Pensado's Place Mixing Competition -Deadline 18th May

[Chris SweetParticipant]

Still obsessing over this mix...I wish the drums and bass were tighter. It's really messin with me.

[Chris SweetParticipant]

Realized the kick was out of phase which is why i couldn't get it to pop. Rookie mistake.

Tightened the kick drum and made better separation between kick and bass. I THINK this is better overall...until i learn to hate it lol.

https://soundcloud.com/csweet08-1/distance-rev-20

Gonna be down to the wire for my final submission...

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Chris Sweet.
• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Chris Sweet.

[TobiKeymaster]

Interesting pdf from The AES (Audio Engineering Society) : guidelines for streaming loudness. It covers recommended levels for codecs (4. Peak Level Control and Lossy Codecs)

http://www.aes.org/technical/documents/AESTD1004_1_15_10.pdf

[Magnus JohanssonParticipant]

Chris: Mix sounds great and loudness is to me spot on.

Toby: Great document with info of guidelines to be aware of. So far nobody cares though but maybe in a near future. Personally I think -16dB is a tad too low but really... in the end it doesn´t matter what gets the future norm.

[Chris SweetParticipant]

Thanks Mange. I think that's the one.

[Marcus MittilParticipant]

I finished my competition mix today, here if anyone wanna hear it:

https://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/pensados-place-mixing-competition-regret-the-hour-distance/submissions/9bee2622-1a85-11e6-b224-0ef8f32a4357

Any comments/tips from you all is of course appreciated.

[Marcus MittilParticipant]

Chris and Mange - listened to your mixes. They sound really good both of them!

Cool with drums from drummers perspective on your mix Chris! I usually pan them from audience perspective.

[Chris SweetParticipant]

Thanks Marcus. I don't think I realized I did that till you mentioned it. I started as a drummer so maybe that's what sounds natural instinctively

[Magnus JohanssonParticipant]

Listened to your mix Marcus. Well done. I must ask you though, I notice that you have done some "mastering" automation to it. Is it only the limiter that is automated? or is there also some brightening going on with the last chorus. The last chorus sound better, more open, punchier and brighter then the earlier two. My guess is that you have automated the limiter cieling as I find the early choruses more limited than the last and I don´t think the loudness get that much louder.
I liked you verse delays/echoes. I usually find that little trick pretty lame but you kept it subtle enough with whatever quirk you did to it to get it out of lameland.

[Chris SweetParticipant]

Hey Marcus, I also noticed the last chorus seemed to open up at the end. Might even be that the guitars came up which made the mix sound more even.

A couple things overall, I think your kick was a little loud and boomy which is where I think it's sounding muddy; cutting some low mids (300-400hz is my go to) would probably help. Guitars sounded ok, maybe a little thin but seemed to work fine in the mix. Compressing the vocal a bit more might help keep it in focus (or automating the volume). It kept trailing off a little. Kinda reminded me of the Pixies a little in its rawness which I dig, just a few balancing things would probably make it a little better. I'd try making some cuts between 300-400 hz on the drums (especially the kick) and I think you'll be surprised at how things tighten up and balance out.

Nice job.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Chris Sweet.

[Marcus MittilParticipant]

Mange, thank you!
I did automation in the volume of my 2bus,the loudest it gets is for the last chorus to give it the most punch in the song.
I think verses stay at - 1.75 and other choruses at -0.85. The bridge drops to - 4 actually. Wanted to give some movement thoughout the song. Overheads and electric guitars are automated more out to the sides for choruses, same in all of them though. I think the electrics might be marginally louder in the last one though.

I like those throw delays, but tried to keep it really subtle here. It's quite compressed and distorted and I cut some highs off too.

Chris, thanks a lot for comments on kick eq, I will try it out! I kinda liked the vocal not too compressed, will have to give it some more thought and try if I like them more even 🙂

[TobiKeymaster]

Marcus, really nice mix. Particularly liked the snare sound - good weight, while still sounding crisp. Agree with Chris, kick sounds a little boomy, buuut I like the presence and overall effect in the mix. Overheads are a little fizzy for me in the choruses, that might just my personal taste though.

Like the tone of the vocal - agree, I like the vocal not too compressed. Maybe a little fader riding?

Overall, a really solid mix. Like the approach you've taken with it - raw and natural.

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