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My mix of Ghostly Beard - Set Me Free
#1
What a brilliant track this is, chilled vibes along with some tasty and amazing solos!
Definitely not done yet, but wanted to post something in hopes to get some feedback and direction.
Need to add more volume automation. I know the high end needs to be tamed a little better. The vocals need some de-essing and I just realized this.
Any other feedback or input would be amazing!

V2 - Added more parallel processing, mainly on drums. I realized I cut to much highs from the bass so rolled some back in. Added more compression on the rhodes, main guitar on solo and vocals as I was hearing volume inconsistencies in these particular tracks. Low notes on the rhodes and guitar are coming through a bit better. Touched on levels. Not 100% happy with the vox yet, I feel they may be a bit harsh at parts, especially before guitar solo when backup vox come in.

V3 - Updates, mainly on vox and master buss

V4 - Updates after feedback

V5 - Updates after feedback. Raw mix, no mastering, peaks at -6


.mp3    Ghostly Beard - Set Me FreeV4.mp3 --  (Download: 10.89 MB)


.mp3    Ghostly Beard - Set Me FreeV1.mp3 --  (Download: 10.92 MB)


.mp3    Ghostly Beard - Set Me FreeV2.mp3 --  (Download: 10.91 MB)


.mp3    Ghostly Beard - Set Me FreeV3.mp3 --  (Download: 10.89 MB)


.mp3    Ghostly Beard - Set Me FreeV5.mp3 --  (Download: 6.58 MB)


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#2
Hi!

Listening to V3...

Overall it's good, with a nice balance.

For me I feel it could do with a bit of polish eq wise perhaps? Not much though.

I think there is maybe just a touch too much 3-5k-ish on the keys/guitars/vocals, and by the same token I think you could afford to add in just a little more warmth on those individual elements too, around 300-600 ish, to balance out the air, and maybe add just touch more weight to the bass?

I think a few small eq moves along those lines will get it working nicely. It kind of sounds to me that you were thinking 'air' rather than 'warmth' perhaps?

Not quite the same genre, but I did reference a couple of albums before mixing this which I think helped me a little and might be useful to check out - Jill Scott - Beautifully Human and Ebony Alleyne - Never Look Back. For the Rhodes and Horns respectively, and overall feel/vibe.

Oh, I feel the drum loop could be made a little lighter feeling at the start too, as it feels just a touch heavy to me?

Cheers!
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#3
Thanks mikej

There is definitely some noisy stuff going on around 3 - 5 kish. I believe the guitar is the culprit.

The reason I say that is because I did try to make the overall mix brighter with EQ and harmonics but would hear nasty side effects on the guitar when I did it so I did without it.

I definitely was going for air or an open mix with this one, but will try to make it more warm sounding and touch on the EQ points that you mentioned any hopefully post an update soon.

Thanks for the awesome feedback!
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#4
@mikej

I gotta say, I love the feedback you've provided. I touched on the points you mentioned and I feel the mix is working better now. To me it seems more balanced. warm and brighter.

What do you think?
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#5
Hi!

I checked out V4 in some detail yesterday, and have since been thinking of the best way to try and explain what I am hearing. I think there is still room for improvement regarding the tone.

I feel the best way to explain it is if you load up the library mix in your DAW and line it up with your mix. Approximately level match both mixes so they peak around -6, as loudness differences alter our perception, and switch between them. Listen to the difference in tone between the two, especially the general low end of things (300Hz ish) and the high end, and see what you think? Particularly the bass, and low and top end of the vocal, and also how the low end of the vocal interacts with the keys, and the relation of these to the bass.

What I sometimes do if I feel my mix tone is a little off my references - I put an eq over my mix and make some rough adjustments. I then work out which elements of my mix need to be changed to improve the tonal balance and revist the mix.

(I think the tonal balance of the library mix is pretty good in this instance, but that might not always be the case of course)

Cheers!
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#6
Thanks mikej,

There is definitely room for improvement. Thanks for taking the time to check it out again.

This is something I've never done, use a reference track, but I understand the importance. I will re-work this and use the library mix as a reference and try to match tones and balance and repost! Sounds like it would be good practice as well

Thanks again
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#7
Hi!

Mix referencing can be a bit rough on the ol' ego, but it does help a lot. Your mix is likely not that far out in actual mix moves really, but that difference can be everything. It does take a lot of hard work to start to close that gap, but you'll know when you are getting there. I've still a long way to go, but these are useful things I feel have helped me a lot.

Cheers!
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