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Old 03-27-2017, 10:07 AM
MaurysMusic MaurysMusic is online now
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Default Mix advice please

Hi folks. My bandmates and I are working on a CD and some of the tunes are nearing the mixing stage. I'm looking for some constructive criticism, especially with regards to how this mix translates across other systems. How does this sound on your earphones/earbuds/car stereos/studio monitors?

I've taken great care to acoustically treat my listening room with bass traps and broadband absorption, and I've checked this against some commercial recordings that I'm familiar with in terms of sub-bass, etc. I've even looked at my mix vs reference mixes on a spectrum analyzer and I feel pretty good about the low end. I'm SO curious to see if I'm in the ballpark.

Thx in advance.

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Old 03-27-2017, 10:49 AM
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First off, I heard many album in the '70s not mixed this well.

Now, the tweaks:
Cymbals might be a tad loud.
Voice is back a bit further than I prefer.

Relationship between cymbals and voice is probably the biggie.

By the way, I'm not sure if you know about the trick for breaking vocal reverb out of the clutter. At the input of the reverb, roll off just about everything from 400hz down and everything from about 4k up. Suddenly the midrange is tighter! (Many reverb plugs offer knobs to do this.)

Bob
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Old 03-27-2017, 11:02 AM
DupleMeter DupleMeter is offline
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Overall it sounds quite good.

As Bob mentioned, the cymbals are a bit too hot. The hi-hat had a little too much "chunk" in the mid-range for my tastes.

+1 on the reverb bandpass EQ. I also like to duck the 'verb from the main vocal to help keep it clean. Just throw a compressor on the reverb return but key the compressor from the vocal channel. This compresses the 'verb to keep it out of the way of the vocals and then let's the 'verb bloom in the space between vocal lines.

Also, I though the mids were a little heavy overall...in the 300-ish range. That's probably a taste thing.

Nice work. I like the tune.
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Old 03-27-2017, 11:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Womack View Post
First off, I heard many album in the '70s not mixed this well.

Now, the tweaks:
Cymbals might be a tad loud.
Voice is back a bit further than I prefer.

Relationship between cymbals and voice is probably the biggie.

By the way, I'm not sure if you know about the trick for breaking vocal reverb out of the clutter. At the input of the reverb, roll off just about everything from 400hz down and everything from about 4k up. Suddenly the midrange is tighter! (Many reverb plugs offer knobs to do this.)

Bob
Yes the reverb trick some call it the Abby Road reverb trick(don't know if they started it or just used a lot).
And to add...... if the Verb does not have not have Eq controls. The same can be done putting the verb and a EQ with multiband and or high and low pass filters on a parallel track, with the EQ first in line as you said and then send vocal signal to it
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Old 03-27-2017, 12:34 PM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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The low end sounds great to me (and I'm a bass player). I think the high end is a little brash, and agree that the cymbals are too forward in the mix, and the vocals not forward enough. But those are very fine nits, to be sure, and might be just a function of my ears' sensitivity. Sounds good!
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Old 03-27-2017, 04:01 PM
MaurysMusic MaurysMusic is online now
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Thank you guys! I really appreciate this and it's a relief to hear that we're not far off. I'm using Garageband and some Waves CLA plugins for the vocals, so I don't have the luxury of working the reverb as much as I would if I had a better DAW... but I'm open-minded to workarounds and will surely research the subject. I understand what you want as an end result, and it makes sense. thx!!
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Old 03-27-2017, 05:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MaurysMusic View Post
Thank you guys! I really appreciate this and it's a relief to hear that we're not far off. I'm using Garageband and some Waves CLA plugins for the vocals, so I don't have the luxury of working the reverb as much as I would if I had a better DAW... but I'm open-minded to workarounds and will surely research the subject. I understand what you want as an end result, and it makes sense. thx!!
Go to your reverb send bus and insert an EQ in the DAW. It does the same thing. If it is a stereo send insert a stereo EQ.

Bob
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Old 03-27-2017, 06:34 PM
MaurysMusic MaurysMusic is online now
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Originally Posted by Bob Womack View Post
Go to your reverb send bus and insert an EQ in the DAW. It does the same thing. If it is a stereo send insert a stereo EQ.

Bob
Thanks but Garageband doesn't have any Bus feature. Maybe I'll clone the lead vocal track and work in parallel. If I leave the original vocal dry, drench the cloned lead vocal in verb and EQ it, would that achieve a similar result?
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Old 03-27-2017, 06:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MaurysMusic View Post
Thanks but Garageband doesn't have any Bus feature. Maybe I'll clone the lead vocal track and work in parallel. If I leave the original vocal dry, drench the cloned lead vocal in verb and EQ it, would that achieve a similar result?
How about the reverb return? Does it have a channel? You could do your EQ there.

Bob
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Old 03-27-2017, 07:23 PM
MaurysMusic MaurysMusic is online now
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Originally Posted by Bob Womack View Post
How about the reverb return? Does it have a channel? You could do your EQ there.

Bob
Nope.

I cloned the vocal channel, and used a plugin called CLA Effects, and chose "wet only". I rolled off everything below 400 and above 4k on that channel. I brought the vocal channel up 1db and the drum overheads down 2db ... just a quick & dirty test. I may have mixed in too much Verb here. I'll try and find time to really do this carefully before the end of the week. Here's what that sounds like fwiw & thank you all for the help.

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Old 03-27-2017, 07:43 PM
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I'll put it up on the monitors tomorrow morning.

Bob
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Old 03-28-2017, 05:16 AM
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I listened to it on the big boys and it sound much better! The vocal is no longer challenged by the hat and ride cymbals. The vocals are present and the 'verb just adds a sense of space. When does the CD come out?

Bob
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:57 AM
MaurysMusic MaurysMusic is online now
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This is such a relief- thanks guys!!

We're hoping for late spring, if all goes well. Thanks for your interest!
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