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Skelpolu: Long Road
#1
Here's my mix of this track. I've placed the piano faraway so it's easier to imagine a Long Road ahead. Please, don't think that I wanted to get rid of it Big Grin


.mp3    Skelpolu - Long Road.mp3 --  (Download: 5.32 MB)


mixing since April 2013
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#2
Really nice mix juan, I do think you could of pushed the low end just a little more, but it does sound solid and tight.
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#3
Thank you, Sano!!
mixing since April 2013
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#4
Hey Juan, very interesting interpretation of this song.

Spectrum wise it feels pretty pretty balanced on the whole, though I think most instruments could use some aggressive smoothing out in the extreme high end, from around 8000 up. You mix on headphones if I remember correctly? Most headphones (especially close-backed) have a built in high frequency roll-off for more comfortable listening, so I'd suggest checking your high end on some cheap PC speakers, where the treble will be unfairly, brutally exposed, to make sure you're getting an accurate picture.

In terms of musical balance, the frequency management feels a little odd to me... it feels like some instruments have been given priority in frequency ranges where other instruments would sound more natural. The distant piano is a good idea, but the bass has some seriously dense harmonics and it's eating the piano up in a way that makes it feel so in my face that it's touching my nose. EQ cuts in the upper ranges where the piano attacks, and maybe a reduction in gain overall would be of benefit in my opinion. There are a few other similar (but less severe) instances where the percussion feels more forward than the lead, which is a little light on attack.

Part of why you're having a hard time keeping the lead forward is that the lead FX track, which is really just a reverb/delay type effect, is a little too loud and is occupying many of the same presence frequencies as the main track... bandpass that sucker and (maybe) bring it down a little bit and the lead will stay in charge a little better Smile

This might just be my taste, but the distorted arp seems a bit too quiet to me... that track in my view is important in adding tension and variety to the song as a whole, which is otherwise rather simple, so the quiet presentation feels to me like it's making the track's role in moving the song forward ineffective.

Still though, a nice mix, and the sonics in general are pretty good. For me, I feel like you didn't spend quite enough time on gain staging, which is a trap I fall into quite often when I really like the song I'm trying to mix. Spend a little more time making sure you've got the static levels right after cleaning up the low end, but before you try any sort of balancing with EQ and compression. And make sure you're using the make-up gain feature in your EQ and compression plug-ins so that your balancing moves aren't affecting the levels, and so you can occasionally switch off the plug-ins to check and make sure they're making things better with matched gains Big Grin

Good work, Juan!
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!
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#5
Hey Juanjose,

Great idea with pushing the Piano further back into the mix, very literal interpretation - Lovely! Smile
Now, I have noticed that the high-frequencies of the bass are getting a bit too overemphasized in the intro, making it kind of a Jumpscare when it comes in - Probably due to compression going on on the Bass. Try taming that and the Cymbal, as both of these things are very loud in the upper part of the spectrum, though the Cymbal might only need less Gain. I am digging your panning and overall balance though, always nice to see creative input in my Tracks!

Keep it up mate, I'm really liking this Mix! Smile
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