Mixdown Practicing & Learning

Magghy Ji

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Aart dB
May 07, 2023
Hi everybody,
What seemed to be a terrible song not worth the trouble, appeared to be a jewel in the rough, and after some polishing a nice song was uncovered.
Pass the Glass: https://on.soundcloud.com/wqgvc
I used the original mix on spotify as a reference, but halfway I decided to go my own way.
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Lee Walker
May 07, 2023
I like the mix, you were able to tame the Lead vox although there is still a lot of sibilance, I am on the fence about the verb on it. I can hear the backing vox too. Good job with the electric guitars, the piano is a little lost though. Overall good job
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Aart dB (author)
May 07, 2023
Thank you @Lee Walker
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João Freitas Darui
May 07, 2023
Hey Nice job Loved how you made the synths sounds. I didnt identify what frequency is but theres a boost on bass that is masking a lot the low end. i bet is something around 200hz. cant tell you exactly i just listen that frequencie masking a lot and making a kind of 'oo' sound. u know what i mean?
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Aart dB (author)
May 07, 2023
Hi @João Freitas Darui, thank you. What you hear is the bass guitar, I agree it has this booming sound, I didn't get around to processing it properly. It's between 100 and 200 Hz.
But this is not actually masking, because technically masking means that something is hiding something else in the same frequency area, but in my mix there is nothing else in that same frequency. ( I have taken out the low end from the kick drum for reasons you can read in my comments on Jason and Vlad)
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Ron Allen
May 07, 2023
Aart, I think this is a really good pivot on the material. I like that you pushed the drums back and the acoustic forward and made it a little more approachable -- anything to make the horrible kick drum less obvious is an improvement :). The only thing sabotaging your mix is that 10K sibilance on the lead vocal. Those Ss are obvious and once you hear it, you can't un-hear it. Super good work. I look forward to revision day to see if you address the vocals a little more.
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Aart dB (author)
May 07, 2023
Thank you Ron, and believe me I did a lot of work on those sibilants already, but I will try a little harder for revision day.
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Liam Wilcock
May 07, 2023
An interesting approach here, it's very folky compared to mine which is fine for a song with this vibe. Giving more weight to the acoustic guitars really changes the sound of the song. Personally I would like to hear more low end on the bass, but that's my taste talking.
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Jesai V
May 08, 2023
Hi aart! I read your comments on my post but, on your mix I don't ear the kick clearly, I don't ear it. Ilike the general balance and the acustic gtrs. For me there is a bit too much sibilance on vovals and high freq on strings (1:35, maybe it is too much volume). In general I need to hear distorted guitars more (to my taste)
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Aart dB (author)
May 08, 2023
Hi Jesai, from your comment I read that you haven't understood the point of my approach. Because the bass and kick sound chaotic together, because of wrong timing of the kick, there are two ways to approach this. (it's not a matter of separation, but a matter of timing)
1: you replace the drums and make a new kick track that is in time with the bass ( what Ron Allen did),
or
2: you take out the low end of the kick so you can't hear it anymore (that's what I have done).
In my mind this kind of musik doesn't need a heavy low end on the drums anyway. The last several weeks we had mixes that needed a solid deep drum base, but I feel many of us make it a habit to do that with al the mixes, no matter what genre we are mixing.
I know you like distorted guitars, But there simply is no place for that in this song. When a little too loud they make the mix messy and untransparant.
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Tyson Arp
May 08, 2023
Definitely a different artistic approach to this song. I get your hang up about the kick/bass rhythm relationship, but I think you let it bother you too much. To me it seemed that the bass was more or less just doubling the rhythm of the guitar, and when I thought about it that way it bothered me a lot less. Without the rhythm of the kick the song has way less urgency to it. I don't know if this is good or bad, but it definitely changes the emotional experience of the track.

Sonically I think the low end of your mix is a bit rumbly and loose feeling and takes up too much of the sound stage. Perhaps there is some reverb on something with too much low end?

Lead vocals sound pretty good. Maybe tame that sibilance a bit more and bring up the level just a touch in relation to the music. To me the backups stick out a bit from the experience and have some sibilance that need dealt with so they don't bring so much attention to themselves.

The 'violin' I think sounds good and musical considering what we had to work!
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Jesai V
May 08, 2023
I agree with @Tyson Arp , for me isn't a big deal kick and bass relationship... hadn't noticed it....
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Magghy Ji
May 08, 2023
Hey Aart, nice mix! The violin-synth is a bit loud compared to the other instruments (especially the drum kit) and I agree with Jesai about the vocal (too sibilant) and the high frequencies a bit too brigth ;P
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Aart dB (author)
May 08, 2023
@Tyson Arp, thank you, I can't undo what I know is there. I am quite happy with my solution of taking the low end out of the kick. To me this music is pub music where they never amplify the drums, so all you get is room sound. I think the snare has drive enough to carry the song.
After revisiting my mix I totally agree with you about the low end rumble. It's just the bass, nothing else. I always take out all the low from any reverb I use, so that can't be it. I scooped out so much low end from the bass already, but still not enough aparently.
And the sibilance, I was at peace with it, because I removed so much of it already, but after having had several remarks about it, I think I'm gonna do my best to improve it.

Thank you @Magghy Ji, I used the original mix as a reference and there the synth was even louder, I agree about the sibilance and I'll work on it.