Too Bright

[pauli]

Feel free to give me a 1 star rating if you don't like it... no ego to bruise, here.

This is a very good song but also very challenging to mix... sensitive ears might note that I've not attempted to master it, so it peaks a little lower than most other mixes. You'll also probably note that the vocal sound is a bit unappealing during the choruses... had to sacrifice many of the things I like about a good vocal to keep it from being so scratchy that it hurts to listen to it. There's a good deal of channel to channel compression going on to boost the sonic appeal of other instruments to make up for the compromises on the lead, which I wouldn't ordinarily do...

Whatever the case may be, I worked on this on and off for days and the challenges proved too much for me, so I'll upload what I've got. It's very controlled and certainly not an audiophile mix, but it's the best I can do.

[bmullen]

I haven't attempted this one yet, but from what you have said it does sound challenging. I enjoyed your mix.

[juanjose1967]

Hi, Pauli!

I think that it's not that bad after all. There are times when the lead vocal is kind of lost with the instruments. Especially at 3.23 is when it's more noticeable.

Right now I'm working on this one but so far I've only done the drums and bass. I like this kind of music because I think it's more open in terms of movement for the mixing engineer. Why don't you try to move some instruments back in the busiest parts? Maybe then you will be able to keep the vocals clearer keeping them at the same level.

I also found the mix a little bit dull. Try to add some brittle to make it shine better

[pauli]

Right now I'm working on this one but so far I've only done the drums and bass. I like this kind of music because I think it's more open in terms of movement for the mixing engineer. Why don't you try to move some instruments back in the busiest parts? Maybe then you will be able to keep the vocals clearer keeping them at the same level.

The vocals have a lot of harsh frequencies and resonances and it seems like you can't get them all without turning the track into swiss cheese. That's probably not helping clarity, either. The low end in the choruses is also really stupidly unbalanced.. I sorta threw my hands up on this one LOL.

I also found the mix a little bit dull. Try to add some brittle to make it shine better

Really?? I feel like my earwax is going to melt when I listen to it.

[pauli]

I haven't attempted this one yet, but from what you have said it does sound challenging. I enjoyed your mix.

Thanks Bob. It's just really hard to get a good sound out of the lead vocal. The rest of it's pretty straightforward once you figure out how you want to thicken up the choruses. The instrumental element of the tune's actually as good as anything else I've ever encountered.

When I listen to it right now with fresh ears, the vocal sounds like every comb filtered vocal I've ever tried to mix, but this one is odd, because it's also very distorted. I like the performance and his voice, but I think some duvets (or foam, or OC 703, or whatever) and a microphone more suited to his voice would've made this a little easier to mix.

[Spede]

I'm liking the rhodes sound in the beginning. That's because I love pretty much anything that's snappy.

We already talked about how hard this song is to pull off. But the tonal change in the vocals from verse to chorus is quite jumping. I also personally felt the bright vocals in the verses slightly contribute to a feeling the verses sound a bit disparate EQ-wise; like you unnecessarily carved a lot of space for all of the instruments. I think featuring a darker vocal on the verses would glue verses better into the chorus. And maybe darker verses altogether might make the chorus jump out even more (which IMO is never a bad thing).

I'm really liking how the chorus hits hard here! People shouldn't be afraid to push those faders.

Since this is one of the few mixes where you can hear how the chorus vocals blend together, it becomes evident how badly they're out of tune! I know it's not really the mixing engineer's job, but the way to improve these vocals would probably be to start by throwing some auto-tune on them.

The very last word on the choruses "...iiit's true" gets totally lost in the mix. Ride it up! These are those small things that separate the great mix from an OK one. (<-merely for future reference).

I'm gonna throw couple of suggestions regarding mixing hip-hop/electronic music in general. You know, some things that I personally would've added to the chorus:

Since reverb on the hihats sound stupid, I've noticed a bit of stereo flanger is a good way to add some width to 808ish hihats. Set the flanger as a stereo return and turn mix all the way to wet (which means you won't hear the flanging effect if you'd listen to the aux solo'ed). This way you can also pan the dry hat off center if the need arises, works especially well if you have multiple hihat tracks (which are all fed to the aux flanger).

While rock music benefits from that short dense non-linear reverb, electronic snares are OK with long plate which doesn't have that thick onset. If you have any impulse responses from Lexicon 480 reverbs (at least impulses from the factory presets are in wide circulation) try the "snare plate" factory preset and use that as an inspiration for further el snare reverb designing. As with most reverbs, you're not really suppose to hear it amidst the kitchen sink.

[HbGuitar]

Hey Pauli......long time...

I think that this is pretty good for an abandoned mix...i know how you feel as I too abandoned this mix......and i every time i think I've knocked it into shape.....i sleep on it.....listen the next day...and all i can hear are obvious problems...fingers crossed I'm getting close.

