UPDATE
 
"You Take It All"
https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/you-take-it-all-1
 
1st mix attempt using ARC2, this is a working mix, not a finished song yet.
 

spectrum analysis:


so, here's the thing:
my previous mixes, and (2) album releases, have a very similar end result, as compared to this song mix; i know what i want to get in the end, and i always find a way to get it.
 
but
 
whereas in the past, to get a song mix right, i've had to rely on multiple mix sessions, analysis between sessions, multiple system playback, walking the room during mix sessions, and all this other PALAVA......
on THIS session, it was simple: one hour of sitting in one spot, the mix was 'easy', and when i was done, and ran the spectrum analysis, the curve of my mix, almost matched the final 'mastered' versions of my previous album releases.
 
big wow from me.
 
i'm not saying this mix is done, or that i'm totally happy yet....
only that, the software did exactly what it said it would do. it fixed some very stange (and typical) anomalies in my room.

and i can make mix decisions faster, easier, and apparently can trust what i'm hearing more than what i had before.
 
 
 
would love some feedback on how it is translating.
i'm continuing to experiment to dial my room in, with treatments, placement and this new room correction software.

now remember, this is a crummy soundcloud stream..
which is, i think, at 190 kbps?
 
i uploaded a full 16 bit 44.1khz wav file, and let soundcloud do it's thing to it.
 
if anyone wants the actual wav file to run thru their system to REALLY check for translation issues, i'll post a link.
 
 

link to full wav file download:


https://www.hightail.com/...elNMeW4rUzdUWUNVbDhUQw

batsbrew
...soundcloud stream...
...which is, i think, at 190 kbps?

The song you linked to is a 128kbs stream.
 
 
 
 
edit spelling

makeshift
i am finding that the ARC software is quite useful to me.
hope you can get your gear sussed out quickly..
that sux always fearing it's gonna crap out at the worst time...
 

mike mccue
i'm not surprised.
 
 
Ohgrant
thanks for listening.
let me know if you have questions or ideas
 

ohgrant-
 
well, how much time i took to do this mix, i'd say hours saved.
in that, when i sat down and started the re-mix (all automation blanked, faders down, start over) it took a while to decide the levels, panning, etc, but as far as chasing the sound?  i didn't.
 
that's the cool thing.
i mixed to exactly what i heard from the speakers, trusting they were close to flat, whereas before i would have to put it through no less than 3 sets of speakers, two sets of headphones, bounce it to stereo, analyze what's happening, go back and re-EQ, rebalance, do it again, ad naseum, to get it right.
 
this time, it was already right as i was doing it the first time.
 
this is a very subjective thing, to say what is 'better'....... i know...
 
but, for me, it was impossible to trust the low end, the high end, without doing things that sounded wrong through the monitors, knowing that they would turn out right in the end.
 
in other words, i learned how to compensate for my crappy acoustic situation in my mixing room, by recognizing 'wrong' and 'bad' sound, and knowing how it translated from experience.
 
in this case, i just mixed it exactly the way i thought it should sound, and when i was done, the harmonic curve ended up looking like one of my previously finished products.
 
 
i dont' do midi, except when i am using my Superior Drummer program. everything is miced and done live.
 
this example is all live drums.
 
 
yes, all 6PE and win xp 32 bit

i posted a link to this experimental mix session in the songs forum too,
so there may be discussions there that wont find their way here,
you might want to check it out there too

I listened to it on soundcloud and am now downloading file for a better representation per your advisement.
 
Let me start by saying this is a really good composition with nice arrangement and instrument selection. I genuinely like your musicality, and how did you get the drum kit sounding so sweet? Did you use only overheads or only close micing of each drum or a combination of both? If you used overhead, what technique did you use "XY", "Space Pair", etc.? I am currently testing all types of recording techniques for drums right now and have not found an exceptable technique yet. I can go into that with you and the forum in another thread.
 
About the ARC. It sounds good and as stated earlier on the forum, a before and after may not reveal anything.
 
If you took the mix without ARC and did not perform all of the correction by the exhausting measures you explain earlier and left it as is, which would be less than perfect and would not translate well in different situations and then compared that to the alternative, in this case using ARC, then you would have a good before and after.
 
In other words this is close to impossible, because you have learned how to get around your bad mixing space and are good at what you do...so, ARC simply makes that workflow easier and efficient, as you no longer have to use exhaustive, time consuming measures to achieve what ARC does on the spot.
 
Did I explain my perception of what I think is going on here?
 
Regarding my room:
 
Acoustically treated, this room should offer some good results. Not so...
 
When I auditioned my monitors and selected them I did it in a large acoustically treated audition room. They sounded killer using a reference CD I brought with me.
 
I decided to sit in my mixing space and place that CD in the player and here the room or hopefully not hear the room, I guess.
 
