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Isn't this the sweetest thing
#1
I fell over this lilttle gem, and I just coudn't resist myself, I had to mix it ;D

As written in the description, it pretty much mixes itself, so there's really not much to say. I've aimed to make a compact and intimate mix, and I think it's getting there, although it's far from spot on.

I think it's a shame, that the piano sounds a bit cheap. I don't know if the cheap sound is an intentional artistic choice, or it is a result of something else. No matter what, it is what it is; these are your cards, now play with 'em.re

Not to serve as an excuse, but this is my first multitrack jazz mix, so maybe I've missed some essential jazz dogmas. I've intented to keep the mix as organic and natural as possible.

Tips, trick and comments are very welcomed


.mp3    Spektakulatious - Our Love is Here To Stay v2.mp3 --  (Download: 8.84 MB)


I have a Polish friend, who is a sound engineer. Oh, and a Czech one too.

#nobodygoeshomehummingthekickdrum
#nosubnoshow
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#2
Hi Krabbe,

I like your approach here, It has a relaxed smoky feel to it that works well. I also like the way the sax enters with it's mellow tone. Very Nice! The only pointers I have is, you could add some more width to the mix. The piano could be slightly panned off to one side and the guitar could come in on the other. I'm struggling to here the guitar with the current arrangement. This will help create space. I guess the other thing would be to experiment with your reverbs a bit more, eq-ing their returns and using multples for differing effects. It's nice to give a vocal a reverb like you have but to also to keep it forward in the mix with a sense of closeness. If that makes sense.
I'm glad you enjoyed this. Well Done.
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#3
Thanks for your input.

I see your point regarding panning, and usually I'd have don so. In this particular instance, I chose to do a mono approach. And yeah, that would create issues with piano/gtr, so I decided that the audible role of the guitar was to fill holes. I know that it's not possible, but if you did a A/B with and without guitar at current level, you'd notice a difference in the overall feeling of the mix. That's what I wanted the guitar to do, and then, as I said, be more audible in the holes that appears during the song.

I admint that I have been extremely conservative regarding FX, which was a conscious decision in order to keep the overall expression au natural, so to say. To be honest, I would have like the mix to be a bit more dry, but it ended up being ... well, not great, so I landed at this particular verb level. Nevertheless, I absolutely see your point, and I absolutly agree with you. However, as a kind of a dogma for myself, I wanted to make it as ... verb-lean as possible.

Again, thanks for your thoughts, I really appreciate you taking the time

(10-04-2020, 12:55 PM)Dangerous Wrote: Hi Krabbe

I like your approach here, It has a relaxed smoky feel to it that works well. I also like the way the sax enters with it's mellow tone. Very Nice! The only pointers I have is, you could add some more width to the mix. The piano could be slightly panned off to one side and the guitar could come in on the other. I'm struggling to here the guitar with the current arrangement. This will help create space. I guess the other thing would be to experiment with your reverbs a bit more, eq-ing their returns and using multples for differing effects. It's nice to give a vocal a reverb like you have but to also to keep it forward in the mix with a sense of closeness. If that makes sense.
I'm glad you enjoyed this. Well Done.

I have a Polish friend, who is a sound engineer. Oh, and a Czech one too.

#nobodygoeshomehummingthekickdrum
#nosubnoshow
Reply
#4
I agree with your lean reverb approach. I've spent alot of time trying to get on top with using reverbs and it's a steep learning curve. Some of these types of songs I've had up to 5 instants of reverb simultaneously running. This has been more of an attempt at making the reverb effect itself disappear and filling out the performance with some natural realism whist controlling depth and position. Unfortunately the method is a bit hit and miss and the approach varies greatly from mix to mix, but with practice you do start to get a feel for it.

Some of the best jazz recordings of all time are in mono, so your direction here was more than warranted. The best thing about all of this is you had a direction that you followed through.
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#5
I've only recently picked up mixing more actively along the z-axis, to which reverb is excellent. As you have experienced, my main "obsticle" now is ... well, making the verb disappear and give it a natural feel. I am, in no way, on top of the process yet, so I am hesitant to use it, especially on a rather ... fragile mix as this. I would have loved to make it more 3D, but I have to surrender to the fact that my abilities doesn't suffice to do so.

(10-04-2020, 02:51 PM)Dangerous Wrote: I agree with your lean reverb approach. I've spent alot of time trying to get on top with using reverbs and it's a steep learning curve. Some of these types of songs I've had up to 5 instants of reverb simultaneously running. This has been more of an attempt at making the reverb effect itself disappear and filling out the performance with some natural realism whist controlling depth and position. Unfortunately the method is a bit hit and miss and the approach varies greatly from mix to mix, but with practice you do start to get a feel for it.

Some of the best jazz recordings of all time are in mono, so your direction here was more than warranted. The best thing about all of this is you had a direction that you followed through.

I have a Polish friend, who is a sound engineer. Oh, and a Czech one too.

#nobodygoeshomehummingthekickdrum
#nosubnoshow
Reply