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About This Multitrack
#1
You can find the multitrack files for this project in the 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library.

Before posting a mix, please read The Three Commandments!
Please post your mix as a new thread, rather than as a reply to this sticky.

Here's some more project info you might find useful:
  • About The Raw Multitracks: This is an indie rock production based around a live full-band take I recorded on location in a large converted loft.
    • The main live take consists of nine tracks: stereo drum overheads; close mics for kick, snare, and toms (submixed rack, floor); bass DI; two guitars; and a stereo room. One additional guitar overdub was recorded on the same session.
    • Two additional guitar overdubs were provided as DI signals, and one of these is also provided reamped.
    • There are seven tracks of overdubbed cello: a middle-section solo and three double-tracked harmony parts during the outro.
    • The lead vocal is double-tracked during the choruses. The only backing vocals are the mob chant during the middle section, made up four singers for each of two fundamental parts.
  • Challenges You're Likely To Face:
    • There's a lot of spill on all the live-take mics, which means you don't get as much independent control over the sounds as you might expected from a primarily overdubbed production. Phase-relationships are also critical in this context.
    • The drum spill on the guitar mics can wash out the verse texture if you're not careful.
    • Although the DI'ed guitar signals give you the freedom to design any guitar sound you want, that does put the onus on you to make those decisions.
    • There aren't many double-tracks available here, so you'll need to think laterally if you want to thicken up the guitar texture in that way.
    • Finding the right effects to blend the cello solo and mob vocals into the track isn't that easy.
    • The noisiness of the massed guitars and drums makes it tricky to make the cello harmonies at all audible.
  • Some Mixing Tips:
    • Although there's more spill on these tracks that you may be used to dealing with, the mics were set up with this in mind, so don't immediately start gating everything otherwise you'll almost certainly throw the baby out with the bathwater.
    • Make sure you take the time to experiment with any polarity and phase adjustment measures you have at your disposal, because they have the potential to make enormous differences on live takes with spill.
    • Some amp simulation and/or distortion can help to fill out the subjective bass tone and blend it in with the rest of the band.
    • Make a point of multing the live-take guitars, otherwise you'll struggle to get good long-term dynamics between the different sections of the song. Also, don't forget to consider automating the drum overhead and room mics.
    • Given the degree of repetition in the guitar parts, you can quite easily conjure up fake double-tracks if you need them using simple audio shuffle edits.
    • Don't be afraid to give the cello harmony parts a heavy HF bias, otherwise you may completely muddy the mix by balancing them too loud overall.

If you have any other general questions about this multitrack, just reply to this post and I'll see what I can do.
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#2
Just a quick update to this one: the recording sessions for these three tracks were featured in this Sound On Sound magazine 'Session Notes' article, and you can also see video footage from the session on the Stewis Media site.
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#3
Hi Mike, thank you for providing this multitrack. I am having a blast mixing it. You mentioned in the Session Notes that the band provided you with their references for this song. Can you please share what those references were?

Thank you!
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