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You Know Better - Olli H
#11
Hi OlliH! This is one of the nicest-sounding mixes I've heard so far, in pure engineering terms. A lovely warm and enveloping mix sound with plenty of flattering effects adding blend and space. The stereo width is appealing and respectably mono-compatible, although the overall mix tonality could perhaps do with swapping some of the 150Hz energy for some additional sub-100Hz weight, especially on the bass guitar. The guitars all endear themselves to me timbrally, and have some nice ear-candy effects tails bouncing around in there too.

The vocal sound is a definite highlight for me, as it manages to sound warm and present at the same time, which is always a challenge. Its mix level is fairly solid, too, although I think you're still struggling against the recording's internal tonal variations in that respect, and I think you'd find it easier to nail the singer in place if you controlled his low-frequencies with some kind of multiband processor. A touch more true midrange on the vocal might not be a bad idea either, since this would help bring it forward on smaller speaker systems, given that we're trying to target the mainstream market here. Maybe around 1.2kHz? Give it a couple of decibels of boost there and see how it sounds.

The drums sound great to me, delivering plenty of punch without ever coming over as aggressive. That said, whenever the snare played on its own (eg. in the Reintro), I did hanker for a bit more low midrange weight there, in terms of balancing its contribution against the kick, and this issue weakens the fills for me too. The cymbals are nice and smooth, which is great, albeit with slightly spiky ride-cymbal stick noise during the Mid-section.

Although I like the effects use in general, they do seem rather static, especially on the vocals, and I think this wastes an opportunity to make the mix as a whole a bit more assertive and attention-grabbing for mainstream listeners. Just drying up the verses a little would also help improve long-term dynamics, in terms of letting the choruses open out more. In a sense, this is symptomatic of a wider concern for me with your mix: although it sounds great, it also sounds just a bit too 'safe' overall. Verse 2, for example, feels a bit complacent because it doesn't do anything much that Verse 1 hasn't already done, so although I like the way it sounds, it's not propelling me onwards through the song and trying to intensify the emotional content of the material. The Outro also doesn't quite deliver once its initial cymbal hit has faded away, and I reckon you might make more use of the mod vocals to sustain the energy right until the end of the song, as well as maybe making the lead-vocal interjection halfway through a little quieter to avoid undermining the size illusion of the band.

In general, though, this is definitely an impressive mix, and sets something of a quality benchmark in engineering terms. Thanks for letting us all hear it!
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#12
Thanks for comments, you're very skillful at that. I've read almost all of them. I'll check thouse issues that you mentioned!
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#13
(23-01-2019, 11:43 AM)Olli H Wrote: Thanks for comments, you're very skillful at that.

That's kind of you to say. I also ommitted to thank you personally for your continuing efforts in critiquing other forum members's mixes -- I really do appreciate it, and it's generosity of spirit like that which is a big part of what makes this place so great as a learning environment. Thanks!

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#14
Hey Olli - How's it going?

Really, really like your vocal treatment. Very personal and direct with lovely subtle fx that help it sit just right. Great job.

Very pleasing sounding mix overall and i think that you've made great choices with your balancing . My only comment/idea would be to do with the rhythm guitar ambience. Sometimes it feels perfect and other times a little washed out. For example, it sounds perfect in verse 3 under a fairly busy section but during the intro before and during the opening solo it seems a little too much. Maybe automating the reverb send/return between sections would help. Only a small thought in an otherwise great mix.

Good luck,

Simon
Be fierce in your encouragement, kind in your criticism and try and remember that the art of a good critique is not to make someone else's mix sound like yours...but to help the mixer realize their own vision.

https://soundcloud.com/hbguitar
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#15
My final version can be found in the first post. I added it 16-02-2019 .Good luck to all!
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