Mix Contest #9

alrighty....i checked out the new and renewed mixes posted and

bentrabbit mix #1

pros-- vocals are WAY good! i like the delay thru the corus, but not so much thru the verse. instruments are even and also well defined thruout.

cons-- bass can use some bottom and the overall master could be bumped up to let me ROCK OUT!!

gregL mix #2(i skipped 1)

pros-- no frills vox sound good for this song, but maybe a touch to much verb. very natural sound on all instruments expecially the bass(awsome tone there) and would also like to add that the guitar effest on the "breakdown" ROCK!

cons--guitars seem to be a little high in the mids. and i wasn't digging the vocal effects during then "breakdown"

timboZ mix #3

pros-- mix is even and all instruments articulate. but....

cons-- yeah i still hear that drop out in the drums.....why? i have no idea what is happining there. the vocals also lose some edge in the corus.....almost like a call and answer thing.....is that intentional? if so....maybe it could be exaggerated for more impact?(not really a con though)
 
Perdicament said:
Bump.... and how much longer shall we let this go for???
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its your gig.......i'm diggin the mixs alot so my opinion would be bias :D

have you decided which one you like? whats the plan for the keeper? and ect.ect.....
 
turtlishous said:
its your gig.......i'm diggin the mixs alot so my opinion would be bias :D

have you decided which one you like? whats the plan for the keeper? and ect.ect.....
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Hmm, Would you be kind enough to help with the judging?

I have not decided which one I like, well I shouldn't say that, there are a few I do like better than others, but then again I am biased because I wrote the tune and play it live on a regular basis. However a good mix is a good mix!

I suppose what I'll do is after we decide on a final submission date we'll commence on the judging, then in order to keep it fair and somewhat 'non-time consuming' I'll post say the top 3 mixes over on another board as well as bring them to the band and get some other outside opinions (if that's all cool with you guys) and we can take that into consideration as well...

I do have an idea however, which might help with the learning process...

We could (and I think it may be interesting) ask everyone involved to critique each others mixes (including their own :) ) as a pre-final submission...then give one last week to make any final tweeks...

I'm all for everyone helping each other out... afterall we're all here to better ourselves and maybe learn a thing or two...

Whaddya all think?
 
Here is another idea. Have everyone submit a mix and let the band listen to and critique each one. Then give everyone a chance to fix their mixes and submit a final entry. This would make it more representative of how it would work if the band hired someone to mix for them. The mixes need to reflect the band's vision of the tune rather than trying to rely outsiders to dictate what it should sound like. It's ok to have judges but if the band doesn't agree with them then what's the point.
 
ocnor said:
Here is another idea. Have everyone submit a mix and let the band listen to and critique each one. Then give everyone a chance to fix their mixes and submit a final entry. This would make it more representative of how it would work if the band hired someone to mix for them. The mixes need to reflect the band's vision of the tune rather than trying to rely outsiders to dictate what it should sound like. It's ok to have judges but if the band doesn't agree with them then what's the point.
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I agree with this post.
 
Hi Guys...I have listened to Timboz, Rabbit, and Greg L's latest mixes... I will get to some of the others tomarrow.

One thing I would like to point out, is that this band is good to start with and did their homework in the playing department and that Perdicament did his homework in the recording department.

Not only that, I read where you wrote the song Perdicament...It is an awesome song and no, I am not blowing smoke up your arse. Kudos to you and your bandmates. Some real good sounds here.

Here is what my ears hear, for what it is worth.


Rabbit~The intro sounds great...the volume good, but then seems to go quieter after the intro and stays that way all the way through. Too much compression?

The reverb on the vox is excellent....gee, that was not surprizing that I would say that eh? :D Really, I think it is just enough, while still keeping it in the mix.

What I am hearing or should I say not hearing is the bass and kick having their own space. I am not sure at one point if I am hearing the bass or the kick...it could be my ears, since I couldn't distinguish the two well, I thought perhaps they needed more of their own space.

The drums and cymbals could come up and out more too.

I am far from a mix guru. I am trying to convey what I do/don't hear with my ears, although it may be different from what someone else hears.

Greg L~Nice even sounding intro, but then the bass and vox are getting somewhat buried in the mix.

The panning of the axes all seem to be left-leaned.

Is it possible there is too much compression on overall mix? I know, I sound like I am on a compression kick tonight. :D

Timboz~ Great Intro...

Everything has it's own space and has clarity.

The vox could use a db or maybe 2 of reverb I think. The vox is sounding more raw than the rest of the mix. There is something about the vox...but I haven't been able to put my finger on it yet.

I think the panning of the guitars are excellent.

The bass has a full and rich sound sitting up front, without stepping on anything else, where in my opinion it should be. It is the drive of the song I think. The panning of the bass as stereo really gives an edge to this tune.

Panning the main axe center sounds great ! Amazing, how well it sits with the vox. Once again...no walking on anything.

I really like the overall panning work you have done with this mix Tim.

Volumes are excellent in the intro and on, until around 2:57, where oddly it seems to drop down as if compression had been applied. Yet the drums come up in volume, and they had not been before. I don't know if you had intended the mix to be this way or not. I do however, like the drums as not being predominate, until the tune reaches 2:57....kinda like a build up of the foundation. Circling for the kill.... ;) Unfortunately, the sudden drop of it's edginess with what seems to be an over-compressed sound, takes away from the energy somewhat and does seem a bit odd...except for the drums, where as they pick up in volume, which isn't a bad thing...just the two different aura's seem to mis-match.

I think the snare could use a bit more pop and the tom rolls brought up in the mix a bit more.

