Maurizio Pagnutti Sextet - All The Gin Is Gone (Hein-Ivan Mix)

[heinim]

This is my take on the mix!

V2

V3 small changes!

[heinim]

New version!

[jlawford]

New version!

Nice one - pretty up front sound and long reverb goes to show how we can stylistically all mix quite differently but end up with a pleasing result!

As a drummer and considering this style, I'd get more of the drum sound from the overheads maybe even tap a compressor to bring up the details. A bit too much close mic top snare and the crispiness of the snare under mic is to prominent for me.

I think the bass mic sounded more natural; it sounds like you are putting a fair amount of bass DI into the mix which does give it more mid-range focus at the expense of the warmth and air of an acoustically recorded upright.

[heinim]

New version!

Nice one - pretty up front sound and long reverb goes to show how we can stylistically all mix quite differently but end up with a pleasing result!

As a drummer and considering this style, I'd get more of the drum sound from the overheads maybe even tap a compressor to bring up the details. A bit too much close mic top snare and the crispiness of the snare under mic is to prominent for me.

I think the bass mic sounded more natural; it sounds like you are putting a fair amount of bass DI into the mix which does give it more mid-range focus at the expense of the warmth and air of an acoustically recorded upright.

Hi jlawford! Many thanks for the comments. I'm a drummer myself so I mixed the drums the way I felt it sounded good for this track. When it comes to overhead, I seldom do compress them since for me it's to much cymbals. I mixed the bass DI and bass mic at the same level since I felt the mic was sounding a bit too "one-note bass". Anyway a good feedback and I will take a listen to your mix later on. Cheers!

[heinim]

New mix V3 some changes!

[jlawford]

New mix V3 some changes!

Nice job - the horns sound really nice in a RVG kind of style - love the long reverb on trombone.

There is audible compression pumping during the drum solo - you can hear the cymbal tails coming back up in level with the release time and there is no dynamic range between the kick/snare/toms in the "linear" sections for instance where he's playing around the kit.

I had to back on my buss compressor to just tap lightly and majored my compression on the horns sub-group buss to level those during the sections where all three are playing together.

So apart from the drums sounding overcompressed in that area it's all good. Maybe reduce the compressor to act during the ensemble parts and not so much during the solo parts?

Great job.

[heinim]

New mix V3 some changes!

Nice job - the horns sound really nice in a RVG kind of style - love the long reverb on trombone.

There is audible compression pumping during the drum solo - you can hear the cymbal tails coming back up in level with the release time and there is no dynamic range between the kick/snare/toms in the "linear" sections for instance where he's playing around the kit.

I had to back on my buss compressor to just tap lightly and majored my compression on the horns sub-group buss to level those during the sections where all three are playing together.

So apart from the drums sounding overcompressed in that area it's all good. Maybe reduce the compressor to act during the ensemble parts and not so much during the solo parts?

Great job.

Hi jlawford! Many thanks for the comments. Interesting that the only thing I'm compressing is the bass (max 2-3 dB) and then a limiting on the master bus (2-3 dB) to cut some peeks. Anyway, thanks!

[jlawford]

New mix V3 some changes!

Nice job - the horns sound really nice in a RVG kind of style - love the long reverb on trombone.

There is audible compression pumping during the drum solo - you can hear the cymbal tails coming back up in level with the release time and there is no dynamic range between the kick/snare/toms in the "linear" sections for instance where he's playing around the kit.

I had to back on my buss compressor to just tap lightly and majored my compression on the horns sub-group buss to level those during the sections where all three are playing together.

So apart from the drums sounding overcompressed in that area it's all good. Maybe reduce the compressor to act during the ensemble parts and not so much during the solo parts?

Great job.

Hi jlawford! Many thanks for the comments. Interesting that the only thing I'm compressing is the bass (max 2-3 dB) and then a limiting on the master bus (2-3 dB) to cut some peeks. Anyway, thanks!

Interesting!

Maybe check out the buss limiter to see what effect it’s having at key moments in the song. Would be great if limiter/compressor plug-ins had a timeline so we could review the compression at any time!

[heinim]

New mix V3 some changes!

Nice job - the horns sound really nice in a RVG kind of style - love the long reverb on trombone.

There is audible compression pumping during the drum solo - you can hear the cymbal tails coming back up in level with the release time and there is no dynamic range between the kick/snare/toms in the "linear" sections for instance where he's playing around the kit.

I had to back on my buss compressor to just tap lightly and majored my compression on the horns sub-group buss to level those during the sections where all three are playing together.

So apart from the drums sounding overcompressed in that area it's all good. Maybe reduce the compressor to act during the ensemble parts and not so much during the solo parts?

Great job.

Hi jlawford! Many thanks for the comments. Interesting that the only thing I'm compressing is the bass (max 2-3 dB) and then a limiting on the master bus (2-3 dB) to cut some peeks. Anyway, thanks!

Interesting!

Maybe check out the buss limiter to see what effect it’s having at key moments in the song. Would be great if limiter/compressor plug-ins had a timeline so we could review the compression at any time!

Hi jlawford! I always check what the master bus limiter does to the signal. The way to do this is to zero or different check the plugin. Luckily the FabFilter pro-L does have this built in and what I hear doing this on this track and all other tracks I have mixed, is a kind of crackling noise for each peak it's limiting. The clue here is to not have too much of this on the master bus to  make a good decision on the balance between loud and not too squashed. Cheers!

[Rob Cummings (Hot Milk Studio)]

Nice mix, maybe a tad boxy from the double-bass (too loud?) and the overheads and snare could use a little bit of brightening. The top end seems to be a bit too dull in general.
My two cents and as always YMMV.
- Rob Cummings (Hot Milk Studio Berlin)