Public Mix Contest #3!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter xfinsterx
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Well, I've already done a couple new versions.
I think Version 3 is the best of the three...
I think that one will be my entry...
 
I'm BaaaaAAAack

ok so I couldn't do a dance remix version this time :D . I got out my Metallica and listened to some Ministry (the only 2 things in my CD collection that may sound similiar.) The raw tracks on this one were so much improved over the last contest. Anyway I really have no idea what I'm doing so I just sort of put each instrument in a seperate eq zone. This is not my final entry I just need some tips. I know its lame to not just go for it but I really have never mixed anything like this. Also sorry for the tiny pops here and there. My computer was having trouble with all the processing and I need to bounce tracks. I think I'm happy with the high end of the mix (hihats etc) The vocal seems to sit in the midrange with the guitar more in the high. I think I'm happy with the low end too. My guitars just don't sound as bright and defined as some of the other mixes. Maybe the whole thing is too compressed? All this popular stuff on the radio seems so compressed though so I figured what the heck. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
NOT FINAL ENTRY

Thanks in advance!
ps. cool song you should check out my friends bands Eat The Living and Watch me Burn
 
MixMister said:
ok so I couldn't do a dance remix version this time :D . I got out my Metallica and listened to some Ministry (the only 2 things in my CD collection that may sound similiar.) The raw tracks on this one were so much improved over the last contest. Anyway I really have no idea what I'm doing so I just sort of put each instrument in a seperate eq zone. This is not my final entry I just need some tips. I know its lame to not just go for it but I really have never mixed anything like this. Also sorry for the tiny pops here and there. My computer was having trouble with all the processing and I need to bounce tracks. I think I'm happy with the high end of the mix (hihats etc) The vocal seems to sit in the midrange with the guitar more in the high. I think I'm happy with the low end too. My guitars just don't sound as bright and defined as some of the other mixes. Maybe the whole thing is too compressed? All this popular stuff on the radio seems so compressed though so I figured what the heck. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
NOT FINAL ENTRY

Thanks in advance!
ps. cool song you should check out my friends bands Eat The Living and Watch me Burn
Click to expand...

wow...this sounded really good.
Im a little shocked. The drum fill solo thing at the break ( about 2 mins. in ) sounded a little gated maybe?
If thats the case...id say automate a gate bypass for that little section.
But dude, thats about it. All else sounded bangin'.
And yeah ill check those bands out too. Thanx for the lead. :D
 
Brief comments on everyones tracks so far. For what its worth from an amatuer.
Bulls Hit - Overall too quiet. Echo voice is cool but a little too over the top in my opinion. Also hihats seem too quiet in some parts. Low end sounded cool to me though.

Claudio - The guitars seem like they are in too narrow of an eq range with no growl. The high end is cool and the panned vocals.. I think the vocals sit well but the overall low end of the whole track needs work.

Disposable - Kick drum seems a bit overwhelming. The drums sound good but it just seems like the guitar should come up a bit.

Duolos - Overall track volume is too low. The whole thing seems midrangey and not very powerful. Work on the highs and lows and make that snare snap.

FattMusiek - Drums sound good to me. Seemed like the vocals were a little buried.

NL5 - Overall volume is too low. Kick drum is overwhelming without the bass guitar complementing it. distorted vocal sounds like digital distortion instead of tube distortion. guitars could come up and be stronger sounding. I liked the solo panning and debated on doing that.

Pro Tools User - Nice snare drum. Something about the guitars though and maybe the low end is distorting a bit when the kick drum is hit together quickly (check at 14 seconds)

Sedstar - Kinda muddy. It needs some brightness. Maybe an exciter over the whole thing?

Tekker - no sound came out. set your gate threshold a bit lower.

Trackrat - Guitars have been squashes and eq much too high. The low end needs work and the guitars need more beef. Also becareful processing the snare too much. Vocals are difficult to hear because the guitar is taking up the vocal frequencies.

carindy - Sounds pretty good to me. I don't care too much for the snare effect reverb thing but the guitars sound good to me. Maybe a little more snap in the drums (more lows and louder snare?)

DCwave - Sounds good. My favorite so far. Maybe a little brightness on the overheads? This is the one to beat in my opinion.

Doug H - Overall too quiet. Deep low end needs work to give the track some more power.

jsandlin - resubmit your entry at a higher mp3 bit rate. The low rate makes your cymbals sound bad. The mix doesn't sound too bad so I would definately up the bit rate to at least 192. (I just saw that you did submit it higher but for some reason I can't get it to download)

jtvrdy - bass guitar is a bit too loud. Also the hihats aren't loud enough sometimes.