The obvious challenge with this song are the choruses.....as the source material for the verses is really nice - drums, rhodes, bass and vox.....what's not to like?....and i think that you've done a good job there.

getting back to the choruses......the first thing that i would do is EQ the honk out of the lead vox...there is certainly a fair bit of resonance in that 150-250 band.

Another potential solution to use is some dynamic EQ on that metallic, distorted region circa 3-5Khz - just to knock off a couple of dB as he pushes upward through those scales.

Once you get the Vox sitting better in the choruses you'll probably get inspired to finish off the project to your own satisfaction

[pauli]

I'm liking the rhodes sound in the beginning. That's because I love pretty much anything that's snappy.

We already talked about how hard this song is to pull off. But the tonal change in the vocals from verse to chorus is quite jumping. I also personally felt the bright vocals in the verses slightly contribute to a feeling the verses sound a bit disparate EQ-wise; like you unnecessarily carved a lot of space for all of the instruments. I think featuring a darker vocal on the verses would glue verses better into the chorus. And maybe darker verses altogether might make the chorus jump out even more (which IMO is never a bad thing).

I'm really liking how the chorus hits hard here! People shouldn't be afraid to push those faders.

Since this is one of the few mixes where you can hear how the chorus vocals blend together, it becomes evident how badly they're out of tune! I know it's not really the mixing engineer's job, but the way to improve these vocals would probably be to start by throwing some auto-tune on them.

The very last word on the choruses "...iiit's true" gets totally lost in the mix. Ride it up! These are those small things that separate the great mix from an OK one. (<-merely for future reference).

I'm gonna throw couple of suggestions regarding mixing hip-hop/electronic music in general. You know, some things that I personally would've added to the chorus:

Since reverb on the hihats sound stupid, I've noticed a bit of stereo flanger is a good way to add some width to 808ish hihats. Set the flanger as a stereo return and turn mix all the way to wet (which means you won't hear the flanging effect if you'd listen to the aux solo'ed). This way you can also pan the dry hat off center if the need arises, works especially well if you have multiple hihat tracks (which are all fed to the aux flanger).

While rock music benefits from that short dense non-linear reverb, electronic snares are OK with long plate which doesn't have that thick onset. If you have any impulse responses from Lexicon 480 reverbs (at least impulses from the factory presets are in wide circulation) try the "snare plate" factory preset and use that as an inspiration for further el snare reverb designing. As with most reverbs, you're not really suppose to hear it amidst the kitchen sink.

Thanks for your observations, Spede. This is one of those mixes where you (or maybe just I) really need an objective ear to get your head straight. I'd spent a good hour several times notching out all the ugly stuff in the chorus vocals to make them less fatiguing only to find they went from sounding harsh to sounding like the guy got locked in a closet... one that had some stinky, slick stuff on the floor (and he doesn't want to find out what it is).

I don't think I've ever tried a flanger in parallel... definitely going to try that.

[pauli]

Hey Pauli......long time...

I think that this is pretty good for an abandoned mix...i know how you feel as I too abandoned this mix......and i every time i think I've knocked it into shape.....i sleep on it.....listen the next day...and all i can hear are obvious problems...fingers crossed I'm getting close.

The obvious challenge with this song are the choruses.....as the source material for the verses is really nice - drums, rhodes, bass and vox.....what's not to like?....and i think that you've done a good job there.

getting back to the choruses......the first thing that i would do is EQ the honk out of the lead vox...there is certainly a fair bit of resonance in that 150-250 band.

Another potential solution to use is some dynamic EQ on that metallic, distorted region circa 3-5Khz - just to knock off a couple of dB as he pushes upward through those scales.

Once you get the Vox sitting better in the choruses you'll probably get inspired to finish off the project to your own satisfaction

It's too easy to wear your ears out when you're trying to notch out harsh resonances. Moment you think you're done, you rest your ears and find all your narrow notches are creating new resonances!

Thanks for your comments, man.. I'm looking forward to hearing your mix.

[APZX]

Okay, for the most part my biggest issue is with the vox. In the verse you've got an almost intimate/telephone vocal and then in the chorus you've got this really dark and almost foreboding thing going on with it. Why not try switching that dynamic around? It might work better for ya.

I really liked the drums in the verse. The snare is perhaps a bit "bodyless" but it has a nice snap. Kick has some nice weight and the hats sound nice and crisp.

Other than the vox I really don't feel there is much to comment on that is a major issue honestly. You pretty much got the big stuff good to go.

There is one thing I would like to comment on in particular.

Space. You don't hear a sound without a room sound to it to some degree. Now, this can be used for effect on certain instruments in certain situations. However, those are not all that common so it makes sense to give things ample space. You don't necessarily have to out right hear it, but feeling it is plenty good. In the context of a mix it can be very handy to manipulate this space as well to create a more engaging sound.

A decent take on this track. The hardest part with this is by far the vox. Honestly switch the tone between the chorus and verse and I think you'd have an interesting little dynamic at play.