14-01-2015, 06:26 AM
Hello everyone,
I've been meaning to try my hand at these tracks for around a year now and I finally sat down and did it. So far in my mixing career I've mainly worked in the live side of things, with simple gear at best (a compressor or two and a reverb unit is a godsend for me). I don't do recorded music except for once every so often, but I have an iMac, so I opened up Garage Band and started playing.
While mixing this piece, roughly as I did in about an hour or so, I was constantly resisting the urge to throw reverb everywhere. In the live world, I've found this to be a sin, instantly destroying whatever clarity you might have, so you'll have to forgive me. My main tool was equalization, which I abused to the highest extent. There were several channels that were chopped up into oblivion, but I found they sat so much better in the mix afterwards. Though I could have easily cut some of the tracks, I kept all of them but the finger cymbal which seemed utterly irrelevant in the mix as a whole.
There are a few trademark things about this mix that you'll likely notice. First, it's a pretty upfront mix. I'll admit that I could have done a better job with depth, but I like how you can hear every part of this gorgeous piece but still hear the vocal. Second, many things are uncompressed, such as the majority of the Ac.Gtr. and the Kick. You might not hear it per say, but there is only a small amount of automation to tame the snare in the chorus and ride the vocal a bit. I made this choice mainly because there are such wonderful dynamics in the song and - whether from user error or otherwise - adding in compressors just killed a lot of the mix for me. This also has gone through ZERO mastering. I hate the multi-band in GB with a passion and didn't have a spare plugin CD laying around, so I didn't even bother.
Third, and most importantly, it's a bit bass heavy, but in no way did I let it get muddy. It's just a good thing there weren't toms, because I'm so used to rocking those that I might have just resorted to muting them to avail my twitchy thunder fader.
Anyhow, enjoy. I think you'll find it enjoyable and clear, if not lacking in interest and space in a way or two.
I've been meaning to try my hand at these tracks for around a year now and I finally sat down and did it. So far in my mixing career I've mainly worked in the live side of things, with simple gear at best (a compressor or two and a reverb unit is a godsend for me). I don't do recorded music except for once every so often, but I have an iMac, so I opened up Garage Band and started playing.
While mixing this piece, roughly as I did in about an hour or so, I was constantly resisting the urge to throw reverb everywhere. In the live world, I've found this to be a sin, instantly destroying whatever clarity you might have, so you'll have to forgive me. My main tool was equalization, which I abused to the highest extent. There were several channels that were chopped up into oblivion, but I found they sat so much better in the mix afterwards. Though I could have easily cut some of the tracks, I kept all of them but the finger cymbal which seemed utterly irrelevant in the mix as a whole.
There are a few trademark things about this mix that you'll likely notice. First, it's a pretty upfront mix. I'll admit that I could have done a better job with depth, but I like how you can hear every part of this gorgeous piece but still hear the vocal. Second, many things are uncompressed, such as the majority of the Ac.Gtr. and the Kick. You might not hear it per say, but there is only a small amount of automation to tame the snare in the chorus and ride the vocal a bit. I made this choice mainly because there are such wonderful dynamics in the song and - whether from user error or otherwise - adding in compressors just killed a lot of the mix for me. This also has gone through ZERO mastering. I hate the multi-band in GB with a passion and didn't have a spare plugin CD laying around, so I didn't even bother.
Third, and most importantly, it's a bit bass heavy, but in no way did I let it get muddy. It's just a good thing there weren't toms, because I'm so used to rocking those that I might have just resorted to muting them to avail my twitchy thunder fader.
Anyhow, enjoy. I think you'll find it enjoyable and clear, if not lacking in interest and space in a way or two.
-MAX WARASILA