yeah, my first month over at “nail the Mix”. I entered my mix and it didnt even make the top 50. TBH im not used to bringing up the rear in anything ive ever done so its not sitting too well with me.
There must be some things GRIEVOUSLY wrong here
So what stands out as that bad that this mix doesnt even make a top 50?
There is nothing grievously wrong. The only thing I can tell you is the song meanders about in various stages of repetition for so long that I can’t get through it. It’s a well performed song, but even though they change things up here and there, to me it sounds like a very long drone.
I don’t know if they placed any restrictions on you as to what you could or could not add, but with the above being said I would tell you to really work on automation throughout the parts of the song to differentiate them from each other and add movement. You could also work on delay throws and eq changes as added colors. If you’ve listened to other mixes of this I would be interested in what they did to add life to it. I know this is all a bit off the cuff, but to me other than the drums sounding a touch overcompressed, there’s nothing wrong with what you have done, the tune just needs some help keeping up the interest.
The kick is completely buried, your toms are louder than the vocal, the snare sounds like a potato chip, sibilance form the hi-hat is blaring out of control and there’s way too much chorus on the guitar. The overall mix has a ton of overpowering mud in the 250-600 range and there’s nothing is biting filling up the crunch in the 1-2 range. This space is often where heavy guitars can shine. It sounds like you forgot to apply your hi pass filters, but the sub bass below 90 hz is not managed very well.
I wouldn’t take mixing competitions too much to heart
I didn’t read any of the other comments on here, but first impressions are that the drums feel really distant in relation to the other elements. That tom rhythm feels like an integral part of the intro but overall seems to lack punch, and once the vocals come in they really take a back seat.
That’s only only thing that stood out to me. Mixing’s such a subjective art, I wouldn’t read too much into it.
I was listening to Stone Temple Pilots ‘Core’ for the first time in probably 2 decades the other day, and the kick drum throughout that record…Jesus.
wish i was more like you then I guess. To me its ultra soul crushing and the worst part is that there is no way to logically improve. No clear path because 50 different people give u 50 different feedbacks. if you cant HEAR what they are talking about then it seems impossible to cross that bridge
Your first problem is taking too much meaning from a mixing competition. That said, there are issues that need to be fixed in order for this to really be a great mix.
The first thing I noticed is that the toms are super boomy. The kick is hard to hear. There’s an over lack of cohesive space. Toms sound like they’re in a different space from the rest of the kit. Voice is in yet another space.
Some of the effects seem overdone just a little. I think all the reverse reverbs and stuff would get less tiring if they were more subtle.
You are not the only one with this issue. You can only hear a mix so many times before it starts to sound right. People who are really good at mixing get to the 90% point as fast as possible. Otherwise your ears just get used to it and anything different just starts to sound wrong. Mixing isn’t about being able to hear crazy details, it’s about creating a really fast workflow so that you can get done before your ears start screwing you up.
yeah its so effing frustrating. I mean, how can you do something fast that you cant even do slowly?
Song is over 10 minutes long. Literally took me hours just to set it up and take out silence. then I did one whole mix trying to mix without busses more or less. Posted it here I think, it sucked of course so i scrapped it and started fresh using busses. Spent a solid 2 weeks of my life on this mix alone (since I was laid up out of work for 2 weeks)
Spent x amount of $$$ buying waves platinum and then Eventide Equivocate. Of course both products are very solid
It gets hard to justify the time and effort spent if im not getting decent results. seems there is no “abc 123” path to get better. if hours spent mattered then id be there by now
how can one feel they are “getting better” yet the results still outright suck??
Often people want to run before they can walk.Getting good at mixing can take years even when you are putting very serious hours in weekly .Posh plugins will often hinder your progress also.You should be able to do a pretty good mix on stock before even thinking about buying plugins .
That is unfortunately the problem, but at the same time a necessary step. Mixing takes a long time when you are starting out. As you practice, you get faster, and getting faster makes you better, and getting better makes you faster, which makes you better.
