16-05-2014, 10:42 PM
Hey Andreas, thanks for your comment!
I like many of the sounds you got here, particularly the heaviness of the guitars. Most other mixes have rather underemphasized them because they were really hard to mix in, so I salute you for that. I like the distant drums, too... I'm a self confessed reverb enthusiast
but I'd perhaps automate the send return's volume to keep the verb contribution under control during the busier sections where everything's fighting for space. 69 tracks is a DOOZIE and it's so easy to lose sight of things like that... my mix needed a lot more automation, too, but after the 4 hours I put into getting the backing vocals sounding the way I wanted, it was time to move on.
I think there's a bit too much room and compression in some places. During the big parts, the combination of both makes the mix feel a bit congested and washed out, and I'm missing some of the transients in much of the mix, particularly the backing vocals, which sound like they might be compressed very, very heavily, because they peak early and hold at that level very unnaturally steadily... you can get away with that on synths, electric guitars, and even drums if it suits the mix balance, but on a vocal it's a dead giveaway... if the you feel the comp's ratio is fitting your balance needs on a vocal track, then I'd suggest decreasing both the attack and the release time, adjusting the threshold accordingly, until the sound isn't so obviously unnatural, and soft kneed compressors are more transparent on a vocal as well. I think I hear a rather short (30-40 ms?) delay on the vocal, but the feedback is way too high... either that or it's a strange reverb... might give that a look, too.
Honestly though, I like your vision for this song, and you were successful in some areas where I wasn't, particularly with the drum sound. Good work! Just a few considerations for your next dense mix: it's almost always a good idea to automate reverb returns to make space during the choruses, and take a look at those predelays. Higher predelays make the source sound feel closer, like the length of time it takes the sound to reflect of the wall is higher, and make sure the reverb tails are short enough that it's not cluttering things up, especially if you're compressing the master bus, since that technique exaggerates effects tails. And again, on instruments that an audience has a clear idea how they should sound, such as vocals, acoustic guitars, or pianos, it always pays dividends to work a little harder to make sure the compression sounds natural while still achieving the balance goals.
Great work, and I look forward to your opinions in the future!
I like many of the sounds you got here, particularly the heaviness of the guitars. Most other mixes have rather underemphasized them because they were really hard to mix in, so I salute you for that. I like the distant drums, too... I'm a self confessed reverb enthusiast
but I'd perhaps automate the send return's volume to keep the verb contribution under control during the busier sections where everything's fighting for space. 69 tracks is a DOOZIE and it's so easy to lose sight of things like that... my mix needed a lot more automation, too, but after the 4 hours I put into getting the backing vocals sounding the way I wanted, it was time to move on.I think there's a bit too much room and compression in some places. During the big parts, the combination of both makes the mix feel a bit congested and washed out, and I'm missing some of the transients in much of the mix, particularly the backing vocals, which sound like they might be compressed very, very heavily, because they peak early and hold at that level very unnaturally steadily... you can get away with that on synths, electric guitars, and even drums if it suits the mix balance, but on a vocal it's a dead giveaway... if the you feel the comp's ratio is fitting your balance needs on a vocal track, then I'd suggest decreasing both the attack and the release time, adjusting the threshold accordingly, until the sound isn't so obviously unnatural, and soft kneed compressors are more transparent on a vocal as well. I think I hear a rather short (30-40 ms?) delay on the vocal, but the feedback is way too high... either that or it's a strange reverb... might give that a look, too.
Honestly though, I like your vision for this song, and you were successful in some areas where I wasn't, particularly with the drum sound. Good work! Just a few considerations for your next dense mix: it's almost always a good idea to automate reverb returns to make space during the choruses, and take a look at those predelays. Higher predelays make the source sound feel closer, like the length of time it takes the sound to reflect of the wall is higher, and make sure the reverb tails are short enough that it's not cluttering things up, especially if you're compressing the master bus, since that technique exaggerates effects tails. And again, on instruments that an audience has a clear idea how they should sound, such as vocals, acoustic guitars, or pianos, it always pays dividends to work a little harder to make sure the compression sounds natural while still achieving the balance goals.
Great work, and I look forward to your opinions in the future!
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!