Thread Rating:
  • 3 Vote(s) - 2 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave
#1
Hi,

So tough.  The library mix poses so many questions that I don't really have answers to yet.

Anyway, my mix, such as it is.

Cheers!

Updates:

Mix 2.0 - Hopefully the rest of the chorus lines stand out a bit more. Thanks Roy.
Mix 3.0 - Noticed I had too much 200hz on one of the synths. Not sure if that has fixed the too much reverb issue Y's Man?
Mix 4.0 - Possibly less boomy kick Mammy?
Mix 5.0 - Raised volume of last chorus vocals, as I think the issue was I'd automated them a touch too low for that section. Thanks Brady85 for spotting that one.


.mp3    Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave.mp3 --  (Download: 8.65 MB)


.mp3    Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave 2.0.mp3 --  (Download: 8.65 MB)


.mp3    Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave 3.0.mp3 --  (Download: 8.65 MB)


.mp3    Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave 4.0.mp3 --  (Download: 8.65 MB)


.mp3    Saturn Syndicate - Catch The Wave 5.0.mp3 --  (Download: 8.65 MB)


Just uploaded a mix/master?  Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Reply
#2
Sounds great. The "Catch the Wave"s feel fine but the rest of lines in the chorus get a little overwhelmed. Not by a much but they could stand out more.
Reply
#3
Hi,

Ooh, thanks! I've added mix 2.0 - Hopefully the rest of the chorus lines are a little more intelligible now?

Cheers!
Just uploaded a mix/master?  Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Reply
#4
Sounds good overall as expected, only 2 things i notice the vocals are clearer in this but in headphones the organ reverb is quite ooverpowering, also the sidechain ducking effect sometimes gets distracting cant really tell what its actuall on the first half sound like the bass and later sounds like the synth. One question tough regarding the comment about the preview, is your aim to emulate it?
Reply
#5
Hi!

Not sure if I've fixed the reverb issue in mix 3.0? Sidechain effect is ok for what I was going for I feel. The bass is sidechained by the kick throughout.

Regarding the preview. This comment might be a little unfair, as I really don't know how people approach things. I am not always too sure that everyone listens properly to the preview mixes, or checks out reference tracks in a similar genre. Although on the second point, personally I do sometimes find it difficult to find the right sort of tracks to reference.

I think for one of FytaKyte's tracks that he submitted, he gave a selection of a few reference tracks. I found that really helpful to get a real sense of what he was aiming for, and hence how to approach the mix.

My intent is never to emulate the preview, but instead to completely blow it out the water, i.e. 'beat the rough'. I think of the library mix as the 'approved' mix and therefore gives a good indication of direction. It helps to have some sort of an idea of where you want to end up before you start. I I also think that you'll always somehow impart your own taste on a mix.

My skills usually aren't good enough to match the library mix, let alone beat it. I find having that aim in mind helps tremendously with the learning aspect though, and pushes you to try harder with each mix. I'm also frequently amazed by the ideas that the mixers of the previews have come up with, as I hear lots of things I don't think I would have thought of.

Things I think are tough with this mix:

Vocals. Getting the vocal to sit right tonally and volume wise. Both the volume and tonality of the vocal varies a lot throughout the track makes it a real challenge. I tried so many different tricks and approaches until I found something that kind of works, but I'm not totally satisfied with the results. It really made me think. I do feel that I can process the vocal much better than I have here, but I'm going to have to really work at it to figure it out. I find I learn more from a challenging mix, even if the results I get are not quite where I wanted them to be.

Listening to the preview mix I am sure I hear distortion and a couple of other tricks being employed at different points in the vocal track.

Synth and guitar parts. Not only getting the tones right, but also figuring out what each part is doing within the track. I figure a lot of the parts are for layering/doubling, etc.

Transitions. To me, the transitions between sections are really smooth and well executed in the library mix. It really does flow really well.

Breakdown effects. Always fun trying to figure out how certain effects are achieved and to try and recreate them.

Overall processing. I found with this track I had to totally change my approach and thinking regarding reverb, eq and frequency balance to get everything working well together. As an example my usual reverb choices were really not working well at all and made things sound quite bad.

There's probably more stuff that I am missing, but I hope that gives an idea of what I mean?

