Pmc #13

Ok, I know I missed the comp, but I did this just for fun and experience. If anyone could take a listen to this and tell me some of the (many) things that are no doubt wrong with it I'd be very gratefull :-)

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=8708


PS this is the first time I've really mixed anything (apart from my really badly recorded crap) so be gentle :D

PPS to whoever wrote and recorded the song.... I thought it was great :cool:
 
Gandalf said:
PS this is the first time I've really mixed anything (apart from my really badly recorded crap) so be gentle :D
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Hmm, the 12" dance remix version :D

A little thin. Guitars are bright, snare is too and it's sitting on top of the mix. Overall score would be somewhere in the sixes.
 
Thanks for listening mshilarious

Just so I can be clear....

A little thin - that means not enough bottom end right?

Sitting on top of the mix - what exactly does this mean? I would guess you mean too loud, but something else as well? (or you would have just said to loud)
 
Gandalf said:
Thanks for listening mshilarious

Just so I can be clear....

A little thin - that means not enough bottom end right?
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Bottom and mids. Another way of saying it's bright, but thin is somehow different than bright :D In other words, you can't just pump up the bass, because then you might have a big smile EQ sound. You might be able to roll off some highs, but generally you just have to ask yourself, why doesn't this track have enough meat? and figure out how to fix that. It could be that something needs to be compressed or simply turned up rather than an EQ plug on the master bus.

I really try to avoid making comments that seem like the fix is on the master bus, because it's a mix contest. But at the same time, I have to judge the final mix and the categories aren't snare, kick, guitar, bass, vocal; they are lows, highs, punch, depth, etc.

Sitting on top of the mix - what exactly does this mean? I would guess you mean too loud, but something else as well? (or you would have just said to loud)
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It's too loud and bright for the style of music. I wouldn't just say that it was too loud, because then you would just turn it down, and the tone would still be wrong for the style. So if I say that it's sitting on top, that means that it is getting all the attention, like the snare is upstaging all the other instruments. Well, the snare should sound like it is upstage, and that means it has to be a little duller, a little quieter, maybe somewhat less precise in terms of spatial effects.

This is why I hammered on the importance of the drum submix in my general comments; if you make the kit sound like a kit, you are far along the way to a good mix. Of course that is one of the most difficult tasks in mixing, so don't underestimate it.
 
Been recording for.... 6 or 7 years now and I am just now getting a decent handle on drums. The mind creates the illusion of big powerfull drums and bass when you listen to music. The power is in the punch in most mixes. Very few songs allow for much low bass in the drums. There's not enough room in most music and especially in distorted rock or metal.


Not to beat a dead horse:D I just like to pass on what it took my stubborn ass soooooo long to figure out;)


F.S.
 
When I saw how many drum tracks there were it was a bit of a shock... It's the first time I've worked with real drum tracks. Normally I just record for my own fun, midi drums and bass and my crappy guitars over the top.

I was also surprised by the amount of bleed between the drum tracks.

I did spend most of the time I spent on the mix with the drums, just not sure if I went about it the right way...
 
Gandalf said:
When I saw how many drum tracks there were it was a bit of a shock... It's the first time I've worked with real drum tracks. Normally I just record for my own fun, midi drums and bass and my crappy guitars over the top.

I was also surprised by the amount of bleed between the drum tracks.

I did spend most of the time I spent on the mix with the drums, just not sure if I went about it the right way...
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ya you can't get away from bleed tracking drums. You can try to eleminate some with gating after the fact but, you don't want to take that too far or it gets funky. Kick & snare is about as far at I will take it. Then I manually edit out the dead sections in the toms.

F.S.
 
Llarion said:
Tell me about it. I'm a drummer, fer crissakes, and I can't get it right either... :)
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i'm a drummer too (who's since branched out to other things), and i find that, at least for me, the "trick" to mixing drums is to mix them as you like to hear them behind the kit. easier said than done, no doubt, but i certainly think that being a drummer and knowing what the kit is *supposed* to sound like can give one a leg up.


cheers,
wade
 
mrface2112 said:
i'm a drummer too (who's since branched out to other things), and i find that, at least for me, the "trick" to mixing drums is to mix them as you like to hear them behind the kit. easier said than done, no doubt, but i certainly think that being a drummer and knowing what the kit is *supposed* to sound like can give one a leg up.


cheers,
wade
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Granted, but I've also found that I get criticism for having kick-heavy drum mixes with an inverted soundfield... the way it sounds BEHIND the kit isn't the way people hear it through the mains, ya know? :)
 
Llarion said:
Granted, but I've also found that I get criticism for having kick-heavy drum mixes with an inverted soundfield... the way it sounds BEHIND the kit isn't the way people hear it through the mains, ya know? :)
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oh i hear ya loud and clear. :D

but if you listen to a cross-section of a lot of modern pop and pop country, kick heavy mixes are somewhat the norm these days. and honestly, i can't complain about it. i like kick heavy mixes--provided that it's still "balanced". and that's the trick, i guess. kinda makes you wonder how the mix sounded before it got to mastering, if it's kick heavy afterwards! :eek:

and you're right about the kit panning. but then again, my favorite albums have always been those where the kit is panned from the drummer's perspective (assuming a righty drummer). usually those tend to be albums that have drummers who are prominently featured. albums where the kit is panned from the audience perspective feel "backwards" to me.

it's just a matter of taste in the end, but for me panning (and balancing) the kit how i'm used to hearing it gets me in the ballpark. i've tried to mix drums from the audience perspective, but i just can't do it.


cheers,
wade
 
haha guys wat do u think of my mix? taken me about 2 hours...
no lie.. personaly i'm happy with it.. made the accident of making the kick a tad too loud... woops... oh well

lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=8725

wonder if this competition is still going?

if not.. who one??

and are there any more tracks i can practice mixing with???

cheers!
Jamie
 
mrface2112 said:
oh i hear ya loud and clear. :D

but if you listen to a cross-section of a lot of modern pop and pop country, kick heavy mixes are somewhat the norm these days. and honestly, i can't complain about it. i like kick heavy mixes--provided that it's still "balanced". and that's the trick, i guess. kinda makes you wonder how the mix sounded before it got to mastering, if it's kick heavy afterwards! :eek:

and you're right about the kit panning. but then again, my favorite albums have always been those where the kit is panned from the drummer's perspective (assuming a righty drummer). usually those tend to be albums that have drummers who are prominently featured. albums where the kit is panned from the audience perspective feel "backwards" to me.

it's just a matter of taste in the end, but for me panning (and balancing) the kit how i'm used to hearing it gets me in the ballpark. i've tried to mix drums from the audience perspective, but i just can't do it.


cheers,
wade
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Me either. Ultimately, I thin the biggest problem I have recordign my drums is the kit itself, which sounds horrible. I think hf the drums sound right, it's easy (or, rather, EASIER) to record them. I'm trying to make flowers out of poop.
 
Llarion said:
I'm trying to make flowers out of poop.
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LOL, nice. outside of the drums sounding decent on their own, i think the largest factor in recording drums is the room itself. if the room is small and crappy, you've got no hope in getting a workable drum recording.

i'll take a crappy kit in a great room ANY day over a great kit in a crappy room.

the best my drums ever sounded was on an old wooden riser at an outdoor gig we played. i've never heard my floor tom sound that deep and my kick sound so huge. i think i'm gonna have to go back to that outdoor venue the next time i need to track drums. :D :eek:


cheers,
wade
 
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