Hi guys! This is my first post here and im so glad that the spirit of recording review is still alive in all of us. Its good to know that a supportive community like ours is still active in helping each other. Attached is a mix ive been working on very early in the morning and I cant monitor very accurately because of volume constraints. I have a lot of tasks during regular hours so 2AM is the only optional time for me to mix. the song has been written by a current client. how is it sounding to on your end? i hope you could help me out. thanks and god bless to all. CHEERS!!!
EDIT: NEWER MIX ATTACHED. (I can’t attach 2 samples so i deleted the first one. so sorry )
Maybe you should monitor low all the time because you nailed this one…
Aside from just saying print it, I might add a few small nitpics that may or may not be relevant.
1- The mix “center” seems to be slightly skewed to the right ( bass and snare mainly). But it might be me as I have a sinus thing going on. But nothing I’ve listened to today has been “off”.
2- There are some slight resonances in the 400hz area and maybe 170 or so. It might be in that bass/bari/detuned axe that leads off building on the other axes and snare/toms. It is VERY slight. But it is showing up on MY speakers.
Killer mix!
Have fun
rich
EDIT: Just had another listen… both the “off-center” thing as well as the resonance that I’m hearing is the top end of the bass. The “piano-like clarity” thing going on with the bass and it’s attack is a little pokey/spikey and a little more prominent on the right. The resonance thing is a little too hard for me to explain even though it’s something I hear a lot. Maybe when I figure out a way to explain it, I’ll make a new post.
But your mix is awesome as-is… :beerbang:
First of all, welcome @brianinogang! Great to have you here. Super cool to have you just diving right in. Good stuff man! Is this all you?
I’m listening on a laptop at the moment, so I can’t necessarily give it a fair mix bash, but I’ll give my 2 cents about the song itself. I’m digging it so far! One thing (and it is just my opinion) is the guitar during the verses. It’s cool to have it following the melody of the vocal, but I’d suggest breaking it up a bit. Maybe follow every other phrase and switch to rhythm on the others. Otherwise it can make the verses seem a bit monotonous. Again, that’s just my opinion.
Loving the guitar tones and the song overall is super cool! Rock on! :beerbang:
Very nice mix mate Love the bass tone ! Nice and big ! Overal the mix sound prety big ! Love it!
And its a good song as well !
At 1:02 theres a weird thing going on Could be composition wise, but it seems like a glitch that you get from a scratched cd.
Or maybe just a mistake from the musicians?
Or maybe just the player idk.
Hi Brian Really liked this. Only thing that wasn’t my fav was the guitar playing the same sung note. Just didn’t help and it took away the clarity of the words. Nice work man
sounds great. The only thing I could possibly say is that maybe its a bit “warm” overall…in other words its like I dont hear anything stepping out as being “bright”. Usually it gets into a battle of “is this too bright so as to be fatiguing” but in this case id say its overall a bit on the warm side. Maybe a tiny bit of shimmer somewhere wouldnt hurt
Welcome to IRD Brian @brianinogang ! If it’s any consolation, mixing blind is definitely preferable to mixing deaf IMO
Sounds awesome as usual. Have to agree with @rjwillow about the top end of the bass - just pokes out a titch too much in some spots, but otherwise, the tone is killer! Multiband comp can single out and smooth over those little things.
Also have to agree with @holster and @feaker about the guitar line following the vocal melody. Maybe eq might help there, or even a lower octave line might work.
I’m only listening on cheap speakers atm, but it translates really nicely if that’s any help. Really digging the song too!
PS… Ex fH fH here btw! New forum, new screen name!
In the real world, you’re not going to get away with that much bass guitar. It needs to come down by at least 3db, if not more - up to 6db even. In its current form some listeners won’t be able to turn the track up to their preferred level without wrecking their speakers.
Also your guitars and bass have a bit of nasty 2Khz going on. In fact it’s probably a 2kHz build up across the whole track.
When you’ve taken that lot out the track may seem a bit anaemic at first, but stick with it - it’ll grow on you - and the snare and toms will be much clearer.
Finally, the track is too loud. You could increase the dynamic range by 4db and it would still be pretty loud, with all the added benefits of that extra 4db of dynamics.
FWIW I quite like the vocals following the guitar line - gives it that Eastern feel.
hi rj. thanks for the input. yes i think i overdid that. i actually put a stereo imager on the high frequencies of the bass. been experimenting a lot. youre also spot on with the 400 hz build up. I finally had the time to mix loud and it really hit me the first time i played it loud on my monitor. working on it as we speak. super thanks for the detailed input and cheers!
HI holster! thanks for sharing your thoughts, unfortunately, this is not my song. Its from one of my clients so I guess rearranging the song isnt much of an option for them ATM. but i will try to let them know of the feedback. maybe they’ll change their minds thanks for putting in the time to comment and cheers!
Hi DeRebel thanks for your thoughts. I am checking it current and Im not hearing any scratchy glitches on my end. Though im checking on the mixdown file. I’ll try checking on the multitracks. maybe there was a chop there that i wasnt able to crossfade. thanks again and cheers!
yes you’re spot on! I was mixing this track early mornings and was constrained with low volumes. when i finally had the chance to mix on a regular setup, thats when it (warmth) finally hit me. thanks for the input. I’ll remix this one for sure. thanks again and cheers!
hey ff! ha! got you! I’ve always visited coldroom on soundcloud because of young griffo thats how i knew thanks very much for the input bro. I completely agree with your thoughts. Im now hearing those pokes now that im not mixing “deaf” anymore haha. about the melody, i think i have no grounds on that since this is a clients song but I will definitely bring it up to them. I hope they would reconsider about the current riff that they made. I’ll slap in that multicomp and see what happens. BTW i’ve purchased slate VMR and i’ve been using it for drums like you. it really is a good plugin IMO. thanks so much bro. Im working on the new mix and I’ll let you know. thanks again and cheers!
Hi AJ, thank you very much. I’ll look onto those frequencies. I think the guitar tone is the culprit for the buildup. will check my meters. thanks so much bro and nice talking to you again in the forums!
Hi mate, no problem. Well maybe its a musicians thing, and not a file or mix thing. Its not as hard, but there was another part where I had that feeling jsut a little bit.
Hi guys I finally got the chance to mix on regular hours and I attached a newer mix on the first post. I followed all your suggestions. the buildup of the lower frequencies seems to be lying on the 100-150hz caused by the guitar tone fighting with the bass. I used a multiband comp on both. I also brought down the bass level to be on par with all the instruments. how is it sounding now?
Hey Brian and welcome!
As usual, I really appreciate all your work and this song is as interesting as everything else you did :beerbang:
By the way, I agree with previous replies here except some mixing details since you edited it.
What I could add is I think you could find interesting things to do with the guitar following the singer during verses.
Plus the guitar weird effect during the intro could be more in control since I found it a bit crazy stereo-wise.
)
I’ve always visited coldroom on soundcloud because of young griffo thats how i knew