Hearts Collide - alternative/pop/rock - new mix

andrushkiwt

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
So... been in a writing rut recently and decided to give an older track another mixing spin. I reworked the drums and amp sims, vocal chain, and master buss vst's. I only spent 3-4 hours on it last night, but I'm pretty pleased with the changes after listening this morning. I've linked the older (november 2015?) mix as well, although I made it private.

Basically, I've applied stuff I've picked up since last fall to an older track. I'm also using newly acquired vst's that I didn't have at that time. How's the new one sounding? Is this one better off? Does it seem worth it to sit down and rework some other mixes as well? thanks!

edit: don't worry about checking out the old one if you can't...the new one alone is fine. up to you

new mix:



older mix, now private:

https://soundcloud.com/andrushkiwt/hearts-collide/s-fWuon
 
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You've gotten the guitars out of the way of the vocal in the verse part, which I like. I'm hearing a little more boominess in the bass in the new mix. The guitars also seem to be a little more abrasive in the new mix. I'm not hearing a clear improvement--there are things I like better in both versions.
 
Robus said:
You've gotten the guitars out of the way of the vocal in the verse part, which I like. I'm hearing a little more boominess in the bass in the new mix. The guitars also seem to be a little more abrasive in the new mix. I'm not hearing a clear improvement--there are things I like better in both versions.
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The high end is lifted significantly in the newer track, across the master bus. Listen to the hats and overheads. There's a glisten to them that wasn't there before, as well as the vocals. Also, I actually turned up the guitars, not down...but I lifted and compressed the vocal more to be heard better in the verses.
 
I think the newer mix sounds significantly better, but I'm not sure why. It just sounds more put together and richer (e.g. guitars sound thicker with more tone, rounder sound, etc. Vocals sound better). Great mix, imo. I'd rework the old songs since you're having a writer's block. That's a good time to rework old recordings.
 
Nola said:
I think the newer mix sounds significantly better, but I'm not sure why. It just sounds more put together and richer (e.g. guitars sound thicker with more tone, rounder sound, etc. Vocals sound better). Great mix, imo. I'd rework the old songs since you're having a writer's block. That's a good time to rework old recordings.
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yeah, i thought so too. I really think it's that sloped lift I gave the new one across the 2 bus around 7khz. I think the old one had lots of tracks with LP filters on, like toms and snares and maybe vocals, so I stripped all those and noticed an effect immediately. I still need to keep them on the guitars because these amp sims are kinda nasty up top.

Oh, I also changed the kick from a 14" to 18", changed drum fills a bit, reworked bass EQ and amp settings, guitar EQ and settings, and vocal bus processing. Lots of stuff.

Thanks for the listen/FB
 
andrushkiwt said:
yeah, i thought so too. I really think it's that sloped lift I gave the new one across the 2 bus around 7khz. I think the old one had lots of tracks with LP filters on, like toms and snares and maybe vocals, so I stripped all those and noticed an effect immediately. I still need to keep them on the guitars because these amp sims are kinda nasty up top.

Oh, I also changed the kick from a 14" to 18", changed drum fills a bit, reworked bass EQ and amp settings, guitar EQ and settings, and vocal bus processing. Lots of stuff.

Thanks for the listen/FB
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NP, Andru. You should make a topic about the writer's block. I think it's an interesting topic.
 
Nola said:
NP, Andru. You should make a topic about the writer's block. I think it's an interesting topic.
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Eh, it's not literally a block, it's more of a lack of feeling original and less derivative. When you focus on writing pop stuff, so much of it is the same. And i want to get out of those "fall back" chord progressions and arrangements. I could probably write something like this tune tonight and work on the mix for a couple weeks...but i've been wanting to get more creative and inspired. Unfortunately, I'm in a very happy relationship, so that makes writing difficult for me. She's way too good for me and that's the area I usually pull from...i can't write happy go lucky stuff. That doesn't work for me. So I've been having to make up stories or remember past events/situations. Never saw that one coming. But hey, if pop stuff is what I write, then maybe I should just keep doing it. I'll work older mixes for now until I figure it out.
 
Not much to pick at. It sounds polished. Guitars and vocal sound good.

There is a cymbal on the left that's a bit too loud for my ear.

Also noticed the vocal is noticeably wetter than the snare. There is a fair amount of reverb on things, but the snare is rather dry.

That's about it tho. Tone on things is real good. Performances are great. Nice.
 
TripleM said:
Not much to pick at. It sounds polished. Guitars and vocal sound good.

There is a cymbal on the left that's a bit too loud for my ear.

Also noticed the vocal is noticeably wetter than the snare. There is a fair amount of reverb on things, but the snare is rather dry.

That's about it tho. Tone on things is real good. Performances are great. Nice.
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Really? Adding verb to the snare was something new I did for this mix. It just gets lost with too much, though i suppose turning it up solves that. I need to better judge how much pre-delay is ideal for snares/toms. I can't much tell the diff between a few ms. It has a flat plate verb with some things tweaked. I'm a fan of more verb on snares though, so good to know I can be more aggressive with it.

thanks man
 
I was just saying that, to my ear, the snare was dryer than the other tracks (especially the vocal).
 
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