Ocnor - I think your overheads are too loud and your drums are too distant roomy sounding. That style would be good for certain types of music but I think it takes away from the power. You made it sound very live which is cool but I don't think it fits the style. Good mix though.

ok thats my two cents. If you agree with what I wrote then work on that if not then realize that I really don't know what I'm talking about. I just wanted to help out and give some of my time to be a part of the forum and not just submit an entry. I should hopefully submit my final entry tonight. If you get huge finster you better mention us in the liner notes!

ps. Any comments on my entry a few posts up would be helpful. Thanks!
 
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MixMister said:
If you get huge finster you better mention us in the liner notes!
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Ohhh..heh. I doubt we will get "huge" Mix. :o
Biggest selling band of all time in this genere hasnt even sold a million. (Deicide-Legion)
And the genere's been around for over 20 years.

No,,,,you dont do this kind of music unless you really have a love for it.
I was very expectant of the way this material was recieved in this contest.
Ever since i started being involved in this style of music I've been hearing phrases like "oh, i know its good, but i cant tell what they're saying" (haha)
Or,,, "it sounds like theyre just bashing thier instruments for no reason" Or..\(and this my personal favorite) "I like the newer Metallica stuff,,,,But thats about as heavy as ill get". :o :rolleyes:

Thank you for helping me with the reviews MixMister. Ive been tracking this Romanian gypsy choir for the last week straight. 13 people in my little studio! I hear my name called out an average of 2 times every minute.
Example----Ill be routing the mics for the kit---"Chris!!(insert dumb question here)!!"
etc etc.

Point is I been wanting to do more reviews, but have been really busy.
Lastly, it really excites me that there are 16 entries! :D Let alone the fact that the entries are coming from around the world! :cool:
Too cool..! :)
 
yeah

I'm mainly a punk rocker but I lived with a girl for years that sang for a band called Skumbreed so I have been exposed to the style. Its not really my thing but you guys always get the best drummers and its usually played really well and you can't deny the heavy powerful energy. Its something I totally respect. Here is a project I'm working on. Its just me playing everything. Check it out and lemme know what you think. http://www.myspace.com/thehooks

here is my friend sarah's band
http://www.watchmeburn.com
 
The Hooks was cool. Not my Steez but i liked the rawness of it.
Didnt like watch me burn. But i did however like the streaming video!
Ill be having that feature on my site asap. I saw that and im like "WTF? why didnt i think of that?"
Oh!, heh. The lead singer, shes a little hottie. :D
 
mixmister

Duolos - Overall track volume is too low. The whole thing seems midrangey and not very powerful. Work on the highs and lows and make that snare snap.

the mix volume is at -3db which is standard loudest mix volume prior to mastering according to Mr. bob katz "from his book Mastering Audio". the high end is fine the power of mixes comes in the mastering stages not mixing You should apply no master buss compression in a mix contest. this is only my opinion, but there were no rules for this. If volume is the issue of how a mix sounds your not judging it correctly to begin with the main goal in mixing in my opinion is the ability of a mix to translate well from system to system and to have balance and clarity my mix translates well in 4 different small home stereos the dvd player on my tv and in 3 car stereo setups and sounds pretty close to the 200+ MASTERED metal mix cds i have around as my references overall I’m happy with the mix and anyone who listens to hardcore metal will know that the mix is right on in tone the path i took was a minimal path i altered very little to the tracks this is based on my judgment i liked the tracks that i was given so i saw no reason to try and radically change them i just wanted them to work i believe they do hardcore metal has been to me a less is more genre in production overproduction in metal mixes to me is undesired.
 
Like last time, I'm not listening to ANY of the mixes until its time to judge them, but after seeing MM's post, I expected Mr. Doulos to respond as he did.

doulos said:
the mix volume is at -3db which is standard loudest mix volume prior to mastering according to Mr. bob katz "from his book Mastering Audio".
Click to expand...
uh... you do realize that volume level is dictated by apparent level, NOT the peak value as read on the meters...... got that?


doulos said:
the power of mixes comes in the mastering stages not mixing
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Say what??? Sorry, but that's complete and total nonsense........