The toms sitting right behind the axe at 4:15 sounds really good. Again, I am amazed at how you have given everything it's own space, letting each part be defined throughout most of this mix, and yet become one....other than that compression thing. ;)

Vox mix sounds very good at 3:24 and at 5:23 shines.

Love the quiet break right before the heavy pre-outro....at 5:03..all of the instruments and vox mesh togather as one happy family.

The cymbals sound just right to me.

I am going in for some more listens...just in case I am talking out my arse... :D :p

Also...I have not read the other responses, because I don't want to hear or not hear something, because I have read it...you know, the power of suggestion. :D
 
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ocnor said:
Here is another idea. Have everyone submit a mix and let the band listen to and critique each one. Then give everyone a chance to fix their mixes and submit a final entry. This would make it more representative of how it would work if the band hired someone to mix for them. The mixes need to reflect the band's vision of the tune rather than trying to rely outsiders to dictate what it should sound like. It's ok to have judges but if the band doesn't agree with them then what's the point.
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100% agree!
 
Psyko said:
Ok!

Check this out !!!

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=5504

Finally I get sound that I wanted. It' s only the shame that guitars are so bad recorded.
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Where is the rest of the tune... all that is there is the outro....

Sounds good and I dig the creativeness for sure, good little nuances there, and the end thing is cool...Would like to hear the whole tune though ;)

I was a little put back initially by your comment regarding the tracking of the guitars, but am curious as to why you say that? Is it all three tracks your referring to? I only say this cause while they are not recorded to just throw in the mix, I felt like they very tweakable...and have a good foundation sonically to shape and mold into a good tone that sits well in the mix..

Basically I'm curious as to why you feel that way (and if anyone else shared this thought) so that next time I can improve upon that... Is it the tone, the performance, sound quality etc...??? and (and this is important) is the comment regarding all the guitar tracks or one in particular??
 
Perdicament,

I hope you don't cut this off real soon. I see it has only been up for two weeks now. I would like to get in on it but, I have been very busy lately. I am flying to Florida tomorrow morning and when I return next week, I plan to work on it and join in the fun.

Later,
RawDepth
 
Tnx for listening...
I've done just the end of the song because I don't have enough time for whole track:)

About guitars... I can clearly hear that 1. guitar is recorded by some digital effect,
2. is so so.. maybe need little more gain
3. is far the best but is too scooped
And they must be played with more precision.

Generally speaking they are not so bad, but if I compare with my Mesa/boogie mark IV tracks they could be much better.

One more thing..
The drums are good recorded but the drummer has some problems which cymbal to play in the certain part. If you look this outro you clearly see wrong use of ride cymbal in the beginning. When he switch on crash there is suddenly a huge change of energy.

But this is only my opinion.

...sorry for my bad English :)
 
Raw and Psy...we'll let it go then so that you have time to get a mix in...

Psy... here is how it was recorded if I remember correctly....

Track one was using a Boss GT8 thru the power amp section of a JCM800
Track Two was straight JCM800
Track 3 was my buddy going straight to a Marshall Mode 4
All were mic'd w/ a SM 57...

Personally I really don't like and Mesa amps except the mavericks... I've owned a few boogies in the past, and I much prefer the Marshall tone over the Boogies..

Your assessment on everything is spot on though regarding the drums and the bit of sloppiness on the guitar parts. i couldn't have said it better myself..

The problem was at that point when we recorded it all, we were having serious issues with the singer (which after that we kicked him out) but he brought us all down during the tracking of it...
And, the tune was fairly new at the time so every little nuance wasn't worked out.. The other big issue worthy of noting was the fact that our drummer couldn't play to a click track...so I had to play the guitar parts to a click track (guit track 1) was done just to the click..(the plan was then to go back and retrack all the guit's after we had a good drum track, but in the end we decided instead of wasting more time that it would be 'good enough' for demo purposes and that we would just work with what we had, plus we felt that the singer had to go so...) then the drummer played a scratch track to my guitar part...then we did the bass track then I did the 2nd guit track then john did the 3 guit track then we did the vox (which are pretty bad) then the drummer did the final drum track... Our drummer is a better improv guy...he plays by feel, which he is now aware of the fact that he needs to have a 'road map' in his head, and needs to pay attention and know where he is going instead of just winging it....

I'm certainly not making excuses, just giving ya'll a bit of insight on how it all went down...and the musical limitations of us as a band...but at least we know our problem areas and are working twards improving upon them :D

All in all though it's all fairly workable albeit not perfect...

As a footnote, we've found a new singer, and this guy is good, so the next recordings that you all will hear from us should be better.
 
Thanks True. Some more playing around this long weekend. This tune is pushing my PC to the max.

Thanks again, Now if I could just learn to hear the compression thing it would make it a lot easer for me.
 
Hey hey hey! Don't Shut it down yet I gotta put my word...errr....mix in edgwise. I got some things brewin' for this track. Heh, should be a treat. Perdicament, I deffinately think you should go with the idea of showing your band the mix and letting them judge.....at least my mix. :D

Should be able to cook something up tonight at some point so I'll try and get it posted later.


Cool tune by the way I'm digging the mixes so far, the song just sounds a little empty to me. Don't know what it is yet.


~the kid
 
I'm not shuttin it down.... and yes I will bring the mixes to the band for sure...

I'm just happy to see we have some more interest...so we'll let it run for a bit :D
 
tnx Perd. for explanation.

I can see that recording session was very stressful for you guys. :)
By the all circumstances you had done very good job.

I hope too hear about you soon.

And remember what Michael Angelo(guitarist) said on one of his videos... "Practice, practice ... practice ! " :D
 
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