Could you give me your opinion about this mix?

R

Rafael Morgan

New member
Hey guys,

How are you?

So, this is my first real mix. Ever.

This is also the first song of my future album.

Anyway, I would really appreciate if you could give me both your technical and creative opinions about it...I'm totally unable to judge my own stuff; I just can't do it. So, your opinions are really important.

The song is in Portuguese, by the way...It's a rock song, I guess...Maybe post-rock...I don't know... :)
Here's the link:

https://soundcloud.com/rafael-morgan-1/mixdown-01/s-XutaS

Thanks in advance,

Raf.
 
Too much verb on the vocals, your voice is good enough you don't need it and if you pull the voice closer to the music (i.e. less reverb) this mix will start to really kick some major butt.

Your high pitch part should be tamed a bit with some volume control/automation, but I think this is still reverb issue as well.

I really could like this tune if you work on the reverb. Give a pinch of verb just enough to give it life and see how you like it. I did notice where heavy reverb may be required, on those spots use some automation to give it more verb feel, then peel it back as required. As you get closer to final, take a look at the end, it was cut off and didn't allow for the natural close.

If you decide to update the mix, please let us know. I would like to hear this again. Really cool song.
 
DM60 said:
Too much verb on the vocals, your voice is good enough you don't need it and if you pull the voice closer to the music (i.e. less reverb) this mix will start to really kick some major butt.

Your high pitch part should be tamed a bit with some volume control/automation, but I think this is still reverb issue as well.

I really could like this tune if you work on the reverb. Give a pinch of verb just enough to give it life and see how you like it. I did notice where heavy reverb may be required, on those spots use some automation to give it more verb feel, then peel it back as required. As you get closer to final, take a look at the end, it was cut off and didn't allow for the natural close.

If you decide to update the mix, please let us know. I would like to hear this again. Really cool song.
Click to expand...

Hey brother,

Thanks so much for the feedback.

You know what? You're totally right. My guts were telling me to take it easy on the reverb, but I'm still very insecure with such decisions. Next time I'll listen to it.

I'll do exactly as you say and work with automation to use reverb more selectively.

I'll update the mix and post it again asap, right?

By the way, I'm aware of the lack of a proper fade-out. I'll take care of it as well.

Any other observation? Do you think the low-end is ok? Man, it was extremely hard to make decisions about the low-end.

Cheers,

Raf.
 
Rafael Morgan said:
Any other observation? Do you think the low-end is ok? Man, it was extremely hard to make decisions about the low-end.

Cheers,

Raf.
Click to expand...

I struggle with that. I thought it sounded fine. Main thing about low is, make sure it doesn't rumble or cause negative effects to the sound. After that, it is a matter of taste.

Best thing you can do is treat your room (see other postings about room treatment) so your mixing room handles the sound, to include the lows more accurate. I wish I could guide you more on that topic, but that is an area I struggle with as well.
 
I'm with DM60 with regards to the reverb. It's bit too much.I also didn't like the drums at all. They have no body/meat to them at all.

They would be the first things I take a look at and remedy. :thumbs up:
 
Mr Clean said:
I'm with DM60 with regards to the reverb. It's bit too much.I also didn't like the drums at all. They have no body/meat to them at all.

They would be the first things I take a look at and remedy. :thumbs up:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback, Mr Clean. :)

So, do you have any suggestions on how to give the drums more character?

Any advice is very welcome.

Cheers,

Raf.
 
Hi again folks,

So, here's the second version.

I've reduced the reverb to very subtle levels and used automated delay to highlight certain moments.

I also have given the drums more "meat", as suggested. I've figured out that the ambient mic track was turned almost all the way down. Increasing its volume by a few db really gave the drums more character.

I've made a few more minor and subtle alterations here and there as well...

Here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/rafael-morgan-1/mixdown-02/s-234My

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Raf.
 
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Ok, first, remember it is a process. You are composing, arranging, tracking, mixing and learnng. It is a lot. So, be patient with yourself.

OK, now let's take a look. Your vocal screams are still too loud, now you could go a few different ways with this, this is the place you could let heavy reverb kick in to separate the vocals to show a separation as a part of the song, for example, or just turn them down. But that they are pretty rough. Try compression them if you want to get them tamed (I still say volume automation works best here, but hey, it's a journey).

The vocals (non screaming ;)) you need to let some of the highs back in (maybe 5-12K area needs to be bumped??) up or, bottom range needs to be lowered. Either way, vocals need to cut through a little better.

Snare, it works later in the song when it is buried, but at the start, too loud. Pull that down some so it fits better.

Now, here's the thing. You have a great song, great performance, good mix (I don't have a clue what the song is saying, but it really works). Everything now is in matter of pinches here and dashes there. Now it is about the details. So, be real patient with yourself and make sure you don't rush. If it take 20 posts, then so be it. That is what it takes.

You are doing really good. When others join in they will be able to provide even better guidance.
 
DM60 said:
Ok, first, remember it is a process. You are composing, arranging, tracking, mixing and learnng. It is a lot. So, be patient with yourself.