The song should sound good at the end of each stage. Mastering can make a powerful song even MORE powerful, but if it doesn't sound powerful at the end of the mixing stage, then you're not finished mixing yet.....


doulos said:
my mix translates well in 4 different small home stereos the dvd player on my tv and in 3 car stereo setups and sounds pretty close to the 200+ MASTERED metal mix cds i have around as my references overall
Click to expand...
None of which may mean it's a good mix -- maybe your own frame of reference is skewed....? There's some evidence of that from some of the comments I've seen from you in the past.


This is what you posted at the beginnning of this contest:
doulos said:
i love the mix contests this really helps you see where you are in mixing and where you could or are gonna be in the future
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Seems like you don't believe your own words....

You know... you might consider actually learning something from others comments and improving, rather than maintaining a defensive, can't-tell-me-anything position. I've been engineering for quite some time and I still learn something new about audio everyday - it's part of what makes the job interesting.

I've heard some of your examples before, and you really should consider heeding other peoples advice........
 
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I learned something!

I did not know that pre-mastered the song should mix at -3db. Disregard all my volume overall is too low comments. Although I did think we were submitting final mixed and mastered stuff. Now I am concerned because my unmastered sounds like this:

while my mastered version sounds like this:

The mastered version has a harmonic exciter, multiband dynamics and a loudness maximizer over the whole mix. I feel like without the mastering plugins it doesn't sound nearly as good. Especially the multiband dynamics plugin. It really effects the way the guitars come out and keeps the vocal from being too loud. Maybe this is the incorrect way to mix by fixing the sound in mastering? Or is it ok to put this stuff in before mastering? I'm just confused. Is there even a rule of thumb?

Duolos - ok I listened to some Deicide (who finster mentioned as popular in the genre) to see how your mix compared and I still have to say the low end just isn't there. Maybe that is something that would be taken care of in mastering?

Has anyone else put any mastering style effects over the whole mix?

Also Bear what do you mean by apparent volume?
 
What harmonic exciter is it?
My mix has an L3 on the master bus. But nothing else.
And im not competeing so what ever....
You mix dosent sound terribly different from mix to master really.
Just louder. Id just submit the mix. If it were me competing, thats what id do. But i cant be making rules this late in the game.
So just use your "mix".
Peace
 
MixMister said:
Disposable - Kick drum seems a bit overwhelming. The drums sound good but it just seems like the guitar should come up a bit.
Click to expand...

You know I started to think that as well yesterday when I listened to it again.
I listened at a low volume and I could easily hear the click of the kick over a lot of other stuff. I'll probably go back and turn that down a bit. I maybe boosted the click frequency too much so it should be fairly wasy to fix. I'll look into boosting that guitar sound as well. Thanks for the thoughts and tips.
 
MixMister said:
Also Bear what do you mean by apparent volume?
Click to expand...
Human hearing perceives overall level of a song as a function of the frequency distribution of that song, NOT based on volume read from a meter. Our hearing is weighted towards midrange frequencies, so you could have a bass-heavy song that reads between -3 to 0dBFS (quite hot from a signal level point of view) and it sounds very "soft" to our ears, even though the meter is telling you it's "hot".....

So Doulos' -3 "magic number" is really a moving target. It assumes a very balanced and well-distributed mix (in terms of frequencies) -- get the mix wrong, and the meter numbers don't mean shit! ;)

Incidently - nowhere in his book does Katz say you should mix to -3dBFS...... he suggests leaving "some space" for the ME to do his work, but doesn't target a specific number, mainly because it would be meaningless. I'm not sure where Doulos gets some of his info from, but I'm happy to correct it......
 
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mix which one do you want me to post???



MixMister said:
I did not know that pre-mastered the song should mix at -3db. Disregard all my volume overall is too low comments. Although I did think we were submitting final mixed and mastered stuff. Now I am concerned because my unmastered sounds like this:

while my mastered version sounds like this:

The mastered version has a harmonic exciter, multiband dynamics and a loudness maximizer over the whole mix. I feel like without the mastering plugins it doesn't sound nearly as good. Especially the multiband dynamics plugin. It really effects the way the guitars come out and keeps the vocal from being too loud. Maybe this is the incorrect way to mix by fixing the sound in mastering? Or is it ok to put this stuff in before mastering? I'm just confused. Is there even a rule of thumb?

Duolos - ok I listened to some Deicide (who finster mentioned as popular in the genre) to see how your mix compared and I still have to say the low end just isn't there. Maybe that is something that would be taken care of in mastering?

Has anyone else put any mastering style effects over the whole mix?

Also Bear what do you mean by apparent volume?
Click to expand...
 
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