Crownoise : Deny Control 2

[crownoise]

Hey guys, nice mixes going on here, i think this was so hard, unusually hard actually. I tried a second mix, hope its better:

[crownoise]

I added a second master since the first felt very topendish and hars, i made it lofyish.

[Shul]

I think the clarity you got on the first mix sounds better. The second mix has more boom going around in there.. vocals could come down on that 200 300hz area also high-pass them up to 120hz maybe.

Balances overall are solid.

[crownoise]

Hey thanks Shul Im glad you liked the first one better, its always more fun to go more modern sounding in my opinion haha I agree with the vox, it seem a bit lowendy, strangely this was something i tackled with brutal eq to get rid of it, doesn't seem as if it was enough.

[Blitzzz]

V2 is a mess, the mix feels small and weak. Snare doesn't fit into the mix, it's too distorted and dark.
V1 is a tad better, but the snare is too dominant in the blast beats. It doesn't sound like a real drummer anymore, but more like a machine gun. Also, the snare is so bright compared with the rest of the mix - it already sounds kinda metallic? Toms are not really audible throughout the whole song, as is the double bass in the blast beats. Rhythm guitars sound distorted, did you add any kind of distortion to them?

This is just too of much everything. Both mixes sound overprocessed - like you tried out all kinds of things you have seen in tutorials without taking the time to listen to the original material. There is no reason to approach the tracks with an "I have to fix all of this"-attitude because there is simply not a lot to fix. Everything falls together very nicely if you only use basic tools like compression and eq.

I just remixed the song myself and used even fewer plugins this time compared with my original mix back in 2017. Surprisingly it sounds close to the old mix, which is kinda weird because the guitars and drums are different in this new version compared with the old project. I applied some advanced mixing stuff besides eq and compression, but most of the tracks don't have any plugins on them. Don't change what doesn't need to be changed.

Sorry Crownoise, I know this critic sounds harsh. You don't have to listen to me, this is your mix and you spend a significant amount of time working on it. It's awesome that you put so much energy and heart into this song I recorded seven years ago. I also think it's great that you listen to so many other mixes and give feedback, and that's why I really have a hard time writing all of this.

My advice would be: Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Do you really need to change every tone? Ask yourself: Am I changing the overall tone for the better or does the mix (not the track!) sound worse with that change? If you made all of those choices because you had a clear vision in your head and wanted the mix exactly to sound like this, then that's fine. Compared with the reference mix and other songs from the genre it's not what I would expect as a listener, but it is your choice. If you made those choices because you think you have to do all of this regardless of the sound / material in front of you, reconsider your approach. Try to preserve as much original sound as possible. Instead of doing more, do less. Just what's absolutely necessary.

For my own remix that was:
- Adding additional snare samples to beef up the snare. Don't try to eq more weight into a snare, it will usually nor only still sound weak no matter what you do, but too many eq cuts and boosts will make the snare sound harsh and unnatural.
- Reduce the low mid mud and the harshness from the guitars

The rest was just basic eq and compression with a lot of automation.

Cheers,
Dirk

[crownoise]

V2 is a mess, the mix feels small and weak. Snare doesn't fit into the mix, it's too distorted and dark.
V1 is a tad better, but the snare is too dominant in the blast beats. It doesn't sound like a real drummer anymore, but more like a machine gun. Also, the snare is so bright compared with the rest of the mix - it already sounds kinda metallic? Toms are not really audible throughout the whole song, as is the double bass in the blast beats. Rhythm guitars sound distorted, did you add any kind of distortion to them?

This is just too of much everything. Both mixes sound overprocessed - like you tried out all kinds of things you have seen in tutorials without taking the time to listen to the original material. There is no reason to approach the tracks with an "I have to fix all of this"-attitude because there is simply not a lot to fix. Everything falls together very nicely if you only use basic tools like compression and eq.

I just remixed the song myself and used even fewer plugins this time compared with my original mix back in 2017. Surprisingly it sounds close to the old mix, which is kinda weird because the guitars and drums are different in this new version compared with the old project. I applied some advanced mixing stuff besides eq and compression, but most of the tracks don't have any plugins on them. Don't change what doesn't need to be changed.

Sorry Crownoise, I know this critic sounds harsh. You don't have to listen to me, this is your mix and you spend a significant amount of time working on it. It's awesome that you put so much energy and heart into this song I recorded seven years ago. I also think it's great that you listen to so many other mixes and give feedback, and that's why I really have a hard time writing all of this.

My advice would be: Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Do you really need to change every tone? Ask yourself: Am I changing the overall tone for the better or does the mix (not the track!) sound worse with that change? If you made all of those choices because you had a clear vision in your head and wanted the mix exactly to sound like this, then that's fine. Compared with the reference mix and other songs from the genre it's not what I would expect as a listener, but it is your choice. If you made those choices because you think you have to do all of this regardless of the sound / material in front of you, reconsider your approach. Try to preserve as much original sound as possible. Instead of doing more, do less. Just what's absolutely necessary.

For my own remix that was:
- Adding additional snare samples to beef up the snare. Don't try to eq more weight into a snare, it will usually nor only still sound weak no matter what you do, but too many eq cuts and boosts will make the snare sound harsh and unnatural.
- Reduce the low mid mud and the harshness from the guitars

The rest was just basic eq and compression with a lot of automation.

