Please Mix This - A Challenge (really, very challenging)

wfaraoni said:


Hey, You really don't sleep do you :D ;)


peace
Bill
Click to expand...
3 hours a day, just like everybody else, lol. :D :D

Sorry; didn't mean to "talk down" to you on that last post...I thought maybe you were on an actual mixer...it's funny, but I can't imagine recording now with just my ears...I need my eyes too, eh?

How/where did your mix distort do you think?
 
Well I've got a 1.6 gig p4 with 1 gig ram and 2 80 gig 7200 hardrives running sonar 2 xl , Dual soundcards Sb audigy and midiman 2496. At night I listen on sennhiesser hd 280 pro headphones and during the day I use the studiophile sp 5b powered monitors.

Oh yeah Im using "musicmatch" to do the mp3 conversions.
 
Re: Re: LOL!

chrisharris said:
The thing that does stick out in some mixes (to me) is the lack of HUGE AMBIENT REVERB on those falsetto backups...lol.. Like at 1:40, where I sound like a dog whistle... I verbed the SHIT out of that on my mixes, lol...but I guess it doesn't sound weird without it? To me, it sounds odd, but I sang it, so... :D
[/B]
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Interesting you should mention that. I was just running through the mixes and thinking "wow, I really imagined this song a lot different than most folks here."

Everyone really seems to be piling on the reverb and compression and treating it more like an 80s pop song, whereas I heard (and still hear) it as a more intimate acoustic thing with very little verb and not at all squashed.

*Especially* with the bg vox - I like to actually hear them rather than *perceive* them as a blurr of sound.

But really, if nothing else this exercise has shown how differently people can envision the same song. There have been things I liked about lots of the mixes, but it was frustrating in that a mix would start, I would think "yeah!" and then the drums and bass would come in and ruin it.

I'm gonna have to disagree with the prevailing thoughts and say that in my opinion *no one* managed to make the drums and bass sound good. This ain't a slur against the talent here - I don't think George Martin could've done anything with them either.

But of all of them, my vote goes to Sluice. Nice and clean, the way I like it.

Chris
 
chrisharris said:
3 hours a day, just like everybody else, lol. :D :D


How/where did your mix distort do you think?
Click to expand...

Um, Actually I dont hear any distortion except that glitch at :32 during the vox lyric "face" ( real confused now)

Maybe Its past my bedtime :D but you've lost me here.




Who is this directed at Mbrane??"""
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by M.Brane
Chris, your drum programming sucks ass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I know... (okay, I misquoted you) - but DAMN NICE JOB, man.You definitely have to post what you did to the guitars - Is that a chorus on one of them?...and hell, even the drums sound better??? How is that? Am I high? (no) - I'm not crazy about the vocal effect at the very beginning, but when the drums come in, it fits nicely...it's just more noticeably effected at the beginning I guess.

Dude, please explain EXACTLY what you did, and don't use phrases like "I used the Aux Bus to delay the verb on the right," lmao.

The thing that does stick out in some mixes (to me) is the lack of HUGE AMBIENT REVERB on those falsetto backups...lol.. Like at 1:40, where I sound like a dog whistle... I verbed the SHIT out of that on my mixes, lol...but I guess it doesn't sound weird without it? To me, it sounds odd, but I sang it, so...

Dude, I'm in "edit" mode at this point, but this is a really nice
mix.""""


Im a little slow at 3:30 am

:confused: :p :)

Bill
 
OK.. I'm gonna try to write up what I've done in the mixing process..

Drums
Tho it gave me an express pass out of the 'competition', I think this song deserved better drums, so I fired up Fruity Loops and loaded selected samples from Drumkit From Hell.
In FL, snare and Kick is compressed by Fruity Compressor, and most samples have minor adjustments with Fruity 7-band EQ.
In CEP, some punch is added by RComp, and the verb is Spin Audio Room Verb.
CEPs 3 band channel-EQ is surgically used to balance the snare, and give some air..

Bass
Washburn XB-400 - Mackie - Delta Audiophile
Pretty modest (for being me) L2 limiting. CEP channel-EQ used to take out some ~300Hz, and a slight boost at ~900 for clarity and presence. I just copied chris's bass some bars at a time and bounced them to a separate track.

I've got lotsa shit to do this week, but I'll give you a good take when I have the time Chris!

Guitars
CEP channel EQ.
20Hz - 25dB
828Hz -4.5dB Q: 0.7
10.5kHz +3.3dB Q: 2.2

Guitars panned +/- 45

steel
CEP channel EQ.
176Hz - 30dB
3310Hz -4.2dB Q: 1.1
7kHz -10dB

Waves Supertap delay 2 taps
Tempo set to 102.1bpm
Delay set to not be audible, but to add depth and atmosphere... uh.. yeah...

slide
CEP channel EQ.
63Hz -32dB
5080kHz +4.6dB Q: 1.8

Spin Audio Room Verb

Backing Vocals
Both tracks doubled and panned +100/-80 and +80/-100 (get what I mean?)
CEP channel EQ.
160Hz - 11dB
7kHz -5.7dB

Vocals
Waves RVox (Vocal compressor)
Comp -10.7
Gain -4.6

Waves RDeEsser
Freq: 6264
Type: Bell
Mode: Split
Range: -16dB
Threshold: -40dB

Waves RVerb
Hall2
Too many parameters....