But, to my surprise I am experiencing some bad bass blooming. I am going to select a couple other CDs and test them as well and then compare what I hear, using my audiophile system in my music listening room, which, by the way is not treated with anything other than sofas', chairs, books, Indian rugs, etc. you know living space, where the music sounds absolutely sublime in my amazing system. 
 
I guess what I am saying is that I am probably going to try to correct the room with some more treatment, and further tuning of the speakers, which is nothing more than me adjusting levels, placement and hi/low settings on the speakers themselves. I use media player to play the CD and hope this is not coloring the playback, as I cannot find any controls that would allow eq'ing or anything of the likes.
 
Having said that, I don't think I will get it perfect, and I don't have $1000 speakers...so I think I am leaning towards the purchase of ARC 2.
 
I am new to this so I don't have any bad habits yet, with regards to mixing or mastering. Hell, I am still trying to perfect tracking...LOL. So, I feel this is the time to benefit most from this technology, as it is like setting up a new studio...oh, that's right, that is what I am doing anyway.
 
I would appreciate your thoughts on my thought process, thanks.
 
Great recording, great song.

it works for me, obviously....
what i normally do, is that i use 3 passive sets, my monitors, some boom box speakers, and my home stereo- Infinity research standards, thru a yamaha natural sound amp....checking the differences in translation between them all, and adjusting accordingly.
 
then 2 different sets of headphones, my tracking/mix phones (AKG 240's) and some extended bass Sony Earbuds.
 
between all of those,i suss out what the issues are, that i cannot normally hear from my monitor setup without the ARC treatment.
 
 
the issues i have not been able to overcome with some conservative treatment, the ARC balances out, as close to flat as it can get.
 
now, i can hear a pretty flat response off of my speakers, and it seems it is much easier to get from point A to Point B now.
 
 

mike,
the infinity pair are mid 80's vintage, cheaper infinity's, Model ES-83
ES83/200 - 3-Way 150 Watt Speaker
Frequency Response: 50Hz - 22kHz (+/-2.5dB)
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Power Handling, RMS: 15 - 150 watts
Woofer: 8" (20cm)
Passive Radiator: 10" (25cm)
 

 
they sound great for checking mixes on.
i blew out the woofers playing Guano Apes "Proud like a God" really really loud..
and had them refoamed, and then they sounded even better!
 
LOL
 
  
 
the jam box speakers, are small side speakers off of a early 80's Panasonic boom box...
i saved the speakers thru the years, from this unit here:

 
earbuds, Sony Mdrex37b:


 
the KRK's, are the older passive trapezoidally-shaped models, i thought they sounded better than the modern powered ones.
i use a hafler power amp to drive them.

 
one day, i'll update my monitors, i like the yamahas with the 8" driver, or those new JBL's...
 
but i'll never be able to afford what i want, so i make do with what i have.
 
 
the ARC software, just helps me dial in my room, more than anything else.
 

jimbo21
thanks man. i dug squires, that whole idea of running that ricky thru a marshall, was cool...
 
 
 

tremojem
appreciate the review, the comments help...
 
the drums, are all live, played by Brent Dacus (D/FW artist) recorded in a treated room, to a Roland VS2480 machine, then output to wav files and sent to me.

the EQ i chose while mixing down, took out the nasties, and added the sweetness.
overheads, spaced pair.

there is some phase issues in the overhead recording, which i cannot cure.
since someone else did the recording of the drums for me, i don't know the cause of the phase, only that it is there, and i worked around it.
 
 
the arc ONLY affects the sound of the playback thru my system, in my room.
and yes, to compare the 'before and after', i would need to have a mix done as first pass, without the arc, and then bounce that down and say "here's the way i hear it in my room without the ARC, and without any of my lengthy survey and study", and compare those...

but it still would not really tell you anything.
 
 
all arc does basically, is make my room sound as if it was 'flat', and that makes it WAY EASIER to mix.
you either trust the arc, or you don't.
 
 
 
to me, it looks as if the end result (stereo wav file bounced to track without ARC) looks like a really good balanced curve on the graph, and sounds balanced on playback on other systems.
even well treated rooms, are STILL going to have some anomolies.

Well ,you said we might not notice much of a difference from past mixes. You were right. Excellent musicianship and mixing skills BTW.
 
I don't notice any significant difference and if it took you hours less time and saved a lot of work then it would seem that you found a way to get it all done faster and more efficiently, especially if your curves are coming up almost exactly the same.
 
Not sure what kind of room you have. Looks a lot larger than a decent bedroom which is what I'm using...of course I can branch out into the kitchen or the bathroom with longer cords lol. From most of the ARC curves I have seen it looks like bass is a big problem which isn't surprising given the smaller squarish rooms many of us use.
 
I notice an immediate loss of bass energy when I kick in ARC. When I first used it I was sure something was wrong. It seemed easier to make it sound good without ARC at least in that room. When I got the recordings out to try somewhere else reality set in. 
 
I have made good use of the VRM type settings too.