Cheers,
Dirk

Hey Blitz, why don't you come and comment on the first mix i made, are you afraid of people overshining originaly "pro" mixers or whats your problem, you think you gonna look good if you are to afraid to comment of persons trying to make something good? This might sound hrash im intoxicated and what not but if you want to hear something good im eager to listen if the critisism isn't aimed to pull down something. I am well aware of this mix not being close, its an alteranative failed mix and im well aware of this. I am well aware though that you didnt comment my first mix because you are baffled about how close it was to a good mix. What i mean is, we are only here to learn and im baffled about how silent it can be when something is actually pulling something. It says everything that you didn't comment that one, so dont come and speak to me as you know anything. And besides that stop making it sound S*** from the begining and maybe you wont need this medium to begin with. Mixers aren't there to save something, they are there to make something good shine.

[mikej]

PM Sent.

A little over-reaction there I think.

No need for any further drama here please!

Many Thanks.

[Blitzzz]

V2 is a mess, the mix feels small and weak. Snare doesn't fit into the mix, it's too distorted and dark.
V1 is a tad better, but the snare is too dominant in the blast beats. It doesn't sound like a real drummer anymore, but more like a machine gun. Also, the snare is so bright compared with the rest of the mix - it already sounds kinda metallic? Toms are not really audible throughout the whole song, as is the double bass in the blast beats. Rhythm guitars sound distorted, did you add any kind of distortion to them?

This is just too of much everything. Both mixes sound overprocessed - like you tried out all kinds of things you have seen in tutorials without taking the time to listen to the original material. There is no reason to approach the tracks with an "I have to fix all of this"-attitude because there is simply not a lot to fix. Everything falls together very nicely if you only use basic tools like compression and eq.

I just remixed the song myself and used even fewer plugins this time compared with my original mix back in 2017. Surprisingly it sounds close to the old mix, which is kinda weird because the guitars and drums are different in this new version compared with the old project. I applied some advanced mixing stuff besides eq and compression, but most of the tracks don't have any plugins on them. Don't change what doesn't need to be changed.

Sorry Crownoise, I know this critic sounds harsh. You don't have to listen to me, this is your mix and you spend a significant amount of time working on it. It's awesome that you put so much energy and heart into this song I recorded seven years ago. I also think it's great that you listen to so many other mixes and give feedback, and that's why I really have a hard time writing all of this.

My advice would be: Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Do you really need to change every tone? Ask yourself: Am I changing the overall tone for the better or does the mix (not the track!) sound worse with that change? If you made all of those choices because you had a clear vision in your head and wanted the mix exactly to sound like this, then that's fine. Compared with the reference mix and other songs from the genre it's not what I would expect as a listener, but it is your choice. If you made those choices because you think you have to do all of this regardless of the sound / material in front of you, reconsider your approach. Try to preserve as much original sound as possible. Instead of doing more, do less. Just what's absolutely necessary.

For my own remix that was:
- Adding additional snare samples to beef up the snare. Don't try to eq more weight into a snare, it will usually nor only still sound weak no matter what you do, but too many eq cuts and boosts will make the snare sound harsh and unnatural.
- Reduce the low mid mud and the harshness from the guitars

The rest was just basic eq and compression with a lot of automation.

Cheers,
Dirk

Hey Blitz, why don't you come and comment on the first mix i made, are you afraid of people overshining originaly "pro" mixers or whats your problem, you think you gonna look good if you are to afraid to comment of persons trying to make something good? This might sound hrash im intoxicated and what not but if you want to hear something good im eager to listen if the critisism isn't aimed to pull down something. I am well aware of this mix not being close, its an alteranative failed mix and im well aware of this. I am well aware though that you didnt comment my first mix because you are baffled about how close it was to a good mix. What i mean is, we are only here to learn and im baffled about how silent it can be when something is actually pulling something. It says everything that you didn't comment that one, so dont come and speak to me as you know anything. And besides that stop making it sound S*** from the begining and maybe you wont need this medium to begin with. Mixers aren't there to save something, they are there to make something good shine.

What?  First off, it's not my job to listen to every mix on this forum and write a nice comment that hurts no one. Secondly, I didn't even know that you had another mix on this site because people normally use one thread for their stuff, not two. So I´m very sorry to say that, but I wasn't baffled by your first mix and/or somehow lost my ability to write a comment because my mind melted away in sheer joy I simply didn't listen to it, because I don't have enough spare time to listen to every mix on this forum. That's it, plain and simple. I really don't owe you anything in this regard, mate. I am, however, baffled by your answer and would like to clarify some things in advance.

I'm not a pro mixer, I´m just a random guitar-playing dude that wrote, recorded, and mixed a bunch of songs on this forum. I´m not too concerned about how I look in comparison to you or my all-time fav Andy Sneap, because I don't mix for a living and I honestly couldn't care less. Heck, my only reason to learn how to mix was me having some spare time, and I immediately stopped mixing after our record was done in 2019. I even stopped playing guitar and writing songs back then. I only reinstalled Cubase a month ago because I wanted to share this song with this forum and therefore had to go back to the old files to see if it was salvageable. So much for "comparing myself" with someone else. So, with this out of the way, it would be nice if you keep your thoughts about fellow mixers to yourself and stay on topic. I wasn't criticizing you as a person, but the two mixes you posted above. I expect the same in reverse.

That brings me back to the topic: You already wrote that the original mix (reference mix) is nice. Perhaps we can use this mix as a baseline for comparison, even if the drums and guitars are technically not the same because I had to replace them for the new version. If you compare your mix with the reference mix, what elements would you say sound better, what sounds similar and what sounds worse than the ref mix?

Looking forward to your answer,
Dirk