Strobe - Gone

[mikej]

Hi,

Gave it a go.

Cheers!

[heinim]

Hi,

Gave it a go.

Cheers!

Hello mikej! A really good mix so many good FX ideas a joy to listen to. Keep up the good work. Cheers!

[mikej]

Hi,

Thanks!

All credit to the library mix. I got all the ideas from there, trying to chase it basically.

The library mix and the whole production is top class. There's a huge amount going on there with the instrumentation, arrangement and effects. Songwriting is great too. Vocals were really well tracked. Really frustrating mix to try and chase, but a lot of fun also at the same time - you know how it goes. I kept on discovering new things in there that I had missed, each time I thought I was done with it.

Cheers!

[Cudjoe]

Hi Mikej really like the vibe on this one,nice

[Garflux]

Really cool and well balanced mix. Love all the filter automations. BGVs sit perfectly too, I struggled with those haha!

[mikej]

Thanks!

Regarding the BV's I just try to pan and eq them around the lead vocal, if that makes any sort of sense? Eq them with the whole mix going.

[SonicTramp]

I like your mix, man. I think the drops (chorus) could be a bit stronger to push the momentum forward. I also hear a bit of lower mid build up. I think the hats can be a bit clearer; I hardly hear it in some places, especially in the denser parts. Over all, I think you did a great job with all the automations and FXs. Cheers! I forgot to add: I like your vocal a lot. I am trying to get it like that in my mix, but, alas, one's skill can only go so far. Right?

[mikej]

Hi!

Thanks for checking it out.

Yeah I think there's some room to automate the chorus up a bit. Not sure about the lower mids build up, probably could clean it up a little. I think the hats are ok for me though. They were quite loud in the library mix I think? Have to check.. I wanted them just about there to add a bit of width and atmosphere - as they also alternate left and right a bit.

I dunno, I thought you got the vocal thing going ok in your mix?

Not sure if it's of any interest but there's nothing trick on the vocals. It's about 10db at around 2.5k or so, and the same boost around 6k into an 1176 style compressor.

One thing to try is to go through a few reverb presets until you find something that seems to work just that little bit better than the others as per your taste. There's also a short delay on a send - no feedback, a few - (or perhaps a lot..) of ms delay each side - find some numbers that work for you. Just blended in a bit to get some width. Sometimes works. Other times you want a narrow vocal to make everything else seem wider. You can also play around with the reverb pre-delay a bit too.

Cheers!

[SonicTramp]

It's so funny how you mentioned the way you did your vocal. I did exactly that, except for the frequency, mine was a bit higher (~3kHz) same amount 10dBs. But I was scared (10dBs boosts sounds like a crime punishable by death, to me) so I chickened out. Yep, guilty by mixing with my eyes instead of my ears. I opted for the whisper instead. On hindsight: 1 stone 2 birds, getting the top end for the main vocal and bring that mysterious whispering to level. But now I think I have too much top end; I didn't completely brought down the 3kHz. That's o.k. C'est la vie! Cheers! And thanks for the tips on the effects. One can never learn enough.

[mikej]

In space, no one can hear your screen (or something like that). If it needs 10db, it needs 10db. If it needs to be brighter in the mix, make it brighter. You just need to get the confidence to not worry about it. It's a big thing, and it really wasn't all that long ago that I figured it out. (Despite the fact that CLA basically shouts this out in all his videos, and interviews, and his waves presets, etc, with his 8k boosts, etc) I think that's when my mixes started getting a little bit better. I like to eq into compression, but of course if you can't get it bright enough because of the compressor, then for me that answers the question of whether to eq before or after compression, because the answer then is obviously both.

Quick edit to add that it's suprising how bright you have to make some things to get them right in the mix.