sEa oF lEaves - fHumblemIx

[FytaKyte]

Great mix.. Very clean and nasty at the same time..

Thanks meetsai!... i like that description.

[Carlos Gustavo Rodriguez]

It sounds great, I like the bass and the guitars, the drums have a strong compression, it makes the sounds sound weird when it hits the snare.

but that's good Mix. Congratulations

[FytaKyte]

It sounds great, I like the bass and the guitars, the drums have a strong compression, it makes the sounds sound weird when it hits the snare.

but that's good Mix. Congratulations

Thanks for listening and commenting, Carlos.

[OctopusOnFire]

I like the movement of the drums, although it's a bit obvious, but it's something I keep finding in pro mixes, so definitely another technique to master and take the most out of it.

[FytaKyte]

I like the movement of the drums, although it's a bit obvious, but it's something I keep finding in pro mixes, so definitely another technique to master and take the most out of it.

Thanks Octo - By "movement", do you mean the automation between the different sections?

[OctopusOnFire]

I like the movement of the drums, although it's a bit obvious, but it's something I keep finding in pro mixes, so definitely another technique to master and take the most out of it.

Thanks Octo - By "movement", do you mean the automation between the different sections?

No, I mean the movement that the compression brings, the microdynamics.

[FytaKyte]

No, I mean the movement that the compression brings, the microdynamics.

Oh right, I see... That's actually kind of a key discovery I made that informed my taste when I started mixing seriously early on.

I remember using a track from an Australian band from the early '90s called "The Baby Animals" as a reference for a mix of one of my own songs. This one: https://youtu.be/Yor4RVaC2ps

(Engineered by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley & produced by Mike Chapman, BTW)

The more I listened to it, the more I noticed the kind of movement you describe in the drum sound of that song - the way the transients jump forward, and yet the sustain portion of the drums seems to "flex" in time with the rhythms... There's a punch that is simultaneously hard yet "pillowy". The magic of musical compression for effect and excitement, rather than just dynamic control...

I spent a long time trying to achieve something resembling what I heard there - I'm don't think I even got close once, but that general aesthetic is what I'm aiming at mostly when I'm mixing rock-style stuff.

[OctopusOnFire]

Thanks for linking that band, I didn't know about them!! I'm definitely getting some stuff.

Yeah, that's the kind of push and pull! It's so aggressive, and the crashes seem to be in your face, then fading away so nice. Right at the start of the chorus they automate the crash so crazy loud, and it's cool! It totally works.
I'm just starting to get confident enough to go for this kind of stuff with compressors. It's the "no rules/thread at your own peril" area. So exciting

[electrik_red_music]

I really enjoyed mixing this track - It was well performed and had a great energy. I originally downloaded it to do a quick mix to test some new stuff, but it came together really nicely, so I just revisited it to put some finishing touches on it... how's it sounding?

Superb mix, best i heard so far. Now the question, how did you got that piercing kick sound? I cant seem to get it to pierce the mix no matter what, its too boomy or low, no matter how mucho eq, compression i add.

[FytaKyte]

Superb mix, best i heard so far. Now the question, how did you got that piercing kick sound? I cant seem to get it to pierce the mix no matter what, its too boomy or low, no matter how mucho eq, compression i add.

Hi - thanks! Glad you liked the mix...

It has been quite a few years since I mixed this, so I can't even jog my memory by referring to the project, as it has long since been deleted from my hard drive.

I seem to remember Boz Digital's 10dB eq and compression plugin (based on Compex hardware) figuring prominently in the drum sound, as I had just gotten those. I remember being really impressed by how punchy and "attacky" the 10dB compressor was on the 30ms attack setting in achieving that really present sound on both the kick and snare.

The 10dB eq is also really flattering to the high end of drums. You can push 5-10k quite hard without getting any unpleasantness.

I'm guessing that I might have used more than one stage of compression on the individual tracks, besides using additional buss compression and tape emulation.

Sorry for being so vague, but it was quite a long time ago. I hope that helps somewhat!