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Random Somebody - Crazy For Me [OoF mix]
#1
Hi, please comment and rate this mix, hope you enjoy the listening.

A quick shout out to "Chris from Airwindows". I've recently discovered his plugins and I've been using them for this mix in order to familiarize myself with them. They're all FREE, and while they have no GUI, they sound truly fantastic and do very special things.

So, I went for a commercial kind of mix, loud and upfront, while trying to keep the natural tone and dynamics. I'm trying to find the sweet spot on coloring the mix without being overwhelming, and controlling the low end and harshness that happens when you try to "fill the gaps" of a mix and try to make it solid, full and musical at the same time.

Anyway, a lot of esoteric terms that maybe make no sense to anyone other than me, so please just listen to this one and let me know what do you feel about it.

Cheers! Big Grin


.mp3    RandomSomebody_CrazyForMe_OoF.mp3 --  (Download: 7.46 MB)


ITB Setup: Reaper, Airwindows, IK Multimedia TR5, XLN AD2 ATrigger and RC-20, Waves.
Monitoring: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII, Behritone, Sennheiser HD 650. Semi-treated room.

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#2
Hey Octo

Really nice mix, sounds great on the headphones. smooth!!
Did you use Channel 5?, it has that really full edge.

Awesome job with the new plugins

Cheers
KSmile

Gear:-Zoom R24 interface, controller - Cubase/Reaper - Assorted Waves, Airwindows suite, AKG K240 Cans, Event TR5 reference monitors.
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#3
(29-10-2018, 06:19 PM)KMuzic Wrote: Hey Octo,

Hi K, nice to see you around Smile

I used Channel6, I guessed it was a new and better version and kinda went with it... I had dozens of plugins to try out and kinda skipped what I though were older versions.

I loved the plugins, great replacements for Slate's virtual console, which is basically the only thing I use from the paid subscription pack -.-"
There's a lot of great stuff, though the plugins are a bit inconsistent... some really subtle, some overkill.... it happened mostly with the compressors, there are many and very different....

I LOVED FathomFive, it's basically Rbass on steroids! Also loved the Air EQ and the Slew2, which is a high frequency clipper. He just released an ADT plugin that can also do great slap delays, check it out. I just added it to the vocal of this song and improved it greatly. And don't get me started with the compressors....

I'll support the guy on Patreon. These plugins sound fantastic and do crazy, crazy stuff. And they're free. I even like the fact that there's no GUI, so it's all by ear. Mostly for the compressors, you stop looking at needles and numbers. He even sets the numbers so they're meaningless sometimes lol
ITB Setup: Reaper, Airwindows, IK Multimedia TR5, XLN AD2 ATrigger and RC-20, Waves.
Monitoring: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII, Behritone, Sennheiser HD 650. Semi-treated room.

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#4
Good mix. A little dark to my taste, but I enjoy listening to it. I especially like the kick, though I wish I can hear it without straining too hard. The only thing I notice that is negative to me is: it's a little compressed. Don't hold me on this, but I swear I can hear the compression, quite hard, especially on the vocal. Either that or I had a one too many bongs. Perhaps bc of that your mix seems steady, too steady for my taste. And my ears, sometimes they don't work as well as they should, so don't blame me too much, tell me that is the sound of compression. Just something I put it out there for you. I rather be wrong than not saying anything at all. I listen to yours against mine, whose else, right? and I am very mindful to have them both super close as far as loudness is concerned. I notice that your mix is a lot louder than mine. Anyway, just something to think about. Or not Smile
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#5
(30-10-2018, 05:38 AM)SonicTramp Wrote: Good mix. A little dark to my taste, but I enjoy listening to it. I especially like the kick, though I wish I can hear it without straining too hard. The only thing I notice that is negative to me is: it's a little compressed. Don't hold me on this, but I swear I can hear the compression, quite hard, especially on the vocal. Either that or I had a one too many bongs. Perhaps bc of that your mix seems steady, too steady for my taste. And my ears, sometimes they don't work as well as they should, so don't blame me too much, tell me that is the sound of compression. Just something I put it out there for you. I rather be wrong than not saying anything at all. I listen to yours against mine, whose else, right? and I am very mindful to have them both super close as far as loudness is concerned. I notice that your mix is a lot louder than mine. Anyway, just something to think about. Or not Smile

Thanks for the comments!

About compression, I'm struggling wit it (who's not?) and whenever I listen to any commercial release I can actually hear it, and it sounds good! So, I'd rather push it too far than stay safe. Sometimes when I'm mixing, I won't realize to what point I've compressed stuff, or how well it fits the kind of compression I used, because of ear fatigue, lack of experience, whatever.... but I want to make those mistakes and then go back and learn from it.

Probably the overuse of coloring plugins is to blame for the compressed sound too, since they tend to do that in their own way.

