I used the anti-bacterial soap and moisturizing hand lotion and now hopefully these Hands are in good shape! Please let me know your thoughts on this BTR pre-contest version. Thanks!
EDIT 1: I uploaded a 2nd mix which is actually my mix before putting Master Match on. Please A/B the 1st mix posted (with Master Match - light low end, strong high end) with the 2nd one posted (without MM) and let me know if you think the 2nd one sounds much better, and if so what still needs work. Thanks again!
EDIT 2: 3rd mix is uploaded, hopefully the kick and low end issue is okay now. Please let me know what you think.
EDIT 3: Version 4 is here. Dialed back the heavy kick click and did some more automation.
EDIT 4 - Version 5 now, got some low mids out of the way. I think it sounds better. Please let me know what you think.
EDIT 5 - Added some high shelf on the mix to restore some lost sparkle. So this is Version 6.
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Thanks! I tried using IKās Master Match for the first time, after mixing, and it took out some of my 60Hz and put a boost at 9-10k IIRC. That may be the culprit. It made my mix brighter, and may have diminished some thump. I didnāt have any significant sibilance before I instantiated MM. I have some widening on some things, but Iāll look at the stereo field some more.
The midrange sounds good, but the low end is definitely lacking - The bottom octave is kind of MIA. When I turn up my monitors, the midrange and vocals get a little overbearing, and I still canāt get and low end punch coming through to speak of.
I can confirm the vocal needs some more de-essing, particularly at the beginning of the song when it is more exposed.
Which material are you matching it to? Older tracks tend to be really light on low end (particularly sub lows), especially if they were originally mastered for vinyl.
I think both the lacking low end and the sibilance may have been caused by the Master Match adjustment. I think Iāll post a version without Master Match and ask you guys what the A/B looks like. I think my mixing style tends toward the darkish side, so I was thinking the MM adjustment might bring me toward a more balanced place. I think it whacked things out though. The reference for Master Match I used was the mix for this Two Bare Hands song posted on the Cambridge site where the download files were. Master Match just offers an EQ and level adjustment based on the comparison (though you can use all or part of 3 songs for reference if you want). I took the mix in some different directions though, so the reference may not have helped at all.
Please see the 2nd mix added in the OP. This is without using Master Match at all. The 2nd mix is what this should have sounded like if I never used Master Match. There is a loudness difference though (still trying to figure that out). I was able to A/B them by bringing down the volume of the 1st one on the IRD player and then switch back and forth.
The second one sounds better as far as sibilance, that master match seemed to bringing that out too much. That kick still isnāt doing much for me though, itās just kind of there without much low end. That could just be a taste thing though.
Yes, itās not translating to small speakers very well. I thought it sounded okay on the studio monitors and headphones, but playing it back on computer speakers it does seem anemic. What are you guys listening on?
Iām listening on my ath-m50 headphones, which is what I use for mixing anyways. (Yeah I know mixing on headphones is āwrongā ) I can hear the kick, it just doesnāt have any low end impact that I can feel on my eardrums. All the lows are coming from the bass in your mix. Iām not saying itās right or wrong, but I like to feel the lows from the kick a little bit.
Yeah , both are bass light IMO. I like the second one better but it still needs a touch of FAT to bass and kick, if you likeā¦ add it with headphones if you arenāt sure how much to give it. And post it again.
There is definitely nothing wrong with mixing on headphones,you carry on.Do yourself a favor tho and use something like this first on your master bus or after Sonarworks if you use it for your cans https://goodhertz.co/canopener-studio
Thanks, Iām trying to find time to work with it some more, hopefully later today.
That CanOpener plugin looks interesting. Do you know how long the demo works for and how functional it is? Iād like to try it before considering buying it.
Cool Iāll give that a try. I donāt use Sonarworks, although I did demo it once but I decided against it because I didnāt want to relearn my headphones.
Part of my challenge has been working with IKās ARC room correction software for my monitors. I have had it for awhile, and while getting used to hearing everything two different ways (corrected and non-corrected) it has been frustrating to have a sense of what is what. I lost my subwoofer recently too (secondary monitoring system), so I think thatās all having some effect on this low end issue Iām having.
I guess I should just use the ARC all the time and trust that, but itās a weird feeling to hand over your ears to an algorithm.
Thanks! I thought I looked over the page pretty good, but I missed that.
Sonarworks will just make your phones sound how they should and make your judgement more accurate while mixing.Can opener is worth every penny. I done this mix in phones with it.
Please let me know your thoughts on this BTR pre-contest version. Thanks!
) I can hear the kick, it just doesnāt have any low end impact that I can feel on my eardrums. All the lows are coming from the bass in your mix. Iām not saying itās right or wrong, but I like to feel the lows from the kick a little bit.