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nzca lines - pure luxury - mixed by saint thomas ledoux
#11
(30-10-2020, 09:22 PM)JohnMerchant Wrote: Really?
If I have the right John Merchant, a very impressive discography/career, and also engineered the lead track of one of my favourite albums/dvds.  All My Friends Are Here.  Wow.
Cheers!
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#12
(01-11-2020, 05:55 PM)mikej Wrote:
(30-10-2020, 09:22 PM)JohnMerchant Wrote: Really?
If I have the right John Merchant, a very impressive discography/career, and also engineered the lead track of one of my favourite albums/dvds.  All My Friends Are Here.  Wow.
Cheers!
Hehe, ya.  That's the one alright!

Good suggestion on the pultec EQ.  Would have LOVED a transient designer on those drum loops, but we don't have any in the studios at school!  Had I mixed this from home, would have definitely been one of the first things I reached for.  I was able to creat more snap out of the kick by simply gating it to a mere click, and then distorting that click until it became white noise, then mixing that back in with the original kick in parallel.  I should go back and see how that same trick might have worked on an entire drum loop.  Probably catastrophically, but maybe a good kind of catastrophic, who knows.
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#13
Gosh.

I love those 80's productions - Chaka Khan - Through The Fire,  I Feel for You (of course), etc.  Reading liner notes took me to Arif Mardin (wow!) and then of course on to All My Friends are Here.  Not sure if you've seen the film, but the track 'Wistful' really does get me every time.  The whole production is very moving and affectionate.  Everything about the album and the film is really beautiful.

Bit of a digression there from discussing the mix but hey.

Nice idea with distorting the kick and blending it in.  I find I don't quite think along those lines.  I guess you could maybe duplicate the loop and split it in 3 frequency bands or something to try and process kick and snare on seperate channels. 

I think it's good to experiment with things and try different ideas out, etc.  They might not all work, all the time, but you never know when you might hit upon something that seems to work more often than not, and that also raises the game a little.

Cheers!
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#14
(01-11-2020, 10:13 PM)mikej Wrote: Bit of a digression there from discussing the mix but hey.
"I feel for you" definitely slaps, down to digress on that one anytime.
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#15
Yeah. The stutter edit using the AMS delay (I think it was) as a sampler was quite a big thing and kind of a new sound at the time. Amazing that doing things like that back then was cutting edge stuff and considered taking a bit of a chance.

Cheers!

Edit: Watched the film again last night. Seems the stutter edit was discovered by a mistake, but was put in deliberately as they packed the track with hooks to try and guarantee a hit. Not so much taking a chance, but more carefully crafted.
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#16
(31-10-2020, 12:21 AM)Nothing fishy here, Mike, and absolutely no offense intended. I have been using the Cambridge site as a resource for years in the mixing course at MTSU, though I rarely post myself. A few years ago, I met Mike Senior at AES and was able to thank him in person for putting this amazing resource together.For the record, there was no slight intended, just trying to be sarcastic based on St Thomass original post. Clearly that didn't translate as expected! (And yes, I had the great pleasure to work with Arif Mardin a few times.)FWIW, here were the comments posted as part of his mix review: Wrote: overall mix is a little quiet, though that’s way better than too hot. that’s odd given how much buss processing you have in place on the stereo submix. when I switch to input in your Pro Tools session, the level jumps way up, so this looks/sounds like a printing issue

extraneous noises in the break during the first verse sound like a mistake

great vocal processing choices

the lower lead vocal octave should be more forward in the midrange - this would bring him forward and improve his intelligibility

great contrast between sections

snare is a touch bright - less fizz and more thump would give it more weight and keep it out of the vocals’ way

love the inverted polarity moment before the 2nd verse

overall mix needs more weight on the low end - other than the boomy kick, mix lacks energy in the bass octaves

seems like the bridge a cappella vocals needed something extra - these sound too conventional

the instrumental sections work well, including the quirky noises and FX

love the ending - this could have been just a novelty, but by including this earlier in the song, it makes sense. I could also see making this a fadeout just to keep the groove going



regarding your mix process, monitor level calibration takes like 20 seconds and improves your mixes every time

looking at the waveform of your mix, the display is lopsided, which can happen when there are unusual phase relationships in the summed stereo mix. this can affect how loud you can make the mix before clipping: 

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advic...-lop-sided
time is the best gift you give yourself, so that you can leave a mix alone for a while and then listen later with fresh ears




mikej
(30-10-2020, 09:22 PM)JohnMerchant Wrote: Really? 
Just trying to be supportive, constructive and offer some encouragement by posting my thoughts on the mix. 

Please do let me know if I have said anything out of line here.

What are your thoughts? 

Perhaps you can offer a more informed opinion.

Cheers!
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#17
Quote:Nothing fishy here, Mike, and absolutely no offense intended. I have been using the Cambridge site as a resource for years in the mixing course at MTSU, though I rarely post myself. A few years ago, I met Mike Senior at AES and was able to thank him in person for putting this amazing resource together.For the record, there was no slight intended, just trying to be sarcastic based on St Thomass original post. Clearly that didn't translate as expected! (And yes, I had the great pleasure to work with Arif Mardin a few times.)FWIW, here were the comments posted as part of his mix review
Oh, no offence taken.  Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated!

It all made sense once Saint Thomas explained, although I must admit it did leave me feeling a little confused back there for a while!
 
I do try my best to be honest and helpful.  My mixing experience, such as it is, only extends as far as me trying to learn to mix on this site though.  I figured a 'critique of my mix critique' from a pro fair game, although the reply did strike me as being a bit lacking in detail haha. 

Sometimes to me it seems that there is a lot of potential learning space available here that goes unused, so I try my best to get some discussion going on occasion, as I figure you get out what you put in.

 - It also goes to show you never know who might be about on here.

Many thanks for posting your comments on the mix too.  Plenty to think about there.  

People reading this should go check out John's impressive list of credits.  Also go check out the Arif Mardin story too!

Cheers!
(Apologies for hijacking the thread a bit)
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