Mix critiques & advices - reach your mixing goals!

Ruud Reiher

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Nate Gabe
May 19, 2022
Hello everyone,
I would love some feedback on this track I made this autumn for the end of a theater play (I was acting in). It's gonna be used again on a cinematographer's showreel, i'm excited about it. It's like a second life for it.
Every piece of advice (mix and arrangements) would be a great help.

https://soundcloud.com/nathangabily/chute-v2/s-IvtSFYIuhnG?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
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Nate Gabe
May 19, 2022
i don't know why the embed code never works (maybe because the track is "private"). The link does work.
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Arthur Reich
May 19, 2022
Pretty and slow athmosphere :) What i can think of Improvement is Having bigger chords on the strings (maybe some other string layers), automating more stuff to make it less static and mastering it louder.
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Nate Gabe
May 19, 2022
Thanks @Arthur Reich !
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Felipe Berto
May 20, 2022
good mix man, this track is fire
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Nate Gabe
May 20, 2022
Thanks a lot @Felipe Berto !
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Lio LM
May 20, 2022
It is a very charming piece, which has a beautiful color, I like very much the sweetness which emerges from it, and it allows the imagination to express itself. What I like most about the mix is the nice consistent color of the equalization, the softness and the warmth at the same time. The percussion is really nice too with a good dynamic. For my part, as I find it very subtle, I think that this piece does not need more color or dynamics. Maybe just make the transients a bit more discreet sometimes? But very light, it should not be to lose the beautiful harmony =) Congratulations, it's a beautiful work 😍
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Cuantas Vacas
May 20, 2022
Good job, Nate! I like how its delicacy can somehow be disturbing. It sounds balanced to me, but I'm no expert on mixing. As a drummer, I think the composition would benefit from a slightly more elaborated drum/percussion line, along with some brush strokes of bass to add different colors to some of the chords.πŸ‘
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Nate Gabe
May 20, 2022
Waou @Lio LM , that's a really thoughtful feedback. This is the first time I share something here, it's overwhelming somehow.
Merci, fellow french musician ;-)
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Lio LM
May 20, 2022
You're welcome, it's a pleasure with such beautiful songs =) Enjoy Music!
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Nate Gabe
May 20, 2022
Thank you @Cuantas Vacas ! I feel you about the drums' over-simplicity and that it could be more elaborated. What do you mean by "some brush strokes of bass" ? Do you mean that the low end has some room for something more (a cello for example) ?
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Mikael Nyblom
May 20, 2022
Hello Nate, I'm giving this tune two big thumbs up, and here come my two objections.

The first, and most important one, is the open hi-hat at 0:23, 0:47, 1:11, and 1:35. It's way, way too loud and I'd consider switching to an entirely diferent sample (or if lowering the midi volume triggers another sample, that could be an option too). The closed hi hats could be backed down a bit too.

The second is that the bassline gets a bit bwoooey at times, if you know what I mean. During the first half it's ok but from 1:11, when it starts playing longer notes it becomes more apparent. You could also try to play around with the sustain a bit. Cionsider adding a bit of sub to it.
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Cuantas Vacas
May 20, 2022
Well, I was thinking about some kind of darker, sub-bass, long decaying notes, alternating tonic with non-tonic along the chords...but definitely more synthetic than a cello. Trip-hop would be close to what came to my mind.

I'm not saying the track needs this or that, don't get me wrong πŸ˜… . It's just that your composition somehow inspires my creativity that way.
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Fritz Dean
May 20, 2022
Great track!🌸
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Nate Gabe
May 22, 2022
Thank you @Mikael Nyblom, i'm gonna adress those issues when I'll get back to the track.
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Nate Gabe
May 22, 2022
Thanks @Fritz Dean, Grand Master of Space PanπŸ™