OK, now let's take a look. Your vocal screams are still too loud, now you could go a few different ways with this, this is the place you could let heavy reverb kick in to separate the vocals to show a separation as a part of the song, for example, or just turn them down. But that they are pretty rough. Try compression them if you want to get them tamed (I still say volume automation works best here, but hey, it's a journey).

The vocals (non screaming ;)) you need to let some of the highs back in (maybe 5-12K area needs to be bumped??) up or, bottom range needs to be lowered. Either way, vocals need to cut through a little better.

Snare, it works later in the song when it is buried, but at the start, too loud. Pull that down some so it fits better.

Now, here's the thing. You have a great song, great performance, good mix (I don't have a clue what the song is saying, but it really works). Everything now is in matter of pinches here and dashes there. Now it is about the details. So, be real patient with yourself and make sure you don't rush. If it take 20 posts, then so be it. That is what it takes.

You are doing really good. When others join in they will be able to provide even better guidance.
Click to expand...

Hey brother,

Thanks a lot for your support and feedback.

I absolutely agree with everything you say. I surely need to take it easy with myself.

I'll take this weekend to rest my ears and give it another try next week.

By the way, the song is about a mother struggling with her drug addict son...It's about forgiveness, compassion and love.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated about my progress.

Thanks again,

Raf.
 
First off, you are amazing singer...wow! Nice high range, really pretty sound. What a lot of cool sounds there are in the Portuguese language.

I like the song itself a lot.

I'm not so great at mixing myself but for what it's worth...

I don't think I like the panning back and forth going on the with the keyboard in the "Mixdown 3", it's distracting in my opinion.

I do like the last posted versions of the vocals better, with less reverb.

Yeah, the screaming at around 3 minutes in is too screamy.

At 1:37 when your voice and the keyboard are doing the same thing, that's really cool, I got really excited at first but then your voice got out of tune with the instrument. I think you need to get it totally in tune with/in time with the keyboard for it to work. That's pretty ambitious...don't know if it's possible?

Really great though, esp. for a first time!
 
Rafael Morgan said:
By the way, the song is about a mother struggling with her drug addict son...It's about forgiveness, compassion and love.
Click to expand...

I knew this was a deep song. You gave it that, in your face raw emotion presentation. You really have a great tune here, make sure you give it the best light you can muster. It deserves it.

Your last mix is really starting to dialing it in.
 
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Hi again everyone,

So, I took a break from this song, then I decided to start everything from scratch.Removed all plugins, turned down all faders and did some strategical arrangement alterations.

I think this is it for now. I'm happy with the results so far. It sounds decent enough for my ears, at least in my listening environment, in my speakers, headphones, etc...

Here's the new link:

https://soundcloud.com/rafael-morgan-1/mixdown-11/s-nEpcc

As always, I would immensely appreciate your feedback.

I don't feel like coming back to this song right now, but since this will be part of an album, I'm sure I'll be revisiting it later on to make some final adjustments before mastering.

Cheers,

Raf.
 
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Listened to a few different mixes. I was going to originally say that the snare was too loud and the kick needed to be a little louder, but in this last mix the drums over all just sound too weak. I would go back to how they sounded in the original mix and just turn the snare down a tiny bit and turn the kick up a bit as well. Everything else sounds pretty good. Good singing too. It's a pretty bad ass song really :D
 
FoulPhil said:
Listened to a few different mixes. I was going to originally say that the snare was too loud and the kick needed to be a little louder, but in this last mix the drums over all just sound too weak. I would go back to how they sounded in the original mix and just turn the snare down a tiny bit and turn the kick up a bit as well. Everything else sounds pretty good. Good singing too. It's a pretty bad ass song really :D
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your feedback, brother.

Yes, the drums...It's really hard to balance them properly, right?

If I remember correctly, I did use a gate-triggered 55Hz waveform/tone to give the kick more weight in the first mixes. I forgot to do it this time, though. I'll give it another try.

Thanks again,

Raf.

PS: I had to delete my previous mixes from soundcloud, due to storage limitations.
 
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Hey I finally found a like that still works.

Good singing voice. Lot's of power and it sounds like you're using very good mic technique.

If you had reverb problems, they're pretty much taken care of. I'd still shorten the decay if it were me. But I don't like much reverb.

The bass level seems fine. The kick, as well as all of the drums sounds, are really cheap sounding. The drums don't help the song much at all.

If it were me, I'd go with a more natural piano sound over an electric keyboard sound.
 
For this song, you need to bring the drums up all the way. Drums, bass and vocals should be the driving factor. Granted the drums are very fake, but I think you can get them to work for you. Lots of work is needed. Start your mix with only drums, bass and vocals and enjoy that. Then bring in everything else only to support.

Performance wise, the energy is there and very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing
 
the drums definitely need to be more forward, try parallel compression, or even envelope shaper to give them more attack, they lack punch and sound flat. The bass guitar lacks 2nd and 3rd order harmonics so it's hard to hear it very well in the mix, you need to dirty it up. Vocals are too loud in the mix, some compression would keep them more under control, and the delay effect sounds a little cheap to me, it doesn't always work but I can see what you were going for.

Hope that all helps! as a song though I like it and think it's a good vocal performance, the mix balance needs the most work.
 
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