CEP channel EQ.
20Hz - 20dB
425Hz -3.6dB Q: 1.0
10.1kHz +4.7dB Q: 1.7

Post mix
Pretty rough game with PSP Vintage Warmer... No clue about settings, I just tweaked it 'til I liked what I heard... It got pretty loud in the process... :P
 
fenderlikingood said:
Shall we continue?

AL BISH SLAPPED ME............. Nice bass!!!!!! Don't like the verb you used on the vox(sound's like a chorus effect in there too)?:confused: bass work's well with that kick! nice!!!!!!
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Congratulations on listening to so many mixes!

I don't like what I did to the main vocal either! I didn't use any chorus, so I must have done something stupid with the reverb. Doh!

Thanks for the comments - I've learned a lot from doing this. :)

Cheers

AB
 
Updated the list.

Original 'Juliet' soundfiles posted by chrisharris:
http://chrisharris.rustyfingers.com/
http://www.homesellersatlanta.com/chris_harris

Kudos to Doug Quance and rustyfingers for providing the web space.

Optional drumloops by me. (429Kb)
http://hem.tyfon.net/wa0043/mp3/Juliet_Drums.zip

Disqualified Juliet-mixes by chrisharris
www.nowhereradio.com/honestmango/singles
DON'T FORGET THE PSYCHADELIC HEADPHONE MIX

1. LooneyTunes

*update*


2. fenderlikingood
http://www.nowhereradio.com/builtforporn/singles

3. Kramer
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2628&alid=621

4. pglewis *SLAP*
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1908&alid=622

5. bleyrad


6. groucho


7. Doug H
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1830&alid=476

8. drstawl


9. caryindy


10. BeatDaddy


11. crawdad
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/?aid=1522/singles.shtml

12. Moonrider
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dcjames/projects.html

13. Meshuggah
http://hem.tyfon.net/wa0043/mp3/

14. Lt. Bob
http://www.nowhereradio.com/wondercow/singles

15. alibish
http://www.nowhereradio.com/brr/singles

16. SLuiCe
http://www.nowhereradio.com/sluice/singles

17. wfaraoni
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1644&alid=-1

18. Doug Quance
http://www.homesellersatlanta.com/chris_harris/juliet1.wma

19. Insane in the M.Brane :D
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2127&alid=-1

I hope all links are correct
 
Well, I'll vote for my favorite mix...

I think Groucho's was the best - to me.

For those using the drums, I would give it to Looney's first mix. I think everyone was fairly close with various things that stood out as being nice to listen to.

Fender - nice job on reviewing all the mixes. Thank you.

Doug H. - Thanks!
 
Actually, there's several mixes I like a lot... and there's something to like in all of them, really.

I would like my mix better if I spent the time on each individual track to get the most out of each. Sure, I played with the eq, compression and effects... but not long enough to get it the way I would like it to be...

The main thrust of my mix was to get the parts and the levels where I wanted them.

It's great to hear what others envision in this song... kinda like having two dozen producers in the same room...
 
Re: Re: LOL!

chrisharris said:
Yeah, I know... (okay, I misquoted you) - but DAMN NICE JOB, man.

You definitely have to post what you did to the guitars - Is that a chorus on one of them?

...and hell, even the drums sound better??? How is that? Am I high? (no) -

I'm not crazy about the vocal effect at the very beginning, but when the drums come in, it fits nicely...it's just more noticeably effected at the beginning I guess.

Dude, please explain EXACTLY what you did, and don't use phrases like "I used the Aux Bus to delay the verb on the right," lmao.

The thing that does stick out in some mixes (to me) is the lack of HUGE AMBIENT REVERB on those falsetto backups...lol.. Like at 1:40, where I sound like a dog whistle... I verbed the SHIT out of that on my mixes, lol...but I guess it doesn't sound weird without it? To me, it sounds odd, but I sang it, so... :D

Dude, I'm in "edit" mode at this point, but this is a really nice mix.
Click to expand...


LOL! Actually your programming is OK, it's just that I don't like the sound of fake drums after several stages of bit/samplerate conversion. Can you say brittle? I knew you could.:D

I stuck some EQ on 'em anyway (usually a big no-no) to tame the harshness a bit. Don't remember the exact freq. I just use the parametric at max boost, sharp Q until I find the nasties, then switch to a cut, adjust & widen the Q.

