Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
The Forthcoming Turn - Dwarf mix
#1
Hello guys,



I submit my version of this song to you. I am a beginner, if you have any advice,

please do not hesitate to send it.

I edited a lot on the palm muted parts, trying to remove string noises and time align guitars/bass.

Also I used samples for kick/snare.



BCS: thank you for the tempo map! Smile


.mp3    Silence_is_Near-The_Forthcoming_Turn_Dwarf_Mix_r1.mp3 --  (Download: 11.62 MB)


.mp3    Silence_is_Near-The_Forthcoming_Turn_Dwarf_Mix_r2.mp3 --  (Download: 11.7 MB)


.mp3    Silence_is_Near-The_Forthcoming_Turn_Dwarf_Mix_r3.mp3 --  (Download: 11.66 MB)


Reply
#2
Hello dwarf,
Funny, I've also started mixing with that same song, which is far of being the most accessible mix to start with. You've did a great job as I found difficult to clean up the guitar parts, not to mention how to deal with the bleed of the drums.
EQ of the different tracks are very nice, though it lacks a little bit of warmth but that's my personal taste.
The only thing I noted is that the snare samples are too robotic (especially on the break parts).
Maybe that's because it is kind of a dry sound, and doesn't blend well with the rest. Kicks are a bit weird if you check at 1m24, when it is played alone but blend well when other
instruments are in.
Check also at 3m54 for the snare, there is one strike that seems out of place or added when it shouldn't.
I suggest applying a little bit of reverb on the snare to make it sound more natural, and messing up with different dynamics, playing with audio gain on each single strike
 to make it more human...
But do not take for granted what I say as I'm also new to mixing  Tongue

Have fun and enjoy!
Reply
#3
(30-04-2020, 11:50 AM)registered Wrote: Hello dwarf,
Funny, I've also started mixing with that same song, which is far of being the most accessible mix to start with. You've did a great job as I found difficult to clean up the guitar parts, not to mention how to deal with the bleed of the drums.
EQ of the different tracks are very nice, though it lacks a little bit of warmth but that's my personal taste.
The only thing I noted is that the snare samples are too robotic (especially on the break parts).
Maybe that's because it is kind of a dry sound, and doesn't blend well with the rest. Kicks are a bit weird if you check at 1m24, when it is played alone but blend well when other
instruments are in.
Check also at 3m54 for the snare, there is one strike that seems out of place or added when it shouldn't.
I suggest applying a little bit of reverb on the snare to make it sound more natural, and messing up with different dynamics, playing with audio gain on each single strike
 to make it more human...
But do not take for granted what I say as I'm also new to mixing  Tongue

Have fun and enjoy!
Hello registered,
Thank you for the feedback! I checked your suggestions, and tried to fix the mix according to them.
For the robotic snare I fine tuned the trigger plugin, and set it to use 4 slightly different velocity. (in r1 there was only one)
Also added a little bit of reverb to the snare, but I do not know if it enough or not. Smile
Kicks at 1m24: I created a new track for these few hits, and tried to EQ them differently.
Snare at 3m54: I totally overlooked this part... there is a snare roll, and the trigger plugin not detected it with my settings.
I do not want to mess up the other parts, so instead of modifying the trigger settings, I created a new track, and used the original snare roll there.
I exported the updated mix too, and attached to the first post.

Thank you very much for the feedback, these were very good points. Smile
Reply
#4
After a few days rest I felt the snare requires a little bit more reverb. Smile
Also I compared the frequency spectrum with other mixes from here, and found that the biggest difference
is the excess of 250-800Hz range, so I turned down with a few db there in version r3.
It is still more than the average, but a little bit closer.
Reply
#5
(03-05-2020, 09:52 AM)dwarf Wrote: After a few days rest I felt the snare requires a little bit more reverb. Smile
Also I compared the frequency spectrum with other mixes from here, and found that the biggest difference
is the excess of 250-800Hz range, so I turned down with a few db there in version r3.
It is still more than the average, but a little bit closer.

