Tim Mathis "Comfort Lives In Belief"

[Tim Mathis]

This is my first mix on this site. Great song

Second mix with changes...please give feedback.

Third Mix starting from mono no plugins. Trying to use previous feedback.

Fourth mix with drums less compressed. I tried to improve the snare as well.

[Olli H]

I think you're are overcompressing everything way too much in this song.

THis kind of retro song would benefit hugely of 10-12 dB dynamic range. Now the dynamic range of your mix is all the time something like 4-6 db. (Only Metallica has a permission to use so low dynamic range) Most of us here will use the volume knob in the mixer to find the normal and suitable listening level to each and every mix.

It maybe so that your mix - before the limiter hits - might be quite good, but now it's difficult to say. For example, if you listen your mix in the conversation level, you'll notice that your snare doesn't have any body. It's more like a strong hit to hi-hat. Same with crash hit in the chorus, it feels like it lasts for 5 seconds. It has an unnatural sustain. I'm quite sure you don't have those problems in your unmastered mix.

But anyway, welcome to this forum! Just take away those limiters, and share us your unmastered or "slightly mastered" mix, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of good and constructive comments to your mixes.

[Tim Mathis]

Thanks Oillie . I got you I will repost later on this evening. Thanks for your help.

[Tim Mathis]

Olli I can hear a world of difference...thanks again. You hit the nail on the head. As soon as I read your comment I realized what I was doing wrong. This is great stuff here, I am glad that I stumbled on this awesome website.

[Olli H]

Now you have much better overall dynamic range. But You're still compressing too heavily.

KICK
Listen for the double kick in the intro around 0:02. Your compressor eats the second beat totally. Use shorter relase time in kick so that it's recovered totally before the second hit comes. Maybe your attack time is also too fast, as the snap of kick don't come through naturally.

BASS
Try first the bass totally without compression. But put it louder. Try to make that cool riff audible with just EQ.

SNARE
You still need more body to snare. It feels as if you have filtered off everything below 1 kHz

PHASE ISSUES
You have plenty of phase issues. If you listen your mix in mono, you'll notice that some instruments disappear and some change their sound drastically. CHeck this:
http://therecordingrevolution.com/2010/1...g-in-mono/
If you are using multiband compressor somewhere, just don't do it, unless there's some specific problem that needs to be handled with it.


I would suggest you to do always a rough mix without any plugins, just faders and panning. Try to find the best possible balance between instruments without any processing. (I do it always. I spend 15-60 minutes to do it.) And when you're happy with it, print it, and check your mix every now and then against your rough mix. It's funny to notice that after two hour's hard work and tweaking the unprocessed mix sounds more natural. It happens to me all the time.

I'm quite sure you're listening with too high volume. Try doing the main mixing work at conversation level or something like that. It's much more easier to find balance. Of course every now and then check the mix also in high volumes.
CHeck this: http://therecordingrevolution.com/2010/1...r-volumes/

Hopefully you got some ideas how to continue

[Tim Mathis]

Thanks I think I am going to start over from square one. When I think about your suggestions they all make a lot of sense and a light bulb goes of in my head like an "aha" moment. I realize that I have been making a lot of mistakes which is only cool if I can correct them. I will repost again tonight after work and I am grateful for all of your suggestions as I feel that If I listen and learn then I will meet my mixing goals sooner than later. That is gonna put a huge smile on my face. Thanks again Olli.

[Voelund]

Now you have much better overall dynamic range. But You're still compressing too heavily.

KICK
Listen for the double kick in the intro around 0:02. Your compressor eats the second beat totally. Use shorter relase time in kick so that it's recovered totally before the second hit comes. Maybe your attack time is also too fast, as the snap of kick don't come through naturally.

BASS
Try first the bass totally without compression. But put it louder. Try to make that cool riff audible with just EQ.

SNARE
You still need more body to snare. It feels as if you have filtered off everything below 1 kHz

PHASE ISSUES
You have plenty of phase issues. If you listen your mix in mono, you'll notice that some instruments disappear and some change their sound drastically. CHeck this:
http://therecordingrevolution.com/2010/1...g-in-mono/
If you are using multiband compressor somewhere, just don't do it, unless there's some specific problem that needs to be handled with it.


I would suggest you to do always a rough mix without any plugins, just faders and panning. Try to find the best possible balance between instruments without any processing. (I do it always. I spend 15-60 minutes to do it.) And when you're happy with it, print it, and check your mix every now and then against your rough mix. It's funny to notice that after two hour's hard work and tweaking the unprocessed mix sounds more natural. It happens to me all the time.

I'm quite sure you're listening with too high volume. Try doing the main mixing work at conversation level or something like that. It's much more easier to find balance. Of course every now and then check the mix also in high volumes.
CHeck this: http://therecordingrevolution.com/2010/1...r-volumes/

Hopefully you got some ideas how to continue

Excellent advice and explanation !

[gopener]

Great advice Olli, i would disagree with two things though.

I dont find useful to attached with the rough mix, i don't even find good when the rough mix is stick to my head.
The reason is that when you create the rough mix, you have some ideas, maybe even a vision but later on, more creativity comes and (for the most times) better ideas and clearer vision.

The other thing, is for the multi band compression.
I see multiband compression as a great tool, with plenty of potential uses, though you might say that, because in the hands of inexperience mixers, can ruin a lot of stuff.

[Olli H]

Hi gopener, I agree totally with your points.

When one is good enough - and I can hear from your mixes that you clearly are - one can do anything. Then it's only the vision in your head that dictates your moves. And your trained ears can guide you back to road. But when one is starting to take car driving lessons, it's better not to look at tips that are meant for professional rally drivers.

About rough mix. I think it's a good way to acguaint onself to the music one is about to mix. Also, during rough mix one hopefully gets the idea what the original artist had in mind. Most of the time mixers main duty is to serve the artists creative vision.

Furthermore I like to do the eq changes in contex. That's why I always want to have good rough mix first, so that I can hear what is the function of the separate insturment within the mix. Of course the mix develops all the time, and eq changes are not be evaluated against rough mix. But quite often I get totally lost during creative process, and I many times notice that when I listen again my original rough mix. On the other hand, it's also nice hear that if the mix is clearly better than the original rough mix.

I have nothing againts multiband compressors, but as you said, they can ruin a lot of stuff. I wouldn't use multiband compressor in the situations which can be easily solved with basic EQ and basic compressor.

Thanks for joining here, I find this is an intersting and important theme. Hopefully also other share their opinions, because these are clearly issues where there no one right answer.

[gopener]

Great conversation indeed, with no right answers!

I agree totally now with you.I would love other fellow mixers to come and share there opinion!

I am flatter you see me like that dude, still WAYYY to much to learn and i am hopping i will never stop learning!!!!

So lets start the talk..