01-12-2016, 05:33 PM (This post was last modified: 01-12-2016, 05:48 PM by Mixinthecloud.)
Colleagues,
When I first heard this track I was immediately impressed by the apparent quality of the recording. Looking further into the studio and their capabilities just made my mouth water. The collection of mics in use at the facility is tremendous.
Now, when I see a collection of mics being used so effectively and the obvious high caliber of the recording, my first instinct is to say that what I am hearing is pretty much the way the players interpreted this piece. With all the warts. In this case, the warts are minuscule (some slight ringing in the top snare and floor tom). However, I am going to trust that the players tuned their instruments with the same precision and musicality the quality recording demonstrates. With that in mind, my goals was not to get in the way of the players and their sounds, warts and all.
To that end I did very little in the way of EQ and compression which consisted of mild compression on the outside kick and some EQ to the floor tom and top snare to soften some of the ringing just a touch (is it a ring or is it tone???). The only other compensation I made was to place the sax a bit deeper into the environment to soften the tone of the player a tad. There was one instrument which really stood out for me in this recording, and that was the hi-hat! As hi-hats go, I really liked the recording of this instrument and did a bit of enhancement in the mids to bring out some of the air which I feel enhances the entire feel of the groove.
As for dynamics, I feel the players had this sussed. No need for me to get in the way of it.
The mastering of this therefore became critical for tone and dynamics which I tried to leave as transparent as possible.
So here is my take. I hope you find it listenable. As always, comments are appreciated.
There are some things that jump out at me.
There's a lot of hi hat and it feels like the HH is next to the horn players and theres of the drums are separate in the back. There's a lot of snare bottom in relation to the top but that's more a matter of personal preference. I could use a little more overheads but that's also just my preference.
The sax tends to dominate the horn section. And I'd consider riding the sax down at the end of its solo when it gets a bit screechy.
The piano and bass sound nice and the kick has some nice dynamics.
Roy,
Thanks for the listen and the comments. You are pretty much spot on with your comments. Because I really liked the hi-hat, I did enhance it in the mix. Because the top snare had some ringing I de-emphasized that in relation to the bottom snare. For the sax, I felt the added environment softened it enough to leave the dynamics in place and to make the screech an acceptable musical decision by the player. It is also the lowest in terms of level during the ensemble so I am not sure why you are hearing it as dominant. I will re-examine it.
While I'll certainly agree that the sax screech is a decision by the player the microphone doesn't "hear" like the player does so sometimes we have to make adjustments to compensate. That part would sound a lot different if it were recorded with say a Coles 4038 or an SM57 as opposed the the AKG Tube. As it would if he stepped back a little or turned away from the mic. I don't think removing some of the piercing quality of the screech is messing with the decision of the player.
(01-12-2016, 06:31 PM)RoyMatthews Wrote: While I'll certainly agree that the sax screech is a decision by the player the microphone doesn't "hear" like the player does so sometimes we have to make adjustments to compensate. That part would sound a lot different if it were recorded with say a Coles 4038 or an SM57 as opposed the the AKG Tube. As it would if he stepped back a little or turned away from the mic. I don't think removing some of the piercing quality of the screech is messing with the decision of the player.
Just my two cents.
While I agree there are ways to compensate for perceived harshness in multiple ways, it is a tough call to denigrate an AKG Tube. Considering the perceived musicianship in this performance and the acumen of the recordist in respect to all other parts, if the recording was deemed inaccurate I would think they would do another take. That they did not compensate musically for this track leads me to believe this was an accurate representation of the player's performance. I do not get the impression this was recorded with a "fix it in the mix" mentality. However, this is just my opinion based on years of recording. Sometimes it is tough to make a content decision like that unless it is egregiously apparent. I did not feel it went to that level so my approach was to bury it a bit more in the environment. Really just a musical option not as much a fix for content. I let the big dog hunt on this one.
Excellent mix ,agree the hi could be a touch softer also the solo at 1.32 effects gives the impression of being another space in context of the rest of the mix, of course not a big deal only an audio nut like me would notice something subtle like that
Very enjoyable headphone listen. I wasn't too put off by the hihat although it did leave my left ear begging for something a little extra. Maybe one or two of the solo's throughout could have been swung that way just for a balance thing?
Anyway, this is jazz and I'm not sure a stereo balance is al that important. With all the recordings I've listened to over the years the stereo image and arrangement have varied widely. I guess it's all about enhancing the musical performance the best one can, based on personal taste and influences.
Very good mix. There is really little to say. The piano sounds really good, good balance, I like the overall atmosphere of the mix.
Only one thing for me, the kick out gives a nice presence and depth to the drums, but it contains a little too much resonance for my taste. But, this is really a matter of taste.
(04-12-2016, 11:03 AM)eclipseaudio Wrote: Excellent mix ,agree the hi could be a touch softer also the solo at 1.32 effects gives the impression of being another space in context of the rest of the mix, of course not a big deal only an audio nut like me would notice something subtle like that
We are all wing nuts here, so you fit right in. Thanks for the listen and comments.
(04-12-2016, 01:18 PM)renel Wrote: Very good mix. There is really little to say. The piano sounds really good, good balance, I like the overall atmosphere of the mix.
Only one thing for me, the kick out gives a nice presence and depth to the drums, but it contains a little too much resonance for my taste. But, this is really a matter of taste.
I like that.
An interesting observation about the outside kick. It is the only thing I added compression to and is set back from the inside kick to lend some tone and dynamics to the kick. It is really about how this player played the instrument which is VERY dynamic. Thanks for your ears on this.