That's the spirit. Sometime you got to take a rest, listen again to what you've done and hear what feels wrong.

I don't think that there is an excess of the frequency ranges you mention, it seems that the guitars have lost some power in your last mix. BTW, what vst did you use to analyze the frequency spectrum of other mixes ?

One thing you can look at, is the frequency balance between L and R guitars. To me it seems that guitar on the right have more high frequencies tone than the left one, and I think it could be nice to apply some L/R EQ on them, just to blend a little bit more the whole tone of the guitars.
I assume that you have treated L and R guitar separately, right ?

Another thing you could look at is to mess with reverb on other tracks, just to add a touch of depth in your mix.
Reply
#6
(04-05-2020, 04:34 PM)registered Wrote:
(03-05-2020, 09:52 AM)dwarf Wrote: After a few days rest I felt the snare requires a little bit more reverb. Smile
Also I compared the frequency spectrum with other mixes from here, and found that the biggest difference
is the excess of 250-800Hz range, so I turned down with a few db there in version r3.
It is still more than the average, but a little bit closer.

That's the spirit. Sometime you got to take a rest, listen again to what you've done and hear what feels wrong.

I don't think that there is an excess of the frequency ranges you mention, it seems that the guitars have lost some power in your last mix. BTW, what vst did you use to analyze the frequency spectrum of other mixes ?

One thing you can look at, is the frequency balance between L and R guitars. To me it seems that guitar on the right have more high frequencies tone than the left one, and I think it could be nice to apply some L/R EQ on them, just to blend a little bit more the whole tone of the guitars.
I assume that you have treated L and R guitar separately, right ?

Another thing you could look at is to mess with reverb on other tracks, just to add a touch of depth in your mix.

Thank you for the suggestions! Unfortunately in the next few days I can not work on the new version, but after it I will return. Smile
But in the meantime I will answer the questions:
You are right, I treated the L/R guitars separately. I will check the frequency balance.
For checking I use the built in 'Spectral Analysis' tool in my DAW, which is Harrison Mixbus32C (V6). This is great for imported whole tracks to show the 'average'.
To see the momentary values I use one of the 'Spectrum Analyzer x' plugin from the 'Linux Studio Plugins Project', depending on how many channels I would like to see at the same time.

Messing with reverb will be hard for me... Smile Unfortunately I can not feel when reverb is too little or too much. But I will try... Smile
Reply
#7
OK, I've never heard of these plugins until now. I was thinking at the Fabfilter EQ that has some feature to shape its EQ based on a reference track to provide the same tonal characteristics.
I've found some tutorials for mixing that I think is quite interesting for beginners. I love especially the courses of Michael White, and though he is rather slow to explain things, the information he gives are quite relevant. It's worth spending your time, and write down the important things he told ==> https://youtu.be/ydbkZ1ZWQGM

Another site I found is soundgym, which aim is to train your ears on a daily basis. The free section is quite limited, but it's a good start to develop your ears. The video lessons are interesting too ==>
https://www.soundgym.co

I tried to apply an overall reverb on one of my composition (an ambient one), by tweaking the different track send levels, and the result was astonishing. It has given a sensation of depth that was very pleasant, and the difference with/without it was pretty obvious. And I think as a first try that it is the simpler way to approach that reverb thing.
Not sure if it's appropriate for metal though, or for heavy songs in general.
Reply
#8
I feel like, as of mix 3, the drums are very upfront and everything is lacking a little bit of 600hz in the midrange. It sounds really good and clean, but maybe a little bit TOO clean? I love a lot of the mix choices that were made, and it sounds really good. I just prefer stuff with a little more crunch . It could probably also benefit a little bit from some more air? Like, 20khz bump. But the guitars could definitely benefit from a little more of the low midrange. Also, I think the snare has like 220hz boosted even though the fundamental of the snare is REALLY low, like 150hz or so. In other words, it feels like a resonance is boosted instead of the fundamental. Not a bad thing, just something I noticed as a drummer. It gives it more of a hollow pop/ring sound.
Reply