Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Get that song on tape! Errr... disk?
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rhythmjones
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Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by rhythmjones » Thu Jul 13, 2017 5:11 am

Hello,

For your ears only is a recording/mix I've done of our new song. It has a preliminary mastering job done on it too. I'd like to hear any of your thoughts. I'm mostly concerned with how the vocals blend with the instrumentals. But I'll take any feedback.

Thanks!

https://soundcloud.com/rhythmjones/the- ... -1/s-GA4Zn
- Mitch

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Ben17e
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Re: Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by Ben17e » Sun Jul 16, 2017 6:17 pm

Edit: Just saw the post above - lots of good stuff there too.

Hi Mitch,
Overall, I think this is a nice raw sounding track. Pretty neat tune too! Some general comments:
1. I think that everything is a little overly dry overall. A little delay on the vox for example. I think just about everything could use a little reverb or something.
2. The synth sound is maybe the biggest victim of point 1. The lower octave also sounds a little funky to me but thats a preference thing.
3. I think the lead vocal is also too far out front. It can be brought back without getting lost. If you feel like it is, try boosting between 1-2k maybe.
4. Some of the harmonies could be more "Gelled" together. Not sure how you are mixing them, but sending them all to a bus and compressing together a little.
5. Personal preference, but I like a little more punch in my drums. Sometimes parallel comp helps with this where you run a bus of the drums through comp and the individuals with less comp which retains punch but also gives you that squashed sound. I like a bit more brightness on individual drums as well.

What DAW are you using? If you're using Logic I would be interested in trying a mix of the tune just for fun if you wouldn't mind. Not saying mine would be better but I enjoy doing that kind of thing! If not and you'd like to share audio files, I could try it from them. Just looking for something fun to mix for my own practice more than anything. If you none of the above, thats cool too just throwing it out there!

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Re: Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by rhythmjones » Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:27 pm

Thank you both for such thoughtful advice. And thanks for taking the time to do that.

Brad, it's four mics on the drums. 2 overhead a snare/kit mic and a kick mic. I'll look into some of the bass guitar issues. Looking back, didn't spend very much time on the bass.

Ben, I am using Logic. If you wanna PM me your deets I'll send you the unmixed Logic file.

Thanks again!
- Mitch

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Re: Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by øøøøøøø » Mon Jul 17, 2017 2:40 am

rhythmjones wrote:Brad, it's four mics on the drums. 2 overhead a snare/kit mic and a kick mic.
Good! This gives us something to work with. There's quite a bit of room sound in the overheads, then-- they sound like they may have been positioned relatively high?

What is the kick mic like? Which microphone, positioned where (in, out, front no hole, batter side, etc?) Lots of spill from the rest of the kit, or relatively isolated? etc.

It sounds suspiciously like the drummer may have been playing the kick relatively soft, making it harder to get the the kit to 'dance' and sound exciting and strong. There are problem-solving strategies we can employ here-- the most important thing is "do not take no for an answer." The mixer's job is to find a way, no matter what we're presented with.

If the close mics are... "not so good," then there are options. One is to use dynamics processing to try and pull out some excitement... compressor with medium-slow attack and medium-fast release, adjusted critically by ear, to get a bit more transient on the front. The idea is to just let the front of the transient sneak by, but have the compressor clamp down on the rest of the hit, then turn the whole thing up with the compressor's output. It requires a bit of practice to hone your ear to be able to get this happening in the right way. I go over it in this article, with examples, under "transient modification part 1."

I also really love the SPL Transient Designer... they make a plugin which I assume does the same thing (probably just as well as the hardware). It kind of does all the hard work for you, giving you knobs to adjust "attack" and "sustain" of something like a kick drum.

Another possibility-- and some people (for whatever reason) have a quasi-religious moral objection to this-- is to sample-augment. If you're willing, you can get an appropriate-sounding kick sample (or even the best-sounding clean kick hit from the actual session) to blend in slightly under the original by using a plugin like Slate's "trigger," the old Drumagog, etc. This doesn't have to make the drums sound 'fake'-- it can be done in a way that's undetectable in the context of the mix, but just adds body, tone, attack, and (when desired) dynamic consistency (which can really come in handy in the case of a drummer whose dynamics aren't, shall we say, "intentional"). Again, it's about "not taking no for an answer." Whatever means necessary to make the music a success.

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Re: Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by Larry Mal » Mon Jul 17, 2017 3:43 am

øøøøøøø wrote:
Another possibility-- and some people (for whatever reason) have a quasi-religious moral objection to this-- is to sample-augment. If you're willing, you can get an appropriate-sounding kick sample (or even the best-sounding clean kick hit from the actual session) to blend in slightly under the original by using a plugin like Slate's "trigger," the old Drumagog, etc. This doesn't have to make the drums sound 'fake'-- it can be done in a way that's undetectable in the context of the mix, but just adds body, tone, attack, and (when desired) dynamic consistency (which can really come in handy in the case of a drummer whose dynamics aren't, shall we say, "intentional"). Again, it's about "not taking no for an answer." Whatever means necessary to make the music a success.
I haven't heard the mix, but I read Brad's post talking about the drummer being light on the kick, and I immediately thought about putting a sample under it to augment. You don't need Slate's Trigger or Drumagog, either, you can do it quickly and easily within Logic:

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH12927?locale=en_US" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Would You Guys Mind Critiquing This Mix

Post by rhythmjones » Mon Jul 17, 2017 5:01 am

Thanks! I didn't know Logic had this feature. It's very similar to how their "create sample track" feature works.
- Mitch

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