23-05-2014, 07:54 AM (This post was last modified: 28-05-2014, 01:41 PM by HbGuitar.)
I've listened to everyone mixes to date and i think i can honestly say that i have enjoyed all the different interpretations - clean, dirty, sparse and dense. I guess that what happens when you have 69 tracks to play with!
I've been going around in ever decreasing circles -1/2 db here, a 1/2 db there - and i think I've taken the choices that I've made as far as i can. Any feedback welcomed
Is the piano a little boxy? Are the bass guitar and sub kicks maybe cluttering the mix when in unison. Maybe a bit more top end on the bass slaps, too.
Backing vocals sound nice, and the lead vocal is sitting in the mix quite well , but I think a bit more dynamic contrast in the mix as a whole would improve things a bit. There's some low mid clutter on the snare drum for kit 1, but I'm not really going to fuss about that because I think some reduction in the bass guitar and sub kick would take care of that.
Summary of my observations: ease up on the compression as the mix feels a bit too dense and get those low mids cleared up a little.... otherwise, fantastic work. I agree with takka, you've obviously pored over this... much respect
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!
@takka360, bmullen, pauli - hey guys, thanks for your kind words and comments
(24-05-2014, 12:21 AM)pauli Wrote: Are the bass guitar and sub kicks maybe cluttering the mix when in unison.
Summary of my observations: ease up on the compression as the mix feels a bit too dense and get those low mids cleared up a little.... otherwise, fantastic work. I agree with takka, you've obviously pored over this... much respect
@pauli I think you're right about the kick/bass combo. I spent so long trying to sort the snare out, i sort of missed the detail on that part. I did a quick test with a more aggressive HP filter on the bass and it does clear the low mids a lot - i just can't face having to go back into the project at the moment and re-balance the whole thing again
with regards to compression----there isn't a whole lot really. I think that I've just chosen a more dense approach that by its very nature emphasizes guitars and synth...and these raw tracks appear to be pretty compressed when looking at the original wave forms compared to the bass and piano which probably have more inherent dynamic range.....If I ever dive back in to sort the low mids, I'll have a scout about to see if anything's working too hard....Thanks again for your comments
Sounds great, you have done a good job balancing all these tracks together, If you ever decide to have another play around later down the track playing around with the mid bass would give the bottom end a bit more space to breath
Did you use any compression on the master bass ?
the sibilance here is bad. i can understand if you knew this and didn't make it a priority though....i often find myself when confronted with ridiculous amounts in a track (bad mic choice, poor set up, over-compression etc etc)...that i'll leave it in order to pursue more focused goals and objectives - life can be too short to address tiresome issues like these, eh? but if you didn't, then something as basic as this kind of problem raises important issues at a more fundamental level. besides, a broad-brush de-esser approach to spank the worst would have been more acceptable than leaving it, perhaps? so, i can't say "it sounds great". and when the backing vocals kick in....nightmare sibilance because of the accumulative effects?
i'd like to know what your strategy was after you'd counted the tracks and considered how you were going to get 69 of them into a 20-20,000Hz spectrum (more realistically, 20-16,000Hz)?
was i hearing distortion at around 1:08? just curious.
what worries me here, is this low-mid issue. if you can't address it in this mix, the root cause of the problem will be carried into all other mixes you work? you need to be able to hear the issues for yourself, without other's flagging it up. if you don't, it will remain a weakness.
(26-05-2014, 09:17 AM)thedon Wrote: Sounds great, you have done a good job balancing all these tracks together, If you ever decide to have another play around later down the track playing around with the mid bass would give the bottom end a bit more space to breath
Thanks for your comments....a bit of a theme developing for this project re bottom end....pretty sure its a conflict between kick and bass sub 100Hz with a bass peak at 60hz and kick peak at 70hz....
have looked at more aggressive HP at 100hz with a narrow boost at 120Hz (2nd harmonic) for bass combined with a narrow boost at 70hz and broad cut centered at 400hz for the kick....they fit together better...just need to A/B in mix to make sure it actually sounds better.....i found the kick to be so variable in timbre...sometimes it was papery...other times boomy
27-05-2014, 01:47 PM (This post was last modified: 28-05-2014, 01:20 PM by HbGuitar.)
Hi ----Thanks for your detailed comments
(26-05-2014, 01:43 PM)The_Metallurgist Wrote: a broad-brush de-esser approach to spank the worst would have been more acceptable than leaving it, perhaps?
that was my approach....de-esser with frequency set at 9-11Khz pulling 6-8 db compression during worst moments...same set-up on LdVox, BGV and vox effect return...it sounded much worse before....maybe i can reduce threshold a bit more, maybe look at 9-12 db compression... was worried about turining " missss you sssso muchhhh" into "mith you tho mutcth"
(26-05-2014, 01:43 PM)The_Metallurgist Wrote: was i hearing distortion at around 1:08? just curious.
yes.....its part of the electro percussion package...like a radio interference type sample
(26-05-2014, 01:43 PM)The_Metallurgist Wrote: what worries me here, is this low-mid issue. if you can't address it in this mix, the root cause of the problem will be carried into all other mixes you work? you need to be able to hear the issues for yourself, without other's flagging it up. if you don't, it will remain a weakness.
New version, mix_02 - address problems with bottom end/low mids and sibilance
1. adjust EQ of Kick
2. adjust EQ of Bass
3. introduced side-chain compressor to duck bass 2-3db when kick is played
4. was using lots of sample snare in snare mix...which is a stereo file...reduced panning so now sits more centrally...cleaner stereo image...less clutter with mid range instruments that were panned wide.
5. more aggressive de-esser with automated threshold to catch sibilance in both quiet and loud sections
, but I think a bit more dynamic contrast in the mix as a whole would improve things a bit. There's some low mid clutter on the snare drum for kit 1, but I'm not really going to fuss about that because I think some reduction in the bass guitar and sub kick would take care of that. 
