, and rhythmically, that I think it's worth going through with a fine-toothed comb if necessary to make sure it's contribution is always audible.
The kick and snare attack, as I said, is a highlight for me, and I suspect that some editing may have been required to maintain it throughout the song by removing some of the flams. However, I did find myself wondering whether the kick and snare might actually be balanced a bit too high in the mix for pop singer-songwriter material like this. It's not that I mind powerful drums, but I felt that maybe the vocal (and indeed the rest of the band) were being slightly overshadowed by those pounding beats. The HF attack transient on the snare exacerbates this too, and I'd be tempted to cut a little from the snare close mic in the 6-8kHz region. Alternatively, some kind of tape simulator on the drums might work well in this respect, by just rounding off the slightly fierce edge to the upper-spectrum transients. (Speaking of the snare transient: the opening hit of the song is, I think, being a touch overemphasised, and I suspect it might be because the master-buss compressor attack is long enough that it takes a little while for it respond to that first hit. You might consider using an extra 'only to the side-chain' signal to 'pre-load' the compressor gain reduction prior to the first hit to mitigate this, or else maybe automate the compressor's attack time just for that first hit, or just adjust the mix balance feeding the compressor at that point. If it bothers you...) The cymbals feel rich and smooth, though, which isn't the easiest thing to achieve on this multitrack.
I wonder whether the timbre of the opening guitar is a little too much 'classic rock' for this style, and it also has the disadvantage that it's dense enough that it distracts a little from the vocal during Chorus 2. Perhaps it could at least be thinned out slightly there. In Chorus 3, the MIDI piano becomes a bit too audible for my taste too, seeing as it's rather mechanical-sounding.
The vocal mixing is pretty solid, although small-speaker translation isn't especially strong. I'd maybe look to add in a couple of decibels of true midrange around 1.5kHz or so on those grounds. In addition, I'd maybe still work a little harder on bringing out the lyrics, by pulling up consonant-vowel and diphthong transitions and rescuing some of the more swallowed syllables. The mob vocals at the end could be louder in the balance, I reckon, because the energy level feels like it falls a little too much once the Outro's opening cymbal hit has faded away.
The long-term mix dynamics are reasonable, but I think there could still be scope for improvement there, especially in terms of adjusting your effects to adjust the 'zoom' of different scenes in the music. Adding a little more ambience to the snare in the Chorus, Reintro, and Outro, for instance, could work well. You've done some sensible arrangement tweaks, but they're all quite restrained, so it feels like you've got to work a little harder with the mixing as a result. Some of the musical details could be hyped a little more too (I noticed the snare fills particularly) to demand attention, and I did feel slightly disappointed that there wasn't at least one mix or arrangement 'moment' that really made me sit up and take notice -- it was a little too easy to let the mix become background music to other tasks, which makes it feel less 'mainstream pop' than it might.
And, finally, the raggedness of the ending, including that strange edited note tail, would be worth smoothing out. It just taints the listener's final impression of the track, which is a shame given the quality of everything else you've done here.
Hope some of that's useful, and thanks for putting in such a strong competitor!
I like the overall spectral balance of the mix, although there is a sense of slightly woolly build-up around 250Hz or so from time to time. You can reduce this a bit just by using a band of dynamic EQ to cut 2-3dB in that range, but a more targeted approach would be to address the vocal, bass, guitar, and hammond overlaps that appear to be causing it. The bass could maybe have a touch less 100-150Hz, and some added 1-2kHz (so you get more audibility with less risk of 'bloat') and I think its mix level could be controlled a little more firmly, because I felt it wasn't quite delivering dependably during some moments. It's so important to the song harmonically, melodically, and rhythmically, that I think it's worth going through with a fine-toothed comb if necessary to make sure it's contribution is always audible.
The kick and snare attack, as I said, is a highlight for me, and I suspect that some editing may have been required to maintain it throughout the song by removing some of the flams. However, I did find myself wondering whether the kick and snare might actually be balanced a bit too high in the mix for pop singer-songwriter material like this. It's not that I mind powerful drums, but I felt that maybe the vocal (and indeed the rest of the band) were being slightly overshadowed by those pounding beats. The HF attack transient on the snare exacerbates this too, and I'd be tempted to cut a little from the snare close mic in the 6-8kHz region. Alternatively, some kind of tape simulator on the drums might work well in this respect, by just rounding off the slightly fierce edge to the upper-spectrum transients. (Speaking of the snare transient: the opening hit of the song is, I think, being a touch overemphasised, and I suspect it might be because the master-buss compressor attack is long enough that it takes a little while for it respond to that first hit. You might consider using an extra 'only to the side-chain' signal to 'pre-load' the compressor gain reduction prior to the first hit to mitigate this, or else maybe automate the compressor's attack time just for that first hit, or just adjust the mix balance feeding the compressor at that point. If it bothers you...) The cymbals feel rich and smooth, though, which isn't the easiest thing to achieve on this multitrack.
I wonder whether the timbre of the opening guitar is a little too much 'classic rock' for this style, and it also has the disadvantage that it's dense enough that it distracts a little from the vocal during Chorus 2. Perhaps it could at least be thinned out slightly there. In Chorus 3, the MIDI piano becomes a bit too audible for my taste too, seeing as it's rather mechanical-sounding.
The vocal mixing is pretty solid, although small-speaker translation isn't especially strong. I'd maybe look to add in a couple of decibels of true midrange around 1.5kHz or so on those grounds. In addition, I'd maybe still work a little harder on bringing out the lyrics, by pulling up consonant-vowel and diphthong transitions and rescuing some of the more swallowed syllables. The mob vocals at the end could be louder in the balance, I reckon, because the energy level feels like it falls a little too much once the Outro's opening cymbal hit has faded away.
The long-term mix dynamics are reasonable, but I think there could still be scope for improvement there, especially in terms of adjusting your effects to adjust the 'zoom' of different scenes in the music. Adding a little more ambience to the snare in the Chorus, Reintro, and Outro, for instance, could work well. You've done some sensible arrangement tweaks, but they're all quite restrained, so it feels like you've got to work a little harder with the mixing as a result. Some of the musical details could be hyped a little more too (I noticed the snare fills particularly) to demand attention, and I did feel slightly disappointed that there wasn't at least one mix or arrangement 'moment' that really made me sit up and take notice -- it was a little too easy to let the mix become background music to other tasks, which makes it feel less 'mainstream pop' than it might.
And, finally, the raggedness of the ending, including that strange edited note tail, would be worth smoothing out. It just taints the listener's final impression of the track, which is a shame given the quality of everything else you've done here.
Hope some of that's useful, and thanks for putting in such a strong competitor!