Public Mix Contest #4!!!!

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Blue Bear Mix

Blue Bear, didn't you say this was your band? I would like to hear your mix of it if possible to know how everything should have been done.. I was A/Bing with Dream Theater's "Erotomania" as I was mixing, guess that was definately the wrong direction to go! :rolleyes:

A lyric sheet would also be cool - after like 200 listens all I can understand from the vocals is "now that I'm..." in one part.. I think.. :D Would like to know what the song's about!
 
schenkerguy said:
Blue Bear, didn't you say this was your band? I would like to hear your mix of it if possible to know how everything should have been done.. I was A/Bing with Dream Theater's "Erotomania" as I was mixing, guess that was definately the wrong direction to go! :rolleyes:

A lyric sheet would also be cool - after like 200 listens all I can understand from the vocals is "now that I'm..." in one part.. I think.. :D Would like to know what the song's about!
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No it's Finster's band... Garuda's Mission...
You can hear his mix at the bottom left hand corner of www.geomana.com.
 
schenkerguy said:
Blue Bear, didn't you say this was your band?
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Nope - never said that.... I think it's Fin's band though...

schenkerguy said:
I would like to hear your mix of it if possible to know how everything should have been done..
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Can't help you with that one, I didn't do a mix of this tracK!
 
This is a little snip of the track I used for A/B..



Was trying to get that clear snappy percussive sound.. got kind of close on my actual track.

Congrats to the winner! Was that the "amazing slow downer" plugin?
 
Geomana Recording Studio.. That mix sounds remarkably similar to the winner, that's what I should have been using as a guide.. DOH! Man is that compressed! Sounds like the level control on T-racks cranked right up - just shows how little I know about how this music should sound! :D On to the next one..
 
I have a feeling I went wrong in the compression dept. as well.
That along with the fact that I try to stay away from the mid-scoop guitars... I really screwed up.
 
Well, I guess that shut me up. I've never heard metal-ish music mixed this tame, but that's cool.
 
Disposable. !st thing is the intro. The volume actually dropped a tad when you went into the main part of the song so you lost some impact.

Top end was shrill. You had good panning but you didnt create true space. And the mix was smallish feeling.

My 1st Q is how is your mixing environment? What type of room? What are you montioring with?, etc.... What volume levels are you mixing at?
 
My mixing environment... is somewhat of a joke...
10 x 10 bedroom. No studio monitors as I have no money.
Mixing levels are likely too low as my wife doesn't particularly like loud music.
 
Didn't even realize the volume dropped at after the intro... oops...
 
10 x 10 room. The worse. I have an album that I mixed in a 10 x 10 room. I dont let many people hear it. :)

Studio Monitors will give you a truer view of your sound field (of course you know that). Low volume is a good thing. I never mix louder than 85db. Most times I mix at 78db (A weighted)

So yeah you are fighting an up hill battle. Get a good set of cans so you can hear more of the dimensional aspect of your mixes. it will help you overcome the issues a 10 x 10 room create. Especially in the mids.

But nevertheless. A Mix of mine went gold from a 10 x 10 room. they mastered the snot out of it to correct all the issues I had in this room. #1 is your bass. You have major nodes in all too important bass areas.

Now, considering your mix envioronment. you did quite well :)

Get a nice set of headphones and learn them well. For Mixing I prefer the Sony 700's or 900's Not cheap but truer than the 7506's Those are too bright. it's a start. the ATM 40fs are workable too.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
???

:confused:
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Well, it just sounds like the mixes at the top of the rankings sound really... dead. I don't know. I'm probably just used to really harsh mixes (Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, etc.).
 
Awesome... Thanks for the tips.
I do use headphones for nitpicking... But they are cheap headphones too...
I generally pick a reference file, and analyze how it sounds on my system.
I guess I don't too too good a job of that huh?
 
xtjdx said:
Well, it just sounds like the mixes at the top of the rankings sound really... dead. I don't know. I'm probably just used to really harsh mixes (Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, etc.).
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Only one mix was "in the ballpark" compared to professional, commercial mixes, and that was the winning mix, IMO...

All the others had a variety of sonic issues mostly in terms of depth, imaging and space. A lot also suffered from poor low/high-end balances - some being thin and muddy or shrill, others being bass-heavy and dark. Some were even thin and dark.

I've heard a number of "heavy" clips from client reference CDs -- even the edgy, hard-metal style is sonically well-balanced and has depth around the tracks. This is a characteristic of a professional mix, and it's where most people fail.
 
I very well may re-mix and use the winning mix as a reference...
If that's okay.
And if anyone would be willing to have a listen and let me know,
if it's even in the ballpark.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
All the others had a variety of sonic issues mostly in terms of depth, imaging and space. A lot also suffered from poor low/high-end balances - some being thin and muddy or shrill, others being bass-heavy and dark. Some were even thin and dark
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I think this must have alot to do with the many different types of speakers that were used to monitor the mixes. I used a pair of Altec Lansing ATP3 computer speakers. When I listen to the winning entry it sounds like the whole mix was running through a ROCKMAN guitar preamp. You know that coffee can sounding midrange. Some of the darker mixes sound better on these cheap speakers. This is not an excuse for my bad mix but it's one of the reasons us "Poor" folk with cheap speakers scored low.
 
A big thanks to the judges! I can't imagine listening to the same song some 30 times in a row. I'm looking forward to the next contest. Just out of curiosity, what did everyone find the most difficult part of the mix? I know I struggled with many parts and never really could decide what to do with the kick (especially those 1/16th note rolls) :p
 
Disposable said:
I very well may re-mix and use the winning mix as a reference...
If that's okay.
And if anyone would be willing to have a listen and let me know,
if it's even in the ballpark.
Click to expand...

To be honest with you, I listened to my mix yesterday and really had trouble making it through. I mixed and upped it all in one session, something I'll never do again.
 
well, I'm going to pour myself a scotch in a few minutes, I nailed my first "fair" :)

lol, man, I suck at this. I'm sure some of it's my equipment, but I'm also sure there's probably a mix above mine that was done on walkman headphones.

The hardest part on this was the drums and bass for me. To start with I couldn't get the cymbal and tom mix I wanted. I didn't worry too much about that tho. I spent most of my time screwing with the bass and got nowhere. I couldn't get any deep punch out if it or the kick and I couldn't get a consistent volume level across either of those tracks and didn't bother doing any enveloping.

Regardless, after listening to Badchi's mix I could make mine 100 times better in about 30 seconds. I still wouldn't have that guitar presence though, that's what really stuck out to me.

on to the next... doo da doo...




you guys are toast this time...I mean it :)
 
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