Mix contest

  • Thread starter Thread starter caryindy
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"For outboard, I used 2 RNCs, and a bunch of reverb/effect units (Roland SRV3030, a pair of Lexi MPX500s, a pair of Yamaha SPX90s, a Lexi LXP15mkII, a Rocktron Intellifex LTD, a 4-ch Sony DSPV55.......

I mixed down at 24-bit/88.2KHz via Lucid AD9624 converters to an Alesis Masterlink.... (monitoring from the Masterlink via a Lucid DA9624...)"

lol

just a few odds and ends lying about the studio eh?
 
@Doug H

Thanks for your comments, somehow I failed to notice your post yesterday. :rolleyes:

In retrospect, I think you're right, the kick is too loud. And I already guessed that the whole mix might be too bottom heavy, thanks for confirming that.

David
 
Originally posted by fenix
I think I read somewhere the ghost notes on More at Ease being a pain in the ass. What ghost notes? I don't hear any, not in my mix at least.
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that would have been me complaining.

You played the drums, right? Then you should know best whether there are any ghostnotes on the snare track and the overheads. :)
All I can say is that I at first put all the tracks up and listened to the song as it was. I didn't notice anything then, either. I then soloed the overheads and listened through them and right in the first drum part, there are some strange out-of-time noises going on, much like an untimed delay or something. I later realized that these ringy noises were present on the snare track as well. So I figured those must have been ghost notes.

Or maybe it's just me hearing them?

David
 
I didn't hear them.... but I did have a question about the OH placement.... there did seem to be a rather strange image fom the overheads - it took a while to make them fit in the soundscape.... how were the mics placed?
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I didn't hear them.... but I did have a question about the OH placement.... there did seem to be a rather strange image fom the overheads - it took a while to make them fit in the soundscape.... how were the mics placed?
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Spaced pair I guess you call it. I'm not a fan of x/y or whatever that placement is called. I like it WIDE.
 
How far apart? To make the OH sit properly and provide a realistic image, I actually had to close them in to about 9 and 3 o'clock....! You would have gotten a wider image with XY, in this particular case!

Also - a note to some of the other mixers who commented on the drum imaging. In a multi-mic situation such as this, you have to make sure you pan the close-mic'd drums in the same position as they exist in the OHs, otherwise you will seriously skew your imaging. In this particular case, audience perspective on the OHs meant that the OH L had to be panned right and OH R had to be panned left. If you didn't do this, then your imaging would have been skewed. Also - youhave to watch for tom panning - audience perspective would mean the toms travel right to left with Hi Tom towards the right and Lo tom on the left. I've caught myself a few times with this and if the toms aren't panned as they are in the OHs, it tends to sound quite strange....
 
Re: Reviews

nessbass said:
Fishmed
First off, the acoustic seems to be chorused, which I don't like, what did you use to stereoize it? Maybe it's a harmonizer set too high?
The bass is too quiet. And with the bass that low, the deep low end of the kick seems to be way out of proportion.
You're right with the electrics, same problem as with DonFs mix. And yes, I also think that the rimclicks are too soft.

Comments? [/B]
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Thank you nessbass for giving me feedback; I wish I had it before I did my second mix. Did my second mix fix any of these issues? Listening back to that first mix I can see how the bass is a bit weak. All I did to to stereoize the guitar was made a copy and shift the pitch up by 5 cents. I was trying to go for a fuller mix, knowingly I did kill some of the naturalness of those guitars. Even on the second mix, I know the vocals still need some work, but i don't think I will go for a third mix.

The equipment I used were:
- Sound Forge to edit the tracks
- Dumped the tracks to the HD24
- Mixed on an MCI JH416
- Ensoniq DP Pro for Reverb
- Second Ensoniq DP Pro for chourus on the some of the electric gutiars.
- UREI LA4 on the main Vox
- DBX 1046 on the backup Vox
- Otari DTR-8S for A/D converter
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
How far apart? You would have gotten a wider image with XY, in this particular case!
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They were spaced probably 3 1/2 feet apart. One above the 18" crash and one above the 19" crash and 21" ride.

I find it hard to believe that you can achieve a wider stereo image using XY than having mics spaced several feet apart.
 
Re: Reviews

nessbass said:
DonF
The whole snare track needs help. The snare itself doesn't open up sound-wise, and the rimclicks also lack presence and seem to be too quiet as well. The bass is somewhat on the boomy side and tends to overpower the mix, especially in the low mids. I guess you compressed the whole mix, which becomes apparent in the 'let it out'-part between choruses 2 and 3, where the bass kinda ducks the mix. BTW, where are the electrics? I think by having them that low in the mix you give away some of the songs dynamics. The melody guitar in the end is nearly not there.
...
Comments?
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You've got sharp ears, fella! I agree with all of your comments.

The only reason I actually got around to doing a mix was because I was sick last Friday. My wife says, "I can't understand why you're spending all this time mixing someone else's music!" *shakes head* Some people just don't understand art.

If there were a prize for "least expensive setup", I think I'd win easily. :D

Thank you very much for taking the time to listen, and especially for your insightful comments. And many, many thanks to fenix for providing the tracks!

(P.S.: I have another version where I looped the "let it out" section several times near the end, and overlaid it with sounds of chainsaws, bombs dropping, glass breaking, etc. I decided it was too bizarre to post, but it makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it. Use your imagination.)
 
fenix said:
I find it hard to believe that you can achieve a wider stereo image using XY than having mics spaced several feet apart.
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Normally, you wouldn't, but like I said, in this case, to make the drum image "correct" I had to narrow the stereo field on the OH anyways, so any gain in width you had via spaced pair was lost!

Oh - by the way - these are strictly my very subjective opinions....! ;)
 
Hey Blue Bear, just wondering what you listen for when panning the overheads to make a correct sterio image. Do you just twiddle to pan knobs until you hear the individual drums/cymbals coming from well-defined locations? What do you check when placing overheads in the first place to avoid this?
 
a bunch of guys all make (basicly) the same mix in their home studio's on cheap computers or crappy desks.

in comes this pro with tons of hardware and years of experience.

his mix is the best!!!


some 'contest'.


blue bear : i don't think i like you but you know your trade!

(almost) everyone else : stop sucking each others dicks gentlemen, you're not quite there yet!!!
 
I think you're missing the point of all this.... It is not so much a contest as a learning experiance. When do any of us ever get to see how our skills measure up using the same tracks? Having a pro participate makes it that much better.
 
wetteke said:
a bunch of guys all make (basicly) the same mix in their home studio's on cheap computers or crappy desks blah blah blah drivel drivel blah blah....
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Thank you for your insightful comments. :rolleyes:
 
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