Another mix just to try to keep my hand in. Punk-ish pop this time… Tried to keep the raw energy of the song intact while still providing a bit of polish Please have a listen and let me know how it comes across. Thanks!
,& revised mix with tweaks:
Man when this song started i thought Andrew is loosing his ears because this is super thin. Then the song really kicks in and it makes sense. This mix is translating well and i love the ambience you create with the vocals at 1:30 really good movement.
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Haha, yeah I lo-fi-ed the intro. Apparently this was a multitrack used for some kind of mix competition, so when I went to download the files there were a million examples of various competition mixes. The intros all sounded exactly the same and it was super boring to listen to them all, so I decided to change it up a bit.
The breakdown is gratuitous use of a new plugin - Soundtoys Crystallizer.
Thanks for listening and commenting Eric - good to know it translates ok.
oh yeah that Crystallizer rocks when used right and that was right.
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Man, that is a killer mix! Intro was great. Love LOVE the guitars. The vocal is absolutely perfect. The phasing at 1:28 is a great choice and keeps things interesting. Everything is nicely controlled but has tons of energy.
The only nit pick for me in the bass fill at 1:22 pokes out a bit too much…
Well done!
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Thanks Mike. Good to hear that it sounds good on your end…
I actually automated the eq to really make that riff pop out because nothing else was happening there… I possibly went a little OTT!
Great mix. Background vocals are great in the end and love the phasey vocals in the middle. I was tempted to by the Crystallizer the other day but figured I’d over use it for a bit and then never again. Your use was perfect.
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Thanks Murf! Gonna try a few tweaks to push it a little further - been getting some good confirmation of little niggles I had about the mix.
Hi all, here’s a tweaked version, based on the feedback I’ve received… Thanks!
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The mix instrumentally is exciting, @ColdRoomStudio! Drums, guitar, bass, all coming across with stellar marks. I really like how the bass leapt out at that one point. The vocals also at first seemed spot on in their Buzz Radio style, but even after two listens I and different volumes I am not understanding many lines. It could be the singer’s enunciation, but most likely it is the wall of sound squashing his words.
This probably is the case with a lot of music in this genre; nevertheless, I think the bigger hits manage to avoid this criticism and find some way to compensate without detracting from the rest of the energetic mix.
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Thanks Steve. TBH the singer’s ennunciation is the problem with the lyrics being understood. Hell, I’ve heard them solo’d many, many times and I still have no idea what he is saying in some parts of the song! Check out Fab Dupont’s version of the mix (which has very loud vocals):
Although he was the one who recorded & mixed it originally, I’d venture to say his mix is no more enlightening as to the exact lyrics.
In any case, thanks for listening & commenting - much appreciated.
Very interesting to compare both mixes, Andrew. You’re right that I still can’t follow the words entirely. It might have been slightly better louder in a few spots, but not that much. Now I seem to have followed all the words, so I’m thinking I’m getting it with more listens. It is most possible that on a radio vs headphones it might be different, too. It is a challenge, isn’t it?
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I like it. Overall I prefer your mix to the original. I really dislike the guitars in the original. They’re louder but almost sound like they’re mono to my ears. I know they’re not but there’s something odd about them. Yours sit just right in the mix. The original’s vocals are a little more in front but they’re also brighter. I’m not a fan of the modern bright as hell vocals. I think yours are better but could maybe come up a a hair. I prefer your intro too. Great job. I just started messing with the tracks. I hope I can come close to yours.
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Now that messing with it I appreciate your mix even more. What you did with the drums are spot on. The snare rings like mad. The drummer is killing the cymbals so they’re washing over everything. You controlled them well. Again, great job
Wow this sounds perfect as always. Clean and most importantly energetic. I do have some input on the chorus parts if it would help. Maybe adding 2 more guitar tracks (quad tracking) in the chorus parts would make itpop out a bit more. I’ve seen a lot of pop punk engineers do this trick. And then they parallel compress bass guitars and vocals on chorus parts ONLY to bump it up a bit more.
I like it.