Cheers.
Just uploaded a mix/master?  Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Reply
#6
(01-08-2022, 08:51 AM)mikej Wrote: Hi!

Not sure if I've fixed the reverb issue in mix 3.0?  Sidechain effect is ok for what I was going for I feel. The bass is sidechained by the kick throughout.

Regarding the preview.  This comment might be a little unfair, as I really don't know how people approach things. I am not always too sure that everyone listens properly to the preview mixes, or checks out reference tracks in a similar genre.  Although on the second point, personally I do sometimes find it difficult to find the right sort of tracks to reference. 

I think for one of FytaKyte's tracks that he submitted, he gave a selection of a few reference tracks.  I found that really helpful to get a real sense of what he was aiming for, and hence how to approach the mix.

My intent is never to emulate the preview, but instead to completely blow it out the water, i.e. 'beat the rough'.  I think of the library mix as the 'approved' mix and therefore gives a good indication of direction.  It helps to have some sort of an idea of where you want to end up before you start.  I I also think that you'll always somehow impart your own taste on a mix.

My skills usually aren't good enough to match the library mix, let alone beat it.  I find having that aim in mind helps tremendously with the learning aspect though, and pushes you to try harder with each mix.  I'm also frequently amazed by the ideas that the mixers of the previews have come up with, as I hear lots of things I don't think I would have thought of.

Things I think are tough with this mix:

Vocals.  Getting the vocal to sit right tonally and volume wise.  Both the volume and tonality of the vocal varies a lot throughout the track makes it a real challenge.  I tried so many different tricks and approaches until I found something that kind of works, but I'm not totally satisfied with the results.  It really made me think.  I do feel that I can process the vocal much better than I have here, but I'm going to have to really work at it to figure it out.  I find I learn more from a challenging mix, even if the results I get are not quite where I wanted them to be.

Listening to the preview mix I am sure I hear distortion and a couple of other tricks being employed at different points in the vocal track.

Synth and guitar parts.  Not only getting the tones right, but also figuring out what each part is doing within the track.  I figure a lot of the parts are for layering/doubling, etc.

Transitions.  To me, the transitions between sections are really smooth and well executed in the library mix. It really does flow really well.

Breakdown effects.  Always fun trying to figure out how certain effects are achieved and to try and recreate them.

Overall processing.  I found with this track I had to totally change my approach and thinking regarding reverb, eq and frequency balance to get everything working well together.  As an example my usual reverb choices were really not working well at all and made things sound quite bad.

There's probably more stuff that I am missing, but I hope that gives an idea of what I mean?

Cheers.
really a great reply! thanks helps to know other peoples thought process. The reverb sits well now for me, the sidechain just feels a bit wavy on the plucky bass sometimes not a problem as such(the song is about waves). As a whole its sounds great now especially like where the chord stabby guitar is sitting and the kick/snare.
Personally i only listen to a chunk of the preview and dont reference till at least doing 1 pass, then go back and forth to find problems/differences i missed.
Reply
#7
Thanks. I'll be sure to check out that plucky bass bit again later and see how I feel about it.

Mix wise I guess I feel you've really got to be aiming for the standard of the Billboard Hot 100 and whoever your favorite tracks and mixers are, as that is the 'real world' competition, as such.

With this track I found refs a little difficult as the latest synth track arrangements I found I thought were little too modern, especially regarding the low end and also the latest vocal processing for this particular track. The 80's stuff felt maybe a little too outdated processing wise - ie not as strong loudness wise, so I tried to aim for something kind of in between.

Cheers!
Just uploaded a mix/master?  Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Reply
#8
Ey man think this is one of the best mixes so far, like the clean aproach , it matches the genre and song.
Reply
#9
(31-07-2022, 09:42 PM)roy Wrote: Sounds great. The "Catch the Wave"s feel fine but the rest of lines in the chorus get a little overwhelmed. Not by a much but they could stand out more.
Sorry. I didn't get any notifications that his had been updated until this morning. Yeah, Mix 3 feels better. 
Reply
#10
(01-08-2022, 11:55 AM)crownoise Wrote: Ey man think this is one of the best mixes so far, like the clean aproach , it matches the genre and song.

Thanks! Much appreciated.
Just uploaded a mix/master?  Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!
Reply