Also, consider that I was testing these new plugins so it's likely that I've used more stuff than needed xD

The loudness is also intended. I find that mixing for loudness is harder than it sounds, and it's a good training camp in order to realize how your mix can stab you in the back despite it looked smooth and inoffensive on lower levels. All the harshness comes out, and the low end goes wild if you didn't treat it properly.
ITB Setup: Reaper, Airwindows, IK Multimedia TR5, XLN AD2 ATrigger and RC-20, Waves.
Monitoring: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII, Behritone, Sennheiser HD 650. Semi-treated room.

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#6
haha...you took the words right out of my mouth. And yes, I experience (have been and probably continue to be so in the future) the same mixing syndromes. Your mix does sound modern, much more than mine, no doubt, and thanks to the kick. I forgot to mention that. Sorry my bad.

I learned a couple things on the net, thanks to fellow mixers like us, that monitor in low volume help hearing the changes of your decisions better. It did help me. For a long time, I couldn't hear what I did to the compressor. I could hear what I did to the front end of a signal (by slamming the attack all the way to zero) but, for the love of god, I could not hear what I did to the tail end of it. And don't we all know that the tail end is just as important, if not more, we can debate on this, than the front end. That is where I control the bottom end of my mix. The foundation. I also monitor in low volume because of CLA; I saw one of his numerous interviews. He said something like this, "listen in low volume forces you to make the sound better. The drums better be slamming, and if you can make the drums and the bass slamming in such low volume when you turn the volume up to 11, the shit's gonna rock!" I agree. And my mix got better. (Do mix the bottom end in mono; that's how I detect phasing problems).

Also another advice from a very good dude in here (Dangerous Dave): (paraphrase): strap whatever you want on the track but take it out if it doesnt contribute. Great advice.

I am also a fan of Andrew Scheps, so yeah, I join the loudness war siding with him and he won Smile. He also inspires me for mixing in the box. It is no longer an impossibility Smile. Fuck the analogue (because I am poor), digital is the new king. And the louder the better Smile

"Listen carefully and thou shall hear" is the new commandment (I respectfully claim this Smile)
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#7
(30-10-2018, 06:34 PM)SonicTramp Wrote: I am also a fan of Andrew Scheps, so yeah, I join the loudness war siding with him and he won Smile. He also inspires me for mixing in the box. It is no longer an impossibility Smile. Fuck the analogue (because I am poor), digital is the new king. And the louder the better Smile

Same here! I saw one of his classes (It's up on youtube somewhere) where the whole point of it was "The only thing that matters is what comes out of the speakers." That simple thing struck me so hard, and humbled me. Nobody cares about your fancy tricks under the hood. Does it sound good? Is it exciting? Nothing else matters, do whatever you need to do to get there.

Also, here's a little thing I've noticed, dunno if it would count as advice: When in doubt, turn your kick and snare down a couple dB. Especially when you've been mixing for a couple hours. Big Grin
ITB Setup: Reaper, Airwindows, IK Multimedia TR5, XLN AD2 ATrigger and RC-20, Waves.
Monitoring: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII, Behritone, Sennheiser HD 650. Semi-treated room.

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#8
You seem to have a passion for mixing, as I am. When I strap on my cans and open my DAW, the world doesn't matter that much anymore.

I don't lower the kick+snare (never thought about it that way) until now. Good move to know.

I learned this from the Net: Put either a kick or bass thru a VU meter (they have them round here for free. I got mine a long time ago and forgot where I got it) and pick a number, I usually choose -7. If I meter using the kick @-7, then when I bring in the bass, together with the kick, it should read -4 (that's 3 dBs more). Well, as I understand it, and according to science, 2 similar audio signals when combine will add 3dBs; 2 identical signals will add 6dBs. Once I get that going, I build everything else around it. I do check them from time to time to make sure I dont stray too far from that. Once I learned and applied the technique, I found that I received less complains about my bottom end Smile.
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#9
(03-11-2018, 05:11 PM)SonicTramp Wrote: You seem to have a passion for mixing, as I am. When I strap on my cans and open my DAW, the world doesn't matter that much anymore.

I don't lower the kick+snare (never thought about it that way) until now. Good move to know.

I learned this from the Net: Put either a kick or bass thru a VU meter (they have them round here for free. I got mine a long time ago and forgot where I got it) and pick a number, I usually choose -7. If I meter using the kick @-7, then when I bring in the bass, together with the kick, it should read -4 (that's 3 dBs more). Well, as I understand it, and according to science, 2 similar audio signals when combine will add 3dBs; 2 identical signals will add 6dBs. Once I get that going, I build everything else around it. I do check them from time to time to make sure I dont stray too far from that. Once I learned and applied the technique, I found that I received less complains about my bottom end Smile.


Yeah, 100% agree with the first sentence.

The kick-snare comment was a little bit tongue and cheek, but it's very common to get used to the punch of these things until you take a break and listen back.
ITB Setup: Reaper, Airwindows, IK Multimedia TR5, XLN AD2 ATrigger and RC-20, Waves.
Monitoring: Dynaudio BM5 mkIII, Behritone, Sennheiser HD 650. Semi-treated room.

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