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Entwine
#1
Hi all,

Tried to be a bit creative on this one with some processed delays and a few other bits. Haven't ever mixed this genre before so would be interested to hear any comments, good or bad.

Thanks

Matt


.mp3    Entwine Matt Osgood mix.mp3 --  (Download: 12.38 MB)


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#2
my post here might help you:

http://www.discussion.cambridge-mt.com/s...7#pid33427

can i recommend a free (demo...but it won't affect your needs) plugin that might help your mixing generally? it's the Tone Booster's TB_EBULoudness. understand what it's telling you, and then you can tune your ears to dynamic mixes with time.

if you don't embrace dynamics, you will end up living in an era of dinosaurs....and there's already far too many of them proliferating the forum as it is Wink Time has moved on, best keep up. while there's no written rule on what constitutes a loud mix in EBU terms outside of broadcasting, iTunes etc, the general guidance is to aim for a minimum of -14LUFS and a decent Loudness Range (LRA). might i suggest that an LRA value of 3.2 of your mix suggests some major issues; indirectly this can be felt by way of fatigue. if you aren't finding this mix fatiguing, then i worry. also note the True Peak value.

another good way of checking your mixes for effectiveness is to downmix them to mono and seeing how well they hold up. this one doesn't. that's not entirely your fault, as most of the material presented was in stereo, and most stereo synths don't fold well to mono without serious issues. note the synth part on the first major downbeat.....it's thin, worse than my ageing hair.....and lifeless...like i feel after a lager or two. yup, it's got it's reverb printed in it as well which isn't helping us.......but even this can be addressed to some extent (though still not perfectly because of the inherent issues). that's life in the world of Amateur.

one further observation: if you want to explore mixing genres you are not familiar with, one skill worth developing, if you are that keen, is spending some time listening and engaging in developing critical listening skills while immersing yourself in the genre - borrow some CD's from your local library and spend some time with them. then mix. if you listen to mp3's, you can forget about being a mixer, eh?

probably a good idea to spend a lot more time in the forum listening to other's mixes (mp3 lol) and having a go at giving them feedback - DON'T view this place as a one-way street where all we do is feed you and you don't give anything back!! if you can't do that process reasonably effectively, you will never be able to assess the effectiveness of your own mixes. being critical of others mixes is all well and good, but you have to be mega critical of your own, eh? if you have to rely on others to tell you how good of bad you are, then you will never progress. trust me on that Wink

another tip - listen to your mix over headphones. if you've messed up with the bass and put a tonne down one channel, they might save you some embarrassment Wink

loved your vision for introducing some creativity. just be mindful that spectral space is needed for additional audio material. if you don't create it in an already busy mix, it can add clutter and present additional masking issues.

welcome to the forum,
peace.
Beware...........Cognitive Dissonance!
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#3
Hi, thanks for listening. Couple of things - I've got the Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter, so I know this mix was plenty loud. I'm all for dynamics in music and against the loudness wars (aren't we all nowadays) but as appropriate to the genre. I don't know that D'n'B is necessarily a genre typically associated with tracks of a wide dynamic range, so it's maintaining a balance between not completely killing the track (which is pretty subjective - though I'm happy to accept I may have overcooked this at mastering) and making the track sound appropriate against other examples on this forum. I know iTunes and Spotify drop levels to around -14LUFS, but this isn't going to be played on either of those outlets, is it? Smile

Re the mono compatibility - I reduced the kick, snare and bass to mono with the Flux StereoTool http://www.fluxhome.com/products/freewar...reotool-v3 - as you say the synths aren't particularly mono compatible, but that doesn't really matter, does it? Again, this isn't going to be played on any kind of mono system any time soon.

I wasn't clear on your point about bass - are you saying that there *is* a load of bass down one channel, or just that there might be if I don't listen on headphones? I've just checked the track again with an analyser and I'm pretty sure that bass is right in the middle.

Finally I haven't fed back on other mixes of this particular track, but I have on other songs. I'm well aware that forums like this only function if people are prepared to give as well as receive critique.

Thanks again for listening.
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