Comparing My Mix to Pro Mix...Which is Better?

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Robertt8

Robertt8

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Our band "home recorded" enough tunes for a 13 song album and figured we'd see what a "pro" could do with the mix. I also decided to do my own mix as well to compare. Well, I've got the two mixes side by side, and can't tell if mine sounds better (to me) because his hasn't been mastered yet, or if his is actually not a very good mix.

Both tunes were recorded on the Roland VS-880EX and I mixed and (sort of) mastered (using their on board effects), and that's what you hear for mine. His pulled from the VS-880EX and mixed on Protools. (for some reason he's managed to end up with a bunch of static in his tracks that was not there before)


BOTH SONGS CAN BE HEARD HERE"
http://www.bagoftoysmusic.com/surfsong2/surfsong.html


Would we be idiots to go with this guy to do an entire album? or is this how it should sound (kind of thin and weak) before mixing? I'm sure the pro mix is better than mine, but for some reason it sounds like it's coming out of some old AM radio. Maybe i'm nuts or just used to hearing my bad mixes, but it just sounds like it's laking bottom end and is really twangy.

Any help would be great!

Thanks!
 
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The pro mix has more bass, I like that.

The verb on the vox is not in the pro mix, also sounds better without it to me.
On the other side, the guitars lean (very much at times) to the left because the left guitar has alot more presense and sting noise in the pro mix. The guitars themselves do sound better.

I'd go with the guy. The pro mix does sound better.

On side note: there is a totaly difference between mixing and mastering. You can't really say anything about mastering when it concerns just one song. Any song should sound fine to amazing before it's mastered together with the other tracks.
 
Robertt8 said:
Would we be idiots to go with this guy to do an entire album?
Click to expand...
Yes. There was some kind of problem with the transfer of the individual tracks. Sounds like severe jitter to me. How was the transfer done from the VS into ProTools? The balance of the "pro" mix seems OK to me (listening on cans, so take that statement with a grain of salt), but you need to get the noise issue resolved before forking over any cash to this guy.
 
Oh dude, I totally mixed them up! Don't do it! Your mix sounds alot better! Fire him and then kick him!
 
Yep, another person who gets protools and thinks he's a pro, I mean it isn't bad but I like yours better, I do like what he did in the chorus though. No need to pay for something you can do yourself!
 
YOUR MIX- the instruments seemed panned, the vox sounded good, but the overall track seemed a little too light, no power.

THE PRO- to me the pro sounded better from the start. the bass was more there, it didnt feel light. the vocals sounded much better to me, they didnt feel 'dead'

seriously i dont care what others tell u, some have said ur mix is better but to me i can easily tell the pro was much better.

good luck
 
I thought the pro sounded more punchier. Tighter and a much more defined mix. There is some jitter problems at the beggining.

I personally like the pro mix better. Though it might not be what you were going for.

danny
 
The pro vocals sound much better... like clearer and full of energy or something.
 
My opinion

The pro mix sounds clearer, more defined, and controlled than yours. The bass and kick drum in the pro mix are exactly where they should be, I think. One big difference between your mixes is the use of reverb; yours is excessive while the pro's sounds more appropriate. I agree with DonF about the noise issue.

Your mix was good though, not bad by any means! Keep it up!
 
Yep, pro mix sounds better to me. The air in the vocals, tighter bottom end, nicer sounding in the low mids... to me anyway.
 
Well my critique will start unbiased and get biased.

I Listend to your mix 1st. it seems like things are unfit at times. Not seamless.
Seems a bit muddy as well (vocals)

The pro starts out smoother. Although i didnt like the panning. The lead vocal seems to far back in the mix for my taste. The low end is tighter.

Overall you mix seems more forward just need to compress the elements better. The Pro mix seems a bit lifeless to me.

Vocals are clearer but not as agressive as your mix.

How much time did you spend mixing yours???

I think a nice balance between what he got and what you did should be your goal. Did you sit in on his mix and then give your desires after he got eq's and basic compression set????

I did like his solo gtr placement better. and his Drums flet better (except the hat seems brittle to me)

He should have been more agressive with chorus useage and the like and space on the gtrs.

Over all it is a toss. you had things I liked and he had things I liked.

I would spend the money only if you co mixed the track with him.
 
I disliked the panning on both.

Im under the assumption that the "pro" didnt spend nearly as long on his mix as you spent mixing the same tracks.

Would i be correct Robert?
 
I think Your mix, although slightly less controlled, has far more character and life to it but I think that is because you are in the band. Maybe spend time with the pro when he mixes your stuff?
 
Hi

You probably spent more time on your mix than he did on his so I would propose to work in collaboration. That way, you can get the good elements of you mix (presence and warm) with his professional approach for balance, compression and EQ.

Nice thread.

/Jack Real.
 
Firstly, is it a fair listening experiment if one is masterd and the other isnt? NO NO and more NO. but still by carefull adjusting of levels in Wavelab atleast i can get the two tracks to match in volume to make the test a bit easier for myself.

The "pro" mix is a bit harsh with the guitar strumming and the crackling sound at the start on the right side isnt very nice. COuld have been an effect he added but doesnt work. The balance doesnt seem right to me also. Quite a clean crisp mix, but maybe a little too crisp and clean, not enough warmth as you said.

Your mix Definetely has more lo end probably because of mastering, but is a tad muddy in comparison to the "pro" mix.
If i had to choose i would go for your mix definetely. But i would get it mastered better. Boost the hi end a little, take a little scoop out at around 250Hz maybe to lessen the mud.

Yeah working together i think yous could come up with a decent sounding mix.
 
Other than the added noise, I'd definitely go for the pro mix. It doesn't sound thin or weak to me. Rather, your mix sounded a little boomy and muddy to me. Things (especially the vox, although they could have maybe been a little louder) were definitely clearer in the pro mix. The low end was tighter, you could actually hear the kick, and the vocals had some nice air and presence in them.

Regarding the panning issue, I don't think that's something to be decided on one listen through. The kneejerk reaction by most people is to either like or dislike something because it's different, so I'm not going to say which one I liked better. I listened to your mix first, so when the pro mix started and the panning was different I thought, "hey, that doesn't sound right. I see what they were talking about with the panning." But then I realized that the only reason I was thinking that way was because I used your mix as a reference. But had I listened to the pro mix and nothing else, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Whereas as soon as I started listening to your mix, I thought it sounded a little muddy and unfocused. That was before I even listened to the pro mix.


I think this is a good idea, but it's also a little dangerous because you're all of the sudden dealing with relative judgement primarily. I know it may seem like I'm making too big of a deal out of "which one do you like better?", but I think in order for it to be a more objective opinion, people should "cleanse their pallete" in between the two mixes, like wine tasters do. There's a very good reason they do that. Anyway, that's my two cents.
 
there are some subtle differences. The snare is louder/different in your mix. That doesnt mean anything negative, i actully think the snare soundx better a little louder.

I wouldnt spend the extra money witht he pro. Although, it is sometimes complete agony(at least for me) to sit and mix my own music. I end up never beign happy with it. at least you can blame the pro, and not yourself if something sound different.

Like I said, i hear some differnces, but I dont think any of them are big enought to make a difference. If your happy with your mix then go with that one. Its all in the ear of the beholder anyways. Some like it one way some like it another, then the rest are the ones that will actually like your music, and buy it cause they like your song(which by the way is really cool :) ).

I wouldnt sweat the little stuff on this one. Its a fun song with a laid back groove. The song will carry it no matter which one you choose.

good luck, and once again, impressive song.
 
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