I don’t think there’s any other way to learn. You practice and keep practicing. Just don’t fall into the trap of spending tons of time on a single song. If you can’t hear the issues any more, then put it away and never come back to it. Move on to a new song. You won’t get better by hammering the same song forever. You will learn a lot faster by moving on than you will by muscling through the same song over and over again.
Call this mix finished. The mix is not done, but you are done with it. There’s nothing more to gain by working at it more.
@takka360 has been posting new mixes every day. Do that. I think that’s a far better way to get good fast.
I’m 12 years in to being serious about mixing… All I can say is this: If patience and dogged determination aren’t your strong suits, then you’re in for rough ride… Actually, cancel that: Even if patience and determination are your strong suits, you’re still in for a very lumpy ride!
As for not placing in the top 50 - from what I understand, they regularly have upwards of 500 entries. Some of the competitors are years into mixing and already do it professionally. Expecting to be in the top 10 percent is akin to running an Olympic marathon for the first time and expecting to finish in the top 10.
pretty sure it was around 315ish entries this time. So top 50 is around the top 16%. i FULLY expected to be in the top 16%. Doesnt sit well at all
If you heard some of the mixes that made the secondary 30 poll u might feel some of my pain. Mine was worse than that??? I guess it was. yet I listen back to it today after not hearing it for a week and I dont hear it being THAT bad
then I keep hearing “its not rocket science” and “its not that complicated”
oh well, its a cruel world. In the end its my problem
Just imagine if there was a scientist that was right behind Einstein in declaring the Theory of Relativity … (though there were no contenders) they would have said “close, but no cigar” or “close enough is good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades”. The mix thing is a lot about feel, even more so than technical. Take that part into account too. Trying to define “feel” is the hardest of all.
it all just pisses me off to no end. I sort of knew and still know instinctively that I have no business trying to mix 10 minute songs or even full songs of any length
if I cant do a freaking intro right, then why spend 2 more weeks of lifeforce hacking away at rest of song
and not to belabor the point, but i also instinctively felt that for my own mixes, if I cant get a pro drum sound to START with…then why add more stuff?? Yet numerous people here have told me that im totally wrong (remember my posts on “poundcake” lol) and that trying to get a pro drum sound on its own is foolish yada yada
yet on this song thats pretty much EXACTLY how the song starts and everyone here totally trashed my handling of the drum intro lol. tom sucks, kick sucks, snare sucks AND hihats sucked. sad thing is, everyone is praising these recorded drums saying that they are the best recorded drums ever and they mix themselves. uh huh, they sure do
So im not sure of the way forward at this point. man its hard to quit something after putting a lot of my life into it. Then again its no fun headbutting a brick wall and getting my hopes up for nothing
good stuff
I could say “well gee, I could join a school to teach me” but then id have to say “wait, didnt I just DO that???”
If this is anything like Produce Like A Pro, they will go over the top mixes. Pay close attention the critiques and figure out how some people got from point A to point B. You all started with the same track.
Do this: start with the raw file. All plugins disabled, then play follow the leader one step at a time. Watch the instructors mix the song. Then follow them step by step and copy their moves. This is how a martial artist learns to a fight, how a chef learns to cook, and how guy like @bozmillar or @ramshackles learn how to write computer code. Observe. Listen. Mimic. Emulate. Then create.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ That too!!!
Getting good at mixing is very frustrating for us all .We all do shit mixes at times even after doing it for years.This never changes,sometimes it feels like your going backwards.
When i get like this i take a total rest from it for 2 weeks or so then when i start again i feel rusty at first but feel refreshed and inspired again
they do a “live mix” with the guy who mixed it, Forrester Savell. As a matter of fact it starting right now live from Australia but come on bro, theyll be into outboard gear and 14 million different plug ins in less than 5 minutes.
if only I could dl someone else’s ears.
I guess its like a white belt watching Bruce Lee
its totally soulcrushing and disheartening that I cant even effing get 10 seconds of the song right.
it seems farking hopelessly impossible at this point
At times its very soul destroying but you have to turn yourself off from that and keep moving forward .Felt like giving up myself many many times