MekaPhil - Alive (Yet Free)

[mikej]

Hi,

Gave it a go.

Cheers!

[aftercutrecords]

First off, I appreciate you doing a mix of the song. Here's some thoughts.

1) I like the guitar tone you chose! It's very similar to the tones we used. Very clear and solid.
2) You have a strong midrange~! I appreciate that a lot. The vocals feel a little bit fluffy in the 1k region, but that's minute.
3) Overall, great balances.
4) I love the lead tone a lot! It feels really solid.
5) The loudness is solid! It never clips and it has plenty of headroom while still being loud.

Here's some thing I'd consider changin:
1) If I was to massage it just a tiny bit, I'd give maybe a little boost to the 200hz of the snare.
2) There's a decent defecit of air going on. So like, everything over 5khz could be given some more precedence. Spread evenly of course. Like the snare could maybe use some more 5khz, the guitars a little more 7khz, kick some more 8k, toms some more 9k / 10k, and then you could put a shelf on everything OVER 10k. Bring out that air more, really give it some energy. Like, a 15khz shelf might help bring out the air without really making any trouble for you. You could then crank it till it feels energetic but not too spitty.

Overall, great job! I feel like this is a really high quality mix. Thank you for doing it!

[mikej]

Hi!

Many thanks for taking the time to critique all the mixes - it's much appreciated.  I've certainly enjoyed reading through them all.

1) I like the guitar tone you chose! It's very similar to the tones we used. Very clear and solid.

I'm not really that familiar with the more punk and metal styles so I do kind of struggle (and worry!) a bit about re-amped tones.  I've been spending time working at it, and also checking out some playlists - so that's encouraging to hear.

2) You have a strong midrange~! I appreciate that a lot. The vocals feel a little bit fluffy in the 1k region, but that's minute.

Well, I recall I did make one small dip in each vocal somewhere around 1.5k - 2.5k to tackle a small resonance!

3) Overall, great balances.
4) I love the lead tone a lot! It feels really solid.

I find I am spending a lot more time and effort on getting a good initial balance these days.  I think for a while I was basically overcompensating for a sub optimal initial balance with a somewhat over enthusiastic use of eq, etc.

5) The loudness is solid!  It never clips and it has plenty of headroom while still being loud.

Something I've been working at for a long while.  I feel I am kind of getting the hang of it now.

Here's some thing I'd consider changin:
1) If I was to massage it just a tiny bit, I'd give maybe a little boost to the 200hz of the snare.
2) There's a decent defecit of air going on. So like, everything over 5khz could be given some more precedence. Spread evenly of course. Like the snare could maybe use some more 5khz, the guitars a little more 7khz, kick some more 8k, toms some more 9k / 10k, and then you could put a shelf on everything OVER 10k. Bring out that air more, really give it some energy. Like, a 15khz shelf might help bring out the air without really making any trouble for you. You could then crank it till it feels energetic but not too spitty.

Thanks for the tips - yeah - interested to hear your thoughts on this!

I used Neck Deep -'Fall' and 'In Bloom' and also Destroy Boys - 'Drink' by way of mix references.  Not saying my mix doesn't need more air - I think a touch more would be beneficial.  I am certainly a long way off the library mix though as far as brightness goes. I feel the library mix is really much too bright for me, especially the vocals, so I might have been overcompensating a bit in the other direction.  Do you have some refs I could use by way of comparison?  I can certainly add more weight to the snare - I am never 100% sure about snares for some reason!

Overall, great job! I feel like this is a really high quality mix. Thank you for doing it!

I have really struggled with the more heavier genres.  Not been easy but I have been working hard at it.  I have picked up quite a lot of helpful info from yourself, Blitzzz (and others).  I did watch a couple of your videos too.  I found your thoughts on what you were wanting to hear and get out of each part really very helpful as you went through the mix.  Many thanks for those, and also for the kind words and encouragement.

Cheers!