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Ok, just updated the first post with mix revision 4. I've had a go at improving the snare, and I think I've managed to tighten up the bass ok as suggested (thanks!). I feel it's made a big difference. I've tweaked the toms a bit, and also the main guitar a touch. I also backed off the master limiter a hair too. I've not checked the low end with the sub yet, but it is sounding quite solid on headphones here.
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(24-04-2019, 02:26 AM)mikej Wrote: Ok, just updated the first post with mix revision 4. I've had a go at improving the snare, and I think I've managed to tighten up the bass ok as suggested (thanks!). I feel it's made a big difference. I've tweaked the toms a bit, and also the main guitar a touch. I also backed off the master limiter a hair too. I've not checked the low end with the sub yet, but it is sounding quite solid on headphones here.
Very good. This has come a long way towards capturing the energy and the character of the space it was performed in. Be careful of some lower-mid/upper-bass resonance. Well done.
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Yeah, listening on the monitors (without the sub) I'm not happy with the bass. Right now I'm feeling it is too loud in the mix? I think I get what you are saying about the mid resonance - I'll investigate that angle and have a sweep about with a more surgical eq. It could also be that I've pushed the mids a bit too much there with eq.
I'll get on it and post up another revision once I've done.
Again, many thanks for taking the time to check back and listen to the mix revisons so far, and for the continued advice and support.
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Ok, just a few minor tweaks and revision 5 is up. Hopefully the bass is sitting a bit better now.
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(25-04-2019, 09:39 PM)mikej Wrote: Ok, just a few minor tweaks and revision 5 is up. Hopefully the bass is sitting a bit better now.
That was easy, huh? What I am getting from the latest mix is the ability to hear more deeply into it. The character of the drums especially has come into focus along with the live environment. Way more transparent and listenable.
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27-04-2019, 01:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 29-04-2019, 07:09 PM by mikej.)
I felt it important to take a bit of a break before coming back to it with fresh ears, to get everything back into perspective. I made a few notes and came back to it the following day.
I turned down the gain on the lower mids of the bass eq a db or so and that seemed to move things in the right direction (a lot less boomy I guess is the best way to describe it). The bass still wasn't sitting quite right though. It seemed to be a volume stability issue. I mainly use the SSL E channel strip - I was already using the compressor, so I flipped the switch to fast attack and lowered the threshold accordingly. The bass seemed to drop into place like magic. I think it's ok, the bass part is really cool in this track and I don't want to feel I've squashed all the dynamics out of it.
I changed the mix bus compressor from an API to the waves SSL bus comp, with slower attack and short release, which I felt worked better.
The API is quite flexible with the knee and side chain filter options, and also the channel link and filter, but it somehow it still felt too punchy for me on this mix whatever I dialled in. I tried the glue comp too, but that seemed to add too much of a sheen to things. I tried the waves ssl bus comp and it seemed to work better for me in this case.
However, the biggest difference with the drums and the live environment feel is actually coming from the limiter I think. The first mixes I was using the Stillwell event horizon vst in clip mode with some soft saturation, then I switched to the L3LL, probably something like the hi-res cd master preset.
Mix revision 5 has the L3 Multimaximizer in Loud and Proud mode with the aggresive release character. The other release characterisitics seemed to take too much edge off the kick to me.
I am feeling that for me right now this is a good point in time to leave this particular mix?
With your help and insight I have realised where I have been going wrong with all this, and it's all clicked into place now I think.
It really has been quite the journey from the first mix to revision 5.
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