Hey folks,
So just did a mix of this track. Nice song, thanks to the band for sharing it for our use.
Only thing I am scratching my head about is the drum overheads and room.
Seems we have a mono OH and 4 room mics, I've tried to pair them up but I can't seem to figure out which track matches up with the others...
Either the kick is super dominant, or the hi hats, it doesnt seem like its been recorded in stereo properly.
The tone of the room mics is also throwing me off - it doesn't sound like theres a clear "near room" or "far room" tone (for lack of a better phrase).
This isn't me complaining, I'm just confused and not sure how to approach this so I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone has any insight.
I've also attached my mix, for anyone curious I ran the tracks and mixed down on an SSL. Bit on console EQ and Comp, some plug in FX and saturation. And ran a gentle comp on the bus on the way out.
I could do with reading it myself actually, as I just panned the OH up the middle. For the rooms I basically just grouped them all together (panned centrally), and added a bit of reverb to them on a send for a bit of width. I dare say there is likely a more proper way of doing it. Also might be worth mentioning that you don't always have to utilise all the tracks in a session - just use the channels that you find useful!
Cheers!
Also - I don't think you managed to attach your mix to your post?
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
I could do with reading it myself actually, as I just panned the OH up the middle. For the rooms I basically just grouped them all together (panned centrally), and added a bit of reverb to them on a send for a bit of width. I dare say there is likely a more proper way of doing it. Also might be worth mentioning that you don't always have to utilise all the tracks in a session - just use the channels that you find useful!
Cheers!
Also - I don't think you managed to attach your mix to your post?
Ha! I like your fix, yeah I ended up just playing with the pan position until I got an image I was happy with. Just tried to match the hats and ride and let the tone dictate the rest of the choices. Will try again with the mix, i'm just doing a dirty and quick master of it as well through an LA2
This is all off the top of my head as I listen through a few times. It’s little harsh. Could use with more de-essing on the vocal. Probably a bit too compressed. I’m not a fan of how it tends to skew to the left. It feels bit weirdly “stereo” in a processed way. I listened to the stereo mix in mono and it feels a lot better. And different that the “PRINT” mono version. I enjoyed the stereo mix a lot more when it was summed to mono. The PRINT mix felt more like only the center info was in the mix. I get that that wasn’t an intended mix.
The reverb on the second half of the solo tends to obfuscate the solo as opposed to highlighting it. Actually I think in the whole solo section the guitar and piano are fighting each other. Some automation may help.
The leakage of the click on the vocal track in the …bridge? really catches my ear but I might just be sensitive. That fade at the end fills me with an odd bit of rage. That’s a me issue though and if I had a therapist I’d bring it up with them. Still, it feels a bit awkward. Let’s just admit this whole third paragraph are probably just personal things that say more about me than the mix.
As far as the recording and drum mics go, I think they’re just different flavors of mono room mics. I’d err on keeping them mono but there are no rules etc and if you can and want to pan them “it’s the 90s go for it”. There might (will) be phase issues but they might not hurt. Oh and check the phase of all the room mics with the rest of the tracks. I think one or two may have needed their polarity reversed. If a room mic feels like it has more kick then consider blending it with the kick mics. If it has a lot of snare then consider blending it with the snare. If it has more hi-hat then…probably not use it. Reference the original mix and see what they may have been going for. Or use one of the room mics strictly as a reverb trigger or smash one with a compressor and blend it in. Or only use a couple and add the rest in different sections for more dynamics.
Oh and this has come up before recently and it’s not an issue I care about in the end, really, but there’s not real positive reason to upsample the printed mix to 48k. I only really notice it on the sibilant sections of the vocals.Maybe it could cause aliasing issues? It doesn’t help anything and could possibly cause issues for the client down the road. In this instance it doesn’t matter at all but I think part of practicing mixes on here is reinforcing the “deliverable” part of mixing. Such as maintaining the same sample rates or at least what the standard rates for a mix (audio vs film) and file naming nomenclature etc.
I don’t think it’s far off. I think it could be more ‘grounded’ and reined in a bit, if that makes sense.
