Hi all… Haven’t done much mixing lately… In the process of getting my next album mastered, but when @miked posted the tracks for his band’s song “Listen to the Rain” on the Audio Mix Club this month, I thought I would have a go at mixing it…(it also features @StylesBitchley on lead guitars)
Now, I’ve gone on a BIG excursion for many months trying all sorts of monitoring adjustment software and headphone systems because everyone kept telling me that I needed “flat” monitoring to mix well… Well, after much experimentation, it turns out it just doesn’t work for me. I’ve been mixing on this same speakers since 2009, and I just KNOW how they sound so well, when I screw it all up and make it “flat”, I’m completely at sea!
So, this is one of the first mixes I’ve done where I’ve come full circle… I just mixed it on the system I know with no adjustment at all… and SURPRISE, SURPRISE!.. I take the mix to my car and it translates perfectly first time!.. although you may beg to differ… in any case, here it is… thanks Mike & Bob!
Great dynamics. All the parts pop really well. I’ve heard 3 mixes of this, and yours stands out. Keeping the guitar from obscuring the voice is a challenge; you did a great job with that without losing either part, and also found a few elements that were lost in the other mixes.
Great job to @ColdRoomStudio, @miked, and @StylesBitchley!!! This translates great and the song is great guys. Killer work! If you guys are up for it, feel free to post those tracks in here too! I love seeing these collaborations
Thanks guys! This is a really top notch job on this Andrew! I love how you brought out Bob’s excellent guitar parts and especially what you did with the drums. Wow!
Thanks for mixing this! And thanks again Bob for playing on it.
@holster I’m happy to post the tracks if anyone wants to mix this tune.
A well balanced full mix from where I’m sitting. Haven’t really got any holes to pick, it sounds great.
Personally, I get a real 80’s vibe from those chorusy, washed-out arp guitars and it would have been nice to see something a little more interesting going on with the snare. A bit more of an exaggerated reverb tail or some white noise sampled in. Just something to add to the 80’s vibe.
Great job though as always, cool tune too.
monitoring or not, people do get used to their sounds and preferences and there is no real need to break that pattern unless of course the ears have trained to like what most don’t like.
Some pros mix using formulas they know are popular listening patterns. I have not had many issues I could point in most of your mixes. They have a classic soundstage kind of sound that works. Though that sound is slowly and painfully disappearing in the modern listening because of the return of earpods and terrible speakers! It is hard to appreciate the soundstage depths on such speakers and only heavy compression and saturation comes through.
The only nitpicky/preference thing I have found in your mixes (that maybe your trademark strength or weakness) is your choice of reverb. It is possible it is the order of where and how the verbs are placed in your chain. I often hear delays layered with flanger type reverbs before the delay cuts through. It gives a ‘classic dampness’ to your reverb that maybe hard to hear on your end in your current monitoring setup, or it just maybe your preference. The reverb quality comes across as ‘lofi style’ that many listeners in the classic era are simply accustomed to, but the modern era listeners are not. If you want to rectify this (or dont), you could try a different verb setup where the delays are not as wet. Maybe try a whole different verb plugin.
Other than that, I dont see a big need for change in your mixing setup.
Sure thing! I’m happy to help get those on here for you if you need a hand. Basically you can just create a zip file of all the tracks and share it on google drive, dropbox, etc. Just need a link
