07-03-2021, 11:57 PM (This post was last modified: 08-03-2021, 01:22 AM by NiceDuck.)
By far one of the most difficult mixes I've ever encountered, with so much going on. Referencing Tchad Blake Mixes doesn't really made it easier, but I'm happy with the result (Which doesn't mean it would be anywhere near the Quality of a Tchad Blake Mix). I really appreciate the quality of the raw tracks. What do you think?
Here are the reference tracks I used: Mutemath - Tell Your Heart Heads Up The Last Shadow Puppets - Bad Habits Queens Of The Stone Age - Everybody Knows That You're Insane
I like what you've done and I agree that this was actually a lot tougher that it sounded at first pass. I felt like dynamic control was all over the place and it was a fight to get everything leveled but I also agree with you that the track quality was pretty good so there was a lot to work with.
Value my observations consistent with what you paid for them.
I feel like you lose the lead vocal a couple of times. Like, the volume just falls off or wasn't automated up or whatever.
Also, I think you saturated the kick drum? I'm not sure if that's what's causing it or if this is a compressor artifact but to my ear you've got something going on between the kick and the snare and they're kind of overlapping. Quite sure you were going for snap on the kick drum but I don't know if you got it. I'm curious if you listened to your drum bus outside of the mix to see if it still sounds like a kit to you. Somebody with more experience might be able to determine it right away or tell you I'm off base.
Coming out of the bridge - you almost got to where I was thinking about going - making that lead vocal kind of emerge from the pack a little more aggressively. Would be an interesting effect with how you chose your balance and I think it would be very effective.
For my taste, the volume swelled guitars off the top and the guitars that sounded like a dobro or a slide or some sort throughout were a little hot. Could just be my taste (or lack thereof).
Good job, though. Enjoyed listening to it.
08-03-2021, 07:28 PM (This post was last modified: 08-03-2021, 07:32 PM by NiceDuck.
Edit Reason: forgot to click "add attachment"
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(08-03-2021, 02:41 AM)DiscoDynamo Wrote: I like what you've done and I agree that this was actually a lot tougher that it sounded at first pass. I felt like dynamic control was all over the place and it was a fight to get everything leveled but I also agree with you that the track quality was pretty good so there was a lot to work with.
Value my observations consistent with what you paid for them.
I feel like you lose the lead vocal a couple of times. Like, the volume just falls off or wasn't automated up or whatever.
Also, I think you saturated the kick drum? I'm not sure if that's what's causing it or if this is a compressor artifact but to my ear you've got something going on between the kick and the snare and they're kind of overlapping. Quite sure you were going for snap on the kick drum but I don't know if you got it. I'm curious if you listened to your drum bus outside of the mix to see if it still sounds like a kit to you. Somebody with more experience might be able to determine it right away or tell you I'm off base.
Coming out of the bridge - you almost got to where I was thinking about going - making that lead vocal kind of emerge from the pack a little more aggressively. Would be an interesting effect with how you chose your balance and I think it would be very effective.
For my taste, the volume swelled guitars off the top and the guitars that sounded like a dobro or a slide or some sort throughout were a little hot. Could just be my taste (or lack thereof).
Good job, though. Enjoyed listening to it.
Thank you very much for the critics!
As you mentioned, I've automated the lead vocals volume just a tiny bit at the quietest parts. Here is a version with a more sophisticated automation, so thank you for this suggestion! I have the impression that you have very good ears. - I've used a sansamp as parallel distortion in the drum bus to tie the drums together, so the similarity of kick, snare and toms is intentional. I tried this to form a cohesive unit, as a sort of anchor point for all the drum stuff. Combined with the reduced reverb this should leave more room for all the other reverb-drenched tracks. It also makes for a nice contrast - got the idea from listening to my listed reference tracks. I initially tried having reverb on everything, but it made the mix too blurry for my taste. Regarding the slide guitar, I purposely wanted them to be heard more upfront. It may be that the slide guitar has competed too much with the vocals which could give the impression of the slide guitar being too hot. Is it still so on the new track?
I think this might be a bit better - so yes Also, I hadn't listened to your mix with ear buds in - I love that 40hz tone gate on the kick. It's something I do pretty much every mix to make the kick drums more pronounced - your mix sounds better with my Sony buds than it does with me AKG mixing headphones. You do good work.
Thank you for your compliments! As I mentioned, you have really good ears. I used a highpass with a high Q at 42 Hz to concentrate the low end energy at this frequency. I actually didn't gate the kick, just a 5dB compression with a long attack time.
Also, I hadn't listened to your mix with ear buds in - I love that 40hz tone gate on the kick. It's something I do pretty much every mix to make the kick drums more pronounced - your mix sounds better with my Sony buds than it does with me AKG mixing headphones. You do good work.