Lights Go Low - How is the mix?

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montezuma
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2018/04/02 22:31:02 (permalink)

Lights Go Low - How is the mix?

You's must be getting sick of old montezuma by now...only a couple more to go. Comments on the mix at your end are appreciated. I'll return the listens to as many songs as I can offer something constructive to once all this is out of the way, in the true spirit of community participation. 
 
https://soundcloud.com/user-186908625/lights-go-low
 
Thanks ;)
 
 
 
 
#1

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    Wookiee
    Rrrrugh arah-ah-woof?
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 11:57:06 (permalink)
    Nice easy listening song, mix works here in the main no major criticisms from me.

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
    Karma has a way of finding its own way home.
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    #2
    montezuma
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 12:45:29 (permalink)
    I thought the verses were a bit thin. In fact I've been listening to some youtube videos of people doing covers with acoustic guitars in front of a simple 'Zoom 2' that blow my mixes away for depth, clarity and fullness. I play the youtube video...then go to my Soundcloud page and weep. 
     
    I need some breakthroughs in mixing. I'm using Avantone Mixcubes (which helped turn my usual utter trash into poor man's dumpster dinner...mmm...deelish...for a hobo), 3 different great quality Audio Technica, Yahama and Sennheiser headphones, Mackie MR5's in a fairly treated room (though I have no idea what is really going on acoustically in that room)...and I can't get consistency across the listening modes. 
     
    If I listen to Don't Stop Till You Get Enough or any commercial music whatsoever, I virtually can not detect significant differences between how the song sounds, no matter what I listen to it on. But, with my stuff...the sound lurches in timbral quality like a drunk from one headphone to the other, one set of speakers to the next, one laptop speaker to another.
     
    I have the worst laptop speakers known to man...and Don't Stop Till You Get Enough...sounds like it was tracked by Heaven's angels and mixed by God himself.
     
    To say it's frustrating is an understatement's understatement. 
     
     
     
     
    #3
    Wookiee
    Rrrrugh arah-ah-woof?
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 13:30:18 (permalink)
    I remembered your comment about Avantone mix cubes which I always thought were for checking mixes for compatibility with what I call grotbox speakers, i.e. small radios and the like, which is why I was not overlay critical of the mix.  Not  a fair comparison listening to an MP3 on Adam's so I am always cautious. 

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
    Karma has a way of finding its own way home.
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    #4
    montezuma
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 14:27:36 (permalink)
    Yeah I thought they were for checking midrange. I'm posting in the hope for overly critical comments! I'm not here for a haircut!



     
     
    #5
    emeraldsoul
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 14:42:08 (permalink)
    Cool song, so that's good! Very catchy!
     
    Some observations? Your doubletracked vocal, is it panned to the same panning position? If not, that might be thinning it out a bit. Put it as a mixed vocal in the same panning spot, then compress with two compressors, each doing light duty? The vocal could come up a db or so in the mix, but right now it seems your doubletracks are roughly equal volume. You might take the better performance, raise its volume by itself, then let the other one sit lower and support the main one
     
    Drums could do with less reverb overall. Snare needs more snap and less sizzle - what are you using for drums? The cymbals are almost in a parking garage, less reverb on those might be worth a try. Your guitars and vocal have just a tad of rvb, but the drums are way back with a lot of rvb - I'd bring the drums up to where the rest of the players are. Are you eq'ing the cymbals to remove everything below say 600hz? 
     
    Lastly, the bass stuff is suffering. I don't think your Mackies, nor any of your headphones, are giving you enough bass information. Kick is barely audible, and the bass guitar 
    (played well!) is there but not enough.
     
    To get bass stuff sticking through a little more, you might boost bass information in the 400hz range, so it will translate better to the small speaker world.
     
    That is one catchy song, and others may have better mixing advice. Try everything! But to compare this particular song to the Michael Jackson song is not going to work. Pull out some Bob Dylan or this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-1OgNqBkVE
     
    and that might be more helpful for a comparison.
     
    I really liked your song!
     
    cheers,
    -Tom

    A work in regress:
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    #6
    montezuma
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/03 17:27:14 (permalink)
    emeraldsoul...that was extremely helpful so thanks very much. Everything you said was right.
     
    I used ezdrummer2 for this and didn't realize that I had one of the channels direct from ezdrummer blasting its own reverb stereo track. So I fixed that. There was a lot else wrong with it on second glance. I've re-upped it. 
     
    Those double tracked vocals have been adjusted like you said, I think for the better. I did what I could, with what I can hear with the bass...I can't trust my ears for this kind of stuff though.
     
    Anyway I think the new mix is 1000 times better.
     
    Thanks so much. Very informative. I hope I can return the listen with one of your songs. 
    #7
    MarkusClinus
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/04 01:00:42 (permalink)
    Well written, fun tune - good playing too.

    Mark
    (formerly CLEAN)
    THE PUGTONES
     
    #8
    montezuma
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/04 13:55:29 (permalink)
    Thanks a lot for listening Mark
     
    I've finished all my mixes to the best of my ability
     
     
    #9
    stringjammer
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/04 17:27:51 (permalink)
    Great song! The mix sounds good too. Your voice has that awesome Davey Jones tone to it. Love it!
    #10
    montezuma
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    Re: Lights Go Low - How is the mix? 2018/04/06 11:30:44 (permalink)
    Thanks for listening. I was aiming for a Davey Jones sound...well spotted ;)
    #11
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