Recent Mix Project

So I've been working with these guys from the other end of the country mixing their next EP. They just got the first track out of the door so I thought I'd share it here to see if anyone has any interesting feedback on the mix.

I didn't have anything to do with the writing, arrangement or recording of this I just mixed raw tracks that were sent to me.

http://westavenuemusic.co.uk/

Cheers,
Child

Hi Child,

Some good stuff you're working on here for sure. I'll give you my take....

Biggest offenders with this in my opinion (having listened on 3 different systems) are the lack of kick drum, bass guitar and sometimes the lead vocals seem to fade in the back and need some automation.

Kick drum: Sometimes I hear it, other times it takes a back seat. The tone of it seems fine...it just needs a bit more volume and constistency. You can probably handle the consistency with a bit of compression plus automation. The good thing is the tone is there. :)

Bass guitar: I feel it but don't hear it. This is a pretty simplistic song to the point where if I had to learn it to audition for the band, I'd fake my way through it. However, if you told me "you need to learn the bass part verbatim" I'd be totally lost because all I feel is a rumble. There is no bass identity present. Find the frequency where the sub low is coming in and high pass it until it loses that subby sound. Then, try experimenting with a little 200 Hz for some definition, and 2.5 k for a little bass clack/percussiveness and you should be ok. Don't go crazy with the 200 Hz, you may not even need it...it all depends how it sounds when you remove the sub lows in it.

Vocals: For the most part, I hear them...but there are a few parts where they sort of drift way down. I'd just draw some automation on those parts (if you hear them as well) and you'll be ok here. The vocal track eq sounds fine to me.

The rest of the mix: Well done...snare, cymbals, guitars everything else...sounds well done and I'd not touch anything there. Good luck on this project...it's shaping up nicely. :)

-Danny

Rothchild


Thanks Gents,

It would appear that the recent rearrangement of my room has had the desired effect but that I now need to re-learn it a little! 

It was very bass light in here before so I've got used to mixing that down a little (I have PMCs which means that I can generally translate a lot of the very low end pretty well, I think I just don't much like 200hz! 'The Mud Tone' ;-))

I'm just comparing what I delivered with what's been posted and I think the kick and bass didn't come out too well off in the mastering (not that I'm saying I don't have work to do but the raw mix has a lot more kick). I think the hype that's been added to the top end may be what's masking the vox a bit too.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and feedback, it's really helpful to get a second and third opinion.

Cheers,
Child

If you're getting those results at the moment...the mix shouldn't be much different. The kick and bass guitar are definitely lacking from a volume stand point, not a mastering stand point. The reason I say that...if you added in massive low end via mastering, the kick drum would be booming too yet it sounds fine...just a little low volume wise. This tells me it needs to be adjusted in the mix "instrument wise". But since you're working on it...you'd know better than I would. :)
 
What you have achieved somewhere...is sub low on the bass that is pretty fierce. Not fierce as in "you're killing me with sub low rumble" but enough to where I can't distinguish the notes the bass is playing other than feeling vibrations. I'm no fan of 200 either...and I'm not saying that's definitely where you need to be...it all depends what you hear when you remove the blanket of 50-60 Hz off the bass as it is presently. Once you do, you'll be able to tell if it needs a little low mid or not. One of the toughest things in mixing is to decide whether you want the low end to carry the bass or do you just raise the fader. All too often people add way too much sub in the bass over just balancing it and raising the fader instead. Hope that explains things a bit better. Also, I wasn't trying to bash you or discredit your fine efforts bro...just telling you how it sounded on my end to the best of my ability whilst trying to help you remedy the problem areas. :)
 
-Danny

Nice to see you about again Child.

All that needs to be said have been said.



Thanks for sharing.

I really liked the tune it's self. The bass for me could have been more defined where the individual notes could be heard. Again, good tune.