Funny that you would think there's chorus on the guitars. Nothin' on the acoustics but some very minor EQ scoops in the mids so they stay out the way of the vocal & each other. Nothing but fader automation on the steel & slide.

The bass got some pretty healthy compression (about 6:1, 6db I think) and a little scoop around 100 for the kick.

Your vocals however were another matter.:p

First was some EQ'ing to lose the stuff down where the bass & kick hang out, a small nasty spot in the mids, and a small boost higher up for presence. Then some compression to tame the wild dynamics. I wanted to use more, but it started to bring out the AutoTune too much. That's when I broke out the stereo chorus as a disguise!:D A bit of my favorite 300ms analog style (read:roll-off at 2K) delay finished 'em quite nicely I think. I didn't feel de-essing was necessary.

Since I only have 8 audio tracks to work with at a time (ProToolsFree) I did a submix at this point with 'verb on everything except the drums (they didn't need more!), imported the stereo mix back into the session, added the BG vocals. Same treatment as the lead with the exception of a large scoop from the mids, no delay and the same 'verb from the first bounce.

Considering the amount of time I spent on it (about 3 hrs including breaks from the start of file conversions to upload) and the fact that the only piece of software used that cost $ was the 'verb plug-in ($50) I guess it's OK.;)

If you really want an exact run-down of my settings & such, let me know & I'll send ya some screen shots.

Thanks for letting me molest your tune.:D
 
chris, don`t shut this down just yet. I`m almost ready to post what I been doin'. I like hearing folks laff..

Workin nights has been rough this time around, and i dont have much free time. I only have 4 more days of it before I`m back to my same obnoxious self. :)
 
chrisharris said:
Doug - I'm singling you out again, lmao. NICE FUCKING JOB on that bass...I don't know if you did anything to it, or it's just the way it fits in with the sparser instrumentation in the first part of the song...but this is cool. Oooooh....are those my drums? Man, they sound good buried, lmao...I'm not kidding...it's a real subdued, kinda' bluegrass mix.

Sheesh...aside from the singing and the playing, this is a great mix to my ears.

Crap, how do I save that file, Doug? lemme' try the right click thing.
Click to expand...

For you, Chris, I put a bass break in my second version... as it closes in on 2:00...

For the record, I didn't move any of the tracks (with the exception of the intentional displacement on the guit and background vox trax). I figured I should mix it as if it were on tape... either punch it in - or out.

And yes, it's just using the initial tracks. I haven't added anything (yet). :D
 
Chris

Dude, I just gotta say, like everyone else has, that this was the best Idea ever.
I can't believe how talented the guys in this forum are.
All of the versions I've heard (alot late last night) rock in there own way.
I'd give anything to be able to do what you guys do to some raw tracks.
Cause if I have anything to do with the performance, it's defineatley gonna be raw.
Anyway, Kudos to you bro!
-ok
 
chrisharris said:
PS - Your mix is distorting pretty badly on my system...The regular mix, not my limited one (well, that one's distorting too, obviously)...sounds like it definitely clipped somewhere. It's not making that horrible digital clipping noise; more like overall clipping or some problem with a conversion somewhere.

We gotta' figure this out...'splain your setup, sir ! :D
Click to expand...

cHRIS , yOUR SUCH A JOKER THAT i CANT TELL WHEN YOUR, Oops caps lock :o ,, kidding or serious, I posted my system info stuff right after what I quoted above and ,You elusively slipped away.
here it is again.
Well I've got a 1.6 gig p4 with 1 gig ram and 2 80 gig 7200 hardrives running sonar 2 xl , Dual soundcards Sb audigy and midiman 2496. At night I listen on sennhiesser hd 280 pro headphones and during the day I use the studiophile sp 5b powered monitors.

Oh yeah Im using "musicmatch" to do the mp3 conversions.

Any suggestions on why my mix had some type of noise if it was not clipping?? Does anyone else hear noise?

BTW The wife and I liked your daughters singing:)

peace & prosperity
Bill
 
Toki987 said:
chris, don`t shut this down just yet. I`m almost ready to post what I been doin'. I like hearing folks laff..

Workin nights has been rough this time around, and i dont have much free time. I only have 4 more days of it before I`m back to my same obnoxious self. :)
Click to expand...
Well, Toki....

we're waiting....


:D
 
Hey mine is still coming. I have been very busy and am late on this and other projects. I will post my mix before the weekend. I still want to record a new bass part:)

I do enjoy your stuff. I am also having to do this in Nuendo so I feel handicapped. I haven't reconfigured my PC to send tracks back to my recorder yet. I am mostly riding the faders automating them. I refuse to use plug in's. Well I will use a couple?

Kirk
 
Thanks, doug...and I'm still looking forward to it, nw...no rush.

I've been kinda' waiting on 2 more mixes before I tell you all how unbelievably bad you all are at the whole "mixing" gig.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!?!

GOD-ZILLA!! And to think I used to actually listen to some of your advice. No wonder my mixes